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Air New Zealand says their fares have nothing to hide, and to prove it they’re screening a new in-flight safety video featuring staff members and company chief executive, Rob Fyfe, clad only in body paint. Seatbelts, luggage and life vests provide "appropriate” concealment where needed. NYTimes 6/29/09
A “vicious industry wide slump” in the luxury hotel business has generated friction between the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts management company and Four Seasons hotel owners with distressed profit margins. While some owners want to cut expenses, the Four Seasons resists the potential negative impact to the brand. BTW, did you know that Bill Gates owns nearly half of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts management company? NYTimes 6/28/09
LinkedIn says their survey asking translators if they would volunteer to translate the LinkedIn site was intended to develop a crowd sourcing model similar to Wikipedia’s legions of volunteers and provide increased exposure for the translators. The survey generated mixed results among translators, with some feeling it was an opportunity for increased work and exposure, while others felt LinkedIn was simply trying to get professional services for free. NYTimes 6/28/09
Acer is the world’s third largest seller of personal computers, and “appears poised to overtake Dell as the world’s second-largest seller of personal computers” this year. The company positions its four brands to cater to various consumer segments, such as eMachines for affordability. Other brands include Gateway and Packard Bell. NYTimes 6/27/09
Target (TGT) has rebranded its core commodities line — a product category that includes everyday items such as baby wipes, sunscreen, dryer sheets and plastic containers — under the name “up & up. The trend is consistent with an overall increase in store brands that are more profitable for the retailer and attractive to consumers who are “increasingly buying in-house brands to save money.” Atlanta Business Chronicle 6/25/09.
Yahoo (YHOO) is working to change its branding, with the new branding to be unveiled when it releases is new main home page design in the fall. Atlanta Business Chronicle 6/25/09
Despite some anecdotal reports of a surge in drinking accompanying the economic recession, the percentage of U.S. adults who consume alcohol is fairly steady at 64%, and there has been little change in self-reported drinking volume. Gallup 6/29/09
A Nielsen report on the “myths and realities of teen media trends debunks the notion that American teens are “too busy texting, Twittering or LOL-ing to be engaged with traditional media." One example: Teens are watching “more TV than ever, up 6% over the past five years in the U.S.” Free download of research available: How Teens Use Media June 2009.
“Twenty-two percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in banks, down from 32% who said the same at this time last year.” Gallup 6/24/09. This may provide an opportunity for small banks say some marketing experts.
France’s highest court has found French cosmetics giant L’Oréal guilty of discriminating against black, Asian and Arab women by directing job recruiters to hire only white sales staff to sell their Garnier Fructis Style haircare products in France. Times Online 6/25/09
Pizza Hut is using the name ‘The Hut’ in some marketing efforts. One analyst notes that large chains have been losing share of the pizza market for years and are shifting strategies to focus on their delivery infrastructures that can deliver a variety of menu items in 30 minutes or less. Advertising Age 6/24/09
Dunkin' Donuts has introduced Dunkin’ Run, an interactive website and iPhone application, so that friends and colleagues can take turns picking up orders for each other when they’re heading to Dunkin’ Donuts. Brandweek 6/24/09
Brandweek reports that Kayak.com “is among a handful of online brands, including Zappos.com and Amazon.com(AMZN), that are now seeking traditional agencies (and offline tactics) to create mass awareness and define more broadly what they do.” Brandweek 6/22/09
El Pollo Loco says competitor KFC uses beef powder and rendered beef fat in the marinade for its grilled chicken; KFC says the beef flavoring accounts for just .2% of the total seasoning. AdFreak 6/19/09
Nestle USA's baking division is recalling Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after 66 consumers have reported getting sick after consuming raw dough. Brandweek 6/19/09
AirTran Airways has been promoting its new wi-fi service by having Mark Malkoff, a New York comedian and film maker live in its planes for an entire month. Malkoff uses baby wipes to clean up in the planes’ restrooms (TMI!) and even if the plane is empty, sleeps on board.
