Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Interesting court case about Snapple’s “all natural” claim – false labeling?

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Interesting article about an innovative marketing strategy that Esquire is trying this coming month.

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Creative ad campaign by Adidas…

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Enough with such manipulation by the food-industrial-complex!  First Coca-Cola asserts that Coke is all natural! Then the Corn Refiners assert that High Fructose Corn Syrup is all natural, without regard to evidence, or to the damage that this causes to our bodies.  And most recently 10 of the largest food companies create a self-serving industry-designed nutritional scoring system that manipulates the truth to tout most of their food products – from mayonnaise to fruit loops – as healthy "smart choices."

When will these companies realize that effective marketing should be rooted in truth?

When will the food-industrial-complex recognize that our communities’ health is more important than profits at any cost?

When will hype and fads and simplistic diets hawked by marketers (100-empty-calorie-packs, low carb or low fat obsessions) give in to wholesome balanced truths about nutrition?

When will consumers and companies that are fed up with these shenanigans rise up in indignity to demand ethical behavior? 

Fortunately a number of nutritionists, watchdog groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest, academicians from Dr. David Katz at Yale to Michael Pollan at Berkeley, and now even the CT Attorney General, are standing up to hold companies accountable and demand truthful assertions.

But if we are really going to overcome such concerted manipulation, a lot more will need to be done to educate consumers.

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I was forwarded this really cool note from a KIND consumer that reached out to us regarding the KINDED movement…

Name: Melissa [last name removed]

E-mail: [removed]

Telephone:

Comment: Hello KIND team,

I happened to discover your "KINDED" card movement through my on-line subscription to "Springwise". It is an amazing way to encourage everyone (especially in this day and age) to take a moment out of our busy schedules to perform an act of kindness and then to encourage the receiver to do the same.

Next September, I will be marrying my best friend and we didn’t want to give out the usual favours that friends and family either leave behind, toss or eat. We wanted a favour that leaves a lasting positive note on our guests and the world we live in. The moment I read the article, there was no doubt that your KINDED cards are IT. Is there any possible way to arrange to have a bulk amount of cards? Approximately 100 to 150? We live in [removed] and we are willing to look at the cost of having these made, shipped, etc…If we could, we’d even include your snacks in our wedding treats but I understand that you can’t ship those outside of the US yet.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and we (eagerly and hopefully) look forward to your reply.

Melissa and Rob

Natalie in our team is following up to coordinate something with them.

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Interesting article about fiber….

http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/news/newsfinder.asp? &Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=2414&docId=l:1055514154&topicId=100011229&start=16&topics=single

Copyright 2009 Sentinel Communications Co.
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
October 13, 2009 Tuesday
FINAL
HEALTH & FITNESS; FLORIDA; Pg. D1

Fiber, fiber everywhere
Does fortification craze meet your nutrition needs?

 

Janet Helm, Special to Tribune Newspapers

 

Your mother called it roughage, and prunes were once the poster child. Now fiber holds the coveted spot as the new "it" ingredient.

Throughout the years, fiber has fallen in and out of favor. (Remember the oat bran craze of the late ’80s?) Today it’s back on top and popping up in some unexpected places — ranging from yogurt, cottage cheese and ice cream to cookies, toaster pastries and snack bars.

You can even drink your fiber. No, we’re not talking about Metamucil, or other laxatives — which, by the way, have been transformed into "fiber supplements." Now you can buy fiber-fortified juices, powdered drink mixes and bottled waters, or sprinkle packets of Splenda with fiber in your coffee.

"Fiber has emerged as a functional food favorite," said Tom Vierhile, director of Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics. The New York-based market research firm reports that 7 percent of all new food products introduced in 2009 had a "high fiber" claim. (Functional foods, or products that provide a specific health benefit, typically rely on some type of fortification.)

A true indication of the power of this trend is the rise of fiber-based brands, or products whose entire value proposition relies on fiber, according to Krista Faron, a senior analyst at Mintel, the market research firm. She cites General Mills Fiber One — a brand that started with cereal but has branched into an entire family of products that range far beyond the breakfast aisle.

The Fiber One promise is, "Cardboard no, delicious yes."

This modern approach to fiber is a far cry from a bowl of bran. The new high-fiber foods are spiked with isolated fibers — a type of purified powder that differs from the intact fiber that is naturally found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

These so-called functional fibers, often inulin and polydextrose (see accompanying story), do not have a grainy or gummy texture, so they allow manufacturers to add fiber into creamy yogurts, clear drinks and other previously fiber-free places. This type of fiber fortification is often behind the claim "35% Daily Value of Fiber" or "Double the Fiber" that is showing up on the front of package labels.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but these fibers are different from those that are naturally occurring, said Joanne Slavin, a University of Minnesota researcher and one of the country’s leading experts on dietary fiber.

Studies continue to document the numerous health benefits of eating a high-fiber diet, but the evidence on these isolated fibers is much skimpier.

"This concept might make sense, but it’s less researched," said Slavin. "It’s an up and coming area."

For example, some studies do suggest that inulin may help boost the beneficial bacteria in our digestive tract, but there is little or no evidence that this type of fiber helps lower cholesterol or aids regularity.

Additionally, the obesity-related research is linked to people eating high-fiber, lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables. The weight loss benefits would not likely apply if you loaded up on high-fiber, calorie-dense foods such as chocolate-granola snack bars and ice cream.

Even so, Slavin said these isolated fibers may help make it easier for people to get more fiber. Most of us only get about half the fiber we need. (Current recommendations are 25 to 38 grams of fiber per day.)

