General Mills
General Mills
 |
 RARE VINTAGE JOLLY GREEN GIANT LIFESIZE STORE DISPLAY 4 3 GENERAL MILLS  US $199.99
|
 BULLWINKLE 1960s General Mills store display cereal box sign WHEATIES A US $185.00
|
 Cheerios General Mills Premium Confederate Money Album paper1 US $125.00
|
 General Mills Halloween Scarecrow 1960s store display cereal box US $75.00
|
 1956 Ad Betty Crocker General Mills Birthday Cake Baby ORIGINAL ADVERTISING US $46.95
|
 Vintage General Mills Monster Cereal Halloween Bags 5 US $30.00
|
 1960s General Mills Twinkles Bank elephant advertisement movie tv prop US $29.95
|
 GENERAL MILLS BUGLES CORN SNACK TIN BOX MADE IN JAPAN US $24.99
|
 Vintage Mail Order Official LONE RANGER Pedometer by General Mills w BOX US $20.22
|
 1944 JACK ARMSTRONG General Mills Cereal Premium FULMAR AIRPLANE Mailer Envelope US $19.95
|
 1961 GENERAL MILLS BIG G Contest ad 2607 US $18.95
|
 1952 GENERAL MILLS APPLIANCE ad 2309 US $18.95
|
 1955 GENERAL MILLS CORN KIX ad 2983 US $18.95
|
 1958 GENERAL MILLS TRIX ad 2827 US $18.95
|
 1959 GENERAL MILLS CHEERIOS ad 2218 US $18.95
|
 1997 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal The Baker 8 PLUSH BEAN DOLL by General Mills US $14.99
|
 1997 COUNT CHOCULA 8 Plush Bean Bag Doll by General Mills Cereal US $14.99
|
 1997 COOKIE CRISP 8 Plush Bean Bag Doll by General Mills Cereal Chip the Hound US $14.99
|
 1997 COCOA PUFFS 8 Plush Bean Bag Doll SONNY CUCKOO BIRD General Mills Cereal US $14.99
|
 NWT 1998 GENERAL MILLS 8 Plush COUNT CHOCULA BEAN BAG Stuffed Doll US $14.55
|
 1997 GENERAL MILLS 8 Plush LUCKY CHARMS BEAN BAG Doll Stuffed Toy US $13.95
|
 GENERAL MILLS INC 100 DAY SAFETY AWARD 1959 DESK SET PEN BY DUK IT BUFFALO NY US $12.99
|
 1954 ad Hamilton Beach Electric Food Mixer Attachments General Mills Dormeyer US $12.99
|
 1951 AD Mid Century General Mills Betty Crocker Toaster Iron US $12.99
|
 GENERAL MILLS HONEY NUT CHEO BUZZ COOKIE CRISP CROOK CEREALS STUFFED TOYS 5 NEW US $12.49
|
 GENERAL MILL0 SONNY COCCA PUFFSLUCKY LUCKY CHARMS CEREALS STUFFED TOYS 5 NEW US $12.49
|
When Marketers Take Their Gloves Off
Four.
Billion.
Dollars.
According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, that's around how much funding Verizon and ATT spent in their high-stakes marketing wars for the $150B American wireless market. Verizon landed the 1st blow with their smash "There's a Map for That" messaging campaign, which was then answered with a nonstop barrage of ATT TV spots featuring Luke Wilson.
The Verizon vs ATT no-holds-barred approach is becoming increasingly common in America's market-share wars: rather than the polite references to "other leading brands" that many top marketing firms take, a rising number of advertisers are now launching direct assaults on their competition and confidently naming names.
Domino's Pizza has using this tactic, taking on Papa John's by assertively claiming victory in a customer taste war. Clorox 2 calls out Tide Stain Booster specifically its latest TV ad campaign too.
Are these tough-guy moves merely a natural reaction given the tough US economy? Possibly, but three other considerations are also in play in this latest round of market share wars:
1) Image-Busting:
In early 2010, Domino's Pizza took the boldest move in recent marketing history,admitting that their pizza had become bad enough that it needed a complete overhaul.It's "do-or-die" for Domino's Pizza, and winning a taste test over a popular brand whose tagline is "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza" is credibility-building news.
2) Biting Achilles ' Heel:
ATT had been the exclusive purveyor of the category-killing device in the cellular market- - the Apple iPhone. Verizon has rolled out model after model to tempt customers away from the white-hot Apple iPhone, but none had any real traction. Verizon then tied into an undercurrent of shopper wariness about ATT's reputed coverage and blew it wide open with "There's a Map for That", sparking the $4B Verizon vs ATT marketing wars that are dominating the airwaves.
3) Hold the Fort:
P&G is the king of the big washing detergent/fabric softener catgory. Clorox has a smaller fiefdom: bleach & bleach options. With the release of P&G's Tide Stain Booster, Clorox seems to believe that the lord of the laundry universe is making a play into its territory. Since big companies protect their crown jewels to the end, Clorox's latest TV ads are not really surprising. The marketing wars have now washed over into to the laundry room.
As we take a look at these assertive market share wars, one critical tactic warrants the spotlight: big companies are pairing powerful verbal messages with totally atomic visuals. How impactful would Verizon have been had they just talked to customers about ATT's perceived coverage? The graphic of "the map" is the master stroke in the Verizon vs ATT campaign.
Domino's Pizza also adds a visual dimension with its customer taste-test graphs versus. Papa John's. And Clorox pans to a wide shot comparing the value of its laundry additive to Tide's in an approach reminiscent of General Mills ' 20-year-old "How Many Bowls of Total.... Hope You're Hungry!" television advertising.
So much dirt and so many dollars are being slung around in these sorts of advertisements, but when the dust settles, does it really matter? Does anybody really win in these marketing wars?
In the short run yes. Negative campaigning works- - that is the long-held traditional wisdom from the US political landscape. In the short-run, choices are made at the voting box & elections are won or lost; shoppers pull out their wallets & choose Choice An or Choice B.
The long term results, honestly, are less clear-cut. While negative campaigning could be valuable in winning elections, Gallup polls consistently show that the people who leverage them- - members of Congress- - are viewed as being the one of the most unethical and untrustworthy groups measured. Obviously, this is not exactly the image most companies aspire to for their brands.
What is next in these sales wars? Join me in observing as the Verizon vs ATT, Domino's Pizza vs Papa John's, & Clorox vs Tide battles unfoId, and let's study the aftermath of hand-to-hand sales combat.
Many of America's top branding companies hire Atlanta marketing consultant Marie Elwood to help them with new product development, consumer insights, and marketing strategy.
Experience General Mills
