Coca-Cola announced the new packaging designs for Minute Maid juices will be available in aisles across America during the 4th quarter of 2009 and will roll out around the world after that. The re-brand was done by Minneapolis Duffy & Partners. I predict it will be much more successful than Tropicana’s rebranding debacle that happened earlier this year.

]]> http://davidsontm.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/monster-mash-analyzing-monster-energy-v-the-vermonster/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:08:20 +0000 davidsontm http://davidsontm.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/monster-mash-analyzing-monster-energy-v-the-vermonster/

No, this isn't Saturday afternoon at the monster matinee.

A look behind the headlines for today’s topic.  Some trademark-sensitive readers may have seen in the headlines a report that large-scale energy drink marketer Hansen Beverage Co. has sent a cease and desist letter alleging trademark infringement to a small craft brewer named Rock Art Brewery.  

Rock Art, which is located in Vermont, markets its beer under the name THE VERMONSTER. Hansen Beverage, it has been reported, markets energy drinks under the trademark MONSTER. Or does it?  In fact, the mark Hansen uses and has registered (U.S. Reg. No. 3,134,841, among others) is M MONSTER ENERGY, featuring a rather distinctive stylized “M” that resembles three claw marks, as shown above.  Rock Art’s use looks like this:

THE VERMONSTER Beer, marketed by Rock Art Brewery

Rock Art’s owner Matt Nadeau reportedly has lamented that five trademark attorneys have told him that “the law is probably on his side, but that proving it through lengthy litigation could bankrupt him.”  Nadeau’s response is that “Corporate America can’t be allowed to do this, in this day and age. It’s just not right.”  Nadeau also reports that Hansen’s attorneys rebuffed his offer to surrender any rights to THE VERMONSTER in the energy drink category, because Hansen wants to enter the alcoholic beverage market.

So, is Rock Art’s use of THE VERMONSTER for craft beers confusingly similar to Hansen’s use of MONSTER ENERGY for energy drinks? 

Considered in a vacuum with only that information, my own assessment would be that a reasonable court or jury could find either way.  On the one hand, the respective marks and goods are different enough that I believe consumers would not mistake one for the other.  On the other hand, infringement does not require that consumers be likely to actually confuse the marks – it is enough if consumers believe there is some connection between or approval of the two uses, where none exists.

Looking behind those bare facts, however, I would predict an outcome in favor of Rock Art.  The fact is, Hansen is far from the first to use or register a MONSTER-formative mark for beverages. 

There are prior registrations of B MONSTER and C MONSTER for nonalcoholic fruit juice based beverages, owned by national marketer Odwalla, Inc.  BIG HOPPY MONSTER also registered for beer, ales and lagers, prior to Hansen’s mark.  Finally, FLATHEAD LAKE MONSTER registered after Hansen’s M MONSTER ENERGY mark for soft drinks and beer, but based on use that long predated Hansen’s use.

Taking into account these prior uses and registrations, it appears that Hansen’s rights in “MONSTER” actually are rather limited, despite the company’s energetic attempts to appropriate the term.  In the face of so many MONSTER-formative beverage marks, the law tends to assume consumers will distinguish them based on other components of the marks.  In my opinion, the “other components” of THE VERMONTER are at least as distinctive as those in B MONSTER and C MONSTER, when compared to M MONSTER ENERGY.  Hansen’s ability to enter the alcoholic beverage market also is highly questionable, in light of the prior beer registrations.

Setting aside the merits of the case, there remains the chance that Hansen may be able to “bully” its way to victory by using its greater resources to litigate Rock Art to death.  Obviously that possibility lurks between the lines here.

In that regard, however, Hansen may not be the biggest bully on the block.  The Coca-Cola Company has filed an application for MONSTER REFRESHMENT for “non-alcoholic beverages, namely soft drinks and sports drinks,” which is currently pending.  Hansen has opposed, but the opposition has stretched on for more than three years.  Proceedings currently are suspended to allow for settlement discussions.

by Alan Deutschman, for BusinessWeek, September 18, 2009.

The best leaders take the same hits as their employees and stick to the primary values they promised to uphold

When Mark Fields became president of Ford Motor’s troubled North American operations in 2005, he quickly announced a turnaround plan called “The Way Forward” that would eliminate 45,000 jobs—more than one-fifth the workforce—and close 14 manufacturing plants. Fields also proposed cutting health-care benefits for the blue-collar workers who remained. He stressed the sense of urgency with his new slogan, “Change or Die,” which he posted on the gates of the factories. As part of his case for change, he told Ford’s employees that they would have to share the sacrifices to save the company.

