Ad Age

 
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The airline disasters.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 12/2004

In the last 10 years, American Airlines took in $180 billion in revenues and managed to lose almost a billion dollars. This is the airline that is widely admired for a number of marketing innovations including the launch of the first frequent flyer program. It?s not only American that has crashed financially.

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Owning a word in the business school market.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 11/2004

In its October 18th issue, Business Week published its rankings of the top business schools in the country. No. 1: Northwestern?s Kellogg School of Management. What?s interesting about the list is not the selection of Kellogg. This is the fifth time that Northwestern?s pride and joy has headed the list, more than any other business school. No, what?s interesting about the list is that all of the leaders benefited from the most important principle of marketing: Own a word in the mind.

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The trials and tribulations of Donald Trump.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 10/2004

Recently Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts announced that it would file for bankruptcy. According to executive vice president Scott Butera, shareholders will face ?significant dilution.? What went wrong? If you listen to The Donald, the Trump brand is one of the strongest brands in the world. How could three Atlantic City casinos bearing the powerful Trump name wind up in the Chapter 11 dumpster? Conventional wisdom always focuses on operating errors.

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The curse of convergence.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 9/2004

Why is much advertising so deadly dull? Perhaps it?s the lack of real product innovation. Products that are new and different and serve a real need. One culprit, in our opinion, is the concept of convergence. Instead of trying to create exciting new products, companies are spending billions trying to combine existing products.

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The power of the name.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 9/2004

You probably missed the news, but Schlotzsky?s Deli, a 513-unit sandwich chain, recently filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. What went wrong at Schlotzsky?s? If you believe what you read in the paper, it was the usual things. Intense competition from other fast food operators, a stale menu, poor operating procedures, not enough advertising.

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The Big Bang theory.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 8/2004

Should a new brand take off rapidly like a rocket ship? Or should a new brand take off slowly like an airplane? One of the enduring marketing myths is that a new brand that will eventually become a big brand has to take off in a hurry. And that a marketer should devote enormous resources to assure a rocket-ship launch. Not true.

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The mainstream vs. the secondary channels.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 7/2004

Four year ago, my partner (and daughter) Laura and I were giving a presentation in Helsinki on the perils of convergence. The cellphone, we pointed out, would never converge with the handheld computer or serve as an Internet access device. Suddenly a guy in the back of the room interrupted the presentation and shouted out, ?Wait a minute. It?s already happening. I?ve got one here in my hand. It?s a Nokia Communicator.? Marketing is not a science, it?s an art.

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The two deadly sins.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 6/2004

he big news on Wall Street this week is the forthcoming initial public offering of Google, Inc. According to The New York Times, the stock offering is expected to give Google a market value of ?at least $30 billion and perhaps $50 billion or more.? If you were a visitor from another planet, you might be asking yourself, what big, sophisticated, high-technology company is behind the success of Google?

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The future of interactive television.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 5/2004

What are the three biggest, most exciting, most dynamic industries in America? Many people would say computers, television, and the Internet. Great, why not combine the Internet with your television set and your computer? And so the cry goes up, interactive TV, the wave of the future. Some wave. In spite of decades of hype, interactive television has gone nowhere.

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Don?t fall into the mushy-middle trap.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 4/2004

Pepsi-Cola recently announced that late this summer it would launch a mid-calorie cola called ?Pepsi Edge.? Not a good idea. With 70 calories per 12-oz can, Pepsi Edge has roughly half the 150 calories found in a regular Pepsi. According to a company statement, the new product provides ?the perfect balance of taste and calories.? Pepsi Edge is a classic case of falling into the mushy-middle trap.

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Why don?t big companies launch new brands?
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 3/2004

In the last 20 years, Procter & Gamble, the world?s most magnificent marketing machine, has launched many magnificent brands. They include: Vicks, Oil of Olay, Pantene, Cover Girl, Noxzema, Clarion, Old Spice, Max Factor, Giorgio, Baby Fresh, Tampax, Iams, Spinbrush, Clairol, Wella and Glide. Wait a minute, you might be thinking. Didn?t P&G buy Glide from W.L. Gore and Wella from that German company?

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Is integrated marketing the wave of the future?
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 2/2004

The hottest topic in marketing today is ?integrated marketing.? Some professionals are calling for advertising, PR, direct mail, sales promotion and other functions to converge into one big entity. Already there are many integrated marketing firms offering their services to Corporate America. ?The wave of the future? is their rallying cry.

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All hammer and no nail.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 1/2004

Last January, a major food company launched a $40 million advertising campaign with the theme, ?It?s what your family deserves.? Forty million dollars later, do you have any idea what brand your family deserves? Do you suppose anyone, outside of the client and its agency, knows ?what brand your family deserves?? Unlikely. So, too, it is with much advertising. It?s all hammer and no nail. It?s all thunder and lightning and no rain. Why spend $40 million on an advertising program and not leave an idea in the prospect?s mind?

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