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"Entrepreneurs with "unmentionable" products must walk a fine line. Making them acceptable for polite conversation may cut off your marketing legs. Watering down the brand can take all the zing out of it and as a result it may go unnotices," says Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta marketing firm."
BusinessWeek. February 20, 2008.
Not too hot.
"Airborne's false advertising claim will probably be quickly forgotten, asserted Laura Ries, partner of branding consultancy Ries & Ries. "As a brand, Airborne has a lot of trust with consumers," she said. "It has been immensely successful with its marketing and packaging. It also didn't admit to wrongdoing, but I think the company did a smart thing by settling the case. Strong brands tend to survive and consumers are willing to forgive.
"
Adweek. March 7, 2008.
Airborne Can Stay Healthy.
"But brand expert Laura Ries questions whether truck tours and experiential campaigns can change Hitachi's image of being "just another consumer brand from Japan." The president of Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries says Hitachi has a branding problem that's not solved with product placements and trucks that let consumers come inside, touch, feel and view HD movies...."If you don't have a brand, you're selling a commodity."
Media Post. March 4, 2008
Thin Is In For Marketing Hitachi HDTV Brand.
"You never want to count a strong brand out,” says marketing strategist Laura Ries of Ries & Ries in Atlanta. “A strong brand, like a strong celebrity, can come back if the right choices are made going forward.
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Dow Jones, MarketWatch. January 7, 2008.
Is Starbucks a Broken Brand?
"Al Gore did a brilliant joy of selling the message of global warming - he packaged it and sold it to America and I think the world. But go to the checkout counter and people are not always walking the walk."
New York Times, January 6, 2008.
We Agreed to Agree, and Forgot to Notice.
"Brand guru Laura Ries called the marketing maneuver brilliant. "Retailers have put us in this mind-set where we don't want to shop unless there is a sale," said Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing consultant and co-author of "The Origin of Brands." "It's just the newest and latest holiday for getting people to shop.
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Chicago Tribune, November 27, 2007.
Cyber Monday's new reality.
"There was just no believability that Tiger was dying to drive a Buick. The brand personalities just didn't go tegether, like iol and water. Buick is an older person's car. Tiger is very young, very cool and at the top of his game. You imagine him driving a Bentley or a Mercedes or a Lexus."
The New York Times, June 22, 2007
G.M. to Alter Tiger Woods's Role in Its Ads
"Consumers are aware that the most credibile mention of a company is in a story appearing in a paper like The Wall Street Journal and the least credibile is in a 30 second advertisement," says Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing firm based in Atlanta. Brands are not built by ad resources. Brands are built by PR."
Inc magazine. January 16, 2006.
How to become a Household Name.
"If pro football's audience continues to add women, it would increase the number of potential advertisers and the worth of the league's broadcast rights. "Certainly, if more women watch, the value goes up," said Laura Ries, brand consultant and author of "The Origin of Brands."
"Football has become one of the truly last-standing mass media events of TV," she added. "There used to be a lot of events that everybody watched. Now there are almost none left.
"
Chicago Tribune. February 3, 2007.
NFL's female fan base grows
"In Ford’s case, though, the Taurus brand had become so damaged by the end that it is unlikely to conjure images of the company’s glory days in many car buyers’ minds, said Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm based in Atlanta.
“Unfortunately, they let the Taurus die. Once you do that to a brand, it’s difficult to bring it back,” Ms. Ries said. “Consumers are not necessarily going to remember the best days of the Taurus.”
"
The New York Times, February 7, 2007
Ford Will Resurrect the Taurus Brand
"''It's very difficult when you have to start and stop a campaign,'' said Laura Ries, president of the Atlanta marketing firm Ries & Ries. ''It's going to take a great effort to get it up and rolling again.''
She added: ''This is indeed a big vehicle for them. It had a lot of word-of-mouth potential. It was different, it was unique. And having to start and stop the campaign has caused them some problems and loss of momentum.''...
''It's not impossible to regain momentum,'' said Ms. Ries, the marketing expert. ''If something is a good idea, an unfortunate kind of blip like this can be overcome.'' "
The New York Times, December 22, 2006
Ford Is Moving the Edge Squarely to Center Stage.
"The message seems to be, ‘If you don’t buy our truck, we will go bankrupt,’ ” said Al Ries of Ries & Ries, a brand consultancy. “The kind of people who buy trucks are not going to buy them because a company is in trouble. People like to buy from winners.”"