But Fields himself didn’t share in the sacrifices: For cutting costs so fiercely, Fields was richly rewarded with a $2.3 million bonus that lifted his yearly pay to $5.6 million. Rather than moving to Detroit and becoming a full-fledged member of the community, Fields kept his family in Delray Beach, Fla., and commuted every weekend on the company’s private jet. Is there any wonder no one wanted to follow Mark Fields?…(continue reading)

If you’re a budding travel photographer and are wondering which contests are worth entering, I’ve rounded up a list of top competitions with low or no entry fees for The Traveler’s Notebook.

http://lolaakinmade.com/2009/09/13/top-travel-photography-contests/

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ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2009 – The Coca-Cola Company announced today that it will give $6 million to Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and the Morehouse School of Medicine, all part of the Atlanta University Center. This support will assist students at these Atlanta-based historically black colleges and universities with scholarship funds where economic hardship is impacting the likelihood of the completion of their education. Additionally, the Company announced that $1.2 million will be given to the Robert W. Woodruff Library on the campus of the Atlanta University Center to upgrade the Library’s IT infrastructure and enhance the ability to manage and provide access to critical archival documents, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. papers.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company, made the check presentations at the Robert W. Woodruff Library to Dr. Beverly Tatum, president, Spelman College; Dr. Robert Franklin, Jr., president, Morehouse College; Dr. Carlton Brown, president, Clark Atlanta University; Dr. John Maupin, Jr., president, Morehouse School of Medicine; and Ms. Loretta Parham, CEO and Library Director, Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center.

“The Coca-Cola Company will always look for opportunities to make a difference in the communities where it operates, especially in our hometown,” said Mr. Kent. “On behalf of our associates who call Atlanta home, we are proud to provide $7.2 million to these leading institutions of higher learning. We view this as an investment in the next generation of students who will pass through these campuses, continue their education and benefit from having Dr. King’s papers within arm’s reach.”

The Coca-Cola Company created and funded a $10 million Promotional Achievement Award Fund (PAAF) program for its United States based African-American employees as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement in 2000. The fund was designed to encourage and provide education opportunities for African-American employees in the United States and was operational from 2004 to 2008. During that time, employees accessed $2.8 million for educational opportunities. The remaining money in the Fund, as a term in the settlement, was designated by The Coca-Cola Company to be distributed to eligible institutions in the Atlanta University Center.

Reconhecendo a relevância que a tecnologia tem hoje na vida das famílias brasileiras, a Coca Cola lançou a promoçao ‘Mae, você é essa Coca-Cola toda’, que premiará com computadores, cursos profissionalizantes e a bebida gratis por 1 ano. A açao será realizada exclusivamente de forma eletrônica, através de celular e da internet. O publico-alvo sao as maes – para participar, as consumidoras devem enviar por SMS ou internet, para o site cocacola.com.br, o código encontrado no interior das tampinhas dos refrigerantes tamanho família, vidro ou PET.

A Coca Cola declara ter estudado os hábitos de consumo das maes e a atratividade dos premios oferecidos. Informa que 100% das maes pesquisadas consideraram o computador um item atrativo – 47% destacaram a utilidade para a família, 37% afirmaram que os filhos podem usar o computador para estudar e 28% se interessam pelo prêmio pela possibilidade delas próprias acessarem a internet.

Do Blue Bus

A Coca-Cola está prestes a lançar seu mais novo produto: leite efervescente. A bebida irá misturar leite desnatado com água gaseificada, será aromatizada com frutas e adoçada com açúcar. Os cientistas que desenvolveram o produto em um laboratório da Coca em Atlanta garantiram que ele será embalado em uma garrafa de alumínio que evitará que o leite coalhe.

A novidade, batizada de Vio, terá quatro tipos de sabores diferentes. A Coca-Cola já começou a testar a comercialização do produto entre consumidores dos EUA. O site BevNET.com, especializado em pesquisas de indústrias de bebidas, testou o sabor cítrico do Vio e parece não ter gostado muito. “O gosto do leite é muito forte e, por isso, tem um pouco de nata. Não parece doce até que você consuma uma garrafa inteira”, disse o site.

