brandchannel.com

GE and Big Data: Connecting the Dots Around Super Bowl Spots

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:18:00 EST

During this year's Super Bowl game GE aired two ads — Building Something Big and Power and Beer — as part of the company's ongoing “GE Works” campaign. But the company's Game Day strategy wasn't just about what it ran on-air.

GE integrated data visualization, a.k.a. Big Data, to augment the social and digital elements of its Super Bowl campaign, turning to an emerging engagement tool being used by brands to augment their campaigns and content marketing with their vast stores of data.[more]

GE’s Power and Beer ad used a prompt for CelebrateWhatWorks.com and a hashtag — #WhatWorks — to promote and foster conversation about how GE’s energy businesses are helping power the country and boost jobs. The microsite and a Facebook tab are also inviting users to submit stories about what’s working in their communities, and the hashtag is to encourage Super Bowl viewers to continue the conversation.

"The more people know about GE, our technologies, their impact, and the people behind them, the more they want to partner with us, do business with us, and invest in us," says Linda Boff, GE’s global head of digital marketing. "That’s where we connect the dots."

Brandchannel asked Camille Kubie, GE Global Brand & Design Manage, if data visualization is a digital evolution from yesteryear’s watercooler conversation and how GE sees it integrating with the company's marketing efforts.

“We think of data visualization as a key component of a 360-degree communications strategy to tell a story about GE technologies and the impact they have on the world," she commented. "Ultimately, the goal of data visualization is to demonstrate the impact of our technologies. Data visualization seems to resonate with our audiences because it is not only visually compelling, but a concrete and memorable means of storytelling."

While hashtags were de rigueur this Super Bowl, from Coca-Cola's #GameDayPolarBears push to every automaker, seemingly, including hashtags as a call to action in their spots, GE is running with the ball by visualizing user responses to engage and enlighten. It's also not a one-off test around the Super Bowl, Kubie added.

"We’ve created a number of visualizations intended to incite consumer action. One of our favorites focused on the amount of energy used by different types of appliances. These two most recent projects are focused on deepening the understanding of GE’s technologies and their impact – how GE is at work in the world.”

That's a theme that GE has been taking to some unusual venues in the past year, including debuting at Maker Faire. Where it takes this in the year to come will be exciting to watch.

In the News: Apple, Google, Pringles and more

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:04:00 EST

Apple, now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined, is hit with stores protest over Foxconn treatment of workers in China, while fans anticipate new iPad and iPhone models.

Barclays caps bonuses as profit falls.

Beyonce and Jay-Z move to trademark daughter's name.

Bing and Viggle partner for second-screen Grammy effort.

Citibank bill-pay app charged some users twice, bank concedes.

Continental pushes past Southwest in customer loyalty.[more]

Cosi taps activist investor as consultant.

Diageo's fortunes rise in U.S. market.

Ford loses to retirement two executives who orchestrated turnaround.

Friendly's CEO resigns.

Gillette goes to Fashion Week.

Google plans home-entertainment system and opens retail store in Dublin.

Hallmark Channel considers adding prime-time scripted TV series.

Hasbro and Zynga partner in the physical game world.

HBO clamps down on counterfeit Sex and the City perfume.

Kodak exits camera business.

Kraft taps Ted Williams for macaroni-and-cheese social-media push.

Krispy Kreme declares end to its boom-and-bust cycle.

LinkedIn results set bullish tone for social media.

Nissan lets fans "build" Z-car.

Oracle broadens reach in web-based software.

P&G plans to terminate its sale of Pringles to Diamond Foods, the company that dismissed CEO who "thought big" after accounting irregularities.

J.C. Penney picks up support over selection of Ellen Degeneres as spokeswoman.

PepsiCo declares "transition year" of higher marketing spend, fewer workers.

Sirius XM hears revenues, subscribers rise in 2011.

Walmart's New Healthy Labels: Great for You, or Great for Them?

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:15:00 EST

Built on the back of its ubiquitous retail operation, Walmart has become the largest grocer in the U.S. That position carries with it a certain responsibility, and Walmart is rising to the occasion. The company, for example, has been publicly acknowledged by the first lady, Michelle Obama, for its work in helping to encourage healthy eating and fight childhood obesity.

As we noted here earlier, Walmart's latest entry into the nutritional battlefield is a product labeling strategy it calls "Great for You." As the company explains, this "nutrition icon" will begin appearing this spring on foods that "meet rigorous nutrition criteria informed by the latest nutrition science and authoritative guidance from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM)."

At first, the green "Great for You" labels, depicting a non-descript person with arms raised, will appear only on products within Walmart's own brands, Great Value and Marketside. Walmart claims, however, that it will allow other brands to make use of the label on products adhering to the same criteria with no licensing fee. In theory, this would help level the playing field between Walmart branded products and other brands sitting on Walmart shelves. But does it?[more]

What, exactly, does "Great for You" mean? That's a good question. Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, tells the New York Times, "The criteria are pretty strict, I'l give them credit for that. The label will only go on to about one-fifth of their products." But Nestle does not favor labels such as "Great for You" because, she says, they can be nothing more than "green 'buy me' schemes."

