The Pulse -- November 2003
Perks For Percs
For many, a hot cup of Starbucks coffee is an everyday ritual. Consumers now have the opportunity to earn rewards from the ubiquitous coffee bean maker. In conjunction with Bank One and Visa U.S.A., Starbucks introduces the Starbucks Card Duetto, which blends Visa card functionality while offering Starbucks enthusiasts the power to pay, reload, earn and redeem rewards with one card. The translucent Duetto Card marks the first formal Starbucks customer appreciation program and rewards members with Starbucks Duetto Dollars for every Visa purchase and provides Starbucks gifts and benefits with Starbucks Card Account purchases.
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Orange Goes Kaboom
If you thought the infomercial airwaves couldn't get any cleaner due to the presence of products like Oxi Clean and Orange Glo, think again. Orange Glo International now wants to invade consumer's bathrooms with Kaboom Thick Liquid Toilet Cleaner. The cleaner is an extension of the company's Kaboom line, launched last year, which claims to bring "new and exciting technology into the bathroom." Orange Glo depends on third-party manufacturers and suppliers and uses PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne to serve multiple locations by taking control of planning, from raw materials to finished products.
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Colgate's Go-To Strategy
Establishing a new corporate strategy is a big job. Toss in the challenges presented by the cultural and learning differences of employees in 60 different countries and the task becomes enormous. Such is the case with Colgate Palmolive. The home and personal care manufacturer recently rolled out its GtMs (Go To Market Strategy), a company-wide marketing and sales effort designed to help the company manage its complex trade environment. Enter Tata Interactive Systems, a developer of e-learning solutions. Tata's 35-minute, e-learning solution for Colgate Palmolive is a visual, interactive teaching method that explains the six-step process of GtMs. Each segment of the course is followed by multiple choice or drag-and-drop exercises mapped to the objectives of that module.
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Unilever and Pepsico Create Ready to Drink Tea
Unilever and PepsiCo create a joint venture to expand the marketing and distribution in selected markets of Unilever's range of Lipton ready-to-drink (RTD) tea. The effort aims to strengthen Lipton's lead position within the fast-growing, $23 billion global RTD tea market. The joint venture, dubbed "Pepsi Lipton International", is in alignment with Unilever's Path to Growth strategy that targets a leading brand and moves it into new channels and markets in an effort to sustain future growth. The joint venture will target the "white space" markets where Lipton has no current presence, believing that significant business opportunities will come from the key high-potential markets where Pepsi already has a strong presence. According to Peter Thompson, chief executive offer for PepsiCo, "we are creating a common vision and tremendous synergies together."
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P&G Expands Mr. Clean
When a $48 billion company like Procter & Gamble (P&G) decides to expand a brand, it's all about strength. Specifically, the strength of Mr. Clean, one the company's most widely recognized consumer brands. P&G will now flex Mr. Clean's muscle across two new products: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, for removing scuff marks from walls, and Mr. Clean Autodry, which claims to leave a freshly washed car spot free without drying. To promote the new products, the bald one's marketing budget will triple last year's $24.3 million. The new push for Mr. Clean is designed, in part, to fill a void left by aging P&G brands like Comet and Spic and Span.