A bebida faz parta de uma iniciativa da Coca-Cola chamada Projeto Vida, que visa desenvolver projetos à base de leite. A intenção é que o Vio possa ser vendido como opção de bebida saudável, mas cada garrafa contém 26 gramas de açúcar e 1,5 grama de gordura. A novidade será lançada primeiro nos Estado Unidos e, se bem sucedida, no mundo todo. Os produtores de leite estão esperançosos – acham que o projeto da Coca-Cola pode aumentar o consumo da bebida.

Colaboração: Fernando Bamberg

Coke vending machines have always been great branding for them but have been limited on consumer interaction.  To counter that they created an interactive vending machine that takes the consumer experience to new levels.  They will be rolled out across the globe over the next 12 months.  This innovative vending machine won a Gold Cannes Lion in 2009.  Who thought we would be able to order a Coke in HD……Check out the video to see it in action.

Holt Renfrew’s Blog-Inspired Window Displays
The Holt Renfrew Vancouver store recently paid homage to their favourite fashion blogs. The 170 year old Canadian department store brand has dedicated each window display to a number of notorious fashion blogs, including; The Sartorialist, Bryan Boy, Garance Dore, Sea of Shoes, Jak & Jil and I want I got.

Vintage Soda Cans

Great collection of vintage cans, apparently someone spent rather a lot of time gathering these together.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi bury hatchet on Twitter
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have tentatively buried their decades old competitive rivalry, and are now sharing tweets and following each other on Twitter. As part of a social experiment between the bitterest of fizzy drinks rivals, creative agency Amnesia Razorfish invited the two companies – both on Twitter, but not fellow followers – to go out on a limb and acknowledge one another.

Even though I hail from the Atlanta area and went to art school there back in the day, I think this article revealing the real face of the Coca-Cola Company needs to be spread around!

Apparently things go better when you snag lots of public money for your corporate projects but that’s only part of Coke’s story.

And don’t forget: it’s the real thing.

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. _{Matt 5:16 (NKJV)}

How many of these ad slogans have you heard? Can you name the products associated with these ad campaigns? What image comes to mind when you hear these slogans? And does the product advertised live up to its ad campaign? Would you recommend these products to someone else?

How did you do with naming the products? Did you get them all? If not here is the answers to the slogans in order. Coke, GE, Hallmark, Pepsi, Ford, Master Card, VISA, NIKE, the Army and finally your local church. Oh you thought your savings place was Walmart and American Express‘ membership has privileges? Okay I admit “The Savings Place” is a trademark of Walmart, and American Express did coin the phrase “Membership  has it’s privileges but in a way all these terms could be applied to the brand “Christian.”

Walmart has become known as the savings place. In fact I can pretty much guarantee that more people will enter into a local Walmart each week then will enter a local church building. We, as a culture, spend more time, effort, and resources in the pursuit of happiness and material things, then we do in the pursuit of spiritual enrichment and fulfillment. I am sure more people can identify the products being advertised above with little or no problem but when confronted with listing the 10 commandments, or reciting the beatitudes they will stumble. Perhaps one of the reasons for this lack of interest in the real SAVINGS PLACE, is the tarnished name brand.

Just pause for a moment and reflect with me as I take out my DISCOVER card and take you on a journey of enlightenment. Imagine the next time you grab an ice cold Coca Cola and pop open the aluminum can, bring it up to your mouth for a refreshing taste of it’s cooling refreshment but instead  your taste buds are overwhelmed by the taste of soggy cardboard. How excited would you be for another refreshing taste of Coca Cola?

Take as another example the experience of walking into your nearest appliance store and look at all the refrigerators on display. You find the one you have been looking for, a nice silver toned GE fridge with water in the door and an automatic ice dispenser. You pay for it and have it delivered the next day only to find out  that when it is plugged in, instead of keeping your food cold it did not work and all your food spoiled. Not a very good experience is it?

Or how about we head on over to the local “Savings Place” and do our regular weekly shopping. We load our shopping carts up with one bargain priced item after another and proceed to the check out lanes. You arrive at the check out lanes to find only one lane open and there  are 25 people in front of you. You wait patiently for the line to move and finally it is your turn to check-out. Well just at that moment the head cashier comes over and closes the lane down and says she will be right with you. She presses a few buttons on the register and replaces the cash drawer and then says to the checker it is okay to check you out. Finally you sigh in relief. You place your items on the checkout lane and proceed to watch the checker ring up one item after the other. But instead of ringing the SUPER LOW PRICES you found on the shelf, everything seems to be priced much higher than you had thought. Finally you are presented with the total and you are shocked to find your grand total to be over $1000.00. You probably would say to the clerk… ‘thanks but no thanks’ and leave the “SAVINGS PLACE” to find yet another place to save.

