Toyota Uses Unique Marketing Strategy For Scion

"Pssst ... have you heard about Scion?" That's the buzz Toyota hopes is spreading about its upcoming line of Scion cars geared toward Generation Y. The brand was unveiled at the 2002 New York auto show and will slowly get up to speed over the course of about a year. Why so slow? Toyota needs to let potential buyers find the brand, rather than shove it in their face with TV, radio and print ads.

The 8- to 25-year-old age group--collectively known as Gen Y--has long been a marketing and advertising target. But these kids are a fickle bunch. They don't want to be marketed to. Toyota, hoping to piggyback off the recent music-driven, youth advertising triumphs from Volkswagen and Mitsubishi, wants a crack at this hard-to-crack market.

Breaking All The Rules So it has ditched traditional marketing methods, such as surveys and focus groups, and instead has hit clubs and other places that attract young people. Toyota has held parties, featuring musicians and fashion folks, and has been stationed at art galleries, independent film openings and "rave" parties in California. At each venue, Scion representatives are throwing around the word "Scion," trying to build a slow but steady rapport with the kids.

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http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/1270196.html?page=1

http://www.treehugger.com/toyota-iq-small-car-photo-black437.jpg

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

Click on the picture

Netflix came up with a brilliantly simple concept when it launched its service in 1999: rent DVDs by mail for a flat monthly fee. You choose the movies you want on the Netflix Web site, receive from one to eight discs at a time (depending on the pricing plan you've chosen), and--using a prepaid envelope--return them in the mail whenever you're finished viewing. The set monthly billing rate means that the decades-old bane of the video store--late fees--is a thing of the past. In fact, not only has Netflix's pricing strategy prompted brick-and-mortar rival Blockbuster to adopt a "no late fees" strategy at its retail stores, the old-line video rental giant has chosen to fight Netflix as well, offering a very similar online rental service starting in August 2004 that's since been enhanced by limited integration with its brick-and-mortar video stores. With retailing superpower Wal-Mart already having pulled out and Amazon opting for digital delivery with its Unbox service, here's how the two main players in the online DVD rental market stack up against one another.

Nike likely to cut 2009 marketing budget

CHICAGO, Feb 11 - Nike Inc will likely "just do it," cutting its marketing budget this year as part of its push to reduce expenses.

The world's largest athletic shoe and clothing maker said late on Tuesday it would cut up to 1,400 jobs, or 4 percent of its workforce, as part of a review aimed at bringing products to market faster.

Nike's reining in ad spending, sports sponsorships and endorsement deals was not only likely, but could be done without hurting its dominant position, analysts said.

"They have such penetration in their marketing budget that they can use attrition to cut off contracts," Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University, said of Nike's various sports contracts.

"You'll definitely see a different allocation and you'll definitely see some reduction," he added. "When you're the biggest, you have the power to do that."

Companies such as General Motors Corp and FedEx Corp have cut marketing budgets, including sports-related spending, in response to the recession.

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http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/apparel/100050342-1-nike-likely-cut-2009-marketing.html

Nike's 4Ps

Nike is a global sports shoe giant company. It is the largest seller of athletic footwear in the world, holding the lion share of 33% of the global market. The company has production facilities in Asia, sales facilities in almost 200 countries, and customer service and other operational units worldwide.

The marketing mix or the 4 Ps of Marketing are Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion. Nike's 4Ps are the following

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http://corporate-marketing-branding.suite101.com/article.cfm/audit_on_nikes_marketing_strategies

https://s3.amazonaws.com:443/cs-ottawacitizen/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00/00/01/85/87/logos/nike.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0TTXDM86AJ1CB68A7P02&Expires=1253678149&Signature=8xZpeX%2frAr1Kxp1lyeMS%2bvcr3Ms%3d

AMD launches Fusion strategy

Those of you who’ve been eagerly following AMD’s processor announcements over the last few months will know that AMD is working on a new product codenamed Fusion, which can feature an integrated GPU inside the CPU package. It’s a project for which the Fusion name makes perfect sense, but AMD has now launched a new Fusion marketing campaign in which the word ‘Fusion’ encompasses pretty much everything that AMD does.

AMD’s chief marketing officer, Nigel Dessau, explained the move, saying that AMD was the first company to develop dual-core x86 processors, native quad-core CPUs and 64-bit x86 CPUs. ‘What we’ve been known for is doing the next thing first,’ explained Dessau, but AMD didn’t know the best way of getting this across to the market.

