NORTHLAND'S FAVORITE HITS » marketing

Rachel Ray Introduces The First Food Truck For Dogs

Steve Tanko — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:44:16 +0000

Okay, so it’s a marketing gimmick that probably won’t last the year. But, you have to hand it to savvy-business-person Rachel Ray for using the world’s first food truck for dogs to promote her latest pet food offerings. Billed as a “Pup-Up Food Truck For Dogs”, the mobile food mart will patrol the streets of [...]

Mc-TV Is Coming: McDonalds Launches In-Restaurant TV Network

Steve Tanko — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:47:46 +0000

It's a growing trend. First it was at the airport - where travelers were subjected to watching the airlines in-house television network. Then, the proprietary channels started showing up at gas pumps, where drivers could get news updates and information on small screens that were built right into the pumps themselves. Now, it appears that the world's largest fast food restaurant is getting into the game as McDonalds gets ready to launch their own in-restaurant television network.

Chicken Soup For The Soul To Give Fans Chicken Soup For Their Bowl

Steve Tanko — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:49:10 +0000

Fans of the inspirational book series “Chicken Soup For The Soul” can rejoice: They’re about to get chicken soup for their bowl(s) – as the company gets ready to launch a line of actual soups that will hit grocery stores soon. A lot of marketing experts are wondering why the Connecticut-based company hasn’t done something [...]

Breakfast To Start Sooner At McDonalds

Steve Tanko — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:59:55 +0000

McDonalds breakfast fans – rejoice! Now your favorite Mc-breakfast items will be available – earlier – at select test-restaurants. McDonald’s is going after the nocturnal crowd, testing breakfast after midnight in the Columbus, Ohio, market. According to Columbus Business First, the chain’s “Breakfast After Midnight” menu includes Egg McMuffins, Sausage McMuffins, hotcakes with sausage, breakfast [...]

Fast Food Companies Market To Their Demographic With An Increase In Ads Targeted At "Late Night Munchies"

Steve Tanko — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:38:20 +0000

The fast food industry knows it’s demographic well – probably more than any other service sector. That’s why it should come as no surprise that their use of mass media marketing directly targets their audience. A few years ago, Hardees and sister-company Carl Junior’s took a blatant approach with a menu overhaul aimed at super-serving [...]

Coca Cola Coming To An Igloo Cooler Near You

Steve Tanko — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:29:08 +0000

Two well-known brands are getting ready to merge their combined marketing power for business. Coca Cola and Igloo have signed a pact that will see a line of soda-themed coolers n stores as soon as possible. “This relationship between two iconic brands is very exciting for Igloo,” David Thornhill, Igloo’s executive vice president and chief [...]

Crayola Nail Polish Brings Color To Adulthood

Steve Tanko — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:40:19 +0000

The Crayola company is bringing their colorful hues to adult girls with their new line of fingernail polish. The eight original crayon colors are now available in a set of nail polish that’s available at cosmetic counters everywhere. Suggested retail price is $12 for eight bottles of polish. And if colorful nails weren’t enough, the [...]

Offensive Names Equal Profit In The Liquor World

Steve Tanko — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:56:13 +0000

One of the growing trends in the last few years has been “lewd”-ly named liquor brands. You know what I’m talking about. Spend five minutes in a liquor store and you’ll see all sorts of examples on the wine, liquor, and even beer shelves. Apparently, it sells product really well. The line about having to [...]

Smithfield Opens A Restaurant To Showcase It's Products

Steve Tanko — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:20:50 +0000

“Foodie’s” looking for places to visit while on vacation can add one more place to their list: Smithfield, Virginia. Long a pork-lovers paradise as home to the company that produces Smithfield Hams, there’s now a restaurant/retail shop there, too that’s luring customers in. The move is an innovative marketing tactic that sounds “delicious”! Customers can [...]

Sunday Restaurant Promotion Angers Atheists

Steve Tanko — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:05:11 +0000

A Pennsylvania restaurant has found itself at the receiving end of a lawsuit over it’s Sunday dining promotion. As advertised, customers who bring in a church bulletin get a ten-percent discount off their meal. As a result, an Athiest man has filed a lawsuit charging discrimination. At the heart of the complaint, John Wolff says [...]

