Aussies’ Favorite Brands

… From Google to Vegemite

Australians Google any and everything. They’re glued to their Nokias, chuck a chicken on the barbie, indulge with Tim Tams and everyone has the hots for Hugh. Breast cancer has the strongest pull on their heartstrings, while Apple and Wii keep Australians constantly amused.

These are among the top brands in Australia according to the 2009 Brand Asset Valuator (BAV), a study conducted by George Patterson Y&R every three years. The latest BAV study examined 1,200 brands covering 139 different categories. More than 4,000 Australian consumers were surveyed online as part the WPP agency’s database of consumer perceptions of brands.

Proof That Handset Brands Help Sell Wireless Plans

Google Study Finds Many Shoppers Seek a Particular Manufacturer, Not Just a Reliable Network

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) — Telecom providers such as AT&T and Verizon may want to take note of a Google study that found more than one in two wireless shoppers said handsets played a major role in their purchase decisions.

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In Tough Times, Is Excess a Laughing Matter? Tricky Marketing Ahead for Touchstone Film ‘Shopaholic’

Madison & Vine

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — Amid weekly stock-market paroxysms, rising bankruptcies, the continuing mortgage crisis and a surge in irrecoverable credit-card debt, Disney’s Touchstone Pictures is readying what’s looking to be an ill-timed release of “Confessions of a Shopaholic.”

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Pepsi Upends Brands With $1.2 Billion Shake-Up

Arnell Leads Overhaul, Casting Doubt About 50-Year Partner BBDO

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Pepsi’s strategy for regaining share involves three years; $1.2 billion; a complete packaging, merchandising and marketing overhaul of its soft drinks — and a reduced reliance on BBDO, the shop that put it on the map nearly 50 years ago.

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Looking to Hire? Try Wall Street Former Financial-Services Executives Test the Water in Ad-Agency Talent Pool

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The tumult on Wall Street could send résumés fluttering to an unexpected place: Madison Ave.

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Yahoo Introduces New Ad Platform, but Will It Need AOL?

CEO Yang Says Apt (Not Apex or Amp) Will Be First Stop for Advertisers, Doesn’t Answer Acquisition Rumors

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Jerry Yang responded to the question of whether his company is again interested in AOL with a big, fat maybe. The Yahoo CEO was on hand to announce the deployment of his portal’s new ad platform, initially nicknamed Apex when it was first disclosed in February before it was unveiled this summer as Amp, only to be rechristened today as Apt.

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Cadbury to Consolidate Chocolate Brands at SSF Group $200 Million Win Is First Multiregional Account for Year-Old Alliance

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Cadbury said it is consolidating its estimated $200 million chocolate portfolio at SSF Group, the year-old alliance formed by Publicis Groupe agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon.

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Wrigley Sells Advergaming Site Candystand

New Owner Funtank Will Open up Property to Other Brands

Madison & Vine

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. is selling its successful advergaming website Candystand.com to Funtank, the newly opened branded gaming and entertainment publisher said today.

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Hotel a Little Too Comfortable and Really Not All That Daring Extended Stay and Agency Toy Think They’re Cooking With Gas, but Standing Out in a Crowd Isn’t Always a Good Thing

Garfield’s Ad Review

The headline on the press release says, “Extended Stay Hotels Pushes the Boundaries With Witty New Television Campaign.” Yeah, not really.

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Tiger Woods Levitates His Brand Even Further

YouTube Clip for EA Sports Responds to ‘Jesus Shot’ Video

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) — Tiger Woods can do intricate golf-ball juggling maneuvers for Nike, drive the Buick brand from sleepy to sleek, and transform shaving with a Gillette razor into manly artistry. How about walking on water? And so he does — for EA Sports, which on Tuesday launched its “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09″ video game.

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PTC Warns Brands to Steer Clear of CW’s ’90210′ Revival Attacks Network for Track Record of ‘Glamorized Drug Use,’ ‘Casual Teen Sex’

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The CW network, long a bastion for prime-time teenage melodrama, plans to unleash its newest iteration of adolescent angst, the “Beverly Hills 90210″ remake, Sept. 2 — but not if a well-known advocacy group has anything to say about it.

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Industry Unleashes Flood of Studies to Prove Its Worth

Harsh Times Demand (Even) More Concrete Evidence of Effectiveness

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — A slew of media companies, agencies, research firms and even marketers themselves have ramped up efforts to churn out elaborate studies or research results as selling tools.

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More Marketers Want to Get to Know You CRM Surges as Brands Demand Measurable Results

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The days of spending millions of dollars without being able to track their effectiveness are soon to be over. Enter CRM. As the U.S. economy worsens and consumers rein in discretionary purchases, brands are ramping up their customer-relationship-management efforts, aiming to grab some of that money by building one-to-one relationships with consumers.

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2008 Chevy Malibu vs. Honda Accord

Optimedia’s Antony Young Road-Tests Media Strategies to See Which Got the Most Mileage

There hasn’t been a lot of good news for the auto industry in 2008. However, one sector to emerge relatively unscathed is the midsize car segment.Two success stories in this sector were the 2008 model launches of the Chevy Malibu and Honda Accord.

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Why CPG Brands Better Buy Paid Search Yahoo/MediaVest Study: Sponsored Text Ads Increased Awareness 160%

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Package-goods and fast-food marketers: Ignore paid-search advertising at your own peril. That seems to be the message of new research by Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest and Yahoo that finds search ads have a huge impact on brand awareness, perception and purchase intent — even among consumers who never click on them.

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Bacardi Opens Review of Global Ad Account

Flagship Rum Brand’s Business Worth Over $100 Million; Grey Goose, Other Portfolio Spirits May Follow

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Bacardi has placed the global advertising account for its flagship rum brand into review. The brand spent $35 million on measured media in the U.S. last year, but worldwide spending is said to surpass $100 million.

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Safeway to Roll Out House Brands to Grocery Stores Nationwide Launch of O Organics, Eating Right Follows Success in Own Aisles

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Following a big success in its own aisles, Safeway is rolling its organic house brand, O Organics, and a better-for-you brand, Eating Right, into competitive groceries chains nationwide this fall.

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Media, Agency Circles Should Have Backup Plan for Obama

What Will You Do if the Unthinkable Happens?

Campaign Trail

Barack Obama is not the president of the United States. This is a fact. Also a fact: There’s a chance he might not become the president of the United States. But for those of us working in the media and living in the bluest of blue sections of this country, that’s hard to remember.

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Unilever Sells Detergent Brands Wisk, Surf, All and Snuggle Join Vestar Portfolio

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — As expected, Unilever today announced plans to sell its North American laundry business to Vestar Capital Partners, owner of private-label detergent powerhouse Huish Detergents, creating a bigger but still decidedly lagging No. 2 to category leader Procter & Gamble Co.

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