I gather by now you are getting the idea where I am going with this article. What does one do when the advertised product does not live up to it’s advertising slogan? What do you do when you find out that the “Savings Place” is actually charging more for their products then the “high priced” chain store is? How do you feel when you bring home what you believe to be a quality product only to find out it does not do what it is supposed to do? Have you ever experienced any of these situations? I am sure you have at one time or another in your lifetime.

Nationally known products spend a great deal of money on their advertising campaigns to make their products a household name. They want you to be thinking of their product when you go out shopping. That is why they have created many clever advertising campaigns down through the years. However, if they did not put out a quality product in support of those advertising claims, no one would continually buy their products, no matter how much it was advertised.

In a lot of ways, Christians are supposed to be like those advertising agencies. They are called to  market the brand “Christianity” to the entire world. They are supposed to be the living, breathing, walking, talking advertisement for the name of “Christian.” What does the world see when they tune into your ad campaign? What attributes of the brand “Christian” do they see? Do they see, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, self -discipline, hope, and faith? Or do they see, strife, envy, backbiting, gossip, and such like? Does your advertisement entice anyone to want to buy your product? What image comes to mind when you hear the brand name “Christian?” And does the product advertised live up to its ad campaign? Would you recommend “Christianity” to someone else? If not why not?

The “Christian” brand has been much maligned by the purveyors of that brand. It is a shame that many have TAKEN THE NAME OF THE LORD (CHRISTIAN) IN VAIN. They really had no intentions of living up to that BRAND NAME but rather decided to market it to a new generation by changing it’s ingredients, and changing its business plan. Therefore the brand “Christian” has been watered down and twisted out of shape. Now is the time for those who wear the label “Christian” and take the name-brand seriously to stand up for it, defend it, and live it in a way that brings glory to the manufacturer of that brand, JESUS himself. It is time that those who wear the name of “Christian” live up to the ’brand’s requirements. The gospel of Christ does not have to be made-over. It does not have to be modernized, it just has to be lived rightly.

Jesus is still the same today as He was in the beginning. God is still in the business of saving souls. ” The church should be known as “the” savings place. God actually did care enough to send His very best. And the Holy Spirit, not GE is what brings good things to your life.” Jesus is “the real thing” and He is the choice of “the renewed generation (2 Cor. 5:17). The brand “Christian” is rock solid and built tough because it is founded upon a rock (Mt 16:18). And you do not want to leave home without Jesus. Membership in God’s kingdom does have it’s privileges and you really should “just do it”.

To those who may have had a bad experience with “Christianity”, I encourage you to take another look. Do not look to those who simply wear the brand, but seek out those who actually believe in the brand itself, Jesus. If you seek the Creator of the brand rather than  those who simply wear a mock up of the brand, you may just find that He is all that He says He is, and that Jesus is true to His brand. Be all that you can be by joining up in God’s army and wear the brand “Christian” with honor and integrity so that others will want to join up with you. Semper Fi, remain faithful to the brand.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

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• Born Again? Your Actions Speak Louder Than Words. (codybateman.org)
• What Would Christian Hipsters Read? (mediabistro.com)
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Chavez: Venezuela progressing towards food independence

CARACAS, June 14 (Xinhua) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that the government has set targets for exporting food to neighbor countries and is progressing towards food independence.

During his weekly radio and television broadcast “Alo Presidente,” Chavez said Venezuela’s cattle herd now topped 12 million heads and is estimated to rise to 14 million by 2012.

Chavez hosted Sunday’s show from the La Bandera farm in southwestern state Tachira, a model socialist dairy farm set up on land seized from drug traffickers.

The Venezuelan government has seized 50 farms from traffickers, equivalent to 12,000 hectares suitable for livestock.

La Bandera now has 1,985 heads of cattle, up from 1,300 18 months ago; and produces 38 percent more milk, the Venezuelan president said.

Source: http://www.chinaview.cn

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Venezuela takes on Tetra Pak

Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez has threatened to ignore international patents and manufacture Tetra Paks to help reduce the need for imports.

Chávez told the audience of his weekly Aló Presidente show that patents were “universal knowledge” and Venezuela had the materials to produce the cartons itself. “We don’t have to be subject to capitalist laws,” he said.

