April 2009

Speaking of swine flu, does selling ad space on medical face masks strike you as a good idea?

Yeah, us neither.

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Two weeks ago, the Domino's catastrophe led many marketers to re-examine their crisis management strategies.

Yesterday, Ad Age published another list of how to manage bad news, this time in the context of the swine flu outbreak.



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Phishing not only hurts consumers, it can devastate a brand's image. But marketers are fighting back.

To do so, they need to cooperate with online security experts to raise consumer confidence in interacting with their brands online," Ad Age writes.

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Joanne Acri is an online marketing expert who has enjoyed a stellar career working for several of Canada’s largest online companies. In her current position as Director, Brand Marketing for Yahoo! Canada and Yahoo! Quebec, she has been instrumental in developing original online and offline advertising campaigns. Joanne has worked closely with international teams on global product launches, sharing creative ideas and best practices. Most recently she led Yahoo! Canada’s largest original branding campaign which included television, in-theatre and online executions. She is also responsible all advertising campaigns in Quebec and in the fall of 2008 implemented a campaign that covered billboards and buses across Montreal.

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Jennifer Wells looks at the brand that is Martha. Despite the fact that revenues and profits in her empire have fallen dramatically, Ms. Stewart's "do it yourself" message seems tailor-made for consumers facing a tough economy. In Noted, Wells introduces us to Big Rock Brewery's Shelagh McNally, who "came up with the idea of making hay look like a giant can of Big Rock's Traditional Ale." And in Created, she praises a multi-platform Cadbury campaign that aims to provide bicycles for Ghanaian children.

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FLAT MAY BE THE "NEW UP" when it comes to ad spending, says ZenithOptimedia. The media services group is predicting a stagnant Canadian ad market for 2009, as marketers scale back spending in reaction to the global financial crisis.

Canadian ad spending is expected to reach $10.06-billion this year, essentially flat from the $10.04-billion spent in 2008. And that's a good thing, says ZenithOptimedia president Sunni Boot.

The group forecasts ad spending next year will reach $10.25-billion, climbing to $10.5-billion in 2011.


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Marketing magazine's executive publisher and editor-in-chief Christopher Loudon recently chatted with Bonnie Brooks, the Bay's high-profile new CEO.

One of Canada's most respected retail executives, Brooks has her work cut out for her. The Bay is a storied brand with an impressive history. But it's also a little worn around the edges, and it's clear that the current economic climate is not the optimal one for brand reinvention.

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What's the best way to manage a PR nightmare in the Age of Twitter?

According to Ad Age, Domino's response to a recent YouTube video that showed employees defiling sandwiches "can be a valuable learning experience for marketers of every stripe."

The pizza-maker, Ad Age writes, "was on top of the situation within about 48 hours--too long, according to some. The offending video received nearly 1 million views before it was taken down, which already represented significant damage to the brand...

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Just as a growing number of Canadians report that they have far too much work and not enough hours in the day, a few people are actually under worked. Even in the world of business there are pockets reminiscent of a bygone era: where coffee breaks last half an hour, and by 3:00 p.m. there is not enough work left to fill the remains of the day.

Most people would give their right arms--possibly a kidney or gall bladder as well--in order to be in such a position. But believe it or not, the truth is that being under worked can be stressful in its own ways.

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Jennifer Wells looks at a recruitment campaign for St. Catharines, Ont.-based Brock University. In Created, she brings us a U.S. ad that presents the Kia Soul as a fresh option for wheel-bound hamsters who are after "a new way to roll." And in Noted, Wells quotes from a new book about why consumers buy.

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IN TIMES OF OLD, A SHOE SHOPPER WHO needed a second opinion before a purchase would bring a friend to the store. That was hard to do for modern online shoppers until Vans, the makers of hip sneakers for youth, introduced a new chat-and-share feature, which allows customers to design their own shoes and then invite input from their friends via mobile, e-mail or instant messaging. The technology is designed by Fluid, a San Francisco-based interactive agency. The agency says Fluid Social technology gives customers validation. "Consumers are more engaged and get the affirmation they need to click the buy button," the Fluid website says.

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Two recent controversies have brought the issue of brand damage control in the age of Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms into sharp focus.

Last Sunday, customers and concerned citizens took Amazon to task for apparently removing gay and lesbian titles from its sales-ranking system.

Meanwhile, a recent YouTube video outraged viewers by depicting Dominos employees contaminating food products for sale.

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