Ad Age

 
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'Modelitus' Is the Primary Cause of Toyota's Troubles
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 3/2010

The Toyota Production System is world famous for its focus on "continuous improvements." With all those improvements continuously taking place, why has Toyota suddenly found itself in deep trouble? You might have your own theory, but here is mine: "Modelitus." There isn't just one Toyota production line. There are dozens. In total, Toyota Motor Corporation produces 36 different models, up from 18 a decade ago.

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Once Brand Takes Flight, It's Hard to Bring It Down.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 5/2010

Tylenol, Toyota and Tiger: Almost Impervious to Flak. "You can't beat somebody with a nobody" is the old political axiom, and it applies to marketing, too. Lately, a number of marketing somebodies have gotten into serious trouble. Typical reaction in the media: "Whoops! There goes the brand." Not so fast. Once a brand has a strong position in consumers' minds, it is almost impervious to flak.

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Filling the holes in your mind.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 4/2010

There’s the key and the lock. The bolt and the nut. The button and the button hole. So, too, there’s the position and the hole in the mind the position is trying to fill. Except, of course, many marketers seem to have forgotten about those holes in the mind. Which is strange. If there is one constant in the communications chatter about the marketing function it’s this one: The consumer owns the brand. True enough. But where in the world is the consumer going to put the brand except in his or her mind?

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The rise and fall of high-fructose corn syrup.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 6/2010

High-fructose corn syrup is getting a bad name. Hunt’s ketchup is the latest product to replace corn syrup with old-fashioned sugar. Gatorade, Wheat Thins, Ocean Spray cranberry juice and all the baked goods at Starbucks are now made with regular sugar. In New York State, a bill to ban the sale of food containing high-fructose corn syrup was introduced earlier this year.

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Comcast needs a new strategy not a new brand.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 7/2010

Comcast is in the process of rebranding some of its offerings to “Xfinity” although the company name will remain Comcast. Consumers in 11 markets will have a choice of Xfinity TV, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Internet. Presumably, Comcast will soon be rolling out these high-speed, high-definition services to other prospects in the 39 states the company serves. Is this a good move?

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Why are so many companies and brands focused on one name when they really need two?
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 8/2010

A nickname is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. People who use a brand’s nickname feel closer to the product than those who don’t. As a matter of fact, nicknames are one of the most under-utilized aspects of marketing. If at all possible, every company and every brand should have a formal name as well as a nickname. Two names are better than one.

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What good are the words to a song without the music?
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 2/2010

In a song, what’s more important the words or the music? I think most people would agree that the music is more important. Advertising need visuals in the same way that lyrics need music if you want to drive your words into the minds of your prospects. Without a visual hammer, an advertising campaign is almost certain to fail.

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The principles of marketing can be summarized in one word: FOCVS
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 1/2010

A number of people have asked us to summarize our marketing principles in a simple, easy-to-remember way. Good thought. Having written (or co-written) 11 books on the subject, I can see how our basic principles can get buried in a blizzard of examples and case histories. What’s the No.1 principle of marketing, at least as far as we’re concerned? It’s the principle of focus. You narrow the focus in order to own a word in the mind of the consumer. Without a focus, it’s very difficult to build a strong brand. And without a strong brand, any company’s future is in doubt. While “focus” should be the key ingredient in any marketing campaign, it’s not the whole story. So we developed an acronym called “FOCVS” which does sum up our key thoughts.

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Names don’t matter
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 12/2009

On my first real job (at General Electric in Schenectady, New York) I noticed a consistent advertiser in the electrical publications with an unusual name. A company selling wire and cable was called “Crapo.” Presumably pronounced Cra-po and not Crap-o. That’s terrible, I thought. Oh no, my more experienced colleagues said, one of the first things you need to learn in this business is that names don’t matter. What matters is the quality of the product. That’s been a common refrain in my years of marketing work. Whenever I objected to a brand name, I would hear the same thing: Names don’t matter.

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The TGIF revolution is only half the story.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 11/2009

If you were a first-time visitor from Mars and you happened to drop into a marketing meeting somewhere in the United States, you might assume that marketing people do nothing but talk about “TGIF.” That’s Twitter, Google, the Internet and Facebook. There’s no question these four revolutionary developments have forever changed the marketing function. Word of mouth has now become word of finger. A key difference: Word of mouth leaves an invisible trail in the ether. Word of finger leaves an electronic trail on the Internet.

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The downside of upgrades
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 10/2009

A recent trend is the downgrading of established brands by upgraded line extensions. Take Budweiser Select. According to Anheuser-Busch, “When it comes to brewing beer, the prevailing assumption is that you can't have it both ways. You can either aim for the best possible flavor, forgetting about calories and carbs; OR you can keep the calorie count in check, and sacrifice taste along the way. Budweiser Select is the exception to these brewing rules.” So what does that make Anheuser-Busch’s other low-calorie beer?

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Slowly But Surely, Line Extensions Will Take Your Brand Off Course
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 9/2009

Marketing is like steering a ship. If you don’t wait long enough for a marketing effect to run its course, you can draw exactly the wrong conclusion. Take Anheuser-Busch’s 1981 introduction of Bud Light, virtually the last major brewer to introduce a light version of its regular beer. Wouldn’t that hurt sales of Budweiser regular, I asked management. Instead, why don’t you introduce a totally new brand? Oh no, came the reply. We’re not positioning Bud Light against Budweiser. We’re going to take business from Miller Lite, Coors Light, Schlitz Light and all those other light beers out there.

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