Importing Tetra Pak materials is said to have cost the South American country $63m (£38.5m) in May alone. Tetra Pak was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Chávez targeted overseas packaging in March when he seized 1,500 hectares of eucalyptus forest belonging to Irish packaging giant Smurfit Kappa that he said should be destined for food rather than cardboard.

In yesterday’s broadcast, Chávez said the government would have to seize packaging firms that did not deal with national food companies, although did not provide further information.

Aló Presidente is now in its tenth year and runs on Sundays on state TV. It starts at 11am and has been known to run for five hours.

The segment of the show on Tetra Pak and patents can be viewed in Spanish via the YouTube website by clicking here.

Source: http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/RSS/News/913111/Venezuela-takes-Tetra-Pak/

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Wrong type of passenger prompts Venezuela to redirect metro line

Plan for two stations in Caracas put on hold because it would have benefited ‘oligarchs’

Venezuela has redirected a new metro line away from a chic part of Caracas, one of Latin America’s most congested capitals, because it would have benefited “oligarchs”.

Authorities cancelled plans for two metro stations at Las Mercedes, a district of malls and restaurants, because it would serve the wrong type of passenger in a country undergoing a socialist revolution.

“That is a line which benefits the oligarchy,” said Claudio Farias, president of the state-owned company Metro Caracas. “We are redesigning it because we think this line makes no sense. Everybody goes to restaurants in Las Mercedes in their cars.”

Under redesigned plans five stations will be dropped from line five, which is intended to carry about 300,000 passengers daily from the central Zona Rental to low-income areas in the south-east.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/15/venezuela-metro-redirected

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Venezuela Orders End to Coca-Cola Zero Production

On Wednesday the Venezuelan Ministry for Health ordered the Coca-Cola Company to remove its product Coca-Cola Zero from sale for containing a cancerous ingredient, sodium cyclamate, an ingredient not included in the US version of the drink.

Jesus Mantilla, the health minister, said, “The product should stop circulating in order to protect the health of Venezuelans.” He said the product contains sodium cyclamate, which in large amounts can be harmful, and then announced that the product should be recalled, destroyed, and not produced anymore.

Divis Antunez, director of sanitary control for the Health Ministry, said the ingredient wasn’t in the company’s application that it made in 2007 and that was approved by the Ministry. Later, in a random test conducted by the National Institute for Hygiene Rafael Rangel, sodium cyclamate was found and the Health Ministry started a legal process for non-compliance with the Health Registry.

Antunez said that the recommended amount of sodium cyclamate for human consumption is 11 mg per kilo, whereas the new Coca-Cola Zero has 18-22mg per 10 mils, exceeding the amount approved by the Venezuelan Commission of Industrial Norms (COVENIN).

Yesterday Coca-Cola said in a press release, “The Coca-Cola Company and its bottler Coca-Cola Femsa Venezuela responsibly declare that Coca-Cola Zero doesn’t contain any ingredient that could be harmful to the health.” However, Coca-Cola said that until the government concludes its administrative proceedings it will suspend production in Venezuela and recall the drink.

Coca-Cola Zero is a drink without any calories (or an amount small enough to be rounded down to zero) and is marketed to young males who are self conscious of their weight but see Diet Coke as being for women. The diet and zero versions in the US, England, and Canada both contain non-calorie sweeteners aspartame (E951) and acesulfame K (E950), but in slightly different proportions and they therefore have slightly different tastes.

However the versions produced in Venezuela (as well as in Chile and some other Central American countries) have sodium cyclamate (E952) in larger proportions than aspartame. Whilst aspartame is cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sodium cyclamate has been prohibited since 1969 when it was proved to cause cancerous tumours and congenital malformations.

Sodium cyclamate, when combined with other chemicals, has the capacity to sweeten up to 600 times more than sugar. According to Aporrea.org, it is also much cheaper than aspartame at $10/kilo compared to $152/kilo for aspartame.

In Mexico in August 2007, El Universal-Mexico reported that Coca-Cola was also putting sodium cyclamate in the coca-cola zero drink there. The article said that the drink contained 25mg of the ingredient for every 100g in a can of 355ml. Pro-U.S president Vicente Fox authorized the ingredient for the government’s list of permitted food additives in July 2006.

In February 2008 Mexican feminist news Cimanoticias reported that consumers had “triumphed” and that the ingredient had been removed from the drink.

