Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

Source, screenshot from:
http://www.sparks.com/home.jsp#/home
I’ve heard it said that any publicity is good publicity - as long as you can repair the damage when it’s not positive. I wonder if SABMiller agree.
In the states, their brand “Sparks” has been creating a ripple or two. Critics and lobbyists keen to nip teenage drinking in the bud [...]

As a Brit abroad I’ve often seen sexist advertising that would upset the traditionalists in my home country, so it’s interesting to see people in other countries struggling with the issue. This article from the BBC shows an interesting angle from Scandinavia. The Norwegians have clearly come down in favour of a ban on any [...]

As the MBAs travel the world, I am seeing more and more examples of the random nature of legal restrictions in different countries. These recent examples where snipped by Ralph in China.

The brand with the 3 blobs.
First we have what looks like an imitation of adidas. Clearly the Chinese have no way either of [...]

How differently alcohol is sold in different countries…

Heineken cans in France
Starting with some examples from Anja (thanks for your input!), it looks like the French are taking the issue of drinking during pregnancy very seriously. So seriously in fact that warnings now feature on cans.
Whether this is a legal requirement I don’t know, but [...]

Poor Coke, minding its own business when suddenly it finds itself in the middle of a global controversy. The first it heard about it was when a Chinese blogger came out with the following
Germany has started to really show adverts for Tibetan independence. Coca-Cola! Okay, I will remember. From now on I will not touch [...]

Well if this isn’t official, what is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7359927.stm
The world of blogs, mashups, podcasting, RSS, social networking, widgets and wikis is set to hit global marketing, big time. So when are German companies going to wake up to this…? Or have they done so already?
I decided to search for signs of Web 2.0ism at five big names [...]

I’ve been waiting with baited breath to see how the German cigarette companies would deal with the smoking ban in bars. Trust my favourite brand (NO, I don’t smoke) to strike the right chord. Here’s how they dealt with it in Baden-Württemberg, which implemented the ban last year.

Mocking the powers that be
Rather than go [...]

The classic PEST model is often adapted to include new aspects of the marketing environment such as Environmental or Demographic not separated out in the old theory.
Here’s a nice example of a German company spotting a demographic or social trend and using it to arouse interest. It’s from a series of posters describing what people [...]

Having already posted on the progressive marketing skills of the Bavarian beer-loving Pope, I am pleased to see his publicity bandwaggon is accelerating. In preparation for his 2008 tour of the United States, he’s gone and got himself a logo.

I love that fetching yellow sweeping arch. It expresses all the dynamism and forward-looking zap you’d [...]

This has to be one of the most blatant examples I’ve ever seen of “passing off”. Basically, the neatly named “Dromedary” is counting on Mexican illiteracy, cross-eyed consumers, or pure ignorance.

It may be no surprise to hear that - as far as I’m aware - this brand (that is clearly riding on the back [...]