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http://www.bit-tech.net/custompc/news/604872/amd-launches-fusion-strategy.html

http://www.aurorawdc.com/ci/amd_vs_intel_2.jpg

Verizon is Empathizing its Coverage Through TV Ads

As we all have probably seen on TV, Verizon's new commercials where a single person is followed by Verizon employees wherever they go, tries to empathize Verizon's great national coverage. Verizon is spending a large amount of money on these TV ads, but people still complain about their pricing strategy.

US Lacrosse and Clif Bar Reach Marketing Partnership

US Lacrosse announced today that it has agreed to a joint marketing agreement with Clif Bar & Co., one of the leading manufacturers of energy foods in the country. The partnership was established by 361° Sports + Event Marketing, New York.

The agreement creates a youth fundraising program featuring CLIF ZBaR, the first kids' snack created to comply with SB-19, California's Senate Bill limiting fat and sugar in foods offered within the state's school system. The program will allow US Lacrosse league administrators to order and sell ZBaRs at a discount, retaining 50 percent of the profits to fund league activities. Click here for program details.

“We are thrilled to work with Clif Bar,” said Glen Schorr, US Lacrosse managing director of marketing and branding. “They make quality products that fuel athletes, and are working with us to establish programs that will benefit our members.”

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http://www.uslacrosse.org/news/2007/clibar.phtml

http://www.ratracestore.com/store/clif_bar_variety_shot.jpg

iPhone Owner Sues AT&T, Apple for Tricky MMS Marketing

A peeved iPhone customer has filed a lawsuit against Apple and AT&T, and surprisingly it’s unrelated to dropped calls or spotty network performance. It has to do with the multimedia messaging, which still isn’t available for iPhone customers in the United States.

Filed in Ohio by customer Deborah Carr, the lawsuit alleges that Apple and AT&T used tricky marketing to deceive consumers into believing multimedia messaging would become available for iPhones by June.

“Millions of customers, as a result of the false and deceptive representations and concealments of Apple and AT&T purchased the 3G and 3GS, waiting for the wonderful day in June 2009 when the new application would be available which would allow MMS,” the court filing [pdf] states. “Unfortunately, after downloading the new 3.0 Software Update application, MMS still did not work on both the 3G and 3GS.”

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http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/iphone-mms-lawsuit/

Kellogg Strengthens Marketing to Children Practices

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmRF0N3KywI

Ford rethinking marketing strategy for 2009 F-150

Ford will market its new F-150 to those who actually need and use it for work. To that extent, when the delayed truck launches this fall, most of the first deliveries will be two-door models that have traditionally sold well with contractors, farmers and fleet customers.

Luxury-laden four-door model usually purchased by small families instead of SUVs and for more casual use, will be downplayed and released later on, as these trims and packages saw the biggest drop in sales. Sales of all full-size pickup trucks in the U.S. have fallen some 21.1 percent compared to last year, a drop that is blamed on high gas prices and slowing economy.

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http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-rethinking-marketing-strategy-for-2009-f-150.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ0POeR96x4

Bentley's Original Marketing plan overview

The central Sales & Marketing Department has a classical marketing structure comprising of 6 main functions. Each of these central functions interact with Bentley Motors regional offices who maintain responsibility for the execution of the marketing strategy at a local level.

Product Marketing
Responsible for developing the Brand's product strategy in line with both the Company's long term business objectives and customer and market demands. The global team are tasked with defining the product offering for both existing product lifecycles and future product development, while also preparing the wider organization for the launch of any new model closer to it's production start. The team leads Market Research activities providing relevant insight on future consumer, societal and automotive trends to influence product decisions and marketing strategies. The function represents Sales and Marketing in all of the vehicle project teams ensuring that all Bentley products deliver on the brand promise.

Read full overview

http://www.bentleymotors.com/about_bentley/careers/functional_overviews/sales_and_marketing/default.aspx

http://www.bentleymotors.com/models/continental_series/continental_gt/introduction/default.aspx

Social Media is Core to Dell's Marketing Strategy

Here is a video interview to Dell's VP of Global Marketing to understand how dell is using social media as a marketing tool



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WK_xVc1pqA

JetBlue targeting UT students as part of marketing strategy

JetBlue Airways, which flies to six cities from Austin, is the newest corporate partner of University of Texas athletics.

The deal is part of an emerging JetBlue strategy that targets the college market.

