ideas and
trends on the horizon for creative professionals
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The dollar store is turning into a mini-supermarket, and capturing a larger share of the food market by featuring a wider selection of premium brands. Offerings have expanded from just one aisle of private labels to an entire section, especially in Family Dollar, where Campbells, Kelloggs, General Mills, Kraft, Unilever, P&G and Hershey all fill the shelves. The notion of the-dollar-store-as-competitor is changing from that of inexpensive, hit or miss merchandise to a well-stocked alternative to big supermarkets and mass merchandisers. The format fits the growing single-person population, as well as 35-54-year-olds feeding families on a budget.
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School daze
In a development that should please corporate identity consultants, colleges with potentially confusing or otherwise troubling names are addressing their problems. A high-profile example is the spiffy new brand architecture from Siegel & Gale for New School University, which became simply The New School. The words "the New School" has been added to each entity. So, for example, Parsons School of Design is now Parsons the New School of Design. Other recent examples of change for the better: Trenton State has become The College of New Jersey, Western Maryland College (which is not in the western part of the state) is now McDaniel College, and Beaver College is now Arcadia University — for obvious reasons.
Beyond the billboard
In a sign of growing interest in out-of-home advertising –– think ads on bus shelters, buses, coasters –– the media-buying companies Mediaedge:cia and MindShare, both part of WPP Group, began sharing offices in Manhattan with Poster Publicity. The firms, all out-of-home specialists, are part of a joint venture called Kinetic, which was formed earlier this year by WPP and Poster. The goal is to get a bigger share of the global out-of-home business. Kinetic is calling itself the largest out-of-home company in North America.
It's about pride
Publisher Hunter Teran has created a coupon magazine with a focus exclusively on the gay community. Businesses, that are gay-owned, as well as businesses wishing to meet the gay shopper, are clamoring for a place in It's About Pride Magazine. The magazine is being launched in Fort Lauderdale, the #1 gay-populated city in America. It will be mailed directly into 15,000 homes, as well as placed around the city in high trafficked areas.
Hey hon, I shrunk the circ
TV Guide, the mini-icon of an era, has dropped its circulation guarantee to 4.5 million down from 9 million in recent times and a high of nearly 20 million in its heyday. Even more radically, the publication has redesigned, converting to standard-size format and putting more emphasis on celebrity lifestyle and culture. Founded in 1953, the magazine had been printing multiple local editions, but will now go to one national edition to stem an estimated $100 million a year loss. Needless to say, the change comes as people find their TV listings elsewhere, digitally or in print, or set their TiVOs on stun.
july 4 = friday 13?
The Library of Congress and the Advertising Council have launched new public-service announcements designed to encourage youth to learn more about American history by visiting the library's website, www.loc.gov. Created pro bono by the advertising agency, The Geppetto Group, the tv ads, filmed in the style of a horror movie, suggest that learning about history is not really scary, but actually entertaining and fun. The tagline: "Check out loc.gov and see how fun history can be."
rules of celebrity marketing
Which apparel brands use celebrity marketing well? What is the secret to their success? According to Kenneth Hirst of Hirst Pacific, if celebrities reflect the aspirations of our culture, the secret of celebrity marketing could be considering the culture of the celebrity. He gives as an example Mandarin Oriental's use of diverse personalities, which speaks volumes for the refined, luxurious image they wish to portray, implying that everyone, not only athletes or movie stars, want to stay there. Hirst is responsible for J-Lo' and Celine Dion's fragrance lines.