Source: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4516

Back when using the company jet seemed the best way to travel (remember that was before GM CEO Rick Wagoner showed up to ask for government money in a jet rather than his own company’s mode of transportation:  a car) the idea of using a corporate jet to, well, jet around seemed commonplace.  In this current economy, using the corporate jet seems downright frivolous, sloppy, disprespectful even to the shareholders of many large companies.  Has it stopped them?  Apparently not.  Check the list below to find the names of the offenders recently published:

American Electric Power (AEP) CEO Michael Morris got $289,865 worth of travel subsidized by shareholders;

American Express (AXP) CEO Ken Chenault racked up $323,884 on the corporate jet;

Coca-Cola CEO (KO) E. Neville Isdell enjoyed $341,849 in subsidized flight time;

Deere (DE) CEO Robert Lane got $324,825;

and IBM (IBM) chief Samuel Palmisano received $406,235 worth of travel on the company plane.

Hmm, how come I drive an 8-year old vehicle, pay almost $3/gallon for gas, and these clowns get the use of jets worth a quarter of a million dollars?

Good morning friends.  There is this gains in financials and technology.  It’s striking and they likely lead the market lower, having underpinned its run-up since March. 

Stocks rose on Thursday as investors returned to financial and technology shares on bets the recent rally could have more room to grow after a brief pullback. Volume, however, was light, a possible indication of a lack of broad conviction. 

Technology gains were led by big-cap tech and semiconductor companies after five straight days of losses for the PHLX Semiconductor index Apple Inc was among the top boosts on Nasdaq, rising 2.9 percent to $122.95, while the PHLX index climbed 3.2 percent. 

The surge in US markets over the past two months has made investors who missed the rally anxious to get back into stocks, analysts said. “We’ve had a bit of a correction over the last couple days and people may be going in there and adding a bit, which makes the gains sustainable,” said Kurt Brunner, portfolio manager at Swarthmore Group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Defensive stocks such as consumer staples and healthcare also gave a lift, underscoring some of the lingering worry about the economy following a report that showed a jump in weekly jobless claims. Coca-Cola Co was among the Dow’s biggest lifts, up 2.9 percent at $44.90, and Merck & Co Inc added 1.5 percent to $26.05. 

The Dow Jones industrial average added 46.43 points, or 0.56 percent, to 8,331.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 9.15 points, or 1.04 percent, to 893.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 25.02 points, or 1.50 percent, to 1,689.21. 

The gains in financials and technology were striking, coming shortly after some analysts said the very same sectors would likely lead the market lower, having underpinned its run-up since March. 

Shares of semiconductor companies got a lift after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch raised its rating and price target on shares of Novellus Systems citing cost cutting and attractive valuations. Novellus, which provides equipment to the semiconductor industry, rose 7.1 percent to $16.88. – The Economic Times

credits : newsen + imuyachan @ wordpress for english translation if taken out

They are an item ! But only in the new Coca Cola Company new brand “Dynamic Kin” Ad

Singer turned actor SS501 Kim Hyunjoong & sweet actress Park Shinhye, today signed an exclusive 6 months contract to Coca Cola Company new brand ‘Dynamic Kin‘.And this month, they will start filming the Ad.The Ad will be delivering a message of a couple who’s tired body n mind in related to the drink’s concept. In addition, Hyunjoong as a singer will also do the CF song.

The reason why the 2 were chosen as the exclusive ambassador are because they suit the brand image of Dynamic Kin which are ” Fresh, Stylish & Sexy”.

Meanwhile, after the drama Boys over Flowers ended, Kim Hyunjoong is now back to his music activities. He is now in Japan  along with his group SS501 has started activities in Japan. So, for this Ad shooting, he will go back n forth between Japan & Korea. While Park Shinhye will start her new movie activity within this year.

After Lee Minho in Etude Ad , now Kim Hyunjoong in Dynamic Kin. Park Shinhye is one lucky girl who gets the post effect of Boys over Flowers despite her non-appearance in the drama

There is good news and bad news about soft drinks. According to Mintel, a research group, 15 million soda drinkers made a switch over the 5 years between ‘03 and ‘08. But what did they switch to? Half of the soda drinkers switched to “diet” soda! My opinion, as you all know by now, is that I wouldn’t drink either, but that “fake” sweet is much more dangerous to our health. And you also know that the carbonation is dangerous for our bone health.

But back to the statistics:  Wellness and making choices strikes a chord in their research!