On the other hand, Larry Soler, CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization that helps companies fight childhood obesity, supports the idea. He tells the Times, "Any visual cue that allows consumers to quickly differentiate healthier food options helps busy families, and we are pleased that Walmart continues to be a critical leader among a growing number of private sector organizations looking to end this epidemic."

It wasn't easy to determine which foods should get the label, according to Leslie A. Dach, Walmart's EVP for corporate affairs. "Originally, eggs didn't make the cut [because of their high cholesterol content]," Dach tells the Times. "But eggs are important to people on a tight budget, and we went over it with consumer groups, medical groups, education groups and came to the consensus that eggs play an important role in family budgets and so they get the icon."

The subtle undertone is that Walmart primarily serves budget-conscious consumers, and it's those very consumers who tend to buy less healthy foods for a simple reason — the foods are less expensive. To combat this, Walmart has made efforts to lower its prices on fresh fruits and vegetables and, according to the New York Times, the company has been working with food suppliers "to reduce sodium, added sugar and trans fats in some 165 products it sells." It has also made an effort to locate stores with groceries in so-called "food deserts," depressed or rural areas where no full-service grocery stores are available.

Still, the cynic could easily see the "Great for You" label as just another way to distinguish Walmart from its competitors. The fact is other large supermarket chains had adopted this type of nutritional labeling long before Walmart. Hannaford, for example, introduced its "Guiding Stars" system in 2006. It uses labels with one, two, or three stars to provide a "good, better, best" ranking of nutrition. SUPERVALU announced its "nutrition iQ" program in 2009 and has implemented it in several chains the company operates, including ACME, Albertsons, and Jewel-Osco. "Nutrition iQ" uses color-coded shelf tags to identify healthier food choices.

The real problem, it seems, is with every retailer-specific system, consumers may become more confused or swayed because one uniform labeling criteria doesn't exist to identify supposedly healthy choices. Kelly D. Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University thinks companies might be labeling foods "in a way that benefits themselves and not the consumer." He tells the Times, "Now here comes Walmart, this massively powerful player, with yet another system. The question is, in the midst of all this clutter of competing systems, how helpful its approach is likely to be."

What do you think? Will "good for you" labels and signage spur healthier eating and shopping patterns?

Tide Pods Hit Walmart as P&G Faces Bigger Challenges

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 16:56:00 EST

Procter & Gamble finally has begun rolling out to Walmart stores one of its biggest product introductions in recent history: Tide Pods. But delays in getting this innovation to market, along with headwinds from the general economy, have caught the CPG giant in the twin pincers of cost pressures and greater competition.

P&G CEO Bob McDonald recently explained the company's predicament to investors. "It was later than we hoped, but Pods is a game-changing innovation and with it came manufacturing challenges that set us back but have been overcome," he said. "To our knowledge, there will be nothing on store shelves that looks or performs like Pods, and if the demand we are seeing right now is any indication of success, we are confident that Pods will delive ron its promise to change the way people think about laundry."[more]

Pods — similar but more complex than the single-chamber liquid-filled laundry tabs P&G sells in Europe — were supposed to become widely available last September, promising to become a multibillion-dollar new-product proposition in a highly mature category where it takes a mammoth innovation to move the needle on shares and, especially sales. Among other problems, the delay, in part because of evidence of greater demand than P&G initially had anticipated, allowed rivals such as Arm & Hammer to gear up their own single-use detergent packs in what is expected to be a $300-million new segment.

More broadly, P&G also has had to raise prices recently to offset rising commodities costs and is coping with consumers in the United States and Europe trading down from P&G brands to others, or private labels, in part as a reaction to higher prices and financial fallout from the recession. So P&G has had to announce the elimination of 1,600 non-manufacturing jobs — read, "lots of marketing people" as the company embraces "cheaper" social and digital marketing — by June as part of an early-retirement initiative even though it has boosted ad spending $1.8 billion, to a total of $9.3 billion, during the past two years.

There will be more trimming ahead: The company last fall said that it will take a pre-tax charge of up to $1 billion for its downsizing program. The single area that P&G for sure plans to expand is digital marketing. And McDonald now has to figure out what to do with Pringles, as it now looks unlikely that the sale of the brand to Diamond will go through.

All of which makes Pods especially important. P&G is a master at new-product execution, and it'll have to be at the top of its game to ride the coming tide (and Tide) of change.

Below, Tide explains the benefit of Pods in a trio of videos aimed at the household CMO: Moms.

Why Wendy's is on a Roll

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:35:00 EST

Things haven’t been great at Wendy’s in recent years, but now it looks like the little pigtailed redhead has got plenty to smile about.

The chain hired a new CEO, Emil Brolick, last September. He called the chain’s recent financial troubles “self-inflicted wounds” at the company’s earnings call in late January, according to the Associated Press.

Wendy’s sold off Arby’s last summer, which was the start of its transition. Since Brolick’s arrival from Yum! Brands, Wendy’s has moved firmly into the growing fast-casual movement by “sprucing up the chain's locations and stressing the importance of good service,” MSN reports. "We've made great progress in getting rid of those F restaurants and getting more A's and B's, but we're still in that territory," Brolick stated in January.

