Facebook takes on Groupon

Facebook, the social network, is trialling a new "daily deals" service, putting it into direct competition with early category leaders like Groupon and LivingSocial.

The Web 2.0 pioneer's latest initiative expands on the geo-location tools developed for the company's Places platform, and augments the promotional offers provided through Facebook Deals.

Daily deals will initially run in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.

Visitors can view a dedicated page detailing all the current discounts, money-off schemes and other enticements pursued by marketers, accessing this section of Facebook via a link from their personal homepage.

Similar to Google's search engine, Facebook may have found a way to successfully monetise the long tail of small enterprises, by promising a large audience on a comparatively modest budget.

"Local businesses will be able to sign up to use this feature soon and people will be able to find deals in the coming weeks," a Facebook statement said.

Emily White, Facebook's director of local operations, further suggested Facebook's social focus could now extend offline.

"You won't get your legs waxed with friends," she said. "You dine out, you go to concerts, you do outdoor activities. We want to make sure those experiences are maximised."

Alongside its in-house sales unit, Facebook is working with nine firms, like restaurant booking specialist Open Table, family-orientated social shopping site Plum District and high-end equivalent Gilt City, to source offers.

Zozi, which prioritises holidays and adventurous travel trips, is another member of this group.

"We are very excited about the Facebook partnership. They are an extraordinarily strong company with the largest number of page views on the web," said TJ Sassani, Zozi's chief executive.

"That's helpful when we talk to merchants."

One problem to be overcome by Facebook, and the whole sector, is the fact many organisations, particularly smaller businesses, cannot match demand, and therefore actually make a loss.

"There are some downsides to having a huge audience," said Greg Sterling, a senior analyst at Opus Research.

"For national advertisers, it's double-edged as well. The minute something appears that's any good, people will be all over that."

Lou Kerner, a Wedbush Securities analyst, argued such a strategy pushes Facebook to the forefront of an increasingly intense online battle.

"Local is the last frontier that the internet has not conquered, and everyone is going after it with a vengeance," said Kerner.

"This news is just kind of an evolutionary moment in Facebook's drive to be a major player in local."

Consultancy BIA/Kelsey predicted US consumer expenditure on "deal a day" goods and services would rise 35.1% a year in the near term, climbing from $873m in 2010 to $1.2bn in 2011, and hitting $3.9bn by 2015.

Based on an optimistic reading - where the amount of featured cities, registered users, average transactions and price beat current forecasts - BIA/Kelsey anticipated the 2015 total might reach $6.1bn.

"We expect to see some shift in local media spending resulting from the adoption of deal a day by local advertisers," said Peter Krasilovsky, BIA/Kelsey's vp and program director, Marketplaces.

"We also believe that deal a day doesn't exist in a vacuum. It will become a part of the growing deals and offers landscape."

To gain a meaningful foothold, Facebook must take on LivingSocial, which has previously received investment from Amazon, and Groupon, thought to be considering an initial public offering.

"Some investors may get spooked," said Sterling. "In the old days, everybody worried about Google entering every segment of the market. And now Facebook is another concern."

P&G pushes big ideas

Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods giant, is using "store-back branding" to ensure the big ideas behind its products transfer from advertising and marketing to the retail arena.

Speaking with business title Forbes, Phil Duncan, P&G's global design officer, suggested adopting an integrated model is vital.

More specifically, while successful ad campaigns - such as the "Thanks, Mom" umbrella effort for last year's Winter Olympics and "Smell Like a Man, Man" on behalf of Old Spice - are key, they cannot function in isolation.

"We make sure we can translate the big idea, or ideal, in a signature visual or with a few simple words. For example, the idea driving the Crest brand is a 'healthy, beautiful smile,'" said Duncan.

This process necessarily begins at the early stages of innovation, as the owner of Tide and Pampers attempts to guarantee its offerings stand out as buyers reach the "moment of truth".

"We tell our teams that as they develop the idea to think about the most difficult branding arena first, which is, of course, the shopping arena," Duncan added.

"We call this store-back branding. We use the store-back branding approach first so we can evaluate whether the big idea will work where and when the consumer is in an actual purchasing state of mind."

P&G now regularly employs digital simulations of supermarkets both to identify the optimal display level to catch the attention of customers, and in focus groups assessing packaging.

"Often the in-store execution, whether it's the packaging or point of sale material, is the only marketing the consumer sees," Duncan argued.

"We need to make sure our communication of the core brand idea is not only reinforced in the store, but that it can stand alone in the store."

Such "retail branding" initiatives must bolster the central product proposition, and can also be deployed alongside alternative channels to help shoppers acquire an overall picture.

"Because packaging is essential in retail activation, we use our online efforts to showcase the packaging within a store environment," said Duncan.

While all of these factors can exert an influence on the ultimate decisions made by customers, this outcome is most likely to occur if marketers emphasise a "single idea", Duncan continued.

In an example of this, the latest creative concept supporting P&G's Gain detergent range is called "Love at first sniff."

This notion has been leveraged to inform various promotional strategies, indicating the cross-media possibilities that result from imbuing a brand with a clear, consistent message.

"Through our television and video ventures we encourage people to literally take the cap off the Gain bottle and smell the detergent," said Duncan.

"Once they actually smell it they're more apt to buy it."

Effectively adapting to the retail space thus offers firms major advantages against competitors by building on the awareness and perceptions created by communications utilising other mediums.

"We've essentially shortened the path to purchase. The objective for all marketers is to use the in-store experience to reinforce the brand benefits as communicated in other channels," Duncan concluded.

Ethics pay for GE, eBay

General Electric, eBay and Aflac are among the world's "most ethical companies", according to a study published by specialist think-tank the Ethisphere Institute.

Ethisphere assessed 3,000 organisations from 36 countries, naming 110 as performing particularly well in terms of citizenship, social responsibility, governance, innovation and leadership.

General Electric, Zappos, Best Buy, Cisco and UPS were some of the leading US players credited with boasting strong credentials in this area.

Insurance provider Aflac has assumed the same status for five years in a row, one of 26 brand owners achieving repeated success on such a scale.

It adopted an extremely open approach during the financial crisis, revealing details of outstanding bonds on the web to reassure investors.

"There is a tendency, I think, in corporate America and in our personal lives to say, 'This will go away, let's not deal with it,'" said Daniel Amos, Aflac's chief executive.

"I have generally found it is better to go ahead and get it out in front of people and if it goes away, so be it. Don't try to wait or it just grows and gets bigger as time goes on."

The 36 new entries featured in Ethisphere's 2011 table included information technology giant Microsoft and consumer goods manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive.

Internet auction pioneer eBay was a further debutant, and John Donahoe, the firm's chief executive, argued this result demonstrates how its core principles can be transferred offline.

"eBay was founded on the belief that strangers could trust and connect with one another through global commerce," he said.

"Building this trust requires a sustained commitment to doing business with the highest level of integrity."

Hotel chain Marriott International, equally praised by the Ethisphere Institute, has ensured the probity of its practices at home remain consistent abroad.

Bill Marriott, the network's chief executive, cited the example of pressure to make unofficial payments in many nations, even for basic amenities.

"There are these 'facilitative payments,' I guess they call them, where you have a general manager of a hotel and they tell him, 'You want your trash picked up at Friday at 8am? We want a little extra.' We don't do it. We just say no," said Marriott.

"When we go outside the United States, I think people are accepting the fact that we don't do this."

"If you have accepted something, then you know that you are dealing with someone who won't put up with it, then it goes away."

Hitachi Data Systems, the storage solutions provider, similarly made Ethisphere's list, and has taken rigorous steps to guarantee its activity is suitably transparent.

"We've set up a solid program with the best proven features, including a global anti-corruption program developed for our operations around the world," said Jack Domme, Hitachi Data Systems' chief executive.

"Having this distinction by an external, independent review benchmarked against companies across industries sets us apart as an industry leader and employer of choice."

The Ethisphere Institute reported members of its cohort have outperformed the S&P index by an average 7.3% a year since 2007, and delivered a 27% return to shareholders over the same period, beating a norm of -8.5%.

"This year we had more nominations for companies based outside of the United States than ever before," added Alex Brigham, its executive director. "We also had more foreign-based companies recognised than ever before."

"This is a positive sign to us, as it indicates that ethics is becoming a serious issue around the world."

These 42 enterprises housed mobile operator Singapore Telecom, Brazilian health and beauty manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos, and Indian real estate group the Housing Development Finance Corporation.

Unilever plots R&D drive

Unilever, the FMCG giant, is heightening its focus on innovation, seen as a key growth driver given rising commodity costs and challenging trading conditions in the US and Western Europe.

The company, which manufacturers leading brands like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Persil detergent and the Dove beauty range, has adopted a different approach to R&D after appointing Paul Polman as chief executive.

Guiding principles now incorporate rolling out fewer, but more substantial, new items and brand extensions, often unveiled in between 30 and 40 markets in quick succession.

Recent introductions include Dove Men+Care, the Knorr Stock Pot and Axe Twist, and the firm believes many such projects can realistically be expected to deliver incremental revenues of €50m ($69.7; £43.4m) in their first year.

Speaking at the Reuters Global Food and Agriculture Summit, Michael Polk, Unilever's president of global food, home and personal products, suggested current results proved progress had been made.

"In 2010, roughly 33% of our turnover was touched by innovation, which is a very good number by industry standards," he said.

