Posted by: Paul.Christ
on Nov 20, 2009
AirTran Airways Puts Ads Where Passengers Can't Miss Them (Los Angeles Times)
For many consumers advertising clutter abounds in mainstream media outlets such as television and print publications. But someday soon this may also be a problem in a place that is not commonly considered a media outlet – airplanes. While signage ads are not a new idea for transportation vehicles (e.g., trains), and have been tested before in airplanes, AirTran appears to be one of the first to slap signage advertisements throughout the interior of all its planes. And, passengers can’t miss the ads as they are stuck right in front of their faces on the seat-back fold down trays.
Since airline customers are relatively immobile, the eyeball time available for ads placed inside airplanes must have advertisers drooling while allowing airlines to charge potentially high ad rates. In addition, it appears consumer reaction to these ads could even be somewhat trackable.
The first ad on the AirTran seat backs will be for Mother Nature Network, a website devoted to environmental issues that is promoting itself by running a contest for a seven-night cruise. Mother Nature Network Chief Executive Joel Babbit said his company approved the ad for the seat backs because AirTran offers onboard wireless Internet service, which means passengers can see the ad and then immediately go online to register for the contest.
If airlines find the ads on the back of seats to be successful where else will airlines look to have signage ads appear within an airplane?
Posted by: Paul.Christ
on Nov 18, 2009
Kellogg Warns: Brace for an Eggo Shortage (MSNBC)
Marketers can't do much if a product is not available to sell and that is exactly what is happening at Kellogg where production problems have all but shut down manufacturing of one the company’s strongest brands – Eggo Waffles. As people around the U.S. are discovering, locating this product is becoming more and more difficult. And according to Kellogg, inventory is not expected to return to normal until next summer.
In the mean time, marketers at Kellogg face some tough times ahead. They have already alerted customers to the problem via a website posting and notices to media, but they now face the real problem of another company coming in and stealing market share. There is little doubt major food retailers will seek other options as frozen waffles are a strong selling product category.
The company's Atlanta plant was shut down for an undisclosed period by a September storm that dumped historic amounts of rain in the area. Meanwhile, several production lines at its largest bakery in Rossville, Tenn. are closed indefinitely
What methods can Kellogg use now to guard against competitors taking significant market share?
Posted by: Paul.Christ
on Nov 17, 2009
Godiva Rides in a New Direction (New York Times)
Higher-end products don’t always suffer during a recession. Some do fine as their key target market often remains relatively unaffected by a slowing economy. One example is Godiva. Positioned as a higher-end chocolate brand, Godiva is launching a new promotional campaign that makes no mention of price or the popular “value” proposition that many products now promote. Instead, Godiva positions itself away from the mass market chocolates with an emotional appeal that states that even in bad economy it is sometimes worth splurging on a quality product.
… the campaign seeks to explain why Godiva is still worth buying during tough times, using an emotional appeal to make the case that a brief respite to indulge oneself — “the golden moment,” as it were — is as desirable now as it was when the Dow was at 14,000.
Compared to this promotional strategy, is Godiva’s positioning strategy likely to change again once the worldwide economy becomes healthy again?