Its improvement has also come from the introduction of new items on its menu, such as the W burger, which is “two patties of 100% pure beef, two slices of American cheese, thick-sliced tomato, and (the company’s) savory signature sauce — all on a buttered, toasted bun” for $2.99.

The restaurant also updated its trademark burger by introducing a revamped Dave's Hot 'N Juicy cheeseburger with a thicker patty and more cheese than its previous offering, and a back-to-its-roots marketing campaign that evoked the brand's legacy by featuring the original Wendy — Wendy Thomas, the daughter of founder Dave Thomas — in advertising and local appearances.[more]

MSN points out that Wendy’s has seen its revenue grow 5.6% to $615 million in the final three months of 2011, which is more than the $613 million analysts thought the company would earn. “Same-store sales in North America rose 4.4% — the chain's best performance in eight years,” the site reports.

Plus, the company — which operates 1,400 restaurants itself and has 5,171 franchised outlets — was set to dethrone Burger King at year’s end to become the nation’s second most-popular burger joint behind McDonald’s.

Also helping matters: a store redesign that started last year, with 10 remodeled restaurants testing four different restaurant designs. The burger chain plans to build 20 and remodel 50 company-operated restaurants this year in the U.S. and Canada — just as McDonald's is revamping its stores.

“We are working to enhance the entire customer experience, including the restaurant design, inside environment, elevated food preparation standards and higher customer-service standards,” Wendy's CEO Emil Brolick said in a release, which added:

The company conducted nationwide research and studied every aspect of the customers' restaurant experience. "Frankly, customers told us some of our restaurants are getting dated," David Karam, president of Wendy's North America, stated. "They also said they'd like to see our fresh food preparation and they want more comfort in our dining areas."

Based on this feedback, Wendy's completely overhauled the interior and exterior. The exterior features a contemporary design with large windows and natural materials. The interior showcases open, bright dining areas, with multiple seating options. The restaurant has a new customer ordering process, digital menuboards, and a few test products only offered in these restaurants. The Pick-Up-Window has digital menuboards and an awning at the ordering speaker. Digital menuboards, being tested across the country, feature enticing product photography, video and graphics that make ordering simple.

"These new remodels are part of a multi-year strategy to reinvigorate our brand and the way our customers interact with us," Karam said. "This brand strategy involves completely re-imaging our entire menu, new advertising and marketing, new restaurant apparel and product packaging. We are making great progress in all of these areas, and we think our customers will be surprised and excited about their new Wendy's."

Check out the updated restaurant designs below and let us know what you think of the new Wendy's.

Adidas and Nike Compete for the London 2012 Olympic Podium

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:18:00 EST

Athletes aren't the only ones competing at the London 2012 Summer Olympics — their sponsors are, too. Team Great Britain competitors have been asked to sign a contract they will wear the clothing and footwear of Adidas, a sponsor of the British Olympic Association, while moving about the Olympic Village and during medal ceremonies. Athletes can wear whatever brand of footwear they want during competition, of course, but it’s the rest of the time that is getting complicated.

But what about those British athletes who have endorsement deals with Adidas rival Nike? The Telegraph reports that some of their agents are saying their clients may have to accept any medals they receive barefoot in order to not step on anyone’s toes. Nike, for its part, isn’t backing down. "As far as we are concerned, our contracts with individual athletes are binding,” a Nike spokesperson told the Telegraph. “We are still in discussion on this point with the BOA."

Ricky Simms, the agent to Nike-sponsored British runner Mo Farah, at top, says he had thought that the medal podium wouldn’t be part of the agreement but then discovered this week it was.[more]

“This enforcement by the BOA will cause to athletes to breach their contracts is new because before it was never enforced,” Simms told the Telegraph. “It is not fair on the athletes. They don't want to be involved in legal action or upsetting their existing sponsor who may have been supporting them for years.''

This kind of conundrum could affect other Olympic teams that feature athletes with their own clothing and shoe contracts. Nike is a sponsor of the Russian, Chinese, American, and German Olympic Committees, while Puma sponsors Jamaica and Adidas has Australia and Great Britain locked up.

Whose sponsors should take precedence — the athletes' or the team's? And if they're forced to wear Adidas on the podium, is that very sporting?

China Bites: Apple, Starbucks, NBA and more

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:14:00 EST

Apple, as ever, is all the talk in China:

• Company loses iPad trademark in China and faces $1.6 billion lawsuit, prompting question: "Why Haven’t the Apple Stores Been Shut Down?"

• Labor woes continue with The Economist weighing in on the "but these jobs are better than farming rice" argument.

• Is this a 7th generation iPod nano? With a camera?

• iPhone woes continue as Apple admits China Mobile SIM cards and iPhone 4S are not speaking the same language.

• Siri gets Rosetta Stone: Chinese.

But it's not all Apple in China:[more]

• Starbucks is upping its prices in China. Chinese customers not all happy about that. But that's ok (probably), because here's why the chain is so successful. (Hint:China is not the US.)

• Can Citigroup grow a credit card business in China?

• Yum! Brands to open at least 150 new Pizza Hut stores in China this year.