The New York-based airline also is working on a promotional rights deal with the Heisman Trophy so that it can offer tickets, airfare and hotel rooms to see the Heisman ceremony as part of a weekend trip to New York. The Heisman promotion will be advertised on Texas’ Web site www.texassports.com.

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http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/09/22/story8.html

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/jet_blue_aircraft_pictures/jetblue_aircraft_interior_view.jpg

Sprint Nextel to redefine itself with new marketing strategy

Sprint Nextel has announced plans to attract more attention to its Nextel Direct Connect and Push-to-Talk services.

Sprint's new strategy to promote Nextel Direct focuses on service, features and functionality. The wireless carrier plans to combine Direct Connect with Sprint Mobile Broadband data capabilities, which should mean faster, richer service for customers.

"Customers can expect to see continued investment and the introduction of new handsets to utilize the network's unique capabilities," said Daniel Hesse, president/CEO of Sprint Nextel, Reston, VA.

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http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/carrier-networks/456.html

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.phonemag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sprint-nextel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.phonemag.com/sprint-nextel-launches-direct-connects-new-pricing-016413.php&usg=__jqWbfaDUmojtHItRtD_UWecRpm4=&h=266&w=398&sz=10&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=DFOt4UQw_q0aLM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsprint-nextel%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

McDonald's Launches Healthy Lifestyle Campaign

In the wake of growing numbers of childhood obesity, the McDonald's Corp. has launched a new campaign to promote healthy eating and exercise targeting youngsters.

The "it's what I eat and what I do...i'm lovin' it" campaign includes a fresh approach to advertising with new packaging, TV ads, print ads, educational brochures and a refreshed Web site that includes active lifestyle tips.

"One of the best things we can do is communicate the importance of energy balance in an engaging and simple way," said CEO Jim Skinner, in a statement. "'It's what I eat and what I do...I'm lovin' it' is a great new message within our 'i'm lovin' it' theme, and will tie all our balanced, active lifestyles messages together. We are listening to our customers and committed to taking leadership action where we can make a difference."

The new balanced, active lifestyles campaign is designed to inspire McDonald's customers to improve their overall well being.

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For latest new about McDonald's

http://promomagazine.com/news/mcdonalds_healthy_campaign_031605/

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center.html

Picture: http://www.bizzia.com/brandcurve/mcdonalds-promotes-healthy-menu-on-billboards/

H.J. HEINZ OFFERS CUSTOMIZED KETCHUP LABELS

H.J. HEINZ OFFERS CUSTOMIZED KETCHUP LABELS

The H.J. Heinz Company has come up with a fun idea, and it may be the beginning of a trend. They have started a new Personalized Ketchup Labels service. You can go to a special website and purchase Heinz Ketchup in several size bottles and add your own custom sayings to the labels. They plan to expand this feature for the holidays too. More details are below.

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Create your own Ketchup Label

http://www.foodreference.com/html/ap-heinz-labels-80406.html

Red Bull's 'anti-brand' Strategy Dominates

Red Bull Energy Drink Takes The World

Some observers say that Red Bull's branding is revolutionary, calling it an 'anti-brand' strategy. The company faced additional problems in Pakistan where there were already many established drinks available.

The firm avoided usual methods of marketing, relying more on what is called 'buzz marketing' or word-of-mouth. A brand image was created and cultivated which associated the drink with youth culture and extreme and adventure-related sports, such as motor sports, mountain biking, snowboarding and dance music parties. In other countries Red Bull's target consumer segment began to adopt nicknames for the product such as 'liquid cocaine' or 'speed in a can', thus spreading its 'left-field' appeal.

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Article from: TRCB.com

http://www.trcb.com/business/marketing/redbull-marketing-strategy-7375.htm

Image from:

http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Products/Red-Bull-Energy-Shots-021242756825419?p=1242746208542

Also a link to a typical Red Bull commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x9iYweART4

RadioShack's (The Shack) New Marketing Plan

Most people visit their local RadioShack to pick up mundane electronic accessories like batteries and headphone adapters. Would a new brand name and flashy products make the store more of a destination for big-ticket items?

RadioShack is willing to try something new. On Monday, the Fort Worth company announced a marketing campaign that will dub its store “The Shack” in TV, print, and online ads. The branding effort comes on the heels of a deal RadioShack made in July to bring T-Mobile handsets to its stores.

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Article from: BusinessWeek

Posted by: Douglas MacMillan on August 04

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/08/radioshack_plan.html

http://redkiteprayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/RadioShack.jpg

Video From Lance Armstrong From www.livestrong.com

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