So how does Malkoff occupy his time? Well I now know what happens when you put one end of a roll of toilet paper in an airliner toilet and unroll the rest of the toilet paper down the aisle. If you want to know, you have to watch the video below.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, Olive Garden, a Darden Restaurants (DRI) brand, did not pull their advertising from The Late Show with David Letterman to protest the talk show’s joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter.
However, Politico.com says they received a copy of an email in which an Olive Garden spokeswoman apologized for “Mr. Letterman’s mistake," followed by “We have no immediate plans to air Olive Garden ads during The Late Show with David Letterman.” No word yet on a tiebreaker. 6/18/09 UPDATE: Olive Garden says the information provided to Politico was from an unauthorized staff member and that no ads had been cancelled, and their advertising schedule for the show had expired earlier in the month. 6/18/09
Outdoor clothing chain Eddie Bauer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and plans to sell itself to CCMP Capital Advisors, a private equity firm. The company will continue operations during bankruptcy proceedings. New York Times 061709.
According to the third annual Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace survey, 60 percent of business executives believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations in online social networks.
However, employees disagree, as more than half (53 percent) say their social networking pages are not an employer's concern. This fact is especially true among younger workers, with 63 percent of 18-34 year old respondents stating employers have no business monitoring their online activity.Read more
Money, anxiety and guilt are causing more than a third (35 percent) of workers to say they haven't gone on or aren't planning to take a vacation in 2009; 71 percent of those indicate it is because they just can't afford it, according CareerBuilder's annual vacation survey.
The survey was conducted from February 20 through March 11, 2009 among more than 4,400 workers. Additionally, close to one-in-five workers indicate that they are either afraid of losing their jobs if they go on vacation or feel guilty being away from the office.
Taking a vacation doesn't necessarily mean a clean break from the office. Fifty percent of employers say they expect employees to check in with the office while they are away, with 40% indicating it'll be necessary only if they are working on a big project or there is a major issue going on with the company.
Shock dealt by the market is laying the foundation for deep, long-term change where quick or temporary adjustments won't do.
Rocked to their core, consumers are saying a good-bye to frivolous expenditures. In fact, Americans say that even after the recession ends, their spending will return to just 86% of pre-recession levels, which equates to an approximate 10% drop, according to a new survey by AlixPartners LLP.
Once the recession ends, Americans plan to save 14% of their total earnings, with the replenishment of their 401(k) and other retirement savings their biggest long-term concerns. In the end, this financial crisis may be recorded as a "generation-changing moment" where investors chose risk management over risky business.
For the first time, the percentage of wireless-only households (20%) exceeds the percentage of landline-only households. Wireless-only households increased by 17% from the first six months of 2008 to the second half of the year. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention 5/6/09 via The Daily Stat
60% of moms feel that marketers ignore their needs and 73% feel that advertisers don’t understand what its like to be a mom, says M2Moms quoted in a recent Adweek article. But moms control 85% of household spending and are worth more than $2 trillion to U.S. brands says the Marketing Moms Coalition. Adweek, 5/5/09
Successful new product development seems to elude many consumer products companies. Just half of the new-product concepts that are funded ever make it to market, only two-thirds of those generate the forecasted revenues, and half of so-called new products are brand extensions that don’t generate excitement among shoppers. Accenture 1/2009 via The Daily Stat
According to the third annual Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace survey, 60 percent of business executives believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations in online social networks. 
Money, anxiety and guilt are causing more than a third (35 percent) of workers to say they haven't gone on or aren't planning to take a vacation in 2009; 71 percent of those indicate it is because they just can't afford it, according CareerBuilder's annual vacation survey.
Shock dealt by the market is laying the foundation for deep, long-term change where quick or temporary adjustments won't do.
A recent Nielsen study says that in response to the current economic recession some consumers are excluding branded items in some categories altogether, whereas six months ago, they might have just become more price sensitive. Free download: 
