Disclaimer: my blogs record history as I remember it. They may or may not be historically accurate but the recollections will be consistent with the sentiment of my topic. Continue reading
Category: Marketing (Page 2 of 2)
A recent sidebar in the Wall Street Journal alluded to Wheaties tradition of featuring high profile athletes at the peak of their popularity on their boxes and bemoaned the fact that this brand has fallen dramatically in its performance and value over recent years. I was reminded of this dramatic decline when I saw Adrian Peterson on two boxes of Wheaties peeking out from behind some toy cars and mini-frying pans. The reason or this incredible decline is up for debate. Some, like Melanie Hicken, say, “Wheaties is too healthy for junk food lovers yet not healthy enough for the health food crowd.” Others say General Mills has been out marketed and out merchandised by other cereal manufacturers. Continue reading
“Got a minute?” Ron asked, “Bo wants to see us.” “Sure,” I said thinking, “what in the world does Bo want?” Bo Batchelder was Hardee’s Sr. VP Marketing and he’d never wanted to meet with me before. Continue reading
It was Wednesday and I’d just come back from getting two chicken salad sandwiches to-go from Mrs. C’s Carolina Café. They used to make the best chicken salad sandwiches in the world. As I approached my desk I noticed the proofs from Friday night sitting in the corner of my cubicle. “Oh man,” I thought, “I need to tell Ron about this!” Continue reading
Everyone else left around four to get an early start to their weekend. The phone on Ron’s secretary’s desk had been ringing on and off the hook for the past three hours. I was almost done with the shipping lists for the POS and tray liners for Hardee’s new Big Deluxe sandwich introduction. Before he left Ron told me, “Don’t leave until you get this finished, and then put it in this envelope and drop it in the FedEx box on your way home.” The phone was ringing again and it was driving me crazy. Continue reading
As I was introduced to my new team mates a couple of years ago I was referred to as a “seasoned marketer.” That’s a kind way to describe a grizzled veteran of 36 years. I liked it and have come to embrace this descriptive classification fondly. Continue reading