About a decade or two ago, the industry, more or less as a whole, decided it made a lot of sense to begin separating media from creative. Clients and agencies alike saw a huge cost savings in lumping together and commodifying media. Furthermore, as the media landscape began to expand, unfold and ultimately explode into areas we had not even thought of, the ad industry somehow was swept up in the exhilaration of the massive buying clout of stand-alone media firms. While most in the industry nodded their heads and agreed from a financial perspective,
"...Recessions haven't always been bad for Weight Watchers. ...". As gas and commodity prices rise, consumers are finding themselves with fewer spare dollars to reduce their spare tires. As a result, marketers of organized diet programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are expected to feel the pinch. "It's definitely a discretionary dollar," said Michael Binetti, a UBS analyst who lowered earnings-per-share guidance for Weight Watchers last week. Even though the iconic diet program enjoys an advantageous position in that it has strong brand equity and low start-up costs,
When it comes to advertising in and around schools, marketers should consider skipping children altogether and going straight to the top: mom. In a recent survey of almost 1,200 PTO and PTA mothers by School Family Media, more than 73% agreed that promotional materials aimed at parents are more acceptable than those aimed at kids. Only 3% said those aimed at kids are more acceptable. (Some 18% said both are acceptable; 6% said neither is acceptable.) Not surprisingly, programs such as General Mills' Box Tops for Education and Campbell's Labels
Leaders of consumer goods giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble have indicated they will not be cutting the amount they spend on marketing despite the global downturn. AG Lafley, the chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble, has been reported in the Financial Times as saying his company would keep budgets at the same level as last year. "Right now the plans are to spend about the same percentage of sales [on advertising as last year]," he said. His outlook was echoed by Simon Rothon, Unilever's senior vice-president of global marketing services,
About a decade or two ago, the industry, more or less as a whole, decided it made a lot of sense to begin separating media from creative. Clients and agencies alike saw a huge cost savings in lumping together and commodifying media. Furthermore, as the media landscape began to expand, unfold and ultimately explode into areas we had not even thought of, the ad industry somehow was swept up in the exhilaration of the massive buying clout of stand-alone media firms. While most in the industry nodded their heads and agreed from a financial perspective, 
"...Recessions haven't always been bad for Weight Watchers. ...". As gas and commodity prices rise, consumers are finding themselves with fewer spare dollars to reduce their spare tires. As a result, marketers of organized diet programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are expected to feel the pinch. "It's definitely a discretionary dollar," said Michael Binetti, a UBS analyst who lowered earnings-per-share guidance for Weight Watchers last week. Even though the iconic diet program enjoys an advantageous position in that it has strong brand equity and low start-up costs, 
When it comes to advertising in and around schools, marketers should consider skipping children altogether and going straight to the top: mom. In a recent survey of almost 1,200 PTO and PTA mothers by School Family Media, more than 73% agreed that promotional materials aimed at parents are more acceptable than those aimed at kids. Only 3% said those aimed at kids are more acceptable. (Some 18% said both are acceptable; 6% said neither is acceptable.) Not surprisingly, programs such as General Mills' Box Tops for Education and Campbell's Labels 
Leaders of consumer goods giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble have indicated they will not be cutting the amount they spend on marketing despite the global downturn. AG Lafley, the chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble, has been reported in the Financial Times as saying his company would keep budgets at the same level as last year. "Right now the plans are to spend about the same percentage of sales [on advertising as last year]," he said. His outlook was echoed by Simon Rothon, Unilever's senior vice-president of global marketing services, 
