Thank you to everyone who entered our contest for Best Un-Approvable Beer Name. While we received many excellent entries, we were only able to choose one winner. The Beer Industry Summit ticket was awarded to John Harris and the design team at Battalion Social Design! Here is their winning entry:
Thanks again to everyone who entered!
Congratulations to our Fizz Contest Winner!
Posted on
February 5th, 2010
by Monica
Contest: Best Un-Approvable Beer Name
Posted on
January 27th, 2010
by Monica
You could win a ticket to the 2010 Beer Industry Summit worth $1100! Simply come up with the best beer name that would never get approved by the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and you’ll be on your way to one of the largest beer events in the industry! About the ConferenceThe conference gathers 500 professionals from the beer industry to the Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix, AZ from February 28th to March 1st to talk about the biggest issues in beer. Join our own Ted Wright as he and a panel of industry veterans talk about how to use word-of-mouth marketing to generate crazy growth rates for your brands! Other major topics of discussion at the Summit include:
And much more! How to EnterCome up with the best beer brand name that would never get approved by the TTB. Bonus points for sending a mockup label to go with your beer name or doing anything else that we think is funny. Email your entry to BeerSummitContest@fizzcorp.com by Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) with “Beer Summit Ticket” as the subject line. Yep, it’s that simple.Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
Entries will be judged solely by the team at Fizz (herein known as “Fizz”). All entry decisions are final and at the sole discretion of Fizz. The winner will be contacted on February 5, 2010 via the email address the entry is submitted with. Contest Rules (a.k.a. “The Fine Print”)NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.All winners must be 21 years of age or older, unless otherwise stated and/or posted. Entrants must send entries using the correct contest entry email address, subject line, and any other specific entry information requested in the contest announcement. Fizz is not responsible for and will not consider incomplete or incorrect entries or emails sent but not received by Fizz for any reason, as potential contest winners.Only one entry per email address used to send the email will be considered for contest entry, unless multiple entries are specifically allowed in the contest posting. Unless otherwise specified in an individual contest post, no person may enter any contest more than once using multiple email addresses.Once a winner is selected and notified, failure to respond by the response date shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize. Fizz is not required to award elsewhere any prizes forfeited by the chosen winner(s). Entries selected for display and to win “best of” contests and any other contests requiring photo, text or other content from the entrants will be judged entirely at the discretion of Fizz.By submitting any photo or information to Fizz, you hereby grant to Fizz and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the submitted photo or other information in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose. The rights granted to Fizz include but are not limited to the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the submitted photo.By submitting any photo or information to Fizz, you hereby represent and warrant that the submitted photo or information does not and shall not infringe on any copyright, any rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party, and you have the right to grant any and all rights and licenses granted to Fizz herein, including but not limited to all necessary rights under copyright, free and clear of any claims or encumbrances.You acknowledge and agree that Fizz shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any photo or information submitted by you, and may, in its sole and unfettered discretion, remove, edit, modify or delete any photo or information that you submit to Fizz.You understand and intend that any photo or information submitted by you to Fizz may be available for viewing, rating, review and comment on by the public, and understand that comments or ratings with which you disagree or are unhappy about may be published or otherwise become associated with any photo or information you submit to Fizz. By submitting any photo or information to Fizz, you hereby waive any privacy expectations that you may have with respect to any such photo or information submitted by you to Fizz.You hereby agree to hold Fizz and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees sponsors and assigns harmless from and against, and hereby waive any right to pursue, any claims of any nature arising in connection with the inclusion in, publication via or display on any Fizz site, or any other use authorized under these Terms, of any photo or information submitted to Fizz by you.Photos or information submitted by you shall be the property of Fizz, and Fizz shall have no obligation to preserve, return or otherwise make available to you or others any photos or information so submitted. Winners are solely responsible for all taxes and/or fees that may be incurred.Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees, and all such additional costs that may be incurred.Fizz, Fizz clients, and employees of Fizz or its clients may not be held liable for any warranty, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of usage of any winners of a prize once possession has been taken of the product by winner. Fizz is not liable for any loss arising out of or in connection with or resulting from any contest promoted by Fizz.If the specified prize becomes unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, Fizz may substitute a prize of like or equal value.Management, employees and families of Fizz are prohibited from winning any prizes awarded by Fizz.Fizz reserves the right to alter any rules of any contest at any time. Fizz is hiring a Director of Digital