"That's a big number. We hope to sustain that, and will sustain it, if not increase that."

Looking ahead, Unilever intends to fuel future sales expansion through delivering new offerings capable of making a significant impression on the bottom line.

"Innovation will step up in 2011 versus 2010. It needs to. And in 2012 versus 2011. It needs to in order for us to realise the ambition we have stated externally," said Polk.

Advertising and promotions play an integral role in supporting this pipeline, and the Anglo-Dutch operator has boosted its outlay here by €700m across the last two years.

Improving the effectiveness of communications has been a major objective during the last five years, enhancing what Polk termed the "equity benefits that have accrued to our brands".

Overall, Polk described Unilever's primary "formula" as "great brands and innovation ... the work we are doing in the marketing area on the brands themselves, product quality, product performance and innovation."

Such values could be essential for the company, as the input costs required for raw materials like edible oils, tea, tomatoes and milk are growing, set to make up 4% of Unilever's turnover in 2011.

As raising prices will also form a central part of the organisation's strategy in response to this trend, creating goods able to command a premium thus constitutes an important goal.

"We will price to the degree the consumer is prepared to pay ... without compromising our growth agenda and to the degree that the competitive environment allows," said Polk.

Tata Motors turns to retail

Tata Motors, the Indian automaker, is seeking to boost sales of its Nano "minicar" by selling it through the stores of discount retail chain Big Bazaar.

Owned by Future Group, Big Bazaar started offering Tata Motors' pioneering low-cost vehicle to shoppers in 120 outlets around a month ago.

"This began as a pilot project to see whether a car can actually be sold through a hypermarket," said Sandip Tarkas, Future Group's customer strategy president, told Livemint.

"So far, it has lived up to the expectations."

More specifically, Big Bazaar has sold 450 units to date, or 5% of the total 8,262 Nano purchases made by Indian consumers across February 2011.

"There is a lot of commonality between Big Bazaar consumers and prospective Nano buyers"

"Big Bazaar as a concept appeals to the masses and with over 150m footfalls every year, we are trying to see how we can sell Nano, which has a similar positioning."

"The arrangement has been in place for over a month now and we're encouraged by the results so far."

This approach marks the latest evolution of Tata's efforts to stimulate demand for the Nano after sales hit just 509 vehicles in November 2010.

It has begun using an increasingly diverse range of alternative vendors, as well as kiosks, to engage potential customers in different settings than car forecourts, and also offers several financial plans.

"Tata Motors may have now realised that for a product like Nano, conventional distribution systems such as car showrooms can only help to an extent," said Sonam Udasi, head of research at IDBI Securities.

"Big Bazaar's customers, mostly value conscious people, will directly fit in the profile of Nano buyers."
Given the promising results of this trial scheme thus far, Tata Motors and Big Bazaar are considering their options as to how it can be developed going forward.

"We believe there is synergy in the customer segment being targeted by Tata Nano and the Future Group through their Big Bazaar outlets," Debasis Ray, Tata Motors head of corporate communications, said.

Amazon mixes "desire", price

Amazon, Colgate and Nokia are the brands most effectively balancing building "desire" with competing on price, a multimarket study has revealed.

Drawing on shopper data from the annual BrandZ rankings, research firm Millward Brown assessed perceptions covering 7,341 products in 22 countries.

Each item was analysed in terms of desirability and price, with the gap between these figures employed to inform an overall "Value-D" index rating.

A total surpassing 100 points indicated that intangible factors played a greater role than cost in shaping attitudes.

Just 7% of consumers solely emphasised financial matters when making purchases, measured against 20% ten years ago.

By contrast, 81% of the panel agreed wider contributors exerted an important influence on such decisions.

"Too many brands fail to fully optimise their power and instead overemphasise price and downplay desire," said Peter Walshe, Millward Brown's global BrandZ director.

"The consumer usually desires a brand first and then considers the price to determine whether to purchase or not."

Some 31% of the featured offerings fell in the "good value" category, rated more highly for appeal than by how expensive they were.

Key characteristics shared by this group - members of which posted an average score of 111 points - included being "friendly", "fun" and "kind".

Another 28% of the sample fitted the definition of "poor value", viewed as relatively cheap but lacking in broader allure.

This selection, associated with words such as "innocent", "different" and "rebellious", received a collective rating of 95 points.

Only 11% of goods and services met the "justified premium" criteria, performing well in both areas, seen as "attractive", "trustworthy" and "creative", and generating a norm of 108 points.

Elsewhere, 30% of Millward Brown's pool were "expensive", boasting attributes like "sexy", "assertive" and "in control", and comparatively large price tags, therefore averaging 90 points in all.

Online retailer Amazon easily led the charts, logging 133 points for desire and a modest 87 points for the amount typically charged, yielding a combined 146 points.

"Amazon.com has mastered the art of being a trusted brand that consumers want to buy goods from," said Walshe.

"Its pricing is perceived to be great value, but it is its brand power that attracts customers in the first place."

Colgate, the toothpaste, was in second with 133 points, drawn from 122 points for desire and 89 points regarding price.

Nokia, like Amazon and Colgate inside the "great value" cohort, claimed third, as these numbers hit 128 points, 122 points and 94 points respectively.

Pampers was the leading product from the "justified premium" segment, lodging 112 points concerning the outlay required by shoppers, and 130 points for desire, translating to 126 points as a whole.

Visa completed the top five on 125 points, the same as Coca-Cola and Microsoft, although the latter two members of this trio registered higher figures when judging desirability and price.

Fast-food chain McDonald's reached 124 points, Nescafé logged 120 points, and Lidl secured 118 points, almost wholly driven by its focus on discounting.

Aldi, Kia, Vaseline, Suzuku, H&M, Dove and Hyundai were the other brands scoring particularly well in this area.

While not making the top ten, BMW, Apple and Sony all held an aspirational appeal, but also seemed expensive to respondents.

Coke tops UK grocery charts

Coca-Cola remains the biggest-selling grocery brand in the UK, according to a new report.

Trade title The Grocer has published its latest annual ranking of the leading products in the country by value sales, based on Nielsen data, and found Coca-Cola became the first member of the list to surpass £1bn  ($1.8bn; €1.3bn) in returns in 2009.

The soft drink also yielded an 8.3% improvement in 2010, as totals reached nearly £1.1bn.

In response to the challenging financial climate, Coca-Cola has adopted a stricter approach, trimming the number of items on store shelves, and zoning in on core priorities.

"You mess with a winning formula at your peril," said Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer editor.

"And the perilous economy has persuaded many of Britain's biggest brands to play it safe, most notably Coca-Cola, the biggest of them all."

"In the past two years, it has stripped the proposition back to just Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero. And to telling effect."

Warbuton's bread held second, logging a 1.5% lift as figures hit £742.4m, and PepsiCo's Walkers crisps secured a 4.2% increase, to £591m.

Hovis, also in the bread category, took fourth but experienced a 6.5% decline, delivering £426.1m, and Cadbury's Dairy Milk expanded 11.8%, to £418.3m.

This latter result came despite considerable controversy surrounding the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, the American food group.

Kingsmill was the third entrant from the bread sector, with its £389.9m marking a 4.8% jump on the previous 12 months.

Nescafé, the instant coffee owned by Nestlé, saw a 3.5% rise to £384.9m, and Lucozade, GlaxoSmithKline's energy drink, posted a 9.4% leap, coming in at £370.1m.

Demand for Andrex toilet tissue grew by 1%, on £353.7m, but Robinsons soft drinks slipped 2.3%, to £314.8m.

Pepsi's eponymous cola and Tropicana followed in the rankings, generating £308m and £292.2m respectively.

Doritos, falling within Pepsi's Frito-Lay division, enjoyed an impressive annual uptick, growing 20.7% to £123.7m.

"One of the most important 'insights' to emerge in recent times is the 'big night in'," said Leyland. "The most obvious beneficiary has been Doritos."

Heinz had two products in the top 20, as soups racked up £230.3m, augmented by another £228.7m in sales of its Beanz range.

Cadbury's Biscuits, made under licence by Burton's Foods, featured in the 100 best-selling lines for the first time, over 30% higher than the previous year, on £88.2m.

Elsewhere, Mars witnessed an even more difficult trend, as its main chocolate bar was off 14%, receiving £102.1m.

Richard Buchanan, director of brand consultancy The Clearing, argued the chocolate segment's resilience had largely been driven by female shoppers, leaving Mars at a disadvantage.

"Mars is looking a bit past its sell-by date," he said. "Look at its black, red and gold branding - it is the Ford Capri of chocolate bars. It oozes masculinity."

Goodfella's pizza actually dropped out of the top 100, registering a 15.5% decline, to £74.7m.

The Black and White milk range owned by Robert Wiseman dairies also recorded a surge in revenues, climbing 19.1%, to £156.5m.

Apple's iPad 2 sells out

Apple's iPad 2, the latest version of the company's pioneering tablet, appears to have sold out on the first day following its US launch, new figures suggest.

Piper Jaffray, the investment bank and securities specialist, surveyed 236 people waiting to purchase an iPad 2, and also visited retailers such as Target, Best Buy and Apple's store network to assess current availability.

It estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 units of the improved device were snapped up during its opening weekend, measured against 300,000 for the original product, introduced in April 2010.

