Wednesday February 27, 2008

Bottled Water for pooches makes it easy to market

Man’s best friend is known for settling for the cool fresh water of a toilet bowl to quench its thirst.

But now the world’s fourth largest soft drink maker is throwing its marketing might behind a new bottled water product just for dogs.

Cott Corp. has introduced FortiFido. With flavors ranging from peanut butter to lemongrass, it’s billed as the first nationally branded line of fortified water developed specifically for canines.

Charles Calise, Cott’s director of innovation for North America, acknowledged that some consumers and even Cott employees responded with “You’re going to do what?” when they first learned about plans for FortiFido. “We’ve gotten a couple of retailers that have said, ‘No, my customer is just not ready for this,’ ” he said.

But Cott is targeting those dog owners who’ll spare no expense for their pets. “People will buy products for their dogs to keep them happy and, in a lot of cases, they’ll treat them better than they do themselves,” Calise said.

The one- and two-liter bottles, with suggested prices of $1.39 and $2.29, come in four natural flavors. Peanut butter FortiFido is fortified with calcium to help maintain Spot’s
bones, while the parsley flavor contains zinc to promote healthy skin. There’s also spearmint to freshen a dog’s breath, and a lemongrass flavor with nutrients to help maintain healthy joints.

FortiFido’s launch follows 18 months and $80,000 of product development and research by food scientists and veterinarians. Humane societies allowed Cott to conduct tastings with more than 100 dogs to make sure flavors were pooch palate-worthy. Treated and filtered municipal water is used for FortiFido, which is safe for human consumption. Cott actually tailored the flavors to pet owners’ olfactory senses and steered away from dog favorites such as beef and liver, which were deemed unpleasant
kitchen smells.

Cott had been eyeing the dog water market for some time, but waited until consumers embraced the functional benefits of fortified water to make its move, said Calise. Value-added water is a very fast-growing segment of the bottled water industry. Sales hit $1.46 billion in 2006 and are expected to exceed $3 billion by 2010, according to Beverage Marketing Corp.

“Two years ago, this would not have been accepted,” Calise said. “But we think the timing is right for providing dogs the same benefits that were given to their human counterparts.”

But Robert Vansickle believes FortiFido’s launch may be inopportune. Vansickle, who owns the Polka Dog Bakery in Boston’s South End, said economic concerns have
prompted dog owners to be more discerning about their purchases for Fido. “Business has changed in the last six months,” Vansickle said. “ They’re buying more food and less of everything else.”

View full article in BostonHerald.com

Wednesday December 12, 2007

By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY — Looking to make their mark with potential customers, companies across the country are tapping into tattoos as a marketing tool.

Businesses are launching products with tattoo-centric names, stamping their logos on temporary tattoos and using ink-covered models in their advertising.

Late last month, 7-Eleven began selling Inked, a proprietary energy drink. The beverage, at $1.99 for 12 ounces, is targeted at consumers with body art - as well as those without it who “think that having a tattoo is cool,” says Michele Little, 7-Eleven category manager of non-carbonated drinks.

More specifically, Inked is aimed at 18- to 40-year-old men and women, says Little, who doesn’t have a tattoo herself but would consider getting one.

Inked, by beverage maker Cott, (COT) comes in citrus or grapefruit flavors in cans designed to look like brightly colored tattoos.

Inked is hitting store shelves as body art becomes downright fashionable.

Not only do big-screen celebrities and soccer stars have tattoos (think: Angelina Jolie and David Beckham), “normal, everyday people,” such as college students and stockbrokers, increasingly are sporting them, says Don Hellinger, CEO of tattoo-focused magazine Inked.

More than a third of people ages 18 to 25 have tattoos, and 40% of people 26 to 40 have them, says a Pew Research Center study conducted last year.

In addition to getting exposure on live body parts, tattoos are also getting an immense amount of TV time. Based on the success of Miami Ink- a tattoo parlor reality show that began in 2005 - TLC cable network this year launched two tattoo-related shows: London Ink and LA Ink. Cable network A&E also had its own offering, Inked,which went off the air last year.

The increasing amount of commercialism hasn’t offended most tattoo-wearers, Hellinger says. In fact, many tattoo fans welcome it.