Posted on
December 7th, 2009
by Fizz
Director of Digital
You were blogging in college or high school. You think in 140 characters chunks. You can code if you have to. You have a passion for participating in digital communities as well as creating/ sharing multimedia. Where some merely dabble in social media, you are immersed in it, super-connected and show creativity in everything you do. You’d like to work for a company that thinks meetings suck and sock puppets rock. You are hip enough to get a Monty Python elderberry reference and can talk intelligently about Nudge, Meatball Sundaes, David Weinberger’s latest thoughts and if it matters that Guy Kawasaki actually writes all of those Tweets or pays someone to do it for him. You know the future and you want to work somewhere that has clients that want to go there with you. What You’ll Do:
Skills & Qualifications You Should Have:
HOW TO APPLY Send resume and cover letter to womjob@yahoo.com if you think you’ve got what we are looking for. We are hiring now. Fizz wins “Humanitarian” WOMMIE
Posted on
December 1st, 2009
by Fizz
In November of 2009, Fizz was honored to win the Humanitarian/Environmental WOMMIE. Fizz would like thank the good folks at PepsiCo for their support of this vital area as well as their embracing of WOMM as the most effective means of commercial communication. Fizz would also like to thank Jef Wallace, CEO of PureRay, and the rest of his team for being great clients to work with. Finally, all of us at Fizz would love you to stop by the PureRay website, www.pureray.com, and see for yourselves how to get involved. PureRay Case Study Background: Grid electricity in developing countries is scarce and expensive. Many homes can neither access nor afford it, so they rely on fuel-based lamps for their lighting needs. These lamps, filled with kerosene and often made of cheap and unstable materials, are inefficient, dangerous and present a daily threat to those who use them. Kerosene lighting alone causes 2.5 million deaths a year; 20% of those deaths are from direct burns and house fire incidents. In order to read and study at dusk, children often sit in very close proximity to these dimly lit lamps. This translates to 1000 children dying each day from accidents caused by these lamps. Moreover, 244 million tons of CO2 is released into the atmosphere annually from the use of these fuel based light sources. With the intent of reducing the dependence on hazardous fuel-based lighting, PureRay, an Atlanta based lighting technology company, developed rechargeable energy efficient lighting systems to safely illuminate households at an attainable price. These systems include three LED high-intensity light bulbs, each with emitting enough to light an entire room, and a console base that can recharge up to three bulbs at a time using solar power or a very minimal electrical draw. Self-contained and portable, the new technology promised to cut energy expenses significantly, and provide a much needed lighting alternative to households using fuel based lamps. Business Problem: PureRay’s marketing strategy involved selling the lights directly to the consumer which resulted in very limited success. Their story was one of innovative technology, safety, and reduced toxic emissions. While interesting and authentic, the relevance was lost on the targeted consumer concerned with day-to-day survival. Furthermore, the price of each unit, while 2/3 cheaper than fuel based lighting, still equaled 30% of an average impoverished household’s annual earnings.
Insight: Armed with a remarkable product, after two years without much success in sales, PureRay contacted Fizz for a different approach to marketing these lighting stations. Fizz recognized first that if the consumer needs the product, they likely cannot afford it, and would not be moved by the technology behind it. Second, that there are people out there that can afford the product, that would love to give it to those in need, but demand for their attention is great. To sell more systems and save more lives, PureRay needed word of mouth marketing rather than broadcast or direct marketing. Fizz identified Non-Government Organizations (NGO) as advocates for social change. NGOs not only have the power and the ability to bring these lighting stations to the people who need it, they would also be moved by the humanitarian cause. These organizations would be outspoken and influential in getting the word out about these potentially life-saving products.
Design: Fizz’s strategy was the following: Insert PureRay into global NGO and governmental discussion so that tens of thousands of bulbs can start flowing to those in need. The largest obstacle to being heard by NGOs is that competition for their attention is fierce. In an arena with so much noise, we would have to find some way to communicate the significance of their innovation. Fizz and PureRay developed a new story, one that was interesting,relevant and authentic to capture the interest of international NGOs to get people talking. They defined the Pure Ray story from one of engineering marvel to one of humanitarian relief; rather than talking about the system’s technology to the consumer, the story would tell the NGO community of its end benefits.
