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Burt’s Bees: Using New Social Media To Advance A “Caring” Product Line

September 1, 2009: 01:31 AM EST

Natural personal care products company Burt’s Bees has never been aggressive in its advertising, preferring not to “push” products with TV or newspaper ads. Instead, it educates like-valued consumers at the point of sale and on the Web site, a form of “pull” marketing that reflects a “culture of caring,” according to the author of this case study. So Twitter and Facebook, the new social media – and especially their “openness, dialogue, creativity, the sense of caring” – fit perfectly. And if company growth – 18% last year – is any measure, it’s working very well indeed.

Dori Molitor, "Burt’s Buzz", Hub Magazine, September 01, 2009, © Marketing Hub

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Sustainability
Vitality & Better Living

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Worldwide
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For Company Innovation To Succeed, Build It Into The Structure

September 1, 2009: 04:15 AM EST

Successful innovation is difficult, even futile, for some large companies because they try to graft new processes onto existing, albeit thriving, methodologies, according to innovation expert Jeffrey Phillips. In effect, innovative practices conflict with the routine ways of getting the job done. But there are firms that innovate well, including personal-care giant Procter & Gamble, which now splits R&D activity between internal and external idea generators. Phillips argues that innovation shouldn’t be layered over the ongoing operations of a company, but should be incorporated into the structure at every level.

Jeffrey Phillips, "Design Driven Innovation ", Business Strategy Innovation, September 01, 2009, © Business Strategy

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Innovation & New Business Models

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Unilever Links Sustainability Initiative With Coupon Marketing

September 1, 2009: 02:04 AM EST

Front-of-store recycling machines in grocery stores on the U.S. east and west coasts are being tested as a coupon distribution vehicle for soap packs in a program that uniquely couples a green initiative with a promotional campaign. When shoppers deposit recyclable beverage containers in a Tomra of North America “reverse vending” machine as they enter the store, coupons for Unilever’s Lever 2000 soap packs are printed out. The idea is to award the coupons just as consumers begin their shopping experience. “We expect to see strong conversion from this program," said a Unilever marketing exec.

"Unilever, Tomra Launch Front-of-Store Promotion That Makes Use of Recycling Machines as Advertising and Couponing Vehicles", PR Web, September 01, 2009, © Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

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TrendSpotter
Sustainability

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Worldwide
North America
United States of America

Smart Coca-Cola Machine Mixes, Dispenses, Reports Data Back To HQ

August 17, 2009: 02:48 AM EST

Southern California is the testing ground for a new Coca-Cola beverage dispenser that mixes up to a hundred different drinks on demand and then relays purchasing details back to marketing headquarters. The new machine, dubbed “Coca-Cola Freestyle,” uses special computer chips to power radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that forms the heart of the system. Freestyle’s technical wizardry allows real-time testing of new flavors and vitamin combinations. The company hoped to have as many as 75 Freestyles in operation in California by October, with marketing supported by Twitter and Facebook pages.

Laurie Sullivan, "Coca-Cola 'Freestyles' A Smarter Soda Machine", Washington Post, August 17, 2009, © MediaPost Communications

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Virtual Life & Technology

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North America
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Daily Consumption Of Lots Of Whole Grains Wards Off High Blood Pressure, Study Finds

July 1, 2009: 07:38 AM EST

Eating a lot of whole grains daily helps reduce the risk of hypertension, according to a U.S. study. Researchers examined the health histories of 31,684 men ages 40 to 75 without hypertension, cancer, stroke or heart disease beginning in 1986. After 18 years, 9,227 developed high blood pressure. But men in the top fifth of whole grain consumption (averaging 52 grams a day) were 19 percent less likely than the men in the bottom fifth (averaging 3 grams a day) to develop hypertension. “These findings have implications for future dietary guidelines and prevention of hypertension,” the researchers concluded.

Alan J Flint, Frank B Hu, et al., "Whole grains and incident hypertension in men", The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 01, 2009, © The American Society for Clinical Nutrition

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Vitality & Better Living

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Worldwide
North America
United States of America

Coca-Cola Pairs with Illy in RTD Coffee Market

June 6, 2009: 09:11 AM EST

Coca-Cola and Illycafe have formed a joint venture to take on the ready-to-drink coffee market. Named Ilko Coffee International, the ventures forst product, Illy Issimo, is being rolled out slowly to upscale outlets, rather than through Coca-Cola’s distribution system that reaches 20 million retailers every day. Coffee International CEO Vinay Kapoor said, “We’re being very careful and choiceful about how we do it.” The new brew is available in caffe, cappuccino and latte macchiato flavors in single-serv cans. RTD coffees are a growing market, with PepsiCo dominating in the US through a deal with Starbucks.

Joe Guy Collier, "Coke, Illycaffe team up to launch new product", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 06, 2009, © The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Innovation & New Business Models

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