Friday, February 4, 2011

Marcom this week: From A to zinc – 2/4/11 edition

Despite Blizzard 2011 wreaking havoc on one in three Americans this week, the marketing industry managed to squeak in a few of its own headlines. Put aside the snow shovel and check out what you may have missed while digging out from the storm.

Print media on track to rise again?
The week was chock full of big announcements from leading print publishers. Just when we thought print was a dying media, it appears some pubs may be on their way back to the top. Leading the pack was People.com, which reached 1 billion page views in January, according to Omniture. This is a first for People, and for all magazine websites.

People wasn’t the only Time Inc. publication making waves this week. In fact, the publisher claimed four of the top five magazines most followed on Twitter. According to Folio, People, Time, InStyle and Women’s Wear Daily topped the list. Entertainment Weekly came in fifth.

Perhaps the most anticipated news came from News Corp., which announced its iPad-only newspaper, The Daily. As Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman and CEO, said, “iPad demands that we rethink our craft.” Developed in partnership with Apple, the made-for-tablet pub will cost users $40 a year.

With advertising revenues decline, the Web is where publishers are hoping to cash in. However, billions of page views and highly followed Twitter handles don’t generate cash on their own. In addition, while The Daily may set the tone for the future of the news business model, we’re left wondering who its audience is. We applaud these media companies for their efforts, but hope their strategies are fully baked.




Gap names new CMO
Change is on the horizon for Gap, which ushered in a new CMO this week: Seth Farbman. No doubt the past few months have been rough for the retailer. As Vitamin IMC previously reported, Gap’s new logo was a major flop and the brand took a hit when its “Made in USA” charitable tote bags turned out to be a product of China.

With Farbman, who is currently worldwide managing director for Ogilvy & Mather, at the helm, Gap hopes to set itself on a course to better performance in North America. Ogilvy also is stepping in as Gap’s worldwide agency of record, replacing Laird & Partners. While the retailer denies these changes are a result of the logo fiasco, we find this hard to believe. Here’s to hoping 2011 brings the brand better luck than last year.

Love doesn’t conquer all, but money does
When offered a choice between great sex every week for five years and free chocolate every week for five years, U.S. women pick sex 73 percent of the time. Throw a one-lump sum of $1,000 into the mix, and the majority of women (91 percent) choose the cash over weekly chocolate. These findings from the latest Saatchi Wellness and Time Inc. annual tracking study shed light on a growing trend: the “Me-Covery.” That is, women increasing spending on beauty and health products and services.

This shift is evident in the growing percentage of women who are spending money on anti-aging products and salon services – both were up nearly 20 percent in 2010. It appears women are loosening their purse strings and putting aside recessionary spending habits, which should bode well for marketers of health and beauty products.

Marcom this week: From A to zinc is compiled by the Vitamin IMC editorial team. They can be reached at vitaminimc@gmail.com. Miss your vitamins last week? Visit the “Marcom this Week” from January 28.

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