Advertising Age - CMO Strategy
CMO Strategy delivers the latest marketing strategy, theory, opinion and advice for CMOs, VPs of marketing and other senior industry execs. Top industry experts, advertising academics and leading brand chiefs offer guidance on the most important areas such as integration, the media revolution, accountability, ROI and corporate structure.

How Reckitt Routed Rivals

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Unheralded Reckitt Benckiser has been beating the likes of its more glamorous European neighbor L'Oreal, its seemingly more creative Anglo-Dutch big brother Unilever and industry powerhouse Procter & Gamble Co. on the top and bottom lines of late.

For Ford, Road Ahead in China Is Bumpy but Promising

Ford's China sales are slowing and the country's overall growth rate just hit a five-year low. In this environment, Nigel Harris is in charge of keeping Ford on track in the mainland.

Why 'Idol' Works for Coke -- but Not for Ford

The biggest TV success in history, "American Idol," features three brands -- Coca-Cola, Ford and AT&T (formerly Cingular) -- have shelled out a reported $26 million to sponsor the show . But for all the money spent and on-air mentions, do the sponsorships really register with viewers?

Applebee's Hopes New Marketer Can Re-energize Chain

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Applebee's, the biggest player in the casual-dining sector, said Rebeca M. Johnson is taking the marketing reins as senior VP-marketing.

Wanted: A Way to Objectively Measure Your Brand's Value

Execs at Steel City Re are finding innovative ways to value and protect not brand, per se, but corporate reputation.

When Your Budget Gets Challenged, Play Offense

If your 2009 budget for branding hasn't already been challenged, it will be, whether in the guise of "finding efficiencies" or by your simply being asked to slash projects and/or head count. You know that bad economic times are not good for branding.

Finding Your Way in These Dark Days for DTC Ads

Our industry has entered an era that we at our agency call "Pharmageddon." Amid unprecedented scrutiny by the FDA, Congress and others, researchers are claiming that pharmaceutical advertising is practically useless, causing agencies and marketers alike to raise the white flag before they even take to the battlefield.

Marti Barletta: What's the Skinny on Women in Advertising?

To the many marketers seeking to do well by doing good, consider this: Committing your communications to a healthy standard of womanly beauty is another such opportunity.

Can Clorox Bring Green to the Mainstream?

Clorox Co., maker of the iconic bleach, is attempting to make existing brands more sustainable and invest in new sustainable brands through internal development and acquisition. It remains to be seen, however, whether a company so strongly associated with "white" will be able to make it as "green."

Scott Davis: Build a Brand Consumers Will Actually Want to Control

The "Customer Rules" bandwagon is getting mighty crowded these days, with everyone singing the same tune as they jump aboard: The customer is king. The customer as agency of the year. You (the customer) as person of the year.