Analysis
AXA thinks through brand and engages employees
FROM BEING AN active sponsor French insurer AXA has largely dropped off the radar. All that could change as the company emerges from a branding exercise that has involved 55,000 employees
Samsung take a bite out of Apple’s lead with new tablets
IF TALKING DOWN a rival is a sign of grudging respect, then Steve Jobs’ description of Samsung as a “copycat company” may show Apple is taking the Korean firm seriously. Sams
German market roaring ahead
GERMANY IS EXPERIENCING “roaring” economic growth according to the departing Bundesbank president Axel Weber. The economy expanded 3.6% in 2010 and GDP is on track to grow an additional 2.5%
Betfair succumbs to Mediterranean appeal
UK-BASED GAMING operator, Betfair has confirmed that it will follow the lead it competitors and locate in Gibraltar thus avoiding the 15% tax on gross betting profits
Barclays top bankers to receive £100m windfall
BARCLAYS' ANNOUNCEMENT that it will pay its senior team over £100m in pay, shares and bonuses looks set to reignite another spate of banker bashing.
BRICS turn VUCA for Proctor and Gamble
KEITH HARRISON, global product supply officer for consumer goods giant Proctor and Gamble has coined a new acronym in his quest to expand operations
Coke ad spend up as result of Winter Olympics campaign
COCA-COLA spent almost $3bn on advertising in 2010 an increase of 4.5% over 2009 despite concerns over the state of the global economy
Coke ad spend up as Winter Olympic campaign
COCA-COLA spent almost $3bn on advertising in 2010 an increase of 4.5% over 2009 despite concerns over the state of the global economy
Aspirational local consumers key to Henkel brands
KASPER RORSTED heads up one of Europe’s largest brand portfolios. As CEO of Henkel he is responsible for consumer brands such as Pritt adhesive sticks, RightGuard deodorants and Schwarzkopf hair products.
When is an Italian not an Italian?
QUINTESSENTIAL ITALIAN car brand Fiat is giving its local customers an identity crisis
Asia set for own-label boom
HAVING PROVIDED much of the growth of branded products in recent years, Asia is waking up to own-label groceries
Life’s not so good for LG and Sony
LG HAS PUT the pinch on shipments of Sony’s PlayStation 3 consoles after it won a temporary injunction against the Japanese company over a patent claim.
Adidas sales boosted by World Cup but still expected to grow in 2011
IN RELEASING STELLAR results for 2010 adidas pointed to the impact of the World Cup which propelled sales to a whopping €12bn.
Mexican Telco Magnate Sponsors Museum
CARLOS SLIM is rumoured to be the world’s richest man and by any reckoning he is in a class of one in Mexico.
New Tesco CEO brings international perspective
ON THE FACE of it the new head of supermarket group Tesco is cut from the same cloth as his predecessor but Philip Clarke is his own man
Wire and Plastic to Wealth and Power
MENTION WIRE and Plastic Products and you are likely to be met with blank stares. However, this was the vehicle that launched arguably the most influential individual in world marketing, Sir Martin Sorrell
Old Trafford scene of another unlikely battle
SUPERMARKET GROUP Tesco is heading into court against Derwent Holdings (whose property interests span the retail and leisure sectors) over the redevelopment of Old Trafford
When sponsorship is not enough
BRITISH GAS, energy utility supplier to 15.7 million British homes must love the Christmas-day swimmers