Did you hear that? That's the sound of cash registers ringing at retailers around the country. Despite gloomy projections for holiday retail sales, Black Friday suprised just about everyone -- even retailers.
According to , a Chicago-based research firm, day after Thanksgiving sales were up three percent over last year. It's estimated that retailers rang up $10.6 billion in sales on Friday alone.
The increase in sales gives everyone a reason to be obtimistic, however, there's a bigger question that still needs to be answered. Did the increase in sales come at the expense of profits? Most retailers had to slash prices on GPS units, big screens, cell phones, game systems and other hot items to drive traffic through the doors. From early indications, consumers jumped on the deals. But will those sales drive the bottom line for retailers? That remains to be seen.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday Links 11/24
Happy Monday!
Hope you're excited for a short week. There is plenty of news going on in the world of marketing and we at Suite 206 have it all (not really, but that sounds pretty sweet right?)
Word is he was caught driving around Clearwater in his jet-propelled Lamborghini and people started asking questions. No, I'm just kidding, it's because GM is going bankrupt.
BBDO lost Pepsi after . They should be able to recover with on their roster.
The leaders of the "Big 3" automakers are to their next official plea for money hearing. Talk about being reactive instead of proactive. Story of the car industry in the 2000s.
AdAge notes that the , because of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Games and his comments about a NCAA football playoff.
Happy Belated T-Day! Belated you say? What, you forgot that November 21st was World Toilet Day?! Well it was and to ring in the holiday.
Have a Happy (Short) Work Week!
Hope you're excited for a short week. There is plenty of news going on in the world of marketing and we at Suite 206 have it all (not really, but that sounds pretty sweet right?)
Word is he was caught driving around Clearwater in his jet-propelled Lamborghini and people started asking questions. No, I'm just kidding, it's because GM is going bankrupt.
BBDO lost Pepsi after . They should be able to recover with on their roster.
The leaders of the "Big 3" automakers are to their next official plea for money hearing. Talk about being reactive instead of proactive. Story of the car industry in the 2000s.
AdAge notes that the , because of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Games and his comments about a NCAA football playoff.
Happy Belated T-Day! Belated you say? What, you forgot that November 21st was World Toilet Day?! Well it was and to ring in the holiday.
Have a Happy (Short) Work Week!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
ABInBev: Official
Alright, so American brands aren't doing so hot these days. The "Big 3" automakers are seriously considering bankruptcy, Citibank is cutting more that 50,000 (!) jobs, and Pepsi recently spent $162 MILLION to make their brands look like this (via ):
Where is that All-American brand to save us from this terror? Well, it's too busy announcing it's official takeover from a foreign entity. Yes, it's another sad day for the those who support only American. Anheuser-Busch, an independent beer brewer since 1852, has officially sealed it's acquisition deal with InBev, the largest brewer in the world. Here is their new logo:
I'll leave it up to your commentary below, but I personally find the concept of the eagle flaying AWAY from the "AB" part of the logo quite funny. Looks like the Buck Stops Here...In Belgium. Sheesh.
Where is that All-American brand to save us from this terror? Well, it's too busy announcing it's official takeover from a foreign entity. Yes, it's another sad day for the those who support only American. Anheuser-Busch, an independent beer brewer since 1852, has officially sealed it's acquisition deal with InBev, the largest brewer in the world. Here is their new logo:
I'll leave it up to your commentary below, but I personally find the concept of the eagle flaying AWAY from the "AB" part of the logo quite funny. Looks like the Buck Stops Here...In Belgium. Sheesh.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Are National Brands Dead?
Over the past few weeks, I've been seeing a proliferation of articles about the rise of store brands. The premise is the same in just about every article....in a tight economy, people are going to dump the expensive national brands for the cheaper, value-oriented store brands.
There's no doubt we're starting to see this trend. As the product quality, packaging and branding behind in-house brands continues to improve, consumers are questioning whether or not the extra $2.00 is worth it for the national brand.
It was easy to pass on generics 10 years ago, because they looked, tasted and/or preformed like crap. That's not true anymore. Case in point, in a recent survey done by
Still not convinced?
So what's the lesson in all of this? National brands need to do what they've always done...connect with consumers. At the end of the day, we buy products based off of emotion. Consumers look for brands that make them feel better about themselves…they purchase products that say something about who they are or aspire to be…they desire brands that truly deliver an experience unlike any other.
