Happy 100th Birthday to Oreo cookies: keeping the soul of a brand

In a rapidly changing world- Oreo cookies give you a sense of stability and comfort and that is the soul of the Oreo brand. The largest selling cookie of the 20th century has survived numerous wars,technology upheavals,financial meltdowns and extreme globalization. If you were used in childhood to "twist,lick and dunk" and are now watchingContinue reading “Happy 100th Birthday to Oreo cookies: keeping the soul of a brand”

What is the most important attribute in GE Jack Welch’s 4E and 1P?

Previous posts on GE Jack Welch’s 4E’s and 1P on the StratoServe blog are very popular. Sort of leads you to think about which of the four E’s and one P really matter? But first a quick recap, although they appear in earlier posts. We’ll talk about 3E’s and the the one P first andContinue reading “What is the most important attribute in GE Jack Welch’s 4E and 1P?”

IBM-CMO Study 2011: Big Data,Social Media,multiple channels and changing demographics

The IBM-CMO Study of 2011 is a pretty large scale study of 1700 CMO (Chief Marketing Officers) in 19 industries and 64 countries. Here are four headlines of the study that re-iterate some of this blog's earlier posts: 1. There is a deluge of data– strikingly 90% of all data in the world was generatedContinue reading “IBM-CMO Study 2011: Big Data,Social Media,multiple channels and changing demographics”

Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain

The Nike child labor controversy surfaced in a 1996 Life magazine story and consumer outrage prompted big changes in the way Nike manages its global supply chain and all this took some time. In contrast, the New York Times story on labor practices at the Chinese supplier factories of  Apple of just two weeks agoContinue reading “Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain”

At 3.5 Million $ each: How many Super Bowl 2012 Ads will go viral?

At about 3.5 Million Dollars each the Super Bowl 2012 Ads do sound expensive. many advertisers have released their ads ahead on the web and here is a partial list of Super Bowl 2012 TV Ads. The question is how many of these will go viral? With three days to go for the Super BowlContinue reading “At 3.5 Million $ each: How many Super Bowl 2012 Ads will go viral?”

WEF Davos : Capitalism and Democracy try to find balance through CSR

This year (2012) there seems to be a marked and discernible change in this gathering’s tone and tenor. Leaders of both Governments and Businesses seem to realize that becoming richer and richer is probably not enough. This realization as capitalism,democracy and affluence rises worldwide , 1 billion more global middle class by 2020 according to Muhtar Kent of Coca Cola ( see accompanying video). Here is some interesting stuff to think about from happenings at Davos in 2012:

SOPA : conflict between content providers and distributors in the digital age

Distributor-Manufacturer conflict and struggle for power is not new. Only now we have media content providers and tech distributors like Google and Wikepedia in conflict over SOPA. It's quite amazing that once a manufacturer has a great product the tendency is to believe that you don't need marketing. Notable exceptions include Apple and the retailContinue reading “SOPA : conflict between content providers and distributors in the digital age”

Kodak bankruptcy: when digital technology overtakes brilliant marketing

It was just a few years ago that you dropped off your Kodak film roll at Walmart or numerous Kodak processors and they would have prints ready for you with the negatives. With the Kodak bankruptcy news one is not entirely sure whether Walmart photo centers offer film processing at all today! The website doesContinue reading “Kodak bankruptcy: when digital technology overtakes brilliant marketing”

Nike Air Jordan frenzy,Payroll Tax deal and the iPhone 4S Santa’s Christmas assistant Siri: is the economy turning around?

The  1Billion $ + Air Jordan brand of Nike shoes had frenzied crowds buying the Black and White  Jordans that went on sale at mid-night Thursday. People lined up in thousands all over the US and needed police protection as they walked back to the parking lot with the $180 shoes. Many were put upContinue reading “Nike Air Jordan frenzy,Payroll Tax deal and the iPhone 4S Santa’s Christmas assistant Siri: is the economy turning around?”

Integrating web marketing to Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

It was in the 1990's that IMC started getting popular in marketing. The Internet was just getting started and social media was in the distant horizon.By the early 2000's  organizations particularly in consumer products started figuring out IMC between their packaging,billboards,TV ads,magazine and newspaper ads and Point of Sale materials. The time has now comeContinue reading “Integrating web marketing to Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)”