• Meanwhile, everyone trying to take a bite out of Yum! Brands in China.

• Valentine's Day is now big business across China.

• InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) to launch 12 upscale hotels under a new brand in China in 2012.

• Chinese consumers insulted by rude brand name of wine from Chile.

• The Economist launches new China section.

• China bans airlines from paying EU's "carbon tax."

• The NBA is missing its shots in China.

• Grey Goose hits the red carpet at I Do (???) premier.

• The hot new label in China? "Made in the USA."

• "Worshipping cats" hidden in 100 yuan banknotes?

• Beijing offices are now more expensive to rent than New York offices.

• How Chinese students cover US university tuition.

• CCTV, China's news service, begins broadcasting English-language service from Washington, D.C.

• Bar Rafaeli and Boris Becker team up to launch new Shanghai Tang charity polo shirt:

& Cadbury brings all the Buddhist monks to the yard:

Swipe This, Not That: Intel Brings Touchscreens to Retail Partners

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:03:00 EST

Online shopping is continuing to grow, but it still only accounts for less than 10% of actual retail sales, according to USA Today. However, consumers are much more informed about the products they buy and the best prices available due to research done on smartphones and online.

Because of this, some retailers are beginning to integrate interactive touchscreen experiences within their own retail spaces. In one high-profile example, Macy’s has been testing a four-foot-wide, interactive-touchscreen-covered Beauty Spot kiosk at four of its locations since November.

Powered by Intel, which is looking to make shopping more of an interactive, engaging experience, Macy's new touch-enabled intelligent connected system helps "self-directed" customers (the ones who shirk employee assistance with a dismissive "Just looking!" response) navigate the cosmetics section.[more]

"It is particularly aimed at a customer who comes into a department store but really prefers to shop on their own, as opposed to coming up to a counter and getting assistance," Macy's Jim Sluzewski told USA Today.

"From getting news about the latest trends, product recommendations based on looks customers want to achieve, to actually printing out a shopping list for a clerk to fill and more, this Intel powered system is transforming the in-store shopping experience," is how Intel puts it.

In another example, Adidas last year introduced a “virtual shoe wall” (also with Intel), which boosted sales of soccer cleats 500% in a two-week run in the U.K., compared with a similar-priced cleat launched six months earlier offline, USA Today notes. Those who wanted to buy a product could do so by touchscreen and then pick up their shoes at a designated checkout counter for digital purchases.

HSN, as a TV and web-based home shopping channel, doesn’t have retail locations, so it commissioned the HSN Touch Wall from Intel (watch Intel's demo above and below for the National Retail Federation's Big Show conference last month in New York, where it also showed Kraft Foods' iSample — which uses facial recognition — in action).

HSN's touchscreen wall is designed to engage consumers in airports and malls and boost sales in channels where shoppers wouldn't expect to find HSN. The idea is the “15-foot interactive touch-screen … invites passersby to play a virtual pizza-making game hosted by chef Wolfgang Puck using his products that are sold by the network,” USA Today adds. “While the pizza is ‘baking,’ users can learn more about the kitchenware and ingredients they used” and then recieve an email to their phone that lets them purchase the desired object.

"It is a way to refresh the shopping experience without having to rebuild a new store," says Joe Skorupa, editor of retail publication RIS News, to USA Today. The bigger question, of course — as cool and interactive as the touchscreen technology is, don't customers still want to touch and try on merchandise?

Seattle's Best Invites Coffee Lovers to Create Dream Drinks

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:31:00 EST

Starbucks is pressing the envelope in plenty of ways with its namesake brand, but the company also is continuing to innovate through its sibling brand, Seattle's Best Coffee. The newest wrinkle: a Facebook-based contest called "Create Your Deliciousness."

Seattle's Best has launched a year-long marketing campaign "inspired by the brand's mission to bring great coffee to everyone," the company said in a press release. And what better way to do that than to let every individual define what they mean by "great," in their own unconventional coffee combinations and dream drinks?[more]

It's not talking about going "skinny" or substituting soy milk for cow's milk, or putting those chocolate flakes on top of your whipped cream. Seattle's Best means "the unique add-ins and toppings people put in their coffee to make it their version of delicious," citing a Wakefield Research survey which found that more than 80 percent of Americans had gone to unusual lengths to customize their coffee, with add-ins ranging from cayenne pepper to Gummi bears.

Seattle's Best is kicking off the campaign with a Facebook app that invites fans to "experiment" with add-ins such as fruity cereals, peanut-butter puffs and mini-marshmallows as well as to try to win a free 12-oz. bag of Seattle's Best, with 100 bags given away daily. The results will, among other things, "feed into future innovation decisions," the brand stated, meaning the customers-suggested combos could (conceivably) find their way onto SBC's menu down the road.

Relaunched by Starbucks about two years ago, Seattle's Best has kept trying to shake up the game as the junior brand. In late 2010, for instance, it launched its Level System to help consumers understand exactly what type of coffee fit their taste profile, relying on a "unique array of numbers and vivid colors" in the packaging.