Moreover, nearly all of the second-generation appliances were obtained in one day, as inventory apparently almost entirely ran out on Saturday, March 11.

Some 30% of individuals interested in buying the most recent addition to Apple's portfolio were picking up the 64GB iPad 2, 41% wanted a 32GB equivalent, and 30% preferred the more basic 16GB model.

More specifically, 47% stated a preference for the 3G and WiFi, meaning 53% had chosen the WiFi-only iPad.

Perhaps the statistic holding greatest importance for Apple was that 70% of people acquiring an iPad 2 had not bought the first version of the firm's slate.

"We believe this shows Apple is expanding its base of iPad users, which is critical to maintaining its early lead in the growing tablet market," Gene Munster, a senior analyst at Piper Jaffray, told Fortune.

"As the user base grows Apple's lead widens, and the company has a proven track record of building unmatched brand loyalty, which we believe will be a potent combination as the tablet market evolves."

Overall, 38% of the panel mainly intended to access the iPad 2 for surfing the net, 22% cited sending and receiving email, 14% wanted to watch video, 17% emphasised gaming, and 6% would employ it as an e-reader.

Elsewhere, 51% of this group had previously purchased a Mac and 49% possessed another form of personal computer.

However, a limited 3% minority expected the iPad 2 to replace these machines, while 97% anticipated utilising both channels.

Exactly 80% of the sample owned an iPod, standing at 65% concerning the iPhone, and 24% regarding Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

Deutsche Bank also called 100 retailers, including 50 outlets operated by Apple, 20 apiece by Best Buy and Wal-Mart, and the remainder belonging to AT&T or Verizon.

Chris Whitmore, a Deutsche Bank analyst, argued that Apple had set a new benchmark, even compared with the organisation's high standards.

"Our checks pointed to a shocking 100% stock out rate across Apple/authorised retail stores just a few hours into the official launch Friday evening, contributing to what we believe was one of the company's most successful product launches to date," he said.

India key for Unilever

Unilever, the FMCG giant, is putting India at the heart of efforts to double its revenues by 2020.

The company can trace its history in India back to 1888, but believes local unit Hindustan Unilever (HUL) could now be set to experience an unparalleled expansion in sales.

"India is the second-most populous country after China, and the bulk of our consumers are here," Paul Polman, Unilever's chief executive, said, the Business Standard reported.

"The volume growth in the country has been the best in the last 30 years and we are rolling out bigger and faster innovations."

He added: "We will create another HUL in a short period of time than what we did in last 100 years."

Given the rapid changes occurring in India as a result of rising affluence and infrastructure development, considerable flexibility is necessary on the part of corporations.

"The growth rate in India is so fast that it looks like a different country every six months," said Polman. "Every time I come, I get energised because there are so many things happening.

"If you take a helicopter view, this country is moving fast in the right direction. There are more people coming out of poverty and the standards of living are improving."

Around 75% of Unilever's emerging market sales are generated from its household and personal care products, with food only contributing 25%, and redressing this imbalance could prove a substantial task.

"The penetration of packaged foods in India is just about 4% to 5%," said Polman.

"The cooking environment here is complex. I don't deny the importance of foods in our business. But to be able to double the business, foods would have to grow at 50% per annum."

While launching established brands in new areas has formed a central element of Unilever's strategy, it is also attempting to meet the distinct requirements of local shoppers.

"The mantra here is always been, what is right for India long term, is right for Unilever," said Polman.

"It is with this vision and modus operandi that we have built one of the most successful companies in India."

"The potential here is enormous. We see the potential to continue to grow as well as we are doing now."

Elsewhere, Polman suggested India would be a "feeder of ideas" for R&D across the globe, a trend which applies to Asia as a whole.

"Companies will shift their innovation capabilities and their new introductions to emerging markets," he said.

One example of this is Pureit filters, currently present in 4.5m Indian residences, providing safe drinking water and stimulating revenue growth.

"It will continue to reach more households as consumers realise the need for safe drinking water," Polman said.

"But the key point is that we are taking the learnings derived here to other markets. We are rapidly looking to roll out Pureit in markets such as Indonesia, China Vietnam and Brazil."

Having recently established a wide-ranging sustainability agenda, Polman stated Unilever is not worried about governmental proposals in India which could demand firms set aside 2% of profits for social projects.

"We are on a … sustainable business model, where everything we do is around improving the health nutrition, sustainable growth, ensuring that the total value chain benefits from where we are," Polman said.

PepsiCo turns to nostalgia

PepsiCo, the food and beverage giant, is turning to nostalgia as a way of promoting a number of its leading products.

The company has recently been selling "throwback" cans of its eponymous cola, using a template and colour scheme like that featured in famous ads starring model Cindy Crawford during the 1980s.

Over the last few months, these offerings have boosted Pepsi sales by one share point, with roughly half this figure, or approximately $110m, counting as incremental growth.

Indeed, the organisation has decided to extend this programme for the foreseeable future, including using sugar, as was traditionally the case, rather than the more contemporary high-fructose corn syrup.

Elsewhere, the firm has introduced versions of its Mountain Dew soft drink which echo a design originally developed in the 1960s.

Snack brand Doritos, part of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, tapped the same strategy for its Taco Flavor Tortilla Chips in an initiative created in the run up to the Super Bowl.

Such was the success of the 1980s-inspired packs that they sold out, and Frito-Lay is thus going to make them a permanent addition to its range, implementing slight reformulations before launch in around a month.

"It's a return to a simpler world," Shiv Singh, head of digital for PepsiCo, told USA Today. "There's a massive teen trend around simplicity and authenticity."

The nostalgia habit reaches into other sectors, from Volkswagen's reinvention of the Beetle, Disney remaking the hit film TRON, and Adidas boasting a "Classic" selection of sporting goods.

Peter Madden, a branding consultant, suggested a major benefit of this approach was gaining the attention of older shoppers keen to relive times past.

However, when done properly, it similarly appeals to younger consumers who believe that "retro" products carry a certain cachet.

"You'd think it's a step back, but it's really a leap forward," he said.

Coffee battle brews in China

Starbucks and Nestlé are both attempting to enhance their respective positions in the Chinese coffee category, a sector witnessing a surge in demand from affluent shoppers.

"The potential for growth in the Chinese coffee market is enormous," Adrian Ho, head of coffee and beverages Nestlé, Greater China, told the Asia Times.

"Per capita coffee consumption currently stands at a mere five cups per year. In Hong Kong the figure rises to 60 cups, and in Japan 300 cups per year."

Increasing discretionary expenditure among the professional class has contributed to stimulating interest for out-of-home and instant brands in major urban centres like Beijing and Shanghai.

"For many Chinese, especially in big cities, coffee is part of a lifestyle aspiration," said Ho. "More and more young professionals are choosing to start the day with a cup or two at home.

"We are currently running the world's biggest coffee sampling project in China."

Alongside basic sachets, jars and cans of coffee, Nestlé has launched high-end gift boxes and brand extensions featuring creamer and sugar.

It also intends to boost support for its premium Nespresso capsules and machines.

"Trends are very favorable. Roast and ground coffee is getting more popular every day," said Ernest Yong, Nespresso Asia's marketing manager.

"We view Nespresso as a mass luxury product which a growing number of Chinese will learn, want and be able to enjoy."

Estimates from research provider Euromonitor International suggest Nestlé held 70% of the instant coffee category in China last year, beating Kraft's 15%, and Jiangsu Mocca Food's more modest 1%.

As well as trebling the size of its network in mainland China to 1,500 branches by 2015, Starbucks hopes to exploit the burgeoning at-home sector.

"It represents an exciting opportunity for us to expand our reach to instant coffee drinkers, China's largest coffee market segment," Wang Jinlong, Starbucks China, said.

From early April, the firm's Via range will be sold in Starbucks' 800 outlets across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with a plan to then introduce it into hotels, grocery and convenience stores.

"We see a big opportunity in packaged goods in China," said John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International.

Via has been highly successful in existing markets such as the US, but Starbucks' aspirations extend beyond this product alone.

"We will develop more drinks and cakes as well as embrace our deep coffee heritage," said Culver.

Starbucks is also boosting its R&D capabilities by setting up an innovation hub in Shanghai, with a particular focus on tea, and may consider making acquisitions to gain further ground.

"We do not grow just to grow. We grow in a way so that we protect our brand and culture," Culver added.

Nestor Osorio, executive director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), predicted the world's most populous nation could evolve in a manner previously demonstrated by one of its Asian counterparts.

"The growth in China's instant coffee market owes a great deal to Nestlé extensive marketing and a promotional campaign by the ICO in the late 1990s," said Osorio.

"Japan was at the current Chinese consumption level in the mid 1960s but now consumes over seven million bags. It's likely that China will follow a similar growth path."

Diageo targets US shoppers

Diageo, the spirits group, is heightening its focus on shopper marketing as it tries to engage American consumers in new ways.

The owner of Johnnie Walker and Guinness has been exploring this area for three years, developing a rigorous model attuned to the preferences of both retail customers and the public.

In reflecting a greater commitment to the discipline, Diageo appointed Jonathan Nell as director of shopper marketing two years ago.

"It's a lot about getting aligned behind what you're trying to achieve, and sometimes even at the senior level we hadn't really worked through, internally, what that meant," he told CPG Matters.

Another key component of its strategy is guaranteeing the activity across such an emerging format is coordinated with wider communications efforts.

