Thursday, July 21

Branding's Next Frontier

Advertising on team uniforms is nothing new. Witness European football and basketball teams, whose players look like running, jumping, and sweating billboards for a variety of companies. In the U.S., this type of advertising is limited to automobile racing.

What is new then? The sponsoring company is Beijing, which will host the 2008 Summer Olympics. The branding of countries and cities marks truly the next effort in branding. Forget toothpaste. Think Bosnia!

Slogans for cities (I heart New York), states (Virginia is for lovers), and countries (Come to Jamaica) have been done for several years. Those efforts were tied almost directly to tourism. Is Beijing trying a similar tact? Or, is it attempting to make a simple association same as a city hosting a Super Bowl?

How would you brand Lubbock? Texas? Given the U.S.'s image abroad, does America need a brand? How would you market such a brand? What kind of message would such a brand communicate?

Click here for story.

posted by Michael @ 8:13 PM 1 comments

Sunday, July 17

Palatable Public Policy

As we discussed in class, the government regulatory agencies and marketers can work to achieve a common goal. Marketers should be allowed to engage in promotion activities with minimal interference from the regulators. Two articles, linked here and linked here, discuss food marketers’ efforts to influence public policy regarding advertising on children's programs.

Who is missing from these debates? Unfortunately, the consumer lacks a voice in these proceedings. It is the consumer who has greater regulatory control over marketers than the government should or does have.

By setting what is good and bad promotional activities, are we going down a slippery slope of censorship? Please recall that only the government has the power to censor.

If we limit firm’s use of promotions, what are other resources will we limit?

Is there a third way other than light or heavy government regulation of advertising? Does the spirits industry offer a possible remedy in the debate over advertising to children?

posted by Michael @ 5:20 PM 0 comments