Maybe, in this promotion, Seattle's Best will get around to finding out what's the wackiest thing that a substantial number of people actually do put in their coffee — and, as long as it's not alive or illegal, offer it to consumers.

Can Domino�s Continue Pizza Turnaround with Crowdsourcing - or Are Fans Crowdsourced Out?

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:58:00 EST

Domino’s has gone public — not in the IPO sense, but by crowdsourcing ideas to improve the brand via a Facebook-based customer feedback intiatives it's calling Think Oven.

It's all part of the brand's two-year-old initiative to become more relevant and increase loyalty (and business) by engaging consumers (customers and non-customers) in its reinvention.[more]

The Think Oven Facebook tab has two sections: Projects and Idea Box. Projects is where Domino’s solicits feedback on specific projects, with the kick-off project asking fans to brainstorm uniform ideas. Two visual submissions and two written submissions will each receive $500 rewards.

Idea Box is more open-ended and accepts any ideas people want to submit (although it's safe to assume the brand's Facebook admins can delete any offensive/rude suggestions). After all, the pizza chain's latest product, Parmesan Bread Bites, was created by Brian Edler, a Domino's Store Owner in Ohio. Other ideas so far including introducing rooftop gardens, better French dressing and a pizza delivery locator light.[more]

Of course, you could argue that branded Facebook pages are already used as suggestion/feedback boxes, but this approach organizes the suggestions in one place — although to be truly engaging, it would be nice to see Domino's feedback and interaction, or the ability to vote on others' suggestions.

No stranger to public opinion, Domino’s Pizza Turnaround brand refresh was considered a 2010 success story and a model of transparency, with a CEO admitting the company's flagship product wasn't very good and soliciting brutally honest criticism to improve it.

The king of crowdsourcing, however, remains My Starbucks Idea, the first community forum from the coffee lifestyle brand which set the bar high and received close to 75,000 ideas in less than six months, thousands of votes and hundreds of comments.

As Groundswell co-authors Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li commented, “From big ideas, like healthier morning and food options and bold coffee discussions, to smaller initiatives such as a 'reusable cold cup,' in just a few short months My Starbucks Idea has become a major force in helping direct the future of the company.”

Can Domino's hope for such success? Are consumers crowdsourced out? Check out Think Oven and let us know what you think.

Walmart's "Great for You" Icon Promotes Healthier Food Choices

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:02:00 EST

The Food and Drug Administration said in 2009 that it was going to develop standards for what food products can claim to be healthy and what can’t. But there hasn’t been any kind of report as of yet, and Walmart has decided to stop waiting and make one of its own.

A year after pledging to develop a front-of-pack label that would give its customers an easier way to identify healthier food, and a month after a public commitment with First Lady Michelle Obama to putting nutrition front and center in its stores, the nation’s largest food retailer this week unveiled a “Great For You” icon to create a visual system to educate customers.

The Arkansas-based grocery behemoth announced this week that the seal will appear on a variety of house brand food items, with a WalmartGreatforYou.com website supporting the effort.

The green and white seal, "which shows the stylized outline of a human figure with its arms spread toward the sky, is part of a multiyear campaign the world’s largest retailer is undertaking to promote healthier products and fight childhood obesity," the Associated Press reports.

Walmart says it will adapt to whatever the FDA’s regulations are whenever that list actually is produced, but will for now add the icon to products with lower levels of fat, sugar, and artificial additives. Plus, the seal will appear on signage in the fruits and vegetable section of its grocery area.

“It helps customers see very, very quickly what healthier choices are for them,” stated Andrea Thomas, SVP of sustainability for Wal-Mart Stores. More details are in its press release below.[more]

Walmart Unveils "Great For You" Icon

Icon to appear on hundreds of food items and provide simple way to make healthier food choices; Update on progress made over past year

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2012 – A year after pledging to develop a front-of-pack label that would give its customers an easier way to identify healthier food, Walmart, the nation’s largest food retailer, unveiled the “Great For You” icon at an event today in Washington, D.C. The icon, part of the company’s healthier food initiative, is an effort to implement a transparent, summary icon for its private label brand products backed by rigorous nutrition criteria. “Great For You” will initially appear on select Walmart Great Value and Marketside items, as well as on fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables at Walmart U.S. stores nationwide this spring. By extending “Great For You” to fruits and vegetables and nutritious food options the company will make it easier for its customers to build healthier diets.

“Walmart moms are telling us they want to make healthier choices for their families, but need help deciphering all the claims and information already displayed on products,” said Andrea Thomas, senior vice president of sustainability at Walmart. “Our ‘Great For You’ icon provides customers with an easy way to quickly identify healthier food choices. As they continue to balance busy schedules and tight budgets, this simple tool encourages families to have a healthier diet.”

“Today’s announcement by Walmart is yet another step toward ensuring that our kids are given the chance to grow up healthy,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Just over a year ago, Walmart committed to save shoppers a billion dollars in their cost of fruits and vegetables and the fact that Walmart exceeded this number is a real accomplishment and a milestone in our efforts to support families eating better. In addition, the healthy seal will be another tool for parents to identify the best products for their kids. Giving parents the information they need to make healthy choices is a key piece of solving childhood obesity.”