"We needed to make sure it connects with what we're doing in consumer marketing, and maximising investments," Nell added.

Securing support from retailers also holds an essential status, meaning acquiring a clear understanding of the whole path to purchase, and executing simultaneous trials in multiple outlets.

"It has been critical to work with those customers because they have the data that can really validate the performance of the exercise," Nell said.

The firm draws on statistics concerning demographics, purchase events and usage occasions, and reported sales growth topping 10% in branches where programmes have been fully implemented.

Indeed, in a demonstration of the potential impact offered by this approach, Diageo has uncovered several pieces of vital information.

"Our shoppers are - more so than anybody had thought - the typical shopping moms," Shawn Fitzgerald, Diageo's shopper planning director.

"It's women who are making the purchasing decisions in our category and going on the shopping trips."

"It helped us produce a model that we used to really change people's way of thinking about who we should be talking to - and why females are important."

Similarly, in-depth investigations revealed chances for sales Diageo had previously missed, as its brands are integral to many comparatively everyday gatherings.

"We had a tendency to focus on the big events - big parties where spirits in particular play a prominent role," Fitzgerald said.

"There are a lot of other, more frequent occasions that happen throughout the year, and tapping into shoppers for those occasions is a bigger opportunity.

"We reframed our thinking about how to focus on more year-round events," he added. "It sounds simple after the fact, but it's actually a very powerful change and transformation in our thinking."

Recent campaigns include the "Simply Cocktails" merchandising schemes aimed at irregular buyers keen on mixing drinks, but generally lacking confidence, and thus appreciating guidance.

This platform is divided into three separate levels of complexity, to ensure consumers and retailers can fulfil their individual requirements.

Given the target audience increasingly look online before buying items in store, Diageo adopted an integrated stance, suggesting cocktail recipes and food pairings for its drinks on retailers' websites.

"This is a journey. We've got some really large-scale tests in place right now," Fitzgerald said.

"All of the test results we've gotten are directionally consistent not only with growing our brands, but also growing the entire category."

He added: "The bottom line is that our customers gain from the insights behind the tests, and we're fulfilling shopper needs."

P&G tops TV ad charts in UK

Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal and Reckitt Benckiser were the highest-spending TV advertisers in the UK last year, new figures show.

Trade body Thinkbox has published its latest annual review of the television industry, entitled A year in TV 2010.

Based on data from Nielsen Media Research, it reported that the category increased by around 8% in size year on year, with spot and sponsorship returns expanding by an even greater 15%.

As such, television revenues reached a new peak, of £3.6bn (€4.2bn; $5.8bn) net and £4.2bn gross, in 2010.

The medium's share of overall expenditure also grew for the third year in a row, and has achieved a relative position previously held in the 1990s.

"The increase in TV ad investment reflects both commercial TV's continued success in attracting record viewing and the growing evidence of its unrivalled ability to create business profit," the study said.

"In particular, there is growing recognition of TV advertising's ability to generate web activity, from search to purchase."

On a corporate basis, Procter & Gamble - the owner of Pampers and Febreze - delivered a 31.7% improvement, reaching £156.5bn.

L'Oréal took second, down 2.7% on £86.1m, and Reckitt Benckiser occupied third despite cutting back 5.2% to £76.9m.

Unilever, in fourth, strengthened its communications support by 10%, hitting £75.2bn, and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 12%, to £74.2m.

The Home Retail Group, parent of Argos and Homebase, yielded a 54.6% lift, at £55.6m, but Government expenditure, in line with the promised austerity measures, fell 46.5%, on £52.9m.

Kellogg's registered a 15.1% contraction, coming in at £51.3m, Mars raised its adspend by 36.2% to £49.4m, and BSkyB's increased by over 110%, attaining £63.4m.

At the brand level, furniture retailer DFS boasted the largest total having logged a 5.6% expansion to £34.6m, figures standing at 32.6% and £29.1m regarding McDonald's.

Dreams bed superstores splashed out £23.7m, while Argos and Asda both invested more than £22m, the only other offerings above the £20m benchmark.

By sector, retail retained the lead role, and was up 24.1% year-on-year, with companies in the media and entertainment segment also jumping 16.8%, claiming second place as a result.

Financial services provided an 8.8% leap, and leisure and equipment posted a 72.3% increase, and drink grew 45.8%.

One trend driving TV's performance was the fact 967 advertisers either made their debut or returned after at least a five year break, a group including Sharp Electronics and dairy brand Yeo Valley.

Google targets Indian growth

Google is seeking to leverage online display, video and social networking ads to drive growth in India.

As may be expected, the American corporation is hoping to build up its main source of income in the Asian nation, where internet penetration and digital literacy are rising rapidly.

"Search is our core business. It will remain core to us and we will continue to invest in that," Shailesh Rao, managing director of Google India, told the Business Standard

Concurrently with these efforts, however, the organisation intends to further develop alternative offerings, such as its display network.

"Globally, the display ad business for Google is $2.5bn," said Rao. "In India, the display ad business is a substantial part of our revenue. It's well north of 10% of our total revenues in India."

YouTube will play a vital role in this strategy, and the video-sharing portal hosted a live stream of the government's Union Budget last week in a tie-up with CNBC TV 18.

This included showing ads alongside the speech given by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, rather than interrupting coverage to air commercials, as was the case on TV.

Elsewhere, Vodafone recently ran homepage banners supporting the roll out of its 3G service in India, one element of an integrated campaign led by television.

The mobile operator also boasts a popular branded YouTube channel in India, attracting 8.5m hits to date, boosted by extremely successful ads featuring animated characters called ZooZoos.

Among other firms exploiting YouTube are Tata Motors, which promoted its Aria model, while confectionary giant Perfetti sponsored reality programme Zor Ka Jhatka when it was added to the site.

In January, Reliance BIG, the broadcaster, allied with consumer goods manufacturer Hindustan Unilever to fund the premiere of Bollywood Film Dabangg on YouTube.

MTV has also run video ads for the new series of MTV Roadies on Orkut, a social network owned by Google.

An advantage of making greater use of online is receiving real-time feedback on performance, and a growing reach across the country.

"We will help you build brands, engage with your audience and acquire customers, retain customers," said Rao.

"We have a full suite of online platforms with a massive user base that we can bring to help you execute your marketing strategy."

L'Oréal goes digital in UK

L'Oréal, the cosmetics giant, is enhancing its digital capabilities in an effort to engage UK shoppers in new ways.

The company has named Julie Thompson as its first digital director for luxury brands, joining existing counterparts in charge of the firm's parallel consumer and haircare divisions.

Thompson will assume responsibility for ranges like Lancôme, Biotherm and Beauté, and has been handed the brief of adopting an "umbrella perspective", Marketing Week reported.

L'Oréal is also aiming to strengthen its understanding of current and potential customers by appointing social media evaluation and analysis specialist Mymarketmonitor to track buzz for all UK brands.

Such activity incorporates gathering information from official editorial content, alongside assessing material posted on blogs, social networks, chat rooms and forums.

While this tie-up essentially takes the form of a "listening and watching" programme, the insights gained are expected to inspire the organisation's marketing and public relations output.

"Listening and engaging with our audience is crucial and we have embraced the opportunity digital media gives us to communicate with our customers," said Emma Dawson, communications director of L'Oréal's UK luxury products arm.

"Both our PR and marketing teams will be looking at how it comes together and how we can develop our strategy from a 360-degree perspective and maximise activity across both functions."

This move marks a major step-change for L'Oréal, and reflects the evolving trading climate.

"As a corporation we haven't monitored digital conversations and the time has come for an online strategy across the business," said Dawson.

"We need to have much more visibility about what's being said about our brands online."

Unilever pursues simplicity

Unilever, the FMCG giant, wants its brands to play a relevant and simplifying role in the lives of consumers.

At the 4A's Transformation Conference, Keith Weed, Unilever's chief marketing and communication officer, stated conventional models are inadequate for understanding the current media environment.

"The biggest issue is purely the complexity and fragmentation that's out there," he said, according to AdAge. "The expression 'digital marketing' isn't very helpful. It's about as helpful as 'traditional.'"

"The most challenging thing I see right now is the amount of choices out there."

As a result of this process, overcoming competitive clutter is increasingly difficult, but opportunities remain for advertisers offering something unique.

"You physically cannot get through the day without being bombarded with all of these messages, and the way you get through the day is by engaging with the brands you want," said Weed.

"We're going to see more brands simplifying people's lives."

Entertaining consumers will also become an essential tool deployed in order to effectively reach current and potential customers.

"We're going to have to make our brands much more media properties," said Weed. "[We] have to connect much more with content and make our brands more relevant."

As part of achieving this goal, 20 Unilever executives undertook a "digital journey" to Silicon Valley last year, signing advertising deals leveraging Apple's iPad and exploring potential partnerships with Disney.

Moving from a local to international perspective is equally important, as around a third of shoppers worldwide engage with Unilever's products each day, while digitisation and globalisation are also reducing traditional boundaries.

"We can't afford to be niche in what we do," Weed said. "I need to know what's going on in the US, what's going on in China, in Indonesia, in India."

With a wide range of societal trends - from the rise of social media to rapid growth for emerging economies - posing challenges to established brands, Weed argued inaction was not an option.

"You're not going to be a great prize fighter, a great boxer by watching people box and reading some boxing magazines. The only way you're going to do it is to get into the ring and have a fight," he said.

