Marketing

And the Brand Played On

by Diane Farsetta — March 23, 2007 - 3:21pm

As noted in previous Spins, the movie "InnerState" was bankrolled by Johnson & Johnson to promote a drug produced by its biopharmaceutical unit, Centocor. But J&J isn't alone.

Main Source: 
PR Week, March 14, 2007

Minnesota Doctors on Drug Company Drip

by Bob Burton — March 23, 2007 - 3:48am

An examination of records from Minnesota, where legislation requires drug company payments to doctors to be disclosed, reveals that between 1997 and 2005 over 5,500 medical professionals in the state were paid a total of over $57 million. Gardiner Harris and Janet Roberts report that "another $40 million went to clinics, research centers and other organizations. More than 20 percent of the state’s licensed physicians received money.

Main Source: 
New York Times, March 21, 2007

Hello, Teens? Marketing Firms Are Calling

by Diane Farsetta — March 20, 2007 - 5:33pm

Retailers "eager to connect with teen and twentysomething shoppers" are increasingly marketing to them through their cell phones, reports USA Today. New marketing approaches include "coupons that go to shoppers' cellphones." The marketing firm Access 360 Media "saw redemption rates of about 40%" with cell-delivered coupons, as opposed to "less than 2% for many print or online coupon campaigns." Then there's GPShopper, "an Internet-style search engine that lets shoppers search a chain's entire inventory," with Best Buy, Toys R Us and Sports Authority among the chains using the service.

Main Source: 
USA Today, March 20, 2007

News Media Aiming Low, Warns Report

by Diane Farsetta — March 15, 2007 - 12:49pm

"We sense the news business entering a new phase heading into 2007 -- a phase of more limited ambition," the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) writes in the overview to its "State of the News Media 2007" report. News organizations are "starting to redefine their appeal and their purpose based on diminished capacity.

Main Source: 
Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 12, 2007

Latest Version of Pay for Play: Bucks for Blogs

by Judith Siers-Poisson — March 12, 2007 - 12:49pm

Beware the blog that gushes about a product, movie, or anything you might consider purchasing. There's a chance that the blogger is on the payroll of "new marketing middlemen such as PayPerPost Inc. that connect advertisers with mom-and-pop webmasters." PayPerPost alone pays 15,500 bloggers for inserting their clients into blog postings.

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2007

Code (Red) for Cause-Related Marketing

by Diane Farsetta — March 12, 2007 - 11:24am

A year into the Red campaign -- a cause-related marketing effort that allows partners to profit from charity -- $100 million has been spent on marketing, but only $18 million has been raised worldwide for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, March 5, 2007

Pepsi's Dean

by Bob Burton — March 6, 2007 - 8:53pm

PepsiAmericas' range of products

Three months after the Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr.

Main Source: 
Pioneer Press (Minneapolis), March 5, 2007

Appetite for Profit: An Interview with Michele Simon

by Judith Siers-Poisson — February 28, 2007 - 11:16am
  • Topics: Advertising, Corporate Campaigns, Obesity, Front Groups, Corporations, Health, Marketing, Media, Politics, Public Relations, Science

    • In December 2006, I interviewed author Michele Simon about her book, "Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and How to Fight Back." The excerpts below are from that original interview, which took place on WORT, community radio in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information on Michele and her work, please visit her website.

    Judith Siers-Poisson (JSP): How did you personally become so involved and interested in food politics?

    Michele Simon (MS): It started about 10 years ago when I was struggling with my own weight and turned to a vegetarian diet and, lo and behold, I lost the weight I was struggling with. And then, from there, I started to learn all of the other ways our diet impacts our own health, in addition to the environment, animal welfare, and labor, and so many aspects of society -- I was just amazed at how much was impacted by those food choices.

    Carbon Offsets Challenged

    by Bob Burton — February 28, 2007 - 7:06am

    The marketing of carbon offsets as a 'solution' to global warming is attracting criticism.

    Main Source: 
    BBC News, February 21, 2007

    Coke Cans Weber Shandwick, Cries over Spilt Milk

    by Bob Burton — February 20, 2007 - 6:19am

    Source: MilkPEP

    The Coca-Cola Company has terminated a 15-year long working relationship with the global PR firm Weber Shandwick.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), February 14, 2007
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