“It helps broaden the acceptance of tattoos,” he says. “It gives a woman with a tattoo the confidence to wear a dress that she may not have worn before. It now gives a guy the confidence to roll up his long-sleeved shirt and show off some of his ink.”

Yet, Hellinger does say the tattoo trend is getting under the skin of “hard-core enthusiasts.”

For that group, “Tattoos were a sign of their individualism and their being rebels,” he says. “As it becomes more mainstream, that (individuality) is taken away — and they resent marketers for it.”

Opposition hasn’t stopped companies from capitalizing on “tats.” Some examples of how marketers are using them to increase their brands’ exposure.

- Temporary tattoos. Wine company Yellow Tail included rip-out temporary tattoos in more than 600,000 copies of the Oct. 22 issue of The New Yorker. The tattoos, each about 3 inches by 4 inches, feature a black-and-white dragon with a bright yellow tail. “We wanted to create print advertising that was interactive and engaging,” says Jeff Johnson, general manager of Yellow Tail ad agency Cramer-Krasselt/Hampel Stefanides.

- Print ads. Dodge ad agency BBDO Detroit created an offbeat ad to showcase the toughness of its Caliber hatchback. The ad, which shows a burly tattoo artist inking the back of a black Caliber, proclaims that the car is “anything but cute.”

Upscale brand Chanel took a softer approach with its tattoo-centric ad in Vogue, which showed a model sporting Chanel glasses - and a tattoo of the brand’s interlocked C logo.

- Contests.Inked magazine and Toyota ™ recently teamed for a “Tattoo your Scion” promotion. The companies invited consumers to design a tattoo-covered car and submit their entries online at www.inkedmag.com/scion_contest or by mail. The winning design will be featured in an upcoming issue of Inked.

- Permanent branding. For the past three years, Dunlop Tires has hired a tattoo artist to etch its brand name, “flying D” logo or other tire-focused designs into the skin of attendees at an annual auto trade show. So far, 98 tattoos have been applied. Those who partake are rewarded for their pain, each getting a free set of tires.

Denny Jusczak, owner of custom-car company Never Satisfied Customs in Forest Lake, Minn., now has three Dunlop designs on his arms. “They get a lot of attention,” he says.

For Dunlop, there’s more publicity to come. Jusczak says he’s heading back to the auto trade show in 2008 and will get yet another Dunlop design. “I’m ready for it,” he says.

in CNNMoney.com

Tuesday October 23, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — CROWN Beverage Packaging USA, a business unit of Crown Holdings Inc. (Crown) (http://www.crowncork.com), has created a unique, glow-in-the-dark package to add a fun and interactive element to a Halloween promotion being introduced by one of its customers, Cott Beverages. Cott will introduce a reduced-sugar orange cream soda just in time for trick-or-treating. The customer-designed product will be available in the United States.

The limited edition package incorporates a special decorating ink with phosphorescent pigments that emit a green glow when in dark environments. Supplied by Chromatic Technologies, Inc. (Colorado Springs, CO), the ink is applied to emphasize important packaging graphics. These include the word “Halloween,” the mouth, eyes and nose of a large jack-o-lantern, and ghoulish eyes peering out of a creepy black and purple forest background.

To underscore the healthy nature of the reduced sugar soda, the package is produced in a small 8oz. size that provides portion control. This combination of product features is sure to provoke screams of delight among individuals and families seeking healthier options during the often sugar-laden holiday.

“Halloween is a popular time of year for special promotions, so we wanted a distinctive and interactive package that would allow our reduced sugar cream soda to convey the fun spirit of the holiday and maximize appeal,” explains Dave Vautrin, Vice President of Innovation at Cott Beverages. “By working with us to add the glow-in-the-dark graphical element, Crown has delivered an innovative way for our brand to stand out from the competition. We expect the package will be a success on store shelves this fall.”

“Crown consistently strives to incorporate advanced packaging technologies that can truly bring brands to life,” says Neill Mitchell, Vice President Sales - Account Executive, CROWN Beverage Packaging USA. “The unique glow-in- the-dark feature captures Halloween’s mischievous feel, helping Cott to build excitement at retail and in consumer homes.”
About Chromatic Technologies, Inc.