Such logic applies to ad agencies, most particularly in the digital space, as Unilever is planning to consolidate its roster.

"Now is the time to show us your best, because down the road, we won't be working with all of you," Weed said.

More specifically, Unilever will attempt to concentrate activity among fewer shops, often on a multinational basis, alongside building regional lists where core countries exist.

"You can't believe how many digital agencies we're working with now," said Weed.

Unilever has established relationships with creative networks including Bartle Bogle Hegarty, DDB, JWT, Lowe McCann and Ogilvy, and hopes to replicate this model in the new media world.

"We've had relationships with them for decades," said Weed. "I want to be where there's innovation, insight, and to do that you need to connect with a team of people. So I'm a believer in working with agencies for a very long time."

While numerous brand owners have used procurement departments to drive the maximum returns from their marketing partners, Weed suggested this system was not the issue.

"If you're in the advertising world you've got to blame the marketers, not the procurement people. I reckon they are hiding behind the procurement."

He added: "To be clear, at Unilever, whether it's on a media project or whatever, it's the media expert leading or defining what we want ... Once we define what we want, we'd like to get it as efficiently as possible."

Starbucks takes new path

Starbucks, the coffee house chain, is seeking to build a unique model encompassing both the retail and consumer products sectors.

Having witnessed declining sales due to the economic downturn, the firm has closed 900 under-performing stores, alongside redesigning 1,000 branches in the last year alone.

"There was a dramatic change in consumer behavior. On a parallel track, Starbucks has to assume responsibility for decisions that were made. There were self-induced mistakes," Howard Schultz, its ceo, told USA Today.

"We had to navigate through our own issues and deal with the cataclysmic financial crisis. The past two years we've done our best work. We're a much stronger brand because of the recession."

He added: "The qualitative scores of the Starbucks brand, speed of service, cleanliness of store, trust in the brand and overall satisfaction are at record levels going back a decade."

Embracing technologies like mobile payments and loyalty cards, and taking a leading status on social media, have equally played a role.

"Over the past 18 months, we've become more relevant to our core customer and younger audience. The maturation of the company has enabled this. These are the best of times for Starbucks," said Schultz.

While Starbucks traditionally defined itself as a "third place" for shoppers, the corporation's ambitions now extend into broader categories, a move anticipated by the removal of the word "coffee" from its recently-modified logo.

As a further signifier of this trend, the organisation's Via instant coffee brand is on sale in 30,000 supermarkets and equivalent outlets.

"Beyond coffee, Via will become a portfolio of other things," said Schulz. "The future of Via is not only what it is today. Other coffee products and other things will emerge from the technology we created."

Starbucks may be celebrating its 40th anniversary, but is also forging a model for the coming decades, based on delivering offerings "complementary" to its existing stable.

"We're deeply committed to creating a consumer product business with a wide variety of other food and beverage products," Schultz said.

"In addition to a national footprint in retail stores, we're developing a world-class consumer products business that will give us the capability to build brands and distribute them ourselves into grocery stores."

Via, and a bottled Frappuccino, were initially solely sold in Starbucks prior to being rolled out elsewhere, and this approach could prove a useful one.

"What we're going to do is first introduce products to our stores before we introduce them to the grocery trade. If you look at coffee, tea, food and juice, we think there are inherent opportunities," said Schultz.

"If you look at health bars or grab-and-go products that are in our stores, we think we can significantly enhance them and make them more widely available.

He added: "Our hope is that the scale will rival the size of our US retail business."

Schultz expressed confidence about Starbucks' prospects, as it is "uniquely positioned" to bridge the gap between the retail and FMCG sectors.

"No national retailer has created this capability into grocery. And no Coke or Pepsi has created a national retail company," said Schultz.

"We'll be the first company to operate on both channels and integrate it with a significant rewards program."

Starbucks plans to open somewhere in the range of 100 to 200 branches in the US annually for the short-term at least.

But markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China also present huge possibilities, Schultz added.

Gillette leads eco charts

Gillette and Pepsi are among the major brands most effectively building their green credentials, a new study has found.

Research provider EIRIS assessed 300 firms from the FTSE, and found that while one-third of the featured companies had a "significant" environmental footprint, only 27% of this group are "adequately managing" the risks and challenges they face.

The latter total did mark an increase against 2008, when 16% of such organisations were satisfactorily dealing with these matters.

Indeed, in 2010, 31% of enterprises carrying a large ecological weight tied executive remuneration to carbon emissions, up on 14% in 2008.

More broadly, nearly 30% of the whole sample boasted "good" or "advanced" climate change policies, while a majority are at an "intermediate" stage.

Both scores recorded double-digit gains over two years ago, as the proportion of businesses offering a "limited" - or "no" - response declined to almost zero.

"One significant factor in the improvements seen has been efforts by companies to minimise the impact of expected stricter rules and regulations worldwide in the near future," the study said.

Approaching 100% of firms possessed an official policy detailing schemes to mitigate emissions, although just 46% have outlined long-terms aims, and 60% had set short-term targets.

"The area with the greatest room for improvement is the linking of executive remuneration to climate change performance," EIRIS asserted.

"Creating a link … would move companies closer to the post credit crunch consensus that executive pay should be more closely aligned with company performance."

Elsewhere, 99% of corporations released information about ecological matters, and over half are either "good" or "advanced" in this area.

A leading 30% had attached numerical metrics to central issues, but the remaining 70% may struggle to ascertain the potential in-house consequences of climate change unless they follow a similar route.

EIRIS also scrutinised the members of Interbrand's latest Top 100 Global Brands rankings, to discover whether these assets matched financial strength with environmental activity.

Overall, 42 of the panel contributed large product-related greenhouse gas emissions, and this selection yielded mixed findings.

"Only 31% of brands with a high climate change impact received a 'good' assessment meaning that they have the minimum policies, management and reporting and disclosure mechanisms required to tackle climate change and manage the associated risks to their brand value," the study said.

Another 64% were perceived as "intermediate", and 5% attained a "limited" status.

Gillette secured the best rating, boosted by the fact its owner, Procter & Gamble, boasts specific goals covering everything from educating consumers to using renewable energy and recycled materials.

In contrast, Porsche lodged one of the lowest figures, failing to publish normalised emissions data, targets and performance indicators.

Rivals Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda have made considerable headway in all the ways Porsche comes up short.

PepsiCo was credited with forming long-term energy use reduction plans and making clear progress in the last few years, thus proving more effective than Coca-Cola on both measures.

Dell has also tied senior pay with environmental results, generated meaningful goals, and cut the emissions linked to its goods.

Apple may not have implemented any such programmes, but its greenhouse gas output is falling, something that has proved more challenging for Dell.

"With increased regulation, growing consumer and investor awareness, and the trend for improved climate change management responses in general, we expect climate change and other sustainability issues will become increasingly important factors in the determination of brand value," EIRIS concluded.

GM plots Indian R&D drive

General Motors, the auto giant, is focusing on innovation in India, in an effort to produce cars for both the local and global markets.

Speaking to the Business Standard, Karl Slym, president and managing director of General Motors India, reported that indigenous sales climbed 60% in 2010, surpassing 100,000 units as a result.

He predicted the sector would expand by between 12% and 15% in 2011, and GM hopes to grow faster than this rate, before topping 200,000 units in 2012 and 300,000 in 2013.

"Our target is to reach the 200,000 mark in 2012 and 300,000 in 2013. With the expansion of our capacity and introduction of new models and variants, we will achieve our target," said Slym.

"The company has invested $1bn so far and will invest $500m in India over the next two years."

During the coming two years, GM is launching six models and 14 extensions in India, with hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs among the slated offerings.

The American automaker has completed domestic R&D projects like creating Smartech engine technology, suitable for Indian roads and weather conditions, in cooperation with its new plant in Talegaon.

Having developed electric vehicles such as Chevrolet's Cruze and Volt for other markets, GM is working on a "mini" electric car appropriate for India.

Honda has stopped selling the hybrid Civic, which was simply beyond the price range of many Indian shoppers, and GM only intends to unveil its equivalent in April, rather than rolling it out straight away.

"This is a step towards introduction of electric vehicles," said Slym. "People will not buy an electric vehicle just because it is a green car. You have to see that it is not beyond the reach of customers."

"Showcasing the mini-electric car will help us asses the market. We want to use it as a knowledge-gathering process."

Such a strategy may be particularly effective given the Indian government's "national mission" to foster more eco-friendly transportation solutions.

Elsewhere, the American multinational plans to sell two light commercial vehicles designed in partnership with its Chinese ally, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

"Last year, we conducted a survey to assess the potential for GM's premium cars like Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac in India, which proved that Cadillac has the strongest brand recognition," said Slym.

"We don't have any immediate plan of entering the segment; in the long run, we can consider it."

Looking ahead, the desire is to develop a brand in India that can be exported internationally.

"GM India is currently the fifth largest car maker in India and we will continue to grow faster. Our technical centre here has got immense potential," Slym said.

"Our dream is to come out with a product for the global market which will truly make us an Indian company."

