|
|
 |
London’s Burning: Controversy Heats Up Over Protecting the Olympic Brand
Olympics… By Marco Bertini, Assistant Professor of Marketing, London Business School
The Olympic Games in London are officially kicking off, providing us the opportunity to witness the world’s most prestigious sporting event. As Olympic athletes descend upon London, local businesses are finding ways to capitalize on the moment.
But there’s been debate around some companies many say are overstepping their bounds, using the Olympic symbols without permission. For instance, Bloomberg BusinessWeek interviewed Dennis Spurr, a butcher in Dorset who depicted the Olympic rings as sausage links and was confronted by officials from the Olympics.
|
|
|
| |
 |
Are You a Social Executive? The CEO’s New Role in Social Media
Marketing… By Margery Myers, Bates Communications
CEOs often lament that they feel isolated in their role and that it’s hard to get anyone to tell them what they really think. Much to their own dismay, CEOs operate in a bubble. Executive assistants zealously protect access to their calendar. Trips are carefully orchestrated, and employees in all locations are somehow always prepared for “surprise” visits. Speeches are largely scripted by someone else and delivered in front of audiences who have a vested interest in what CEOs have to say. No matter where CEOs go, those protective bubbles go with them.
|
|
|
| |
 |
Proxy Season ’12: Some Observations and Trends Part 2
IR Therefore I Am… By Gene Marbach, SVP, Makovsky+Co.
We continue with a look the recently-concluded Proxy Season ’12 with a review of recent trends in shareholder activism taken from a presentation delivered by my good friend, Keith Gottfried, Partner at the law firm of Alston + Bird (www.alston.com). In his presentation, entitled, “2012 Proxy Season Recap: Activism, Private Ordering, and More…,” which references some very interesting data from both ISS and Factset SharkRepellent, Keith notes:
|
|
|
| |
 |
Olympic Gold Interview: GE Grows Its Global Brand as London Olympics Sponsor
Olympics… By Brian Pittman with Peter Voss, GE
“Any company must carefully align sponsorship opportunities with its corporate values – and recognize it’s all about growth at the end of the day,” says Peter N. Foss, President, Olympic Sponsorship and Corporate Sales at GE. “If you can’t find a link to driving company profits – don’t do it!” warns Foss, who in addition to coordinating GE’s global Olympic Sponsorship also manages the company’s Sales Force Effectiveness program. “In our case, GE’s values are all about integrity and so are those of the Olympics,” he explains.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
Olympic Buzz: McDonald’s Demonstrates Owned-Media Prowess on Eve of London Olympics
By Dave Armon of Critical Mention for the Critical Now Channel
McDonald’s will score Olympic-size buzz in mainstream media and on social networks as an official sponsor of the 2012 Summer Games. The juxtaposition of the world’s largest McDonald’s restaurant next to athletes with zero body fat could make for some interesting Tweets. But if a recent owned-media success from McDonald’s Canada is any indication, the brand is well prepared for the challenge. In late June, Hope Bagozzi, marketing director for McDonald’s Canada, uploaded a video to YouTube that answered a question that had been submitted by a Twitter user:
|
|
|
| |
 |
Free White Paper: eCommerce Customer Segmentation Strategies
By WhatCounts for the Effective Email Marketing Channel
Because of its high ROI, several years ago leading marketers began looking for new ways to use email to increase profit margins. Ultimately, they returned to one of the basic principles of all marketing: it is cheaper to convince an existing customer to buy again than to convert a prospect into a new customer. So they began utilizing email marketing to up-sell existing customers by sending them product recommendations based on previous purchases.