If your brand does a good job of connecting with the needs, wants and desires of your end consumer, price becomes less of an issue. If not, you're in trouble. Consumers will pass you over for the“generic equivalent,” especially during these tough economic times.
Interested in reading more about this topic, here are some good articles:
There's no doubt we're starting to see this trend. As the product quality, packaging and branding behind in-house brands continues to improve, consumers are questioning whether or not the extra $2.00 is worth it for the national brand.
It was easy to pass on generics 10 years ago, because they looked, tasted and/or preformed like crap. That's not true anymore. Case in point, in a recent survey done by
Still not convinced?
So what's the lesson in all of this? National brands need to do what they've always done...connect with consumers. At the end of the day, we buy products based off of emotion. Consumers look for brands that make them feel better about themselves…they purchase products that say something about who they are or aspire to be…they desire brands that truly deliver an experience unlike any other.
If your brand does a good job of connecting with the needs, wants and desires of your end consumer, price becomes less of an issue. If not, you're in trouble. Consumers will pass you over for the“generic equivalent,” especially during these tough economic times.
Interested in reading more about this topic, here are some good articles:
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Black Friday
"Black Friday" is just around the corner (Nov. 28). It's time to get up, get out and shore up the U.S. economy with some good old fashion bargain shopping.
Looking for the latest deals? No need to flip through the Thanksgiving paper for all the reatil ads. .
Looking for the latest deals? No need to flip through the Thanksgiving paper for all the reatil ads. .
BlackFriday.info posts ads for Target, Walmart, Kohl's and other major retailers. Happy shopping!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Executive Decisions Episode 5: Saved By Nothing
Been a busy couple days at Suite 206, so our apologies for not posting. Well we have a real treat for you on this fifth episode of Executive Decisions. If you've been watching the World Series or most election coverage the past couple weeks, your poor eyes and ears have probably been forced to soak in the horrifically annoying Toyota commercial, "Saved By Zero".
Straight from the "5 Dollar Footlong" realm of "Jingles that Must Die, and Must Die Quickly", this commercial was not only mind-numbingly aggravating, it was on every...single...commercial...break.
For those of you who may not know, the jingle comes from the song "Saved By Zero" by one of the most tenured, most creative, most world-famous band of all-time: The Fixx.
In all seriousness, it's quite common for popular bands of the past to lend their creative productions for commercial purposes, but I'm willing to bet someone at Toyota just typed "Zero 80's Rock Band Song" and searched until The Fixx came up. Genius!!
When Toyota approached the Fixx regarding this song, do you think their response was, "Really?"
No lie, I'm sitting in my living room and this commercial just came on. It is everywhere. Here's another horrifying look at the spot:
What I Love
Nothing. Just...nothing.
What I Hate
I'd rather not subject you to more ranting, so I'll leave you with some of the actual comments on this YouTube video:
"this jingle is killing my soul - pure evil genius"
"most annoying car ad. ever."
Consensus - D-
Look, jingles work, and always will work. And maybe time will tell when it comes to this one, but in a terrible auto market, the one thing you don't want to do is make your customers so frustrated they ignore you all together! The tag is "Moving Forward". This is definitely a step backward. Hopefully we'll have something more enjoyable next week.
Straight from the "5 Dollar Footlong" realm of "Jingles that Must Die, and Must Die Quickly", this commercial was not only mind-numbingly aggravating, it was on every...single...commercial...break.
For those of you who may not know, the jingle comes from the song "Saved By Zero" by one of the most tenured, most creative, most world-famous band of all-time: The Fixx.
In all seriousness, it's quite common for popular bands of the past to lend their creative productions for commercial purposes, but I'm willing to bet someone at Toyota just typed "Zero 80's Rock Band Song" and searched until The Fixx came up. Genius!!
When Toyota approached the Fixx regarding this song, do you think their response was, "Really?"
No lie, I'm sitting in my living room and this commercial just came on. It is everywhere. Here's another horrifying look at the spot:
What I Love
Nothing. Just...nothing.
What I Hate
I'd rather not subject you to more ranting, so I'll leave you with some of the actual comments on this YouTube video:
"this jingle is killing my soul - pure evil genius"
"most annoying car ad. ever."
Consensus - D-
Look, jingles work, and always will work. And maybe time will tell when it comes to this one, but in a terrible auto market, the one thing you don't want to do is make your customers so frustrated they ignore you all together! The tag is "Moving Forward". This is definitely a step backward. Hopefully we'll have something more enjoyable next week.
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