India’s Top 10 Celebrity Brand Ambassadors

India’s Top 10 Celebrity Brand Ambassadors

Top 10:
MS Dhoni – 28 - (1981)
Shahrukh Khan – 43
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – 35 (1973)
Amitabh Bachchan – 66 – (1942)
Sachin Tendulkar – 36 – (1973)
Hrithik Roshan – 35 – (1974)
Yuvraj Singh – 27 – (1981)
Katrina Kaif – 25 – (1984)
Akshay Kumar – 42 – (1967)
Salman Khan – 43 – (1965)

Women Top Men:
Aishwarya Abhishek
Kareena Saif
Deepika Ranbir
Kajol Ajay

From 25 to 66, they are ruling over Indians. Be it the youth or the senior citizens, their grip over them is unquestionable.

Cricketers and actors rule over Indians. They can sell anything with their star power and grip over Indians. While cricketers mesmerise the classes, actors sway the masses. It is a win-win situation for both the cricketers and the actors. In India, if you are no good in studies, head to be a cricketer, or an actor. If you don’t succeed there, become a politician. You will still reap benefits (if not popularity or money wise, power-wise you will.)

With three cricketers and seven actors in the list, it is definitely in favour of entertainment. Indians sure can do with it in no uncertain terms to ease their stressful lives. Actors spread cheer and influence them in their buying decisions.

Women have stolen a march in many areas. They have come into their own. And they find a place in the list. Sania Mirza, Hema Malini, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra may not be in Top 10 but they are there later on, making their presence felt.

Katrina Kaif is fast emerging as an enigma. She has reached the pinnacle of success in Bollywood in a very short span of six years. She started with a miserable flop Boom (2003) when she was 19. In 2009 and 25 years old, she has set standards that will be hard to match by anyone in years to come by. A foreigner rules the roost and is more Indian than Indians. A total outsider with no connections or Godfathers, she has made to the marquee. That is confidence and a desire to succeed. Kudos to her.

Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are conspicuous by their absence from the top 10 list.

Significantly there are no politicians, businessmen, cops, judges, journalists, doctors, engineers or educationists, who influence Indians. It is sad but then reality check is important. And this reality hurts. Nevertheless, it presents a fact where much catching up has to be done.

Along with the reality shows, a reality check remains to be done. Our heroes are cricketers and actors. Our educational text books may have Mahatma Gandhi and other heroes but remain unread. But magazines filled with news about cricketers and actors sell like hot cakes.

If only our educational books were made of them, it will attract more students, who will excel in education (doesn’t matter if that will be filmi one.)

Look where India has reached. That is the reality of today. Jai ho, Indians.

Apple, P&G retain lead role

Apple, Google and Procter & Gamble are among the world's "most admired" companies, a report has argued.

Business title Fortune and the Hay Group assessed 1,400 of the largest global corporations, creating a shortlist of 673 firms in 57 sectors.

They then asked 4,100 senior executives and analysts to choose the ten organisations commanding the greatest levels of esteem.

Apple claimed top spot for the fourth successive year, praised particularly for a "blistering pace" of new product development, from the iPod in 2001 to the iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010.

"Every one of these has been a blockbuster," Steve Jobs, Apple's ceo, said last week at the iPad 2 launch event, a gadget he described as "magical".

Google, termed the "king of search", occupied second, bolstered by rapid sales of mobile handsets carrying its Android operating system, the continued growth of YouTube and rising display ad prices.

Berkshire Hathaway, founded by Warren Buffett, retained third, ahead of carrier Southwest Airlines, which was also named as one of eight "green stars" leading the way in tackling sustainability issues.

"Southwest had always been an extremely efficient airline, we just hadn't been talking about it," said Marilee McInnis, a PR manager at Southwest Airlines.

"Every time we reduce weight, we save fuel and reduce emissions. All of that is absolutely linked."

Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, took fifth, lauded for its eco-friendly initiatives, such as the objective of making all packaging from recycled materials and only using renewable energy.

"That's not something that we can achieve in the next 20, 30 or 40 years, but we are putting the company on a path to achieve it," said Sauers.

The owner of Tide and Pampers has also endeavoured to educate customers and roll out products offering shoppers the traditional benefits, but are more environmentally friendly.

"[We've found] 70% to 80% percent of them really want to do the right thing, but they are not willing to accept trade-offs," Sauers added.

Soft drinks specialist Coca-Cola followed P&G, and has unveiled a new marketing campaign, Coke Music, which explicitly targets young consumers in 100 countries.

"Our success in growing our sparkling category today depends on our ability to grow and connect with teens, the generation of tomorrow," said Muhtar Kent, Coke's ceo.

Ecommerce pioneer Amazon resided in seventh, applauded for the Kindle e-book reader and moving into video streaming, while eighth-placed FedEx has profitably tapped nations like China and India.

"We credit this year's performance to our 285,000 FedEx team members worldwide who enable our company's success by delivering outstanding experiences every day," said Frederick Smith, FedEx's chief executive officer.

Microsoft, the information technology titan, and fast food chain McDonald's completed the top ten, according to Fortune.

The United States housed 238 of the featured organisations, easily beating of Germany's 21, Japan's 15, and the United Kingdom's 11.

However, the BRIC economies contributed a combined figure of just seven.

More broadly, Fortune suggested a "new competitive order" may be starting to assert itself, as overall leadership changed hands in 22 of the 57 segments monitored, the highest total ever.

Separate research from the Hay Group demonstrated 94% of Most Admired corporations let employees take "reasonable risks" to improve effectiveness, measured against 77% for all firms.

Equally, 81% of executives at the top operators agreed their enterprise used emerging technology and creative strategies well, and 87% were capable of "capturing and "diffusing" innovative ideas, versus scores of 72% and 74% as a norm

Heinz adapts in China

Firms hoping to progress in China must invest in marketing, infrastructure and managerial development "up front", a model Heinz established based on its experience in other emerging markets.

Over the last three months, the food group reported like-for-like growth of 30% in China, where it recently rolled out Green Rice Cereal and a new infant formula.

Indeed, the latter of these offerings is a particular priority, as some local products in this sector have lost the confidence of consumers due to ongoing safety concerns.

"A portion of our higher marketing investment this year has been in support of our infant formula launch in China," Arthur Winkleblack, Heinz's chief financial officer, said on a conference call.

"We're pleased with our progress to date, and we're very excited about the halo effect the advertising is having on our base baby food portfolio, including jar foods, cereals and nutritional supplements, with our total organic sales up 35% year-to-date."

Another central driver of the company's success in China is Foodstar, a soy sauce manufacturer it purchased for $165m in 2010.

It took on two brands via this deal, in the form of premium range Master Weijixian, and Guanghe fermented bean curd.

"We have never seen more opportunities than we're seeing now, and we've been very selective," said Bill Johnson, Heinz's chief executive

"Foodstar is a business that fits right in the middle of our heartland core category of condiments and sauces."

Its products are especially popular in Guandong and Fujian, housing 125m people between them, and Heinz hopes to expand such a reach into Zhejiang.

The US firm anticipates Master Weijixian will become one of its "Top 15" brands - which generated 70% of sales during the last quarter - in the near future.

Foodstar's stable contains less than 40 products, and Johnson suggested this constituted its primary strength.

"We're trying to buy concentrated brands, buy good management," he said.

"We're trying to find really focused businesses with strong growth prospects with good manufacturing capabilities … [not] businesses that have been grown simply through SKU proliferation."

Among the key discoveries following on from Heinz's experience in China, and elsewhere, is acting rapidly in specific areas.

Since finalising the Foodstar deal in November, Heinz has boosted marketing and infrastructure expenditure levels, but is struggling to keep up with demand, although this should be eased by a new factory in Shanghai.

"You have to put management in immediately so that they can learn the business," said Johnson.

"Ultimately, the owners that sell these businesses decide that they'd rather go do other things, or they lose interest."

"And the biggest lesson we've learned, and it's one we probably should have known but we really learned a lot of it through China this year, is you have to get your investments up front. Not only in capital but in marketing."

"So the biggest lesson: good management, focused portfolios, strong brands, good infrastructure, manufacturing capacity and invest up front - don't wait."

As a result of growth in China, and nations like Brazil and India, Heinz believes emerging markets are likely to deliver over 20% of sales in its current financial year, up from 10% just a few years ago.

Kraft adapts brand strategy in India

Kraft, the US food group, is rolling out brands such as Oreo under the Cadbury banner in India, thus leveraging the equity of its most recent acquisition.

Having purchased Cadbury for $19.7bn (€14.1bn; £12.1bn) last year, Kraft is attempting to exploit the leading position the latest addition to its stable enjoys in India.

Kraft previously sold Oreo and Tang in India via export, but is now assuming control of the manufacturing and distribution process, alongside tapping from Cadbury's local insights and know-how.

"The two will be a part of the Cadbury India portfolio," Anand Kripalu, managing director of Cadbury India, told the Business Standard.

"Cadbury reaches 1.8 million stores in the country, and, we are constantly growing our reach. So, yes, the two products will benefit from this exercise."

To derive the fullest possible advantage from the long-established reputation built up by Cadbury, Oreo's will be marketed using the Cadbury name, rather than Kraft.

"Cadbury is an iconic brand in this category and it was the most appropriate thing to do," said Kripalu. "Our ambitions are to have a sizeable market share in this segment."

Research firm Nielsen last week revealed that India is the world's biggest biscuit market, contributing 22% of sales in 2010, ahead of the US on 13%.

More specifically, it reported the sector recorded a 17% annual expansion in India, encouraging multinationals like Kraft to boost their activity.