CTI is a Custom Special Effect Ink company in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At CTI extreme inks are the norm because they create the kind of effects that traditional ink companies can’t or don’t offer. Their expertise is in formulating or creating inks for application in Offset, Flexo, Gravure, and Screen printing. CTI’s MAX: Metal Deco line was spun out of their knowledge base in printing thermochromic and Glow-in-the-Dark ink in the offset environment. For more information visit http://www.ctiinks.com .

About Crown Holdings, Inc.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, visit http://www.crowncork.com.

View full article in USAToday.com

Thursday July 26, 2007

Partners with local businesses to continue awareness campaign
United Way of Erie County has enlisted the help of local businesses to gather new and gently used children’s books for their Success By 6 initiative administered by Early Connections, a United Way Member Agency. Collection areas have been set up at Wegmans on Peach Street and at the Millcreek Mall office in the Mall Bazaar Court.

United Way recently launched an awareness campaign to highlight several of its initiatives. The first phase of this campaign has focused on Success By 6, which aims to ensure that every child in Erie County has the basic skills necessary to succeed in school and in life.

“The donation of only one book can have a profound effect on a child and his/her family,” said Jodi Askins, Vice President of Community Outreach at Early Connections. “Research shows that reading to children is the single most important thing an adult can do to prepare a child for future academic success.”

United Way is also reinforcing its awareness campaign by providing free bookmarks and fact cards that focus on Success By 6. The bookmarks and cards will be given out at Erie County Public Library branches, as well as at Wegmans and the Millcreek Mall.

Success By 6, started in 2002, is the early care and education initiative for Erie County which is primarily funded by United Way of Erie County, grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and the Erie Community Foundation. The goal of Success By 6 is that all children in Erie County are adequately prepared to enter the education system.

Initiatives like these are the building blocks to a brighter, more enriched and successful future. United Way of Erie County and its member agencies have been implementing efforts like these for years and will continue to do so with the continued support of the community.

For more information, contact the United Way of Erie County.

Monday January 29, 2007

Erie has all the resources you need to make your business successful. That is the message in a business attraction advertising campaign, appearing in the February issue of US Airways Magazine. The ad campaign is running in conjunction with a community profile that features Erie, PA.

BENSUR:: Creative Marketing Group, a Silver member of the Erie Regional Chamber, designed the advertising campaign. In addition to the County of Erie and the Chamber, partners in the advertising campaign include: the Erie Water Works, Penn State Behrend, the Economic Development Corporation, Northwest Industrial Resource Center, the Gannon University Small Business Development Center, Ben Franklin Technology Center, eBizIT, and Pennsylvania Sea Grant.

Erie submitted one of the most attractive economic development advertising campaigns we’ve ever seen, said Chris Denby, Business Development/City Reports, Pace Communications, publishers of US Airways Magazine.

Click here to read more and view the advertising campaign

Friday December 1, 2006

The toursim season in Pennsylvania’s Great Lakes Region used to be considered “a gold 90 days” in the summer months, but hotel tax receipts for October show tourists are flocking to the area in ever-growing numbers. John Oliver, president of the Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, credits some of the increase to successful marketing. Goerie.com recently featured an article about fall tourism in the area.

Friday November 10, 2006

Major Peters’ redesigned Web site makes finding information on America’s best-tasting line of cocktail mixes easy and fun

That veddy proper British officer on the label of Major Peters cocktail mixes is actually a party guy. And he’s as smart as he is fun to be around. So, it stands to reason that his Web site should be full of information and lore and fun to navigate, too.

That’s the thinking behind the sweeping redesign of the Web site (www.majorpeters.com) dedicated to America’s best tasting line of cocktail mixes. On the site, you’ll find the legend of Major Peters, information on Major Peters comprehensive line of Bloody Mary, Bar Basics and Flavors mixes and a recipe-builder page with more uses for Major Peters products than you ever thought possible.

There’s also a special section for brokers and a page that’s just for fun, a subject about which the Major knows a thing or two.

“Our brand never stays still, and neither should our Web site,” says Kevin T. Dress, Director of Sales and Marketing. “It had been a few years since our last redesign, and we were ready. It’s also optimized for the latest generation of browsers and recommended to be viewed with a cocktail made with a Major Peters mix in your non-mousing hand.”

Cott Corporation has announced that its Orient Emporium Tea Co. line of premium teas is available and will begin shipping in North America. The high-quality, ready-to-drink flavored teas are being sold in over 1500 Wal-Mart Supercenters.

Read more at BevNET.com.