Most often, analysis of brand strategy is focused on a name brand consumer product and its conventional efforts, such as John Deere's social marketing strategy, Benetton's scandalized ad campaign, Dr.Pepper's questionable "men only" positioning or Apple doing... anything.

But a new apple story in the latest issue of the New Yorker is one story all those interesting in branding should absolutely not miss. It's about the SweeTango.Continue reading...

The world’s economy has been sluggish now for years, and all levels of the supply chain have been patiently waiting for the whole economic machine to begin churning in a consistently positive direction.

Kraft Foods Inc., makers of everything from Cadbury's chocolate to Oreo cookies, Cheese Nips to Tang, has decided to put a good investment toward India and “the Indian consumer's rising spending power as it firms up plans to become one of the top-five food companies in the country in the coming years,” Reuters reports.

"In India, in particular we have witnessed exceptional growth,” Kraft Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld told reporters on Tuesday, according to Reuters. “Year-to-date we are up almost 40 percent in this country.”Continue reading...

Remember a few years ago when Wal-Mart was synonymous with not only a lack of coolness but with downright evil? When documentaries like Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price were all the rage in self-righteous consumer circles? Well, things are changing.

Wal-Mart's brand is buzzing on social media and social responsibility, two areas in which the retailer once seemed hopeless. As competitor brands suffer, could Wal-Mart's brand finally be groovin'?Continue reading...

Strongbow has a thing for movies. After last year's ad spoofing Mel Gibson's film Braveheart, the cider brand is going after the upcoming sequel to Wall Street. The message? The working class are the real heroes. As the recession drags on, this appeal to the simple hard-toiling, undervalued working class has become a popular appeal for brands. Brandchannel's latest report card looks at a handful.Continue reading...

Hotel groups are putting the power of branding to work, both to differentiate one hotel brand from another, and to distinguish each brand so that it has its own special, unique appeal.

No one knows that better than CEO Andrew Cosslett of InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of such leading hotel brands as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Hotel Indigo.

Cosslett says hotels recovering from the weakened worldwide economy now need to rely on "brand strength."Continue reading...

The market impact of Wal-Mart is almost unimaginable. The world's largest retailer operates more than 4,300 stores in the US and more than 4,000 additional stores in 15 markets worldwide. The company employs more than 2 million people worldwide and had $405 billion in sales for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2010.

So when Wal-Mart makes a change – any change – it, too, can have a giant impact, and not always for the better. This is the case with Wal-Mart's Project Impact, a strategy the company began implementing in 2008. Project Impact was intended to reduce clutter, make the jammed aisles easier to navigate, and improve the look of the stores. Bill Simon, the COO of Wal-Mart US, tells Daily Finance, "The net effect is you open up the customer space, you improve the shopping experience, you provide access and visibility to departments in the store that were previously difficult to shop, like apparel." Underlying the cleaner store strategy was Wal-Mart's desire to appeal to higher-income shoppers.Continue reading...

While many thrilled fanboys eagerly await the debut of Apple’s tablet tomorrow, professionals in the print media industry are bracing for the ballyhooed arrival of what many in the business equate with certain death.

However, print media brands -- The New York Times, Hearst, Condé Nast, and Time, for example, -- may want to relax, at least a little bit. A person acquainted with the Tablet and Apple’s marketing plan, said of CEO Steve Jobs, “He believes democracy is hinged on a free press and that depends on there being a professional press."Continue reading...

Starbucks is raising its prices. Again. The brand attributes the increase to its effort to continue providing value while also balancing the company's "business responsibilities."

In New York, for example, an extra espresso shot is up from 55 cents to 70 cents. Additional syrup is 40 cents, a more than 30% increase. A grande triple soy vanilla latte is now $6.25 instead of $5.55.

Actually, Starbucks is both raising prices on more complex beverages while slightly lowering prices on a few simpler drinks -- but all the headlines are about the price increase. This price hike might end up working on several levels.Continue reading...