“As health and wellness awareness grows, more people are turning away from old-fashioned pop and looking for healthier, lower calorie drinks, as well as drinks that offer the functionality to meet their specific lifestyle needs.” 

People are choosing healthier, non- soda options: 24 million more Americans drank bottled water in 2008 than in 2003, energy drink users nearly doubled from 2003 to 2008 (to 34.5 million from 17.4 million) and 11 million adults started drinking sports drinks.

BUT WHAT ABOUT WATER? Mintel’s research showed that only 34% said they’re drinking more water and less carbonated beverages to manage weight or other health conditions, compared to 2006. Cited as reasons to drink less soda were weight control, health risks of high-fructose corn syrup, less artificially sweetened beverages because of risks.

“During the past few years, health and wellness issues have come to the forefront of people’s minds, and we see that strongly reflected their changing beverage choices.”

That’s great, but WHAT ABOUT WATER?

According to Fooducate.com “Soft drinks are a very lucrative market for the food industry. The raw materials are dirt cheap (water, sugar, food coloring), and the returns are very high.” And don’t forget that Pepsi and Coca Cola now hae huge water divisions, bringing us more plastic bottles and tap water of questionable value. 

(I add: Water has no calories, tap water is practically free, I’d rather filter my water and drink water, and tea. Why not invest in a good water filter ? Check out  Nikken’s PiMag Technology and drink filtered and energized water for pennies.)

Via: Yahoo Finance

It’s that time of the year again folks — Passover season approaches, and with that comes the annual stocking of the KFP Coca-Cola, the “Real Thing”. I’ve resurrected and updated this post from last year so you can get the jump on it early. Both Coca-Cola of New York and Chicago have just started their production runs, so be vigilant!

- Jason

(Originally posted on March 25, 2006)

In April of 1985, the Coca-Cola company announced that it was re-formulating its flagship carbonated drink, which to the horror of Coke fans everywhere, included a switchover to high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Soon, the rest of the soft drink industry followed suit, and the classic taste of cane sugar-based sodas became practically extinct. Today, only a few small boutique soft drink companies still make sodas with refined cane sugar (or sucrose, made from sugar beets) a costly ingredient when compared with HFCS — but true carbonated beverage connoisseurs know and can tell the difference, as corn syrup has a characteristically cloying sweetness when compared to refined sugar. For nostalgic Coca-Cola lovers, unless you live in a foreign country that classic taste is but a distant memory.

Every late March and early April, for the two to three weeks leading up to the celebration of the Jewish Passover holiday season in the United States, Coke fans living in major metropolitan areas with large Jewish populations get their Real Thing, if only for that brief fleeting period. According to Jewish law, nothing made with chametz (any of a number of proscribed cereals and grains, including corn) during passover may be consumed — so in order not to lose sales from observant Jews during that eight day period, a small number of Coca-Cola bottlers make a limited batch of the original Coke formulation, using refined sugar. Needless to say, stocks run out quickly and fans of Passover Coke have been known to travel many miles seeking out supermarkets with remaining caches.

Passover Coke products (and Passover Pepsi) in 2-Liter bottles can be distinguished by their yellow caps, inscribed either with just the “OU-P” symbol and/or the words Kosher L’Pesach in Hebrew. The canned variety is rare and is known to be produced only by a scant few bottling companies in the United States – if you can find any, be sure to snap it up.

Here’s the official word from the OU Passover Web Site for 2009:

Coca Cola will again be available with an OU-P for Pesach. Aside from the New York metropolitan area, Coke will be available in Boston, Baltimore-Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. This year, in New York, Coca Cola items will be made with an OU-P in 2 liter bottles and in cans. Other locations will have more limited Coke items made in different sizes. All these items, of course, require the OU-P symbol. Most of the bottling plants servicing these markets will designate the Passover Coke items with a distinctive yellow cap in addition to the OU-P symbol on the cap or shoulder of the bottle.

Chicago Coke fans need not worry — this year, the Chicago Rabbinical Council is having Passover Coke made with the cRc P-09 logo on the cap using local bottlers. cRc also has Passover Coke in cans, which is nearly impossible to find anywhere else in the country.

If you live in Cleveland, I also heard this recently from one of our readers:

“As an employee of the Cleveland Coca-Cola Bottling Company I can confirm that the plant does use sugar cane as a sweetener year round. Cleveland Coca-Cola is the exclusive Coke supplier of all of Cuyahoga County, however, not everything available in Cuyahoga County is actually produced in Cleveland. Look at the label and check the ingredients for “Sucrose.”"