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
 |
PR Gaffes: ABC News Chief Admits Aurora Coverage Mistakes
Chicago Tribune
ABC News prexy Ben Sherwood was on the defensive Thursday in his Television Critics Assn. press tour sesh as scribes hammered him with questions about the on-air gaffes during its coverage of the shootings in Aurora, Colo., last Friday. “We recognized it immediately, we owned it immediately, we corrected it immediately,” Sherwood told the scribes at the Beverly Hilton. “We know that particular moment did not live up to the standards and practices of ABC News. I take responsibility for it. The buck stops with me and the news division knows how displeased I am with that.” Sherwood also reminded the crowd: “This was a breaking news situation. People are going to make mistakes in a breaking news situation.” …
|
|
|
| |
 |
AIG Launches PR Campaign on YouTube to Repair Public Image
Washington Post
AIG is launching a public relations campaign to repair its reputation. On Thursday, the once-mighty insurance giant American International Group posted several videos on YouTube proclaiming that AIG is proud to be an American corporation. AIG has posted two consecutive years of profits and has paid back its loans from the Federal Reserve. The U.S. Treasury still owns a big stake in the company, but even that has been cut down to about 60 percent from more than 92 percent. The government has made a profit on the stock it has sold. The company believes it now deserves a kinder view from the American public. There’s no telling if the campaign will help change its image. The YouTube ads recount the story of AIG’s comeback from the depths of the financial crisis, using computer graphics with soft music playing in the background. Some feature testimonials from employees around the globe …
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
 |
Social Media Marketing: Media, Marketers Keep Calm During Twitter Outage
Ad Age Digital Next
There’s nothing like a Twitter outage to remind media and marketers how dependent they’ve become on, well, Twitter. To the chagrin of social-media newsroom producers and marketers everywhere, the site experienced its second major outage in five weeks, leaving users without access for well over an hour. The outage appears to have begun around 11:15 a.m. EST and service was restored but spotty an hour and a half later. Twitter hasn’t responded to request for comment about what caused it to go dark. While the service was down, users saw a blank screen with the large bolded text, “Twitter is currently down for <%= reason >.”, instead of the “fail whale” (an image of a whale in a net weighing down a flock of Twitter birds that are trying to lift it skyward) that often materializes during downtime and has become a well known, if not exactly beloved, icon in its own right. Twitter later confirmed service was restored by 1:25 EST …
|
|
|
| |
 |
Marketers to Spend Big in Social Media During Olympics
USA Today
Olympic sponsors will spend untold millions of dollars in a desperate attempt to shape, mold and control one thing: consumer use of social media. It won’t be easy. Even if these are the Social Games – as they have been tagged – for the big-spending sponsors, there could be more losers than winners. “People use social media to connect with each other,” says Nate Elliott, VP at Forrester Research, the tech consultancy. “They don’t use it much to connect with brands.” That’s hardly stopping the big sponsors from trying. Nor, for that matter, do they have a choice. The 11 biggest corporate sponsors doled out nearly $1 billion for the rights to flaunt the Olympic seal during the London Games and 2010′s Winter Games in Vancouver. Coca-Cola is using social media to nudge Olympic fans to create and share music videos. GE is using it to coax folks to improve their health. Visa is using it to nudge fans to post elaborate cheers for the athletes. During the London Games, “we are going to see the use of social media surpass any sporting event in history,” says Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers …
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
 |
Economy and Earnings: Financial Stocks Ended on a High on the Back of Positive U.S. Economic Data
MarketWatch
Financial stocks ended Thursday on a high on the back of reassurances from the European Central Bank and positive U.S. economic data, while Moody’s Corp. gives the sector an extra boost on the strength of its earnings outlook. Financial stocks ended Thursday on a high, registering their biggest gains for the week on the back of reassurances from the European Central Bank and positive U.S. economic data. Moody’s Corp. gave the sector an extra boost on the strength of its earnings outlook for the year. For the second quarter, Moody’s MCO said it earned $172.5 million, or 76 cents a share, with the latter topping consensus estimate by 5 cents. In the U.S., weekly jobless claims fell 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 353,000, dropping close to a four-year low. Also Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders for June rose 1.6%, boosted by strong demand for aircraft and defense equipment. Read more on economic indicators …
|
|
|
| |
 |
Analysts Skeptical About Draghi’s Comments
The Wall Street Journal