Solution: Fizz and PureRay attended several NGO conferences including the Clinton Global Initiative, TED, and a number of UN, World Bank, OAS and IDB conferences. They walked around holding brightly lit bulbs with no obvious power source (think Uncle Fester’s magic light bulb trick). This curious sight attracted attention. Rather than interrupting or intercepting conference attendees, Fizz and PureRay engaged in conversations with those who asked questions. People who revealed themselves in conversations to have the “storyteller” personality were tagged as “Influencers” and were contacted by PureRay staff. These callers were all knowledgeable about the product and used this opportunity to establish relationships with the Influencers. Quickly, these Influencers became fans of PureRay’s product/solutions and turned into brand advocates. The word spread exponentially and lives were saved.
Results: Through the NGO community we were able to tap into their resources to make PureRay more affordable and available. Due to the power of WOMM, PureRay now installing 5,000 PureRay stations and plans to provide another 110,000 stations to the developing world as early as 2010. Governments around the world are investing in the cause and Grameen bank, developers of collateral free micro-lending for the poor, is working towards providing direct to end consumer lending to finance the systems as essentials for impoverished rural communities. This all translated to an influx of PureRay bulbs in the field and less children dying while trying to study by the light of a kerosene lamp. ReFuel with Chocolate milk wins national WOMMIE
Posted on
December 1st, 2009
by Fizz
CATAGORY: MOMENTUM - Word of mouth program to juice existing products/services. TITLE: REFUEL WITH CHOCOLATE MILK WINNER - BRONZE WOMMIE
The American Dairy Association (ADA) of Ohio wanted to sell more milk. AcrossAmerica, milk consumption had dropped by half since the 1970s and Ohio was no exception. Milk simply had become less and less a part of peoples’ daily lives. It was old-fashioned. There were newer, flashier alternatives. The ADA decided to make a change. Study after study has shown that today’sconsumers are cynical; they just don’t trust commercial messages like they used to. Whatever was to be said had to be “real.” Instead of relying on broadcast media, the ADA turned to word-of-mouth marketing and asked Fizz to help them sell more chocolate milk. So what could be done to revitalize the milk sales? The first step for Fizz was to immerse itself in the client’s business. Nine boxes full of almost everything imaginable–posters, T-shirts, presentation materials–arrived at Fizz from the ADA. Within one of the nine boxes wasa study by the University of Indiana. Researchers and nutritionists at Indianafound that chocolate milk, the drink of little kids, was the perfect beverage to drink after strenuous activity. It was, in reality, a better for you, high tech sports drink. Next, Fizz traveled to Ohio for ethnographic field research. Fizz knew going in that over 65% of Ohioans live in cities under 50,000 people; 22% live in towns under 10,000. During its research process, Fizz discovered that in addition to being the local sports guru, high school football coaches are the de facto source for nutritional and performance information across Ohio. This knowledge dovetailed perfectly with the Indiana research. Few garner such esteem and respect by young adults as “coach.” These men are Influencers across Ohio from small towns to large metro communities. As such, coaches are one of the few groups addressed according to their honorifics (“Coach Smith says…”) by even the most skeptical high school teenagers. The strategy became obvious: Win over the support of the high school football coaches and the rest will follow. Fizz and the ADA decided to have conversations with coaches wherethey naturally convene–football clinics. Every year, high school footballcoaches attend intensive training clinics to gain a competitive edge on the field throughout the season. During these sessions, coaches learn and share valuable information to improve their team’s performance. Fizz and the ADA positioned themselves at these clinics to facilitate conversations about chocolate milk. Fizz mailed high school football coaches throughout Ohio with the valuable information they’d found, as well as an invitation to discuss it and to find out more. How does direct mail relate to word of mouth marketing? Coaches are accustomed to receiving poorly executed and cheaply printed marketing material, so Fizz designed interesting luxurious high-end mailers. They were not only cool, they were packed with information about chocolate milk’s benefits. It worked. The coaches were so delighted by these mailers (some brochures “mooed” as they were opened, others used luxe printing techniques)that after reading the information inside, they shared it with their whole staff. The mailers were so successful at generating conversation among coaches that they brought these mailers with them to the clinics with yellow Post-it note questions attached. To drive the message home, Fizz found NFL and MLB alumni and state championship athletes (who we called the “We Won a Ring” gang) who read, digested, and