Orbitz Accused Of Directing Mac Users To Pricier Hotel Accomodations

Steve Tanko — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:41:53 +0000

File this under the “be careful of what you wish for”-category; Mac users are crying foul after disclosures that Orbitz – the online hotel reservation site – uses modern technology to target them with pricier accommodations. It comes down to a simple fact that Orbitz turned up via research: Mac-users – or at least those [...]

Is Soda The New Tobacco? Critics Link Marketing Motives Between Soda Pop Companies And Cigarette Manufacturers

Steve Tanko — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:40:08 +0000

A weak economy. Trouble in the Middle East. Rising gas prices. In some ways, 2012 is just like the early 1990's. Need one more item to add to that list of comparisons? Public health officials say that soda manufacturers - just like their cigarette-making cousins in the 1990's - are employing marketing tactics to sway public opinions on their products.

JCPenney's New Image Fails; Reports Large 1st Quarter Loss

Steve Tanko — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:44:14 +0000

Three months into JCPenney’s new, “improved” image reveals one thing: customers aren’t impressed. First Quarter numbers were recently posted, showing that the retailer was off by $163 million dollars. Just prior the end of Q4 in 2011, JCPenney rolled out a new marketing campaign in which they “did away with gimmicks”. One of those “gimmicks” [...]

Untruth's In Advertising: What The Food Industry Doesn't Want You To Know

Steve Tanko — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:12:21 +0000

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise: You can’t believe everything you read on food packaging. After all the food products you consume are packaged and marketed just like any other product, and the companies that produce these groceries are only in business for one reason: to make money. However, the buyer must still beware. [...]

Kashi Cereal At The Center Of Natural-Foods Boycott

Steve Tanko — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:30:08 +0000

Just how “natural” is “natural”? The Kellogg-company is about to find out with their Kashi-brands of cereal. Kellogg’s is facing anger on social media sites because of complaints that its popular Kashi brand of cold cereals doesn’t live up to the company’s “natural” billing on advertisements and box covers. The national backlash started innocently enough [...]

Domino's Pizza Tells Customers "No!"

Steve Tanko — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:40:51 +0000

Go ahead - order that Domino's Pizza any way you want it. Extra pepperoni? No problem. Extra cheese? Sure. Hold the onions? You bet. Just don't tamper with their specialty pizzas.
The pizza delivery company on Thursday will launch a TV ad campaign that says "No!" to customers who want to add or remove toppings from its line of artisan pizzas

Starbucks To Roll Out Beer And Wine

Steve Tanko — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:24:41 +0000

"I'll have a double strong latte, an espresso, and a pale ale". What?!

It looks like Starbucks is getting ready to roll out wine and beer offerings as a means to boost sales.
The Seattle-based coffee giant has been testing a more community-oriented store concept to boost traffic in the evening for more than two years

Coca Cola Switching White Cans Back To Red

Steve Tanko — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:00:55 +0000

Well,that didn’t last long. To show their holiday/winter spirit – and raise money for Arctic Polar Bears, the Coca Cola company changed the color of regular Coke cans to white last month. Apparently consumers weren’t amused. The Coca-Cola Co. told ABC News today that it would be following up last month’s release of its white, [...]

Want Fries With That? Burger King Launches New "Improved" Fries

Steve Tanko — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:40:45 +0000

In a move to up the ante in the fast food wars, the nations number two hamburger restaurant is rolling out a new, "improved" version of their french fries.
Burger King Corp, the second largest hamburger chain, has changed its french fry recipe for the first time since 1998 as competition from upstarts and traditional fast-food rivals mounts

Facial Recognition Software Now Being Used for Personalized Marketing

Shauna Wright — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:35:22 +0000

While facial recognition technology has been used to enhance security — for example, to spot known terrorists in crowds — it’s now poised to become the next big thing for personalized marketing and smart phones.