Stocks maintained strong gains as investors cheer edthe ECB’s commitment to preserve the euro. Yesterday’s rally came after ECB officials signaled they are prepared to dramatically ramp up efforts to stem the sovereign-debt crisis. ECB President Mario Draghi sparked the rally this morning. In a speech in London, he said “the ECB is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro and, believe me, it will be enough.” Stocks weren’t the only beneficiaries of Draghi’s comments. The euro was up sharply and crude oil registered steady gains. Meanwhile, Yields on Spanish and Italian bonds are now down significantly. Despite the markets reactions, some analysts remain skeptical about the latest rhetoric out of Europe. “We doubt very much it marks a watershed [moment] in the crisis,” said John Higgins of Capital Economics …
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
Proxy Season Results Show Dramatic Shift in Company-Shareholder Engagement
MarketWatch
A new Ernst & Young LLP report – Four key trends of the 2012 proxy season – reveals four emerging governance trends: the impact of say-on-pay (SOP) goes beyond compensation; shareholder proposal topics shift and agreements for withdrawals are reached; board accountability measures continue to strengthen; and, director opposition votes show change in investors’ voting practices. Ernst & Young LLP finds that company-investor engagement has been a significant component of each of these trends. Companies are using such engagement to respond to investor concerns, secure support for proposals put to shareholder vote and mitigate potential exposure to investor campaigns. “Engagement can benefit both companies and investors,” said Allie Rutherford, Associate Director of the Corporate Governance Group at Ernst & Young LLP. “However, the rules of engagement among companies and investors on corporate governance topics are continuing to evolve. What is clear is that the expectations for accountability and transparency as a result of this engagement will grow accordingly.” …
|
|
|
| |
 |
Media News: Katie Couric Dishes on New Talk Show at Press Tour
Newsday
Katie Couric Thursday told TV writers here that she has invited both presidential candidates to appear on her new talk show bowing in September and (in response to a question) also an ex-candidate: Sarah Palin. Couric said she’ll likely sub on “Good Morning America” for a week or so when Robin Roberts goes on medical leave in late August or early September. ABC News president Ben Sherwood Thursday said Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Kelly Ripa and “The View” hosts also offered to substitute. Roberts — who will undergo a bone-marrow transplant that will keep her off the air for an undetermined period — said via closed circuit Thursday that she “goes through moments of fatigue” but that “GMA’s” recent wins over “Today” had “truly energized” her. Couric called her new show “a work in progress — at times a single topic show, at other times two topics . . . or sometimes three [while] talking about things as varied as the impact on relationships of children and aging parents.” …
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
Facebook Shares Hit Hard as Ad Growth Stalls
Financial Times
Facebook shares swung to a new all-time low at about $24, against its $38 issue price, after its first earnings report as a public company showed a continued slow down in revenue growth and flat profits. Shares in the social networking group initially rose in after-market trading, having fallen 8.5 per cent during the day to end at $26.84, but then resumed the steady decline to be down another 10 per cent within half an hour of the release at $24.10. Overall, the company reported a second-quarter loss of $157 million, or 8 cents a share, mainly due to high costs related to stock-based compensation expenses. This compared with net income of $240 million, or 11 cents, in the year-ago quarter. The social network reported $1.18bn in revenues for the quarter, in line with the estimates which analysts had reset after Facebook issued warnings that its mobile usage was growing faster than mobile advertising. The figure marks a deceleration in growth year on year, from 45 percent in the first months of 2012, to 32 percent in the second
quarter …
|
|
|
| |
|
What Advertisers Need to Know About the Growing Hispanic Market
Ad Age Digital Next
Terra’s 2012 Hispanic Digital Consumer Study by comScore shows specific ways that digital marketers and advertisers can more fully reach the Hispanic audience: The shopping experience is very social, enabled by Hispanics owning the latest gadgets. Two in five Hispanics describe themselves as trendsetters, and rely heavily on the opinions of their trusted circle; 25% texted or called friends or family about a product, and 23% sent a picture of a product to friends or family while in a retail store. Hispanics use their mobile devices to connect online to a much greater degree than non-Hispanics: 48% access the internet from their smartphone, against 38% of non-Hispanics; 20% access the internet from their iPads against 14% among non-Hispanics. On-the-go, 55% access the internet outside of home/work/school, against 46% of non-Hispanics …
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
