Week 5 - New product, new ad

Week of February 18, 2009


Dawn is not the only brand that is having difficulty marketing a new line extension. Is the new hand renewal soap for dishes or your hands? Will it take off? Others dealing with similar issues is Trident gum attempting to market products that strengthen your teeth. One way to get new ideas out is called viral marketing. This occurs when a company produces a unique video that catches the attention of viewers so much so that they are compelled to send it to everyone they know. It has similar effects as a chain letter. In Trident's case, they tried to show the strength of a man, Jerry's, teeth and made the video look like it was for a TV show called That's not fake. The show investigated the situation and reported that Jerry used the new Trident Xtra Care chewing gum. However, it appears that the marketing attempt is not going anywhere...so much for viral marketing.
http://online.wsj.com/services/article/SB123439670534574971-search.html?KEYWORDS=Trident&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

The American auto industry is falling to pieces. GM and Chrysler claim that $17.4 billion was not enough to help them and all thier suppliers. Their justification for what they did get was that bankruptcy would end up costing tax payers a lot more money. Both companies submitted recovery plans that showed how they would trim expenses and boost sales. The biggest effort, cutting make on brand names. Reporters found that suppliers do not solely count on the Detroit 3 though, and ship many products to Asian manufacturers. The ultimate decision will rest with President Obama and he is not expecting anything cheap.
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13145718