believed in the chocolate milk story. The gang, armed with this remarkable information, attended football clinics across the state interactingwith coaches at all levels. They sent a strong nonverbal message; the bright gold rings these former athletes wear needed no explanation, they tacitly convey that the wearer knows what it takes to win the championships. Some of the noted athletes included Mark Inkrott, 3-year NFL veteran, Pete Shier, former MLB player with the Orioles and the Phillies, and Tyson Yirak, Ohio State basketball champion. Their presence supported the verbal message that chocolate milk is the drink to drink after strenuous physical activity. In fact, many coaches shared their own chocolate milk story (see ADA video)with other coaches. The message these champions conveyed to the highschool coaches was simple: Chocolate milk is a terrific beverage for their playersto drink after practice and weight training. It is the equal to higher pricednutritional supplements. And, best of all, it can already be found in the highschool cafeteria. The best sports drink has been there all along: it’s chocolatemilk. Soon after the clinics ended, Fizz followed up by sending members of the “We Won a Ring” gang to the high schools loaded with chocolate milk and a story. The coaches got the message and they passed it along. Chocolate milk sales skyrocketed. Kroger’s chocolate milk sales in the Cincinnati region increased an incredible 475%. That is a Kroger system-wide record for increase in milk sales; Kroger management could not believe so much milk was being sold. In markets across Ohio, milk consumption increased 12-28% YTD as verified by IRI Scandata. This was 10 times the rate of the rest of the country. The sales rise was so dramatic that concerned convenience store owners even contacted the agency staff about chocolate milk’s possible illicit use because of the unprecedented sales to teenage boys (remember “Whipits?”). Of course, they were quickly reassured that that was not the case. Even Big Ten colleges got in on the act as their strength and training coaches heard of the power of chocolate milk. They researched it themselves, agreed with our conclusions and started not only using chocolate milk in their own programs, but began spreading the gospel of chocolate milk too! Players at the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan and the University of Iowa were drinking chocolate milk after workouts. It has become a sports drink phenomenon. ESPN caught wind of this and produced a four-and-a-half minute feature story on the once unassuming beverage for its “College Gameday”program. It sent a camera crew to the University of Washington for the story. Chocolate milk had, tongue-in-cheek, become the football team’s secretweapon. At the end of the feature, Lou Holtz, the famous college coach andcommentator, turned to camera and said, “Had I known this, my kids would have drank chocolate milk.” Throughout the entire campaign, the message stayed interesting, relevant, andauthentic. And the results show. Chocolate milk, once the drink of children isnow the refuel source for athletes at every level. Kristian Bush of Sugarland to keynote WOMMA
Posted on
October 21st, 2009
by Fizz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact: Ted Wright, Managing Partner, Fizz. m) 773-301-8514 o) 404-638-1066 Love the Fans’ Underlines WOMMA Keynote Message Country Music Star Kristian Bush Joins Fizz’s Ted Wright in Delivering Annual Address ATLANTA (October 21, 2009) — An intimate discussion of word-of-mouth marketing and lessons learned in that most competitive of marketplaces – U.S. country music – are the topics of the keynote address at the 2009 Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s annual meeting. Delivering that address November 19 will be country music Grammy winner Kristian Bush of Sugarland and WOMMA charter member Ted Wright of Atlanta-based Fizz. The event is scheduled for November 18-20 in Las Vegas. “Sugarland’s guiding principle of success is ‘love the fans’,” said Wright. “It led Sugarland to embrace the ideas of community and word-of-mouth marketing from day one.” Bush is a Grammy-winning artist with a string of No. 1 hits as half of the duo Sugarland. He and band/business partner Jennifer Nettles have been honored and featured by the gamut of pop-culture publications, representing the prototype for the future of country music. For the WOMMA event, Bush will cover a string of topics, from execution to strategy, as he walks the audience through what it takes to be both a successful artist and successful enterprise in today’s hyper-competitive market.
Sugarland is very active in word-of-mouth marketing with programs like scavenger hunts where Sugarland hides tickets for an upcoming show then leaves hints as to their location via text messages and social media outlets, in home viewing parties for their television performances, various tweets and other brand to fan communications. Sugarland has over a quarter of a million fans on their Facebook page, provides constant tweets from many of the band members and have organized their fans into the Sugarland Fan Community which is active throughout the world sharing their passion for Sugarland’s music.
