High School Musical...even on M&Ms

Who knew that HSM aka High School Musical would manage to make its appearance on M&Ms? (Not sure how delicious main characters Troy Bolton & Gabriella Montez might taste though.) Here's the site to purchase them online - M&Ms. What a killer money-making empire of a Disney theme if there ever was one for kids. Everything from backpacks, clothing, accessories, school supplies, cds, Halloween costumes, dvds, iPod covers, computer games, karyoke versions, stuffed animals, cameras, stickers, placemats, books, mousepads, clocks, posters, ceiling fans (yes, because every kid needs that)...I mean you could go wild like a true Wildcat with all the crazy HSM apparel!

But M&Ms...now that is something interesting seeing as kids tend to like no LOVE chocolate...parents can't resist going home with a sad kid so they'd rather buy the candy to make the kiddies happy. Sadly, it appears that these M&Ms are only available through purchasing on the Mars Inc. site. Although there are a lot of great things about chocolate + HSM - both being GREAT selling points as 2 of life's little luxuries that you can't live without - the negative thing is that they're selling this online. Too bad Mars didn't decide to sell them at the Disney Store because the in-store purchase is what will really make these sell fast! Unless they're already one step ahead of us and have placed them strategically for the impulse buyer checking out with the screaming kid. That would be a stellar move on M&Ms behalf...

today...advertising. Tomorrow...try-vertising!

Try-vertising...now that's a word I have never heard of before. Think of the whole idea of the scratch n sniff but updated. Sunny D has created a pretty unique tasting for its new Smoothies line of beverages made by First Flavor (patented Peel 'n Taste flavor strips) - see more in this article by MediaPost Publications.

The background on other companies that have used this are many alcholoic beverages like....Finlandia's tangerine vodka, Skyy's passion fruit vodka, & Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay key lime rum. As for non-alcoholic bevs, Welch's used it for a print promo (a lick taster in magazines) & Cambell Soup's V-Fusion. However, what makes this the best is that Sunny D is the first company to use this at the grocery store to catch the consumer at their decision making point of purchase.

The thing to watch is if other foods besides drinks will catch on to this idea which differentiates products in the supermarket aisle. Afraid to try a new product? Don't be if you can taste it first. This idea is just GENIUS & hope to try it once I locate a Food Lion in my area.

and the opposite of Red Bull is....SLOW COW!

Who knew the day would come when Red Bull would go head-to-head with a rival so extreme, so different, so opposite....Huh?

Somehow I recently stumbled on this new product called Slow Cow which instead of rev-ing you up....it revs you down to make you relax. Pretty much this is the new anti-energy drink created to make you chill out. Check out their website to learn how this Canadian drink can give you the feeling of...a one week vacation, an acupuncture session, or a relaxation session. Who knew that you could get ALL that from ONE drink?

I'm interested to see where this gets distributed...who their target market is (stressed out Canadians I suppose?) & if it makes it to the US.

BIG time mistake G!

Felt it to be VERY necessary to follow up on my July 9th post about G/Gatorade as I stumbled on a WSJ article which describes how Gatorade did a BIG mistake in renaming its Gatorade as G. This not-so-small tradeoff of rebranding has now turned into one of THE biggest marketing mistakes in the recession. Pepsi has been hit harder than Coke - Pepsi with an overall 6% drop in sales, Coke with an overall 1% drop in sales in second quarter sales.

Must mean that Coke is doing something right & that consumers have been very confused about the G & G2 products on shelves.

Easy fix? Call me old fashioned but save the billion dollar brand & go back to its roots of the big lightning bolt & GATORADE on the bottle.

low-cal...no melt....chocolate!

WOW! What else could you want from chocolate? It already is good enough but now there's a low-cal, no melt one...all I can say is bring it to the US! TIME investigates Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut & how they aren't letting this special secret out anytime soon. Apparently it has something to do with the enzymes in your saliva - meaning that it's the only time it will melt. For chocolate lovers out there curious to taste this be ready for a different texture - more of a crunchier one rather than creamy.

For now...we will have to wait 2 years for this product to appear in the masses but keep your fingers crossed that it will make its way to the states because what could be better than a healthier chocolate?

shopping through facebook?

Who knew the day would come when you could shop through Facebook? Czech electronics retailer Datart AS has begun a deal with Facebook to allow its customers to access its apparel online through this social networking site. A quickie article from Total Telecom explains more.

whole grains in a drink?

A bit skeptical about this new food find... Whole grains in a smoothie? Odwalla has come out with a new line called Wholly Grain in a Tropical Medley flavor. Check out the info on QSR or BevNet.

Am interested to know how a grain-y smoothie can taste if it has a granular taste or if it still keeps the smoothie taste that's necessary for its success? The plus of this new line extension is that it appeals to celiacs as the grain in it is brown rice, naturally gluten-free. Interesting way to make an already healthy smoothie more healthy...only thing I wonder is if its taste and sales will live up to the cute packaging and catchy name?

the difference btw a Starbucks & a local Starbucks

Happy to find Starbucks is refurbishing its locations with a more local feel...about time to "go local" while "going global". Although they've most likely changed the menus to appeal to local tastes...Starbucks hasn't ever created a local appeal until now.