The New York Times, October 30, 2006.
American Tragedies, to Sell Trucks (The new Chevrolet Silverado ad campaign)
"However, the company will have to be careful not to cannibalize sales of its existing products, or give consumers the impression that something is wrong with the items they already offer, Ms. Ries said.
"I have small children, and Goldfish are a staple. But you don't want to give moms the impression that there is something wrong with the original," she said. Ms. Ries also expects some consumers will simply buy the whole-grain version of the Goldfish rather than the regular, instead of boosting sales overall.
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The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2005.
Pepperidge Farms to Highlight Taste of Whole-Wheat Products.
""Once a brand is well established in the mind, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to change its meaning," says Laura Ries, a brand consultant and author of "The Origin of Brands." ... "People won't give you a chance," Ries says."
Chicago Tribune. December 24, 2006.
To thine own brand be true. Wal-Mart's flirtation with upscale marketing hasn't panned out for the low-cost big-box retail giant.
"I think overall there is a watering down of (advertising) budgets," Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy company in Atlanta, said. Advertisers have not increased their budgets to match the rising number of outlets, she said. "The slump is not the result of a soft economy or a move to a new medium. They're moving it (advertising dollars) all over the place because they're looking for something that works.
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Reuters, September 21, 2006.
Advertising woes hit NY Times and other publishers.
"For most beer companies, what matters most is how much the campaigns influence sales in the end, said Laura Ries, the president of Ries & Ries, a brand strategy firm in Atlanta.
'I don't think it necessarily worked for them,' she said of Miller Lite's provocative ads in the past. 'All thoes sexy ads got them a lot of negative P.R. and teenage boys giggling, but it didn't move much beer.'"
The New York Times. May 1, 2006
Beer Ads that Ditch the Bikinis, but Add Threads of Thought.
"I don't think you can change perception of a brand that's been around as long as Macy's by bringing in celebrities. says Look what Buick tried to do with Tiger Woods. Nobody believed that Tiger Woods drives a Buick. And nobody believes that Hollywood celebrities shop at Macy's."
USA Today, September 18, 2007
Macy's hopes star power lifts its profile
"Laura Ries, a partner at brand consultancy Ries & Ries, disagrees. "Selling kids music DVDs at Starbucks is a lousy idea," Ms. Ries says. "Most parents go to Starbucks to get away from the kids." Ms. Berkner is likely to see seen but not heard. A Starbucks spokeswoman says it has "no plans at this time" to play Ms. Berkner's music over its in-store speakers."
The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2006
A Tall Skinny Latte and Now Kid Tunes.
"But so far, "Every Day Is an Opening Day" has been met with confusion. "I have no idea what it means," said Laura Ries, the president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm outside Atlanta. "The main problem with most destination slogans is that they generally don't say anything and try to encompass too many things, and this is just another example of that."
"
The New York Times, November 17, 2005.
Atlanta Looks to Sum Itself Up in Just Six Words.
"Others argue that brand dilution also is a problem. "Kraft has its name on way too many things. It doesn't stand for anything. What is a Kraft?" asks Laura Ries, co-author of The Origin of Brands. "If you put Kraft on a shopping list and give it to your husband, what will he come home with? It's the husband test, and if you fail it, you're in big trouble." Nowhere is competition fiercer than the nation's grocery aisles. Health-conscious shoppers are gravitating toward organic foods and healthier snacks, Ries said. Many find them at Whole Foods, the upscale grocery chain known for its premium prices, or Trader Joe's, a specialty food store that offers its own brands at bargain prices."
Chicago Tribune. February 5, 2006.
Sandwiched, and in a pickle.
"Obviously this is bad publicity for Starbucks," said Al Ries, chairman of marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries. "I also don't like the notion of a chain like Starbucks, which is selling expensive coffee, to be giving anything away. You give it away for free, you are telling people it isn't worth much."
Reuters, August 30, 2006.
Starbucks ends free iced coffee in US.
"The thing that makes this issue really, really bad is that this isn't the first time it's come up," said Al Ries, head of marketing firm Ries & Ries. "I think the companies are going to take a big hit in sales over the next couple of years." ..... And Ries agreed, saying that "big companies deal with these issues with facts rather than with emotions ... If I were the chief executive I would get on a plane and go to India."
Reuters, August 25, 2006.
Pop or flop? Coke and Pepsi's India dreams crash.
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