"There are a lot more choices to get fiber, and that’s the upside," she said. "If fiber doesn’t taste good, people won’t eat it."

Still, she worries that these new fiber-fortified products may give people an "out." She doesn’t want people to think "I’m off the hook" just because they snacked on a cookie or snack bar spiked with fiber.

"We have to keep the [spotlight] on whole grains, fruits and vegetables," she said. These foods naturally contain fiber along with other health-promoting nutrients. If you eat three fiber-fortified chocolate bars, you can meet your fiber goal, but it’s not the same as if you ate an abundance of foods that naturally contain fiber.

It’s also a lot easier to overdo it on fiber with the sudden onslaught of fortification, Slavin said. Your health may not be in danger, but you could pay for it in digestive discomfort.

Despite the differences between isolated and intact fiber, they all look the same on a nutrition label (grams of fiber per serving). You’ll need to check the ingredient list to know the source of fiber.

Bottom line, all fiber is not created equal, and a mixture is best. Plus, there may be benefits of getting a bulk of your fiber the old-fashioned way.

Know your fiber

Soluble fiber: Naturally found in oats, barley and beans. Helps lower blood cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. May help manage blood sugar levels to lower diabetes risk.

Insoluble fiber: Naturally found in whole grains, bran, seeds, nuts, vegetables and fruits. Helps aid regularity and may reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Functional fibers: Isolated or extracted chemically from various plant sources. Ingredients include inulin, polydextrose, resistant maltodextrin, oligosaccharides and cellulose.

Prebiotics: A type of fiber that feeds probiotics, the good bacteria in your digestive tract. Primary source is inulin (from chicory root or Jerusalem artichoke).
CONTACT: ctc-goodeating@tribune.com

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To get a sense of how radically an editor of a newsletter can spin a story, take a look at the two different ways that an identical story is summarized by two different newsletters:

From OpinionSource, which is pretty mainstream, maybe slightly progressive but reliable reporting:

Israel’s Gaza Indication
By Jackson Diehl
Washington Post, 9/21/2009
Most of Washington’s predictions regarding the adverse outcome of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza strip (locally known as Operation Cast Lead) were correct. Yet Israeli leaders consider the attack a success. Why they do so bears consideration as Israel prepares to weigh Washington’s opinion regarding an attack on Iran. Israel points to Operation Cast Lead as bringing a respite from Gaza’s attacks on Israel, which had been nearly continuous since April 2001. Yet this view of victory does not take into account the loss of life, Palestinian suffering, and the subsequent offense to UN leaders. Nor does Israel recognize that Hamas is stronger since Operation Cast Lead. As Israeli leaders debate whether to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, they may well decide, as with Gaza, that temporary respite trumps long-term repercussions.
Diehl is deputy editorial page editor of The Post. He is an editorial writer specializing in foreign affairs.
Link to full text in primary source.

 

And now look at the way it’s redacted in the "Daily Alert" which is put out "for" the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization BY the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a right-wing outfit managed by Dore Gold:

Israel’s Gaza Vindication – Jackson Diehl (Washington Post)

  • When it was launched last December, Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip looked to most people in Washington to be risky, counterproductive and doomed to futility. But today, the three-week operation is generally regarded by the country’s military and political elite as a success.
  • Between April 2001 and the end of 2008, 4,246 rockets and 4,180 mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza, killing 14 Israelis, wounding more than 400 and making life in southern Israel intolerable. During what was supposed to be a cease-fire during the last half of 2008, 362 rockets and shells landed. Since April there have been just over two dozen rocket and mortar strikes. No one has been seriously injured, and life in the Israeli town of Sderot and the area around it has returned almost to normal.
  • Hamas remains in power and unmoved in its refusal to recognize Israel. It is still holding an Israeli soldier who was abducted in 2006. It is still smuggling material for weapons through tunnels under the Egyptian border and, if it chose to, could resume rocket attacks on Israel at any time.
  • However, Israel has bought itself a stretch of relative peace with Hamas, just as its 2006 invasion of Lebanon has produced three years of quiet on that front. "They will never change their ideology of destroying Israel," a senior government official told me last week. "But you can deter them if they are convinced you are not afraid of fighting a war."
  • As for the Goldstone report, the heat it briefly produced last week will quickly dissipate; the panel was discredited from the outset because of its appointment by the grotesquely politicized UN Human Rights Council.

You can draw a conclusion from the above:

  • briefs and summaries are useful time-savers, but always view them with even more skepticism than their original sources, which you should also be wary of, as everything regrettably seems to have some spin and pure fair objectivity is hard to come by, or non-existent;

The above is not the most extreme example of spin.  I have noticed over time that the Daily Alert is  a partisan effort to scare people off with paranoia. It is very professionally written and redacted – far better than most newsletters put out by mainstream, center, center-left and far-left newsletters I get or review; but regrettably it is full of spin and not objective.  Too bad because it loses much of its legitimacy that way.

Btw, here is the original story the two sources above aimed to summarize:

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Ben Cohen, one of my mentors and founding Board members of PeaceWorks, is truly one of the great social marketing geniuses of all time. Much of the reason for it is that he BELIEVES in what he does.

And now they did it again, with, as my team member Phil shared, "a gutsy (and arguably brilliant) branding move" – to rename "Chubby Hubby" to "Hubby Hubby" in support of marriage equality. 

hh-graphic

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Nice idea for a social enterprise to build a guerrilla marketing campaign on:

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