Items with the “Great For You” icon must meet rigorous nutrition criteria informed by the latest nutrition science and authoritative guidance from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM). Developed in consultation with food and nutrition experts from the public and private sectors as well as leading health organizations, the “Great For You” nutrition criteria are available to the public on the web (www.walmartgreatforyou.com), representing a collaborative and transparent effort to develop a trusted and reliable system for consumers. The icon will also be made available to national brand products that qualify and can be complementary to other nutrition labeling systems being used by the food industry.

“Walmart’s effort to bring healthier food to kitchen tables nationwide was inspired by our customers and informed by the latest food science and policy,” said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Walmart. “Last year we stood with the First Lady and showed how Walmart, working with its suppliers, the public sector and non-governmental organizations, can truly make a difference in people’s lives.”

Dach added: “We are proud to announce that after a year of working with nutrition stakeholders, meaningful progress is being made. We have the opportunity to address an issue many feel is too complicated or too hard to tackle and to demonstrate that it doesn’t have to be.”

The icon serves as a guide to help people make incremental changes to their diet by encouraging more nutritious food choices. The science-based criteria use a two-step process: Step one focuses on encouraging people to eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds and lean meats. Examples of these items include brown rice, 1 percent milk, raw almonds and 93 percent lean ground beef. Step two limits the amount of total, trans and saturated fats, sodium and added sugars that can be found in items such as sweetened oatmeal, granola bars, flavored yogurt and frozen meals.

“When it comes to food, our customers want a variety of choices, but they also want help identifying healthier options. Customers asked us to make healthier food choices easy while keeping prices low,” said Jack Sinclair, executive vice president of grocery for Walmart. “The nutritionists we engaged told us to make the criteria tough and significant. We feel confident the ‘Great For You’ icon balances those objectives, and will become an important tool Walmart shoppers can use to fill their pantries with healthier food at prices our customers can afford.”

The criteria have undergone an extensive evaluation process using thousands of grocery items to help ensure that only nutritious items in each grocery category receive the “Great For You” icon. One evaluation compared Walmart’s criteria with what people in America commonly consume using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of more than 4,000 food items.

The development of the “Great For You” icon is part of an initiative Walmart launched in 2011 to make food healthier and healthier food more affordable. The initiative includes reformulating packaged food to reduce sodium and added sugars and eliminate industrially produced fats by 2015; making healthier food more affordable by providing savings on produce and reducing the price premium on better-for-you food items; developing solutions for food deserts; and increasing charitable support for nutrition education programs.

“At a time when obesity rates are the highest ever for Americans, especially Hispanics, Walmart’s new ‘Great For You’ symbol will help make eating healthy the easier choice,” said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza. “In order to successfully help Latino children and families eat healthier, we hope other food companies will follow in Walmart’s footsteps and commit to increasing access to healthier food at a lower cost.”

Over the past year, Walmart has been working with private label brand and national brand suppliers to make progress on its goals. To date, some of the highlights include:

Reformulating thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015

Walmart has been working to reduce sodium and added sugars in 165 food items. Some of the items reformulated in the last year include:

- 15 percent sodium reduction in Great Value ketchup

- An average of 15 percent sodium reduction in Great Value canned vegetables, including corn, green beans and carrots

- More than 70 percent sodium reduction in fresh steaks, roasts and other muscle cuts of beef

Thomas added: “These reductions are a clear sign of how we can make meaningful changes to the food we sell by making simple modifications to the products in our stores. We can significantly reduce sodium and sugar without having to sacrifice quality and taste.”

These efforts also include developing a survey of more than 20,000 food items in key categories, such as grain, dairy, soups and beverage products to establish a benchmark to track the progress being made on the reformulation of Great Value and national brand packaged food items. Progress toward the company’s goals will be reported in Walmart’s annual Global Responsibility Report.

Making healthier food choices more affordable

The company surpassed one of its key goals, helping customers save $1.1 billion by offering low prices on fruits and vegetables. In addition, the company has been working to make healthier food choices more affordable by reducing or eliminating the price premium on more than 350 better-for-you items, such as low-sodium lunch meat, reduced-fat peanut butter and fat-free salad dressing.

Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores

As part of its commitment to provide solutions to food deserts, Walmart announced it would provide more than 1.3 million people living in more than 700 USDA designated food deserts with access to fresh and healthy food. The company said it will open between 275 and 300 stores in areas serving food deserts by 2016. Since its commitment in July 2011, Walmart has opened 23 stores in areas serving food deserts and anticipates opening between 50 to 60 Walmart stores or Neighborhood Market locations in those areas in 2012.

Increasing support for nutrition education programs

Over the past year, Walmart and its Foundation have provided more than $13 million in grants to nutrition education programs. This figure includes yesterday’s announcement of $9.5 million in grants to organizations, such as Share Our Strength, the National 4-H Council and Action for Healthy Kids, to name a few. The recently announced grants will promote healthy eating habits that will impact nearly 300,000 individuals this year.

For more information on “Great For You” and nutrition criteria, visit: www.walmartgreatforyou.com.