"The Indian biscuits market continues to show remarkable growth, a testament to rapidly developing consumer tastes that provides us the perfect opportunity to enter this category," Kripalu said.

"Our extensive consumer research shows that more and more consumers are looking for new, innovative products. We think Oreo responds well to these preferences."

"Introducing Oreo marks the beginning of our journey in this growing category and we are readying ourselves to make Oreo a preferred choice with Indian consumers."

For the moment at least, Kraft is concentrating its efforts on marketing Oreo and Tang, according to Kripalu.

"We have no immediate plans to launch any more Kraft brands for now," he continued.

"There are a range of Kraft products that are available through the import route here. That will continue."

Kraft, J&J top US charts

Kraft, Kellogg's and Johnson & Johnson are the companies boasting the best reputations among US consumers, a study has revealed.

Prophet, the brand and marketing consultancy, surveyed 4,900 adults in the country, asking them to assess 145 corporations, drawn from 18 sectors, and all featuring in the Fortune 500.

Panellists rated these businesses based on their people, products, performance, purpose and personal relevance, yielding an index rating covering the extent to which they trusted, admired and respected the firms under scrutiny.

Exactly 70% of the sample awarded organisations an "average" standing, equating to a score of between 60 and 70 points on a 100-point scale.

Consumer packaged goods manufacturers headed the rankings on 75.9 points, making them "leaders", as these enterprises were found to combine strong engagement with usefulness in contributors' everyday lives.

Kraft led the charts on 81.3 points, having lodged 80.5 points in the same report last year, meaning it overtook Kellogg's, down to second after sliding from 82.1 points to 80.9 points in this period.

Elsewhere in the top ten, General Mills logged 79.8 points and Coca-Cola attained 77.4 points, both slight dips on an annual basis, and Nestlé closed out this group, flat on 77.2 points.

Despite a number of high-profile product recalls, Johnson & Johnson enjoyed a one point increase, to 80.8 points, claiming third, and helping the pharma industry secure 67.9 points, as a consequence.

While it has stimulated almost constant buzz, Apple remains outside the top tier, occupying thirteenth on 76.7 points, although the maker of the iPad and iPhone did record a 1.6-point leap.

It was still behind Amazon, static on 77.3 points, and Sony, providing a moderate lift of 0.8 points to 78.6 points, and took fifth.

Intel generated 77.8 points, a total coming in at 75.9 points concerning Hewlett-Packard and 75.7 points regarding Microsoft, all bettering 2010's figures.

Google haemorrhaged 4.4 points, to 73 points, a trend "perhaps reflecting a backlash against its growing pervasiveness," Prophet said.

The auto category improved to 65.6 points, as Daimler and General Motors posted double-digit upticks, to 59.5 points and 63.5 points respectively, and Ford accrued 3.7 points, to 67.8 points.

Less favourably, Toyota's troubled year resulted in a loss of 24.2 points, delivering a final mark of 51.3 points.

Meanwhile, financial services, heavily impacted by the downturn, continued to be one of the lowest-scoring sectors, even after a rise from 54.6 points to 58.1 points.

Goldman Sachs' rating decreased, leaving it in a minority as Fannie Mae, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley witnessed positive shifts, albeit remaining in the bottom 20% of firms overall.

Unsurprisingly, BP registered the largest contraction, plummeting to last place as its score tumbled from 63.7 points to just 24.5 points.

"The year-to-year comparisons showed that damage to reputation also harmed the brand value, though to a lesser extent," Prophet said.

"BP, for example, fell 62% in our reputation index, with a 39% drop in brand value ... General Motors' 29% reputation gain in 2010 was accompanied by only a 1% drop in brand value."

Shoppers' likelihood to buy from companies they believed to be "leaders" stood at 47%, rising to 50% when discussing a willingness to pay a premium and 77% for recommendation, substantially ahead of "failing" rivals.

The primary status drivers included "making a difference in my life", offering the newest products and services, being fair and ethical, promising peace of mind and demonstrating openness.

By contrast, reliability, quality and value were among the core priorities 12 months ago, indicating attitudes are now changing.

Adidas builds brand "desire"

Adidas, the sportswear giant, is looking to enhance "brand desirability" as a means of driving growth.

The German company enjoyed a 9% expansion in revenues last year, hitting €12bn ($16.6bn; £10.2bn), and net income climbed 131%, to €567m.

Herbert Hainer, Adidas' chief executive, argued these results, including an 18% lift in retail sales, were some of the best in the organisation's history.

"While this speaks to the improvement we're making in our quest to be a world-class retailer, it also underlines the strength and desirability of the Group's brands," Hainer said on a conference call.

"We did it through our unrivalled commitment to the consumer. We did it by bringing the most innovative products to the market, telling the most compelling stories and creating the most brand energy."

"We did it because we had the courage to return brand investments to pre-crisis levels when others didn't."

Among the firm's key marketing initiatives in 2010 were efforts tied to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and schemes aiming to reinforce its basketball credentials.

The miCoach mobile app, offering personalised training tools, has been downloaded more than 1m times to date, while the number of Facebook members that "like" adidas Originals trebled in 2010, reaching 7.1m.

Looking ahead, Hainer stated communications and innovation would play a central role.

"Even in the midst of the worst global recession in living memory, we have seen that consumers will pay a premium for exciting new products from brands renowned for quality, innovation and service," he said.

"We have those brands, and we have these products, and we have some marketing excellence to further increase brand desirability."

"We also try to put more value into the product and then we also can raise prices. This is an ongoing process and it's not just on one day."

In a bid to build on such trends, the company has developed a multimarket campaign on behalf of its eponymous range, launching this month.

"The campaign, which will be our largest global brand campaign ever, showcases Adidas' distinctive presence across and into different sports, cultures and lifestyles, fuelling the world of sport, music and fashion," Hainer said.

Although the combination of major events like the 2012 Olympics in London and caution on the part of shoppers could tempt manufacturers to roll out lower-cost goods, Adidas is resisting this strategy.

"Obviously, we want to cater with as much as many consumers in the UK and around the world, but nevertheless we will always make sure that the brand is protected," said Hainer.

"We will definitely bring products and concepts into the market which support the overall positioning of our brands … We will not go in with mass-market products just to maximise our revenues for that period of time."

Successful recent innovations include extensions into apparel, and Reebok's ZigTech and EasyTone running shoes, the latter of which have been promoted by Helena Christensen and Kelly Brook.

"Our mission to create a closer connection to the next-generation athlete and to increase our prominence in the important mall channel is clearly taking shape," Hainer suggested.

More broadly, China constitutes an essential target market, as Adidas seeks to augment the 10% growth recorded in the second half of last year, achieved by rationalising inventory levels and its store network.

"I have just returned from China … and I can confirm that momentum for the adidas brand continues to strengthen," said Hainer.

Wal-Mart's lead cut in China

Wal-Mart remains the biggest grocery chain in China by market share, but domestic rivals like CR Vanguard and RT-Mart are gaining ground.

Kantar Worldpanel monitors purchases made by 40,000 Chinese households in product categories from cosmetics, food and beverages to household goods, covering cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, alongside 20 provinces.

It reported that FMCG sales climbed 16% last year on an annual basis, aided by rising demand among shoppers, and by inflation.

Competition in the organised retail sector is increasing rapidly in the country, as multinationals go head to head with indigenous companies.

Wal-Mart commanded a value share of 8% during 2010 as a whole, some 64% of which was attributable to stores operating under its own banner, and 36% to its Trust-Mart division.

However, this combined total declined from 8.2% in the second quarter to 7.5% at the close of December, Kantar Worldpanel found.

Wal-Mart's collective network reaches 18.4% of residences, but although performance levels stayed consistent at Wal-Mart-branded outlets, Trust-Mart saw a slide from 3% to 2.2% between Q3 and Q4 in share terms.

CR Vanguard delivered an improvement from 6.2% to 6.7% in the same timeframe, averaging out at 6.6% across the year.

The firm has been extending the penetration of its high-end Ole fascia in major metropolitan centres, while opening 400 sites overall in 2010.

RT-Mart, headquartered in Taiwan, hit a new peak of 6.2% in the final three months of 2010, measured against 5.6% over January to March, bringing its annual figure to 6.1%.

One of RT-Mart's strengths is its presence in prefecture and county cities, with seven of the company's ten stores unveiled in January 2011 based in these areas.

"As the market attention shifts inland and towards these untapped city tiers, both local and multinational retailers have begun to aggressively focus resources on these territories," Kantar said.

"Whilst RT-Mart holds a clear advantage as number one, the fragmented nature of the market still offers clear opportunities for competitors to enter without the challenge of a significantly dominant retailer."

Carrefour held 5.1% of revenues in 2010, largely constant throughout the assessment period, and has recently started shuttering underperforming lower-tier branches.

Balian Group was similarly static with 4.3%, while Tesco and Wu-Mart were also both flat, claiming 2.1% apiece.

Zhongbai Group, Beijing Hualian and Auchan equally maintained their respective positions year on year, but all took less than 2% of returns.

John Lewis, IKEA lead UK retail rankings

John Lewis, IKEA and Waitrose are UK consumers' favourite retailers, a new study has shown.

Verdict Research surveyed 6,000 adults in the country to gain an insight into which chains provided the best overall experience.

John Lewis, a network of department stores, led the rankings for the fourth year running, demonstrating its continuing appeal despite the challenges posed by the downturn.