- more -2/Kristian Bush Joins Fizz’s Ted Wright for WOMMA Keynote About the speakers The founder and managing partner of Fizz, Ted Wright has been at forefront of word-of-mouth marketing since he helped Neal Stewart’s team bring back Pabst Blue Ribbon in 2000. Often quoted correctly in the press, Wright leads his team of word-of-mouth marketing professionals from Fizz’s offices in Atlanta. With years of WOMM experience and beverage clients in every vertical imaginable, Fizz has branched out from being the leader in word-of-mouth marketing for the beverage industry to assist clients in the technology, hospitality, entertainment and manufacturing industries. Ted and his team at Fizz have been honored for their work with a variety of awards and the occasional bomb threat. They take none of it seriously. An alumn of Booz Allen & Hamilton, Ted holds an MBA with honors from The University of Chicago, enjoys great bourbon and drives too fast. Kristian Bush, who lives in Atlanta, GA, with his wife Jill and two children, is musical partner with Jennifer Nettles; together they make up the country music sensation Sugarland. After graduating from Emory University with a BA in creative writing, Bush’s musical career took off in the ‘90s while he was a member of the successful folk rock duo, Billy Pilgrim. In 2001, Bush left Billy Pilgrim and joined Nettles in the group Sugarland as background vocalist and guitarist. Their debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, was a phenomenal success and went double-platinum in 2005 with the hit single “Baby Girl.” Sugarland has received numerous honors, from a 2008 Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group, to being twice named
About WOMMA WOMMA (www.WOMMA.org) is the leading trade association in the marketing and advertising industries that focuses on word of mouth, consumer-generated and social media platforms – or marketing techniques that include buzz, viral, community, and influencer marketing as well as brand blogging. The organization is committed to developing and maintaining appropriate ethical standards for marketers and advertisers engaging in such marketing practices, identifying meaningful measurement standards for such marketing practices, and defining “best practices” for the industry. WOMMA currently has approximately 400 members, including marketers and brands that use word-of-mouth marketing to reinforce their core customers and to reach out to new consumers, agencies that deliver word-of-mouth services and technologies, researchers that track the word-of-mouth experience and offline and online practitioners.
Fizz quoted in Brandweek re: Amp’s app
Posted on
October 15th, 2009
by Fizz
Should Pepsi Pull Its Amp App?Experts split on significance of the energy drink’s online marketing stuntOct 14, 2009
NEW YORK PepsiCo has found itself at a crossroads regarding its now infamous “Amp Up Before You Score” iPhone app. The NC-17 rated application offers pick-up lines, strategies for picking up married women, a scorecard for sexual conquests and other edgy content. After PepsiCo received complaints that the app reinforced stereotypes about women, the company tweeted an apology as well as posted an explanation on Amp’s Facebook page. Still, the app remains available much to the disdain of some. (See also: “Does Anyone Not Dislike Amp’s iPhone App?”) Amp is currently the No. 4 selling energy drink in terms of volume. At a 9 percent share of the category for the first half of the year in major retail channels, per Beverage Digest, it is far behind Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar. Still, unlike most carbonated beverages, it is actually growing. Its volume was up 4 percent for the first half. The brand has long relied on male humor to establish itself. A Super Bowl ad, for example, showed a man with jumper cables attached to his nipples. “The bottom line is this is just another edgy way to advertise Amp,” said Bill Sipper, senior partner at Cascadia Consulting. “Kudos to them for having the Associated Press and everyone talking about it. It’s a good way to break out of a cluttered category. After all, we’re talking about a soft drink, not nuclear waste.” John Sicher, editor, Beverage Digest said, “Amp is a product that skews to young males. This is a very edgy promotion, but it’s supposed to be fun and funny. In no way is PepsiCo a company that is disrespectful to anyone.” Said Pepsi in a statement: “The application is only available to iPhone users 17 years and older who choose to opt in to the experience. It was designed to be entertaining and appeal to AMP’s target. We’ll continue to listen to the feedback and act accordingly.” The company’s earlier Twitter apology read: “Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize & appreciate your feedback. #pepsifail.”” Pepsi is learning a valuable lesson in social media marketing the hard way, said Seth Godin, blogger and author of Tribes. “For too long advertisers and marketers thought it was okay to treat women as objects to sell something. The difference between now and then is [the general public] now has a platform to complain about it. This is a symptom of platform shifting. Pepsi’s not the only brand that’s