Below, watch Walmart's healthier foods announcement and video news release:

In the News: Corona, Mattel, PepsiCo and more

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:04:00 EST

Apple tightens up on apps again, frustrating developers.

Blip.tv gets fresh funding, drops .tv from brand name.

Chrysler CMO personally approached Clint Eastwood about Super Bowl ad just as he did Eminem a year ago.

Corona supports cancer research with promo.

Google nears launch of cloud-storage service.

Groupon reports net loss in first quarterly filing after IPO.

Honda aims to reclaim its luster.

Mattel launches new global campaign for Barbie.[more]

McDonald's global same-store sales rise 7 percent and offers Shamrock Shake nationally for first time.

Nestle defends Nesquik web site against U.K. child-advertising complaints.

Panera expands table service and drive-throughs.

Pepsi beverages chief is retiring, report says, as PepsiCo announces job cuts of 3 percent as part of crucial business review; company also launches enhanced-water joint venture in India with Tata Group.

QVC broadcast live from New York Fashion Week last night.

Reckitt Benckiser pumps up marketing spending in developing markets.

UnitedHealth revamps payments to medical providers.

Stolen Thunder: Super Bowl Ad Questions Arise

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 21:03:00 EST

The TV ratings for Super Bowl XLVI enjoyed a bump from last year's game, making it the most-watched telecast ever. Depite a riveting game, most pundits believe the advertising wasn't particularly riveting on Sunday, despite such hits as the Doritos' "Sling Baby" Crash the Super Bowl fan fave.

Did brand marketers do themselves a disservice by giving away much (if not all) of their TV commercials before the game? This question surely will be examined closely in the days and weeks to come as marketers deliberate on the real value of spending $3.5 million or more for those 30 second ad units during the Big Game. Still, it's also possible that marketers won't care about the size of the ratings increase for the game because they got so much promotional mileage from the attention to their ads beforehand, on mobile, Twitter (witness the profusion of hashtags in commercials) and Facebook during, and ongoing debate and discussion this week.

There are other questions that not only brand marketers but the TV networks and the NFL will be grappling with long before Super Bowl XLVII:[more]

Celebrities, and humor: Seems like celebrities were more in evidence in the Super Bowl ads on Sunday than ever before. That means their use will be re-examined more than ever before. Did Mark Cuban really help sell Skechers? Did the Pussycat Dolls really have to appear in the Go Daddy ad? Was Adriana Lima really the only woman in the world attractive enough to anchor two brands' advertisements, for Teleflora and Kia? And will Betty White come back to haunt viewers again in Super Bowl XLVII ads?

As far as humor is concerned, marketers are facing the fact that a lot of it just didn't work this time around. Plus it's harder to break through when practically every Super Bowl ad now goes for the funny bone, in one way or another. Consider that a usual huge provider of frat-level humor, Anheuser-Busch, refrained from adding to the glut of "comedy" because it's taking a new, more sophisticated tack in its advertising.

The risks of being cutting edge with funny stuff on such a big stage are much higher than going for a serious tone, of course; perhaps that's why some have pulled back. And after PETA and Anjelica Huston get publicity for criticizing chimpanzee 'actors' in the CareerBuilder.com ad, do viewers feel guilty if they laugh at the little guys?

Pre-game warmups: Super Bowl advertisers and their competition are picking through the metric results of releasing TV spots and teasers before the game, in terms of online traffic and social-media mentions they generated. It's possible they'll find that they've already gone too far and robbed TV viewers of the traditional anticipation that riveted them to their couches for the surprise of Super Bowl ads.

But before the game, brand executives weren't voicing such concerns. "We led the industry in terms of getting out ahead of the game," Jonathan Browning, CEO of Volkswagen of America, told reporters last week, "by going out even earlier" than its competitors in promoting Super Bowl advertising before the telecast.

Extending the play: More important than pre-game teasing has become the Super Bowl as a jumping-off point for an intense marketing campaign. Auto makers have become used to consideration of Super Bowl-advertised brands and models jumping significantly on sites like AutoTrader.com and Edmunds.com beginning during the game itself. Combined, auto-retailing sites saw their traffic jump by about one-third on Super Bowl Sunday compared with a week earlier, according to a just-released study by Jumpstart Automotive Group.

And there are more gambits such as that executed by Comcast/NBC's Universal Pictures on Sunday with the trailer for its new movie, Battleship, which kicked off an online ticket promotion with Fandango.

Once more removed: Do advertisers really have to advertise before, during or after the actual Super Bowl anymore to benefit significantly from the buzz surrounding it?

So extended has the run-up and cool-down become around the Big Game — with early release of the actual ads, and teasers, and an overwhelming amount of discussion about same — that maybe all a marketer needs to do is just join the general conversation in January to get some attention, without intending any actual outlays related to the game. That appears to be the strategy that Mazda has followed, for example, by launching a new ad campaign today.

So while the end of Super Bowl XLVI has begun closing discussion on marketers and that Big Game, they've already begun plotting strategies for Super Bowl XLVII. It's kind of like the week after Election Day.