Starbucks is testing out names for its stores to create this local appeal to improve its sales. Found an article in The Seattle Times and found it very pertinent to what many retailers are failing to provide to its consumers. From recent trends I've found, the big fancy stores are out and helping out the local farmer's market are in. Although Starbucks may never be considered the "local coffee shop around the corner", they sure are proposing an interesting idea to fit in neighborhoods a bit better. Three of its stores in Seattle will now be named after the neighborhoods they are located in - for example, 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, after the address it resides in. Although I am not familiar with Seattle, I find it an interesting way for Starbucks to engage in its headquarter city.

Not sure if it's a LT goal to do this to every Starbucks but possibly an idea to spread to certain locations. Interesting idea & hope one is remodeled to the East Coast so we can check it out!

while some people say just DANCE!...this site says JUST DRINKS

Just Drinks is a site dedicated to the drinks industry. I stumbled on it when checking out an article about Sunkist's latest promo. Sunkist's Take A Stand program was designed to encourage kids to raise money for their community through lemonade stand sales. The best thing about it is this isn't just an IDEA...Sunkist has helped kids raise over $3million for local charities since starting in 2004.

Pros on this promo:

• an interactive site to help kids come up with ideas/recipes to check out for Take a Stand
• info for parents to read up on how to find a local 501(c)(3) charity
• good press for Sunkist

Cons on this promo:

• how exactly can Sunkist keep track of who's selling lemonade under their name
  
• how to know if participants are donating 100% of $$ to their local charities
  

So the thing I'm curious to know is...although Sunkist encourages kids to help out their community (clearly a GOOD thing), how is that engaging the target market of healthy grocery shoppers say between 25-45 since my guess is the kids aren't the ones making the household grocery lists & shopping for those food items...?

healthy icecream...isn't that an oxymoron?

Healthy Icecream...two words that should NEVER, I repeat NEVER ever be in the same sentence. Isn't the point of icecream to be enjoyed as a nostalgic treat of cold, sweet, creamy goodness from your childhood? Apparently 3 brands - Klondike, Breyers, & Popsickle are coming out with healthier versions this summer with the healthy hype trends consumers are starting to stick to. (No offense, but if you plan on eating lots of icecream, it may not matter whether it's a healthy version or not because it's still junk food.)

Check out this quickie article found in Drug Store News.

do A-list celebs always create A-list lines?

Recently was browsing recent retail trends and found some interesting thoughts in the Tribune Review

Throughout the article many successful celebs with their retail lines are described. Then the reasoning behind the successes of these brands is explained because of the marketing that takes place to promote the clothes - for example, in magazines like Allure. What most consumers don't think about is how well celebs "know" their brands. Sure, you can endorse a brand but how well you know the fabrics/essence of the scents/tastes of the food lines are what make your product sell.

"Talent and popularity don't necessarily translate to retail A-list status" says
Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of the consulting firm Strategic Resource Group in New York. Makes you wonder the next time you consider that glamorous perfume or even paying up for Rachel Ray's gourmet dog food…how well does that celeb know his/her line?

the power of the letter G

G. It used to be only a letter in the alphabet but recently through a rebranding strategy by Gatorade, G and G2 are the new Gatorade & Gatorade 2.

G is continuing its LT relationship with Michael Jordan by placing his photo on limited edition bottles this summer which many fans will probably collect - see Promo Magazine. Should be exciting to taste-test these three new flavors - which coincide with accomplishments MJ had during his career.

Now on to the G2 brand.... The G2 print and tv ads are pretty catchy - check out the Serena Cuevas & Serena Williams ad on YouTube - which compares the struggles & accomplishments of the dancer Serena & the tennis player Serena. It reaches a different target market than G as it markets to athletes who are more calorie-conscious but want the electrolytes and vitamins in a sports drink.

Although G and G2 have spent a lot on rebranding the already strong Gatorade brand, one hopes that the G and G2 bottles will not be mistaken in the grocery store for a new brand. Seems like a small tradeoff for an exciting new take on an already strong brand!

how contradictory are Starbursts?

Although most people see Starbursts as just a bit of juicy flavor to nix that sweet tooth, this candy company would like you to remember that they are a...contradiction! Hmm...seem a bit odd? Well, their new ad campaign - see BrandWeek - embraces their contradictory-ness by reminding people "it's a pack of contradictions". When you think about it, Starbursts are an odd candy because it's hard on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside so it's not a hard candy, not a gum…what category would you call it? Interesting idea which sparked from customer feedback and interesting ads to come with a Scotch-Korean & an albino lifeguard... well you'll have to read more to learn more about it. Hopefully the contradictions won't confuse the customers more but will increase sales with another bit of life's small luxury item at the checkout line.

the idea of the single serve...

I was poking around AdAge and came across an interesting point that maybe bigger isn't better. Kind of shocking, huh? Check out this link to watch a quick, but informative video by Martin Lindstrom about how 30-50% of products in the Philippines are sold in single serve packages because they're more affordable but also yield higher returns for companies - http://adage.com/brightcove/lineup.php?lineup=1182767334.

Some things to note in relation to the US & our recession are:

1.Get a clear understanding of the customer - products that were popular one year ago turn out unpopular right now & in the future

ie…buying bulk!

2. Avoid fear of the economical crisis.

ie…the Hyundai insurance policy saves you if you loose your job - you can keep your car

3.Come closer to the customer with better serving & close dialogue

Ie…ask why they change their behavior

Makes you wonder if this trend will be popping up more in the US in the near future...?