going to have to learn the lesson.” It’s not uncommon for brands within the same company to have vastly different personalities. One need look no further than Unilever, which owns the raunchy Axe body spray and Dove. The difference for Unilever is there is a clear distinction between its brands, unlike at Pepsi, which often markets its products together, said Ted Wright, owner, Fizz, a word-of-mouth marketing company that specializes in beverages. “Here is a fundamental strategic conflict between Amp and the rest of the portfolio,” he said. “If you’re going to be part of a conglomerate, it makes it very difficult for brands to talk in an authentic voice to niche audiences because it affects the other brands.” Johnson also notes that the campaign carries greater weight because “they put it out there in a public forum. It’s not like they just sent it to males. . . . The public has spoken. Pepsi needs to rethink this.” Fizz in Beer Business Daily
Posted on
September 1st, 2009
by Fizz
Beer Business Daily
September 1, 2009
A Sane Lone Voice Amongst the Chaos
Dear Client: In a sea of over-the-top articles last week bemoaning the brewers’ routine and modest Fall price increase, some with a pinch of demagoguery added, it was good to see that at least one in the mainstream press took the BBD view that prices are still lagging costs in the beer industry. The piece written by David Niclaus of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that the brewers have actually “smoothed out the effect on beer drinkers” since “g rain prices rose sharply between 2005 and 2008, and the brewers didn’t pass on the whole increase.” Indeed, beer prices have “lagged the CPI for years at a time when the economy was doing well — from 1995 to 1999, for example, and from 2005 until early last year.” This increase is much less than in year’s past (with several promo letters dealing back to last year’s deal prices) and is more about fixing the price gap between premiums and sub-premiums.
WORD-OF-MOUTH VERSUS MASS MEDIA: AN INTERESTING VIEW “But it is true that Heineken needs a killer ad campaign to at least get people talking about the brand again.” This is what I wrote last week regarding Heineken USA’s quarterly results. I got one heated response from one word-of-mouth marketing expert, Ted Wright of Fizz . He writes: “Harry, you knew I was going to jump off the top rope when you penned that line didn’t you. Ad campaigns sell beer? Really? We read how Heineken’s doing. How about Bud? Corona? Yes, every once in a while a broadcast campaign will give a brand a temporary bump (”Most interesting man in the world”) but add total the number of broadcast campaigns per year and divide that number by those that significantly raise volume over time and you’ll see that playing the Texas State Lottery makes more financial sense than broadcast beer marketing. However, word of mouth marketing works like a charm every time and scales nationally. Just ask the folks behind Dogfish Head, PBR, Blue Moon or a variety of other brands. Those brands that build on conversation between consumers and have authentic stories to share and grow year after year. BBD is constantly reporting on their impressive volume growth. Word of mouth marketing is where the American consumer is today. Those brands that take advantage of this fact will prosper.” Interesting take.
MILLERCOORS MAKES EXEC CHANGES As reported last week, MillerCoors has hired ex-Diageo exec Alison Potts as vice president, revenue management and sales development-designate, effective September 1. She will initially report to Brad Schwartz, who will remain as vice president of revenue management and sales development through the end of 2009. After that date, she will report directly to Tom Long. Meanwhile, Brad will move to a job “implementing the critical MillerCoors Market Investment Model and 2011 pricing model design. These two projects require full-time focus that Brad is uniquely suited to deliver, given his strong leadership in these areas over the last five years,” writes Tom Long in a memo. Brad’s work on freight and fuel and marketing funding earned “the trust and confidence of our system,” adds Tom. Now he’ll turn his focus toward pricing. ”Brad will lead this 2010 and 2011 transformation project design full-time as he transitions day-to-day responsibility for revenue management to Alison.”
REGULATION WORKS, SAYS REPORT
A white paper prepared by Public Action Management, PLC, a company that provides expertise in alcohol public policy, makes the case that U.S.-style regulation is crucial in preventing the problems that the UK is experiencing. ”Deregulation of alcohol has many dangerous and unintended consequences for society at large,” says the report, including “very high rates of youth intoxication; large increases in alcohol induced diseases including liver cirrhosis; and frequent public disorder and violence around pubs and nightclubs.” The UK “has a cyclical history with alcohol problems….. Today’s epidemic in the U.K. follows the path of gradual deregulation to a point where society treats alcohol the same as any other product. All forms of alcohol–beer, wine and spirits–are sold almost everywhere and can be purchased 24 hours a day.”
