Tweens: maturing market forces rethink

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US autos: Japan has the power

As Japanese carmakers continue to increase their share of the US car market, the latest strategy is simply to increase the power of their vehicles - and it seems to be working.

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Coke: the real thing, again

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are returning to their roots: cola. Having spent much of 2001 and 2002 focusing on new flavors and new product launches, the soft drinks giants are revamping the very drinks that drove earlier growth. The strategy is intended to ensure that the success of newer products is not lost amidst news of overall volume decline.<BR />

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Cereal bars need killer marketing

Western European confectionery markets are hardly fast-moving: annual growth is just 2.5%, despite enormous spend on marketing and product innovation. But one category is massively underexploited: cereal bars account for 14% of Sweden's confectionery sales, but the figure elsewhere in Europe can be as low as a couple of percent. Joanne Birtwistle looks at the opportunities in this chewy market...

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Pfizer: a costly campaign

Pfizer has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by 18 attorneys general and led by Eliot Spitzer, for $6 million. The company allegedly used misleading advertising for blockbuster antibiotic Zithromax. As concern over the misuse of antibiotics grows, industry conduct and advertising will be placed under increasing scrutiny.

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Mecca Cola: singing a different tune

Mecca Cola is in direct competition with Coca-cola, deliberately appealing to anti-US sentiments. This growing tendency for manufacturers to market themselves on a political positioning to take advantage of consumer concerns creates a loyal customer base that will not be easily swayed.

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Coca-Cola: get real

The theme of Coca-Cola's new advertising campaign for its Classic Coke brand is 'real'. The tagline however, is nothing new and Coke is once again promoting its flagship product in an already saturated market. The soft drinks giant would do better to concentrate its advertising efforts on newer products with greater growth potential.

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Mobile SFA: a game of patience in pharmaceuticals

Mobile enterprise solutions are starting to gain traction after a period of sluggish growth, as vendors look to gain a competitive advantage by developing applications for niche vertical markets. Mobile sales force automation in the pharmaceuticals industry offers one such opportunity. Up to now deployments have been limited, but in the longer term growth prospects look good. <BR /><BR />

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Microsoft: on the pull with MSN

Online advertising suffered a loss of faith following the bursting of the dot.com bubble. But as MSN throws its weight behind a campaign to convince traditional offline marketers to go online, the time has come for fast-moving consumer goods companies to re-examine the medium. MSN's campaign is a timely reminder of the very real benefits of online advertising that should help spending to recover.

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Big pharma: tightening the marketers' purse strings

According to new research pharmaceutical companies are investing more than ever to promote their drugs. Growth in promotional investment is thought to be increasing at a faster rate than growth in ethical sales. With this trend unlikely to continue because of economic constraint can the drug companies improve the impact of their marketing or do they face the prospect of slashing expenditure?

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