In addition to Coke and Pepsi products made with real sugar, you should also be able to find nationally Dr. Brown’s, perhaps the best black cherry soda on the planet in Kosher for Passover form. And to further improve your Passover Coke, hit it with a shot of Passover formulated Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup.

For more on Passover Coke, be sure to listen to this interesting NPR broadcast from 2004.

For more on Mexican Coke, KFP Coke’s south of the border cousin, have a look at what Kate at Accidental Hedonist has to say.

Rencontre avec Sofie Van de Putte
Entretien réalisé pour le lancement de Glacéau Vitaminwater

La gamme de Glacéau Vitaminwater

Florence Bohyn : Pour quelle entreprise travaillez-vous et quelle est votre fonction au sein de celle-ci ?

Sofie Van de Putte : Je travaille pour The Coca-Cola Company en tant que Project Manager pour le lancement de Glacéau Vitaminwater.

F.B. : Quel était le produit de la dernière campagne promotionnelle qui a été réalisée ?

S. VdP. : Glacéau Vitaminwater est une gamme de 6 boissons vitaminées, rachetée par Coca-Cola en 1997 et développée en 2000 à New-York. Chaque variante a son propre goût et son propre petit atout de vitamines et de minéraux pour aider les gens à s’hydrater de façon optimale dans la vie active quotidienne, mais aussi pour avoir le plaisir du bon goût. « Essential » au goût d’oranges, par exemple, contient de la vitamine C et du calcium. C’est idéal pour commencer la journée. Ou encore « Restore », avec autant de potassium qu’une banane, est idéal pour se réhydrater après une soirée de fête (ce qui est très important pour les étudiants).

F.B. : Combien de temps a-t-il fallu pour réaliser ce produit ? (du concept à la production)

S. VdP. : Le concept existe depuis 2000 à New-York. En Europe, Glacéau Vitaminwater a été lancé à Londres l’année passée, et cette année à Paris et Lisbonne. Pour Bruxelles, Anvers et Gand, nous avons pu réaliser ce lancement en 3 mois.

F.B. : Quelles ont été les différentes étapes pour effectuer le lancement du produit sur le marché ?

S. VdP. : – Organisation de l’équipe
- Développement du business case
- Commercialisation du produit (emballage, production, autorisations, …)
- Recrutement d’agence marketing (relations publiques, field marketing, matériel point de vente, …)
- Recrutement d’agence de vente (force de vente externe)
- Développement et exécution du plan de lancement
- Production du produit
- Lancement officiel

F.B. : Pouvez-vous donner une description de la démarche publicitaire adoptée pour la promotion du produit ?

S. VdP. : Non, c’est confidentiel… Disons que vous ne trouverez pas de grands budgets d’investissements média dans les rapports officiels dans les mois à venir. Nous préférons entrer en dialogue individuel avec nos consommateurs.

F.B. : Pourquoi avoir choisi cette démarche plutôt qu’une autre ?

S. VdP. : C’est un choix stratégique en rapport direct avec la personnalité de la marque.

F.B. : Avez-vous utilisé les réseaux sociaux dans le cadre de cette promotion ?

S. VdP. : Ah oui ! Nous sommes en 2009. C’est là entre autres où nous trouvons notre cible. Vérifiez notre fan-page officielle sur Facebook et suivez-nous sur Twitter.

F.B. : Quelle était la cible que vous souhaitiez atteindre ?

S. VdP. : C’est confidentiel, mais disons que Glacéau Vitaminwater est là pour toutes les personnes qui désirent s’hydrater de façon responsable… et avec plaisir.

F.B. : Êtes-vous satisfaits des résultats de la campagne ?

S. VdP. : Pas de commentaires officiels un mois après le lancement. Mais nous sommes « en ligne » par rapport au plan.

F.B. : Envisagez-vous déjà de lancer un nouveau produit sur le marché ?

S. VdP. : En Belgique : pas de projet officiel… Mais les marketeers chez The Coca-Cola Company essaient tous les jours de trouver des innovations pour encore mieux hydrater et rafraîchir les consommateurs.

Pour Glacéau Vitaminwater : le produit est lancé à Hong-Kong cette semaine et là aussi, ils l’aiment beaucoup !

Merci pour votre intérêt pour Glacéau Vitaminwater. À bientôt dans un des points de vente à Bruxelles, New-York ou ailleurs dans le monde !

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