Super Bowl Ad Tracker: The Fans Have Spoken

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 20:02:00 EST

And the votes are in... This past Super Bowl was one heck of a showdown, and not just involving the teams. The highly anticipated and heavily judged commercials have been hotly debated all week. As rated by ad-trackers including Hulu, USA Today and Nielsen, the outcome of votes have made it clear which ads reign supreme. Check out the winners below.[more]

It's clear which were the fan favorites: Doritos' Crash the Super Bowl fan-created and -voted spots, M&M's debut of Ms. Brown, and H&M's spot featuring David Beckham in his sexy new underwear collection for the brand were clearly stand-outs during the Big Game. What didn't top these lists, surprisingly, was the much ballyhooed (before the game) Volkswagen spot for the new Beetle. As much as fans love Star Wars and dogs, it just couldn't live up to last year's Super Bowl's "Little Vader" fan fave, apparently.

# 1 Super Bowl Commercial	Rated By:
"Matthew's Day Off" - Honda -	Hulu
"Just My Shell" - M&Ms -	Kellogg
"Sling Baby" - Doritos -	USA Today/Facebook Admeter
"David Beckham for H&M" - H&M -	Read Write Web
"Just My Shell" - M&Ms -	Ace Metrix
"David Beckhan for H&M" - H&M -	Open Mind Strategy
"Sling Baby" - Doritos -	Nielsen
"Man's Best Friend" - Doritos -	Brand Bowl 2012

Some other Hulu category winners below:

Most Liked: "The Bark Side" - VW [not even the official commercial but the online teaser!]

Funniest Ad:: "Transactions" - Acura

Best Celebrity Cameo:: "Huluboratory feat. Will Arnett" - Hulu Plus

Cutest Critters:: "Rescue Dog" - Bud Light

Cutest Kids:: "Reinvented" - Toyota Camry

Best Soundtrack:: "Anthem" - Chevrolet

Most Nostalgic:: "Timeline" - NFL

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Brings Fall 2012 Inspiration to the World

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:01:00 EST

New York Giants Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz cut the ribbon today in a kick-off event for New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, now gearing up to debut Fall 2012 collections starting Thursday morning at Lincoln Center.

There's also a whirlwind of virtual activity in what the HighLow blog calls "the most egalitarian" New York Fashion Week yet, including a Facebook invitation to RSVP to live-streams of the runway shows and join the conversation on Twitter via the #liverunway hashtag.

YouTube and Maybelline will once again sponsor a real-time YouTube channel that will bring 30 of the Fall 2012 runway shows to the world. The runway videos will also be archived at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week YouTube channel.

Cover Girl is partnering with Polyvore and the Fashion Institute of Technology on Polyvore.com/Live, which will see four FIT grads debut their collections to an audience of fashion insiders and bloggers: Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar “Ven” Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama, and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.[more]

Diane von Furstenberg is teaming up with mobile video app Viddy, “Instagram for video,” for near-live behind-the-scenes coverage as staffers use their iPhone’s to shoot short clips to be posted as a designated tab on DVF’s Facebook page. As the tab is not mobile-compatible, videos will also post to DVF’s Facebook Wall and Twitter.

Diet Coke has chosen von Furstenberg to design a limited-edition collection of aluminum bottles splashed with her signature prints in red and black, available at select DVF boutiques, with all proceeds from the $30 set going to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in support of The Heart Truth program for women's heart health research.

Diet Pepsi returns in partnership with Simon Doonan, offering four up-and-coming designers a showcase at the ‘Diet Pepsi Style Studio’ fashion show on February 9th at 8:00 p.m.

Curated by Doonan, with set design by his husband Jonathan Adler, the themes include safari prints, avant garde workwear and metallic finishes inspired by the Diet Pepsi can. The four young American designers are Project Runway alum and Dallas-based Shirin Askari; Rachel Hurst of Denver; and (watch their videos below) Genoveva Christoff from Columbus, OH, and and Elise Bergman of Chicago.

DHL is also returning as the official logistics sponsor of MBFW, in addition to sponsoring an online design contest (with LIM College) to bring young talent at Lincoln Center.

Levi’s will stage its first Fashion Week show on February 15th, promising something more interactive than a mere catwalk. The denim giant plans to "showcase its first global Levi’s lines, part of an overarching strategy that has eliminated regional segmentation in product design, marketing and in-store displays," according to WWD. "The presentation will include the Levi’s Red Tab, Levi’s Vintage Clothing and Made & Crafted lines."

One hint from Levi's global women's senior designer Jill Guenza, who shares her inspiration board on the Levi's Style blog: "We were captivated by the rocky, wooded coastline of Maine; the dramatic light in the landscapes of Scotland; and the surprising pops of color in the Reykjavik skyline. We drew inspiration from the turbulent ocean connecting these places and the unique relationships each place forms with the ocean. This informed texture, color and mood for Fall '12."

Also returning for New York Fashion Week - Barbie! An interactive augmented reality experience will give Fashion Week participants a virtual changing room to try on some of Barbie’s most iconic, playful and glamorous outfits from the past 50 years via three kiosks. And starting February 10th, a similar experience can be had by all at BarbieWow.com/TheDreamCloset.

Below, meet two of the up-and-coming designers getting a break with Diet Pepsi-sponsored shows at FIT: