Adver-Kiosk

While reading my daily news, the following article caught my attention... Coke vs Pepsi in a modern taste test. _____________________ Coke: Buy 1 Rival, Get Our Brand Free Soft-Drink Giant's Vault Takes on Mtn Dew With Unusually Aggressive Offer By Natalie Zmuda Coca-Cola will give away a free sample of its Vault brand to anyone who buys PepsiCo's Mtn Dew. The aggressive "Don't Dew It" promotion aims to get die-hard Dew- ers to try Vault, which after three years on the market isn't just an also-ran to the Pepsi brand; it's an afterthought. According to Beverage Digest, juggernaut Mtn Dew commands more than an 80% share of the citrus segment, while Vault holds about 4%. Vault's play might be well-timed. It comes amid a name and design change for Mtn Dew that is proving unpopular with some consumers, who have expressed confusion, saying the new packaging makes the brand look like a knockoff. Those are, to some extent, the same criticisms that last ...

Below is an excerpt from a really good Ad Age article. After that, I've drafted a couple of interesting key-take-aways.... Let me know your thoughts... _________________________________ Private Label Winning Battle of Brands Marketers Face Moment of Truth As Retailers' Lines Soar to Historic Sales High By Jack Neff The unthinkable At the same time, volume is shrinking in staple categories where that once seemed impossible, with unit sales of shampoo, for example, down 7.7% last year in all channels, including Walmart . "Portion control is in," said Thom Blischok , president-consulting and innovation at IRI . "There is no previous period that exactly parallels where we are today," said Mr. Blischok , who believes consumer spending could remain weak for four to eight years and lead to a "downturn generation" that learns to scrimp and save permanently, including buying more private label. But the threat to brands goes beyond that. "Retailers have...