According to Neil Saunders Verdict's consulting director, customers praised the atmosphere the company has created, alongside recognising its strengths in a number of other areas.

"John Lewis's formula for success is tantalisingly simple: great service, broad and compelling ranges, superior quality, and honest and fair pricing. But it's a model that's extremely difficult to emulate," he said.

"The result is that John Lewis makes consumers feel good about shopping; it delivers value over and above just the physical purchase."

Furniture specialist IKEA took second, credited in particular for selling a wide variety of goods at competitive prices.

"IKEA offers good quality, stylish modern products at market-beating prices," said Saunders. "That's something consumers have welcomed during these more constrained times."

Waitrose, part of the same group as John Lewis, claimed third, and was the only supermarket featuring in the top ten, benefitting from excellent store layouts and impressive customer service.

"Due to the frequency with which people shop for food, grocery retailers are up against close consumer scrutiny and as a result most find it difficult to score well," Saunders said.

"Waitrose is the exception to that: it provides an enjoyable and aspirational shopping experience with plenty of foodie treats."

Superdrug, the high-street chemists, occupied fourth, and ecommerce pioneer Amazon rounded out the top five.

Turning specifically to clothing, Marks & Spencer was pre-eminent, ahead of John Lewis and H&M.

Elsewhere, Marks & Spencer followed Morrisons and Waitrose when it came to food, while Wickes, B&Q and Wilkinson proved popular for DIY.

John Lewis assumed a leading position regarding homewares, beating IKEA and Dunelm, and also boasted a preferred status concerning electricals, where Asda and Amazon trailed in its wake.

"This year's winners tend to be retailers that focus heavily on price or retailers that add a lot of value to their offers," said Saunders.

"They reflect the fact that consumers are increasingly looking for value for money during these constrained times."

Vodafone tops Indian mobile charts

Vodafone is the most popular mobile brand among young Indian consumers, although loyalty levels in this sector remain limited.

Concrea, the agency, surveyed members of its 10,000-strong student panel, all of which were drawn from six major cities and aged between 18 and 22 years old.

Overall, 15% of respondents had previously switched telecoms operators once, 25% reported utilising two different providers, reaching 40% when this figure rose to four, and 20% for between four and six.

Prepaid options are still the favoured type of package adopted by this audience at present, according to Concrea.

Elsewhere, 40% of those polled signed up with their current brand three years ago, standing at two years for another 20%, and a year or less for a further 15%.

Just 10% proved loyal for four years, and 15% had stayed with the same company for an even longer period.

Vodafone was the leading wireless player, typically because of reasons related to quality, alongside the strength of its brand.

The primary factors which encouraged consumers to stick with a specific network were coverage, the ease of recharging devices, and the potential selection of value-added services.

Looking to possible future trends, 90% of interviewees agreed they would use a 3G connection, offering faster web browsing, if it was included with their handset.

However, a majority appeared disinterested in actively making such a transition, apparently at least in part as marketing messages have failed to leave an impression.

"None of them could sense a clear advantage in the messaging being done by the various brands," the study said.

Equally, many subscribers can access WiFi connections at home, college or university, or in social locations.

Mobile internet usage is also generally driven by "necessity" rather than constituting a leisure pursuit, and existing data transfer speeds were usually perceived as adequate.

"But the proposition of getting 3G-enabled handsets on subscribing to 3G services from a mobile subscriber seemed like an exciting value proposition for many youngsters," the report added.

The ability to carry the same number onto a new network, recently introduced in the country, received muted interest in the main, although older students set to relocate for work purposes displayed greater enthusiasm.

Apple unveils iPad 2

Apple, the electronics giant, has unveiled an updated version of its iPad tablet, and is predicted to take around 80% of the US market this year.

Among the extra features offered by the iPad 2, available in America from March 11, is the ability to play videos directly on Apple TV, delivering a more integrated experience.

The device is also lighter, thinner and promises greater processing power, faster web browsing, video-conferencing tools, and HD video recording and playback.

A WiFi-only variant will cost $499 (€360; £306), while AT&T and Verizon Wireless are providing alternatives boasting wireless 3G capacity, with the 16-gigabyte option commanding $630.

Steve Jobs, Apple's ceo, revealed the iPad – which he described as its latest "blockbuster" – has sold 15m units, including 7m during the final quarter of 2010, and generated $9.5bn in nine months.

"We've never had a product that got off to that fast a start," he said, as reported by the AFP. "We have 90% of the market."

"Our competitors were just flummoxed … They went back to their drawing boards, tore up their designs."

More specifically, Jobs argued the "post-PC" age requires "global products" combining universal appeal, simplicity and advanced functionality.

"We stand a pretty good job of being competitive in that market," he said.

"It's in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough. That it's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us with the results."

"2010 turned out to be the year of the iPad … We think 2011 is clearly going to be the year of iPad 2."

Having previously left a big gap between introducing new products across the globe, the iPad 2 is hitting 26 countries in March.

"This thing's going to be everywhere in the month of March," said Jobs.

Research firm PRTM estimated 30 tablet products were on sale at the close of 2010, and 64 companies are either now selling or developing such appliances.

"Despite the launches of many competitive tablets, we believe Apple's product leadership, vertical integration and vast scale will cause it to win the largest share of the tablet market and the majority of the economic benefits," said Peter Misek, senior equities research analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Standard & Poor's raised annual iPad sales projections by 2m units, to 26m, according to analyst Clyde Montevirgen.

"None of the new features surprised us, but we still think the iPad 2 will compete very well against existing tablets," he said.

"We view favourably the March 11 shipment date, which should prevent a lull in demand due to the product transition; we also like that the price point has remained the same."

Forrester forecast that of the 24.1m slates sold in the US in 2011, Apple should be responsible for 20m, aided by 65,000 apps, perceived superior service and an "emotional connection".

"In a post-PC world, consumers have a more intimate relationship with their devices. They use them on the couch and in bed and not just at their desk," said analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

"They show their devices to other people … Fostering that desire is a smart way to differentiate your piece of glass from other pieces of glass that perform essentially the same functions."

However, Eric Zeman, of technology title Information Week, suggested omitting 4G capabilities, near-field communications allowing for wireless payments, and more ports was a missed opportunity.

"The iPad 2 doesn't have the same instant, drool-inducing appeal that the original iPad had," he said.

"It's just a spec bump and not much more … Apple didn't deliver any stunning new features or capabilities."

Marketing key for Kraft

Kraft, the food giant, believes enhancing the quality and performance of its marketing is the "single biggest" factor that can fuel future growth.

Speaking at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference, Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft's chief executive, summarised the corporation's objectives.

"Our focus today is squarely on driving growth from our position as a global snacks powerhouse, combined with our unrivalled portfolio of regional power brands," she said.

Collectively, these products contributed 75% of value sales and 90% of revenue expansion, last year, and while snacks boast the greatest potential, heritage brands yield scale and margin benefits.

"[We're] focusing on the power brands, categories and markets that will drive top-tier growth in each region," Rosenfeld added.

"Although the portfolio differs by region, we have the same growth formula around the world."

More specifically, the US multinational is attempting to reduce costs across its operations, redirecting the savings to marketing and innovation.

In developing markets, it has emphasised ten "power brands", like Oreo, Lacta and Tang, and an equal number of countries, such as Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and Indonesia.

Having boosted advertising and consumer spending by 26% in emerging nations last year, to over 10% of sales, Kraft's priority products saw 16% sales increase, and now account for 40% of returns.

Advertising and promotional expenditure also reached 8.5% of revenues in Europe, where its power brands registered a 6% uptick, but the US and Canada remain somewhat behind at present.

"North America is still is the early stages of getting our virtuous cycle spinning," said Tony Vernon, president, Kraft Foods North America.

He added that the organisation plans to lure shoppers back to key categories using strategies which propelled a 1.1% organic sales improvement last year, and a 4% surge for power brands.

"We'll revitalise our iconic brands through advertising, innovation and differentiated marketing," said Vernon.

"We'll increase marketing and sales excellence in both grocery and immediate consumption channels. And to fund our growth, we'll deliver record cost savings."

The company's leading offerings stand to attract most resources, while smaller ranges rely on an "entrepreneurial" approach, encompassing digital media, customer relationship management and other such tools.

"Our 20 power brands will receive the bulk of our marketing and innovation support, and we expect them to drive the majority of our region's revenue growth," said Vernon.

"The average size of our 20 power brands is $600m. That means each is large enough to afford, and greatly benefit from, mass marketing programmes such as TV advertising."

Kraft intends to raise North American advertising and consumer spending by 10% this year, and to raise its ad-sales ratio to at least 8% long term, measured against 6.5% in 2010.

"Base marketing excellence is the single biggest thing we can do to step up our growth," said Vernon. "Great marketing is back at Kraft."

He added: "It is a simple formula. Great brands with strong messaging supported by competitive advertising will grow at benchmark, and we're seeing that result on many of our brands, with more to come."

Further initiatives include heightening its overall "excellence", improving the marketing mix, securing efficient trade spending, augmenting customer planning models and rewarding loyal buyers.

"As the recession challenges certain discretionary categories, we can drive more resilient categories like beverages, meats and convenience meals to continue to grow overall," said Vernon.

"This demonstrates how the breadth of our portfolio is an advantage, not a weakness," he added.