Partners in Crime

Master of Marketing students go to Melbourne
Although Salil and I both spent much of our Melbourne shopping weekend with our own vast retail agendas, we came together where, and when, it counted most. Our ‘shop until you drop’ instincts took control as we fought our way through the plethora of fabric, countless discounts, and long fitting room lines during a busy Monday afternoon at H&M. This

Barilla pasta’s distaste of gays: “Gays can go eat another brand”

Guido Barilla, owner of the global pasta brand, caused global backlash by saying he would never showcase a gay couple in Barilla ads. Moreover, he clearly articulated that homosexuals are not Barilla customers: “For us, the 'sacral family' remains one of the company’s core values. Our family is a traditional family,” he commented. Then Barilla’s chairman very forcefully stepped further by saying

Reinventing a best seller

How do you re-invent and improve an already good product? Saatchi & Saatchi LA have decided that a re-invented couch should be made up of toned and attractive females in bikinis, and should also be made available in a male version of topless buff men in shorts.



This ad however isn’t for the re-invented couch, or edible pizza curtains, or for plants that fight crime, but for the

Samsung Galaxy S3? Apple iPhone 5? Sony Xperia Z? Or Nothing

It is time for a new smart phone. My iPhone 3 has been losing one function at a time due to wear and tear. Last week I realised that I could no longer turn off the phone, two nights ago the volume control stopped working. I thought that buying a new phone would be a fun and easy activity.



A visit to the local Westfield to check out smart phones left me overwhelmed. With 40 phones to choose

The Awards Season is here – watch out for the celebrities and brands on your screen

The awards season has kicked off in Hollywood and you will find brands disputing attention nearly as much as the celebrities. Look closer into the cars, gowns, jewellery and champagne - brand endorsements are everywhere. This kind of implicit marketing also flourishes within the films and TV shows via product placements. Even video games have brands featured in them, like the Obama campaign we

Neuromarketing – a look inside your audience’s head

Ask Apple followers why they love their iPads and they will answer: design, convenience, versatility etc. But what if they are just rationalising their choices? What if the choice was made based on emotional associations with the brand, other users and memories that they are not even aware of? And what if Apple had access to this knowledge and tailored its communications to induce more of those

PepsiCo's Strategic Focus

I've just finished writing a case study for the recent launch of Pepsi Next into Australia in September 2012. No doubt you've probably been touched by some aspect of their Australian launch, ranging from guitar-playing babies with inept parents, to taste-test challenges across 300 outdoor locations, to heavy in-store promotion and discounting.



[image courtesy: http://www.pepsico.com]

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