3. March 2008 by bryan.lonn.

This last year and this year haven’t looked great for network television.  Viewership keeps falling and the medium as a whole is starting to shrink to other mediums (Ex: Internet and Cable).  Recently, large companies like Unilever and Kimberly-Clark have started cutting back television ads in wake of a dying medium.   Kimberly-Clark (Large paper manufacturer) cut network television ad spending from 60% to 40%.  Unilever has cut commercial spending for most brands from 130 spots in 2005 to 30 spots in 2008.  Non-Traditional advertising for Kimberly-Clark went from 10% of the budget in 2004 to 34% in 2008.  It looks like researchers are going to have to figure out how to go beyond the 30-second spot in order to gain momentum again for the network television medium.

Posted in Advertising - Bad Idea | No Comments »

3. March 2008 by bryan.lonn.

Coca-Cola now plans to recycle 100 per cent of its aluminium cans sold in the US, the company recently announced. The news comes after the company said it would recycle or reuse all of its US plastic packaging last September.

Spokesperson John Burgess claims that the company will therefore be recycling more than 100 million pounds each of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and aluminium by the end of 2008.

“We have made a commitment to ensure the sustainability and recyclability of our packaging,” said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America. “We envision a world in which our packaging is no longer seen as waste, but as a valuable resource for future use.”

According to Coca-Cola, recycling aluminium requires 95 per cent less energy than creating the metal from raw materials, while also reducing carbon emissions by 95 per cent.

If Coca-Cola goes green then Pepsi will have to follow. They kind of are with Raw Pepsi so does that mean other grocery products should follow?

Posted in Advertising - Good Idea | No Comments »