From 1980 to 2007, alcohol became at least 70% more affordable. “This was particularly true in grocery stores where four large supermarket chains gained 75% of the market and became locked in a price war driving alcohol prices ever lower.”
The report says that the current regulatory structure (three-tier and state regulations) “prevents price wars, eliminates tainted alcohol and collects taxes. Drunk driving has declined, although too many people still die on American highways from alcohol-induced crashes. Enforcement has curbed illegal sales to underage buyers. It is critical that Americans take the lesson from the United Kingdom with great seriousness. Unbridled and unrestrained free market forces, once unleashed, are very hard to control.”
BEER BRIEFS: BRICK BREWING of Ontario says it is being taken to court by ABI, claiming its Red Baron Lime violates the trademarks and copyrights for Bud Light Lime. ABI seeking an injunction and compensation from Brick from the Federal Court of Canada. TIM SCHOEN, 50, is leaving Anheuser-Busch to pursue other interests. Tim served as vice president of global sports and entertainment marketing. TOYOTA SAID Monday it was developing anti-drunk driving equipment that would lock the ignition of a vehicle if high levels of alcohol are detected in the driver. The system features a hand-held breathalyser, equipped with a digital camera, that detects alcohol consumption and photographs the driver’s face for identification, and can send a message to fleet administrators. The device is intended for fleet vehicles of government and companies. YOUR EDITOR will be speaking at the NBWA Convention this year in a talk titled “Behind the Headlines” on Thursday, September 24 from 7:30 to 9am. Hope to see you there. JUST ONE month left to get the early-bird discount on the Beer Industry Summit, to be held February 28 to March 1, 2010 near Phoenix at the Wildhorse Resort. Registrations are already way ahead of last year, so get your seat now. More information here: http://www.beernet.com/about_beersummit.php
Until tomorrow, Harry Lessons in marketing from German bankers?
Posted on
August 13th, 2009
by Fizz
Some folks at Deutsche Bank say that premiumization in the liquor business is dead. What’s next, finance tips from someone’s Creative Director? All joking aside we don’t see the era of anything being over. In tough times the stupid and ridiculous get weeded out. Ed McMahon’s premium vodka and silly flavored rums are probably not a good bet now but then they never were in the first place. There was just so much froth in the market that they could get launched and would live a little while before dying. WHICH SELLS MORE? THE ONE THAT CONSUMERS TALK ABOUT.
The long term data shows that quality sells - Tito’s, VeeV, Hirsch bourbon, Bluecoat gin - and BS smells. People buy brands that are worth talking about. Right now people are talking about value so brands that over deliver on the category promise are growing. Those that don’t, won’t. A quick look through the recent IRI data analysis provided below by WSD proves the point that brands with stories passed on by word of mouth are growing. Those that don’t are not. VODKA. Smirnoff, Absolut and Skyy together represent about 30% volume share of the category and for most part are holding steady in the four weeks to June 14. In terms of volume, Smirnoff grew 0.1%, Absolut grew 2.5% and Skyy grew 2.7%. Interestingly, Absolut showed much improvement from its 52-week numbers (with volumes down -8%), while Skyy was much stronger in the 52-weeks (up 17.1%). In recent years Grey Goose was a force to be reckoned with. However, volumes in the four weeks declined -5.2% and -5.9% in the 52-weeks. Focus, Design, Delivery and Report
Posted on
May 18th, 2009
by Fizz
Great WOMM-U event. Thanks to everyone for attending and asking such interesting questions. Many e-mails have come in asking for a one pager on Focus, Design, Delivery and Report. Fizz appreciates your interest in our work. We invite you to kick around our blog and website then call Ted Wright directly at 404-638-1066 to arrange a one on one meeting where the Fizz team can begin the process of implementing WOMM into your brand communications.
Fizz works in four distinct stages; Focus, Design, Delivery and Report. Each is outlined below. Our process is designed to be modular, so if you have already completed one of our steps, we are ready to seamlessly meet your needs without having to charge you for work that you have already done.
“Focus”(Planning)
“Design” (Campaign Development) “Delivery” (Execution)
“Report” (Reporting)
Real Time Updates
|
vs. 
