Corporate Eye

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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Walmart Faces Lawsuit After Black Friday Tragedy

If you haven’t heard the story already, here’s a recap – a New York Walmart store held the retail giant’s Black Friday promotion as advertised.  In fact, the event was heavily advertised as a day when Walmart stores would open before the sun rose, and quick and savvy shoppers could get their hands on many hot items at very attractive discount prices.  The goal of the ads was certainly to create a sense of urgency and boost store traffic.  The result – one death as a Walmart employee was trampled and four other people were injured and taken to the hospital when desperate bargain shoppers broke through the electronic doors as the store opened.

Apparently, this is not the first time Walmart has been involved in this type of trampling incident, but it does appear to be the first that ended up with a person dying.  The question is whether or not companies like Walmart, which have trusted brand names and the deep pockets to afford wide-reaching ad campaigns to which consumers respond, are responsible for the New York Walmart employee’s death.  [Read more…] about Walmart Faces Lawsuit After Black Friday Tragedy

The Amazing Reach of Apple iTunes

I have to admit that I had no idea Apple iTunes was so big internationally.  In the comScore Consumer World Metrix Report, I learned that nearly 25% of Japanese Internet users accessed Apple iTunes during the month of August 2008.  That’s one out of every 4 people who use the Internet in Japan or 13.5 million Apple iTunes users.  Now, that’s a significant statistic.

Globally, the reach of Apple iTunes is at 11.2%, so clearly, there is something to be said for how Apple markets its products internationally.  Other countries reported similar Apple iTunes reach statistics. 

Check out the Apple iTunes stats from comScore below: [Read more…] about The Amazing Reach of Apple iTunes

$5 Billion in Savings Up For Grabs for Consumer Packaged Goods

How can the consumer packaged goods industry save $5 billion per year?  Drop down to just 6-colors for package printing.

Sounds simple enough, but when even the slightest edge in terms of recognition and attracting attention on overcrowded store shelves can make or break a product, dropping extra colors in the package printing process can be a big deal. 

Enter LFH.  The brand identity consulting company out of the U.K. created a patented system that it uses to analyze the colors in a package design and then provides a reduced color palette that creates almost the exact same look.  In fact, a survey of marketers conducted by LFH showed that 8 out of 10 could not tell the difference in packaging before and after LFH modified the color palette, and the final 2 stated that the difference was was barely noticeable.  [Read more…] about $5 Billion in Savings Up For Grabs for Consumer Packaged Goods

comScore Measures View-Thru Value of Online Advertising

Online advertising is where it’s at for many brands and companies, but click-thru rates are typically less than 0.1%.  Knowing there was more value to online advertising than click-thru rates, comScore developed its Brand Metrix norms database, which is used to measure the “view-thru” rates of online advertising. 

In short, just because a person doesn’t click on an online ad when they see it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t had some kind of effect on that person’s future behavior.  The comScore Brand Metrix was created to measure that added value to online advertising, and it shows that online ad exposure is undervalued by 20% or more when only click-thru rate is used to determine the impact of an online ad.  [Read more…] about comScore Measures View-Thru Value of Online Advertising

11 Phrases That Destroy Brand Innovation

We’ve all sat through meetings where nothing gets done.  For one reason or another, your team is tasked to come up with innovative new brand programs, but one idea after another is shot down. 

Take a look at the 11 phrases that destroy brand innovation below, then ask yourself if you or someone on your team is guilty of saying one (or more) of them.  If so, it’s time to adjust your thinking cap with an eye toward innovation and away from negativity.

1. We tried that already.

This is a big idea killer.  It’s natural over the lifespan of a business that ideas will resurface.  Just because an idea didn’t work in the past, doesn’t mean it can’t be retooled and be a big success in the future.  Consider Apple which was failing in the 1990s only to revive its brand and product line to become a market share threat to Microsoft.  What if Steve Jobs followed the, “we tried that already,” line of thinking?  Would the new Macbook, iPhone or iPod be available today? [Read more…] about 11 Phrases That Destroy Brand Innovation