Promo - January 2009 - (Page 6)

www.promomagazine.com A Penton Media publication EDITORIAL PROMO Executive Editor Patricia Odell Senior Editor Amy Johannes Reporter Richard Tedesco Patricia Odell / E xe cutive Editor Editor’s note Editor-at-Large, Promo and Direct Brian Quinton DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Jed Davis ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Bryan Benjamin bryan.benjamin@penton.com Account Executive Tim Lyons tim.lyons@penton.com Dir. of Mktg. Services/Classiﬁed Alan Steen alan.steen@penton.com The Old new Reality A tough year ahead could yield new opportunities A new year has arrived, and with it a ton of baggage from last year: economic turmoil, job cuts, falling share prices, skittish consumers, dwindling marketing budgets. Consumer confidence plummeted to an all-time low in October before improving moderately. But then it deteriorated even more in November. “Consumers remain extremely pessimistic, and the possibility that economic growth will improve in the first half of 2009 remains highly unlikely,” says Lynn Franco, the director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. All this portends a slowdown that may last quite a while, putting additional pressure on marketers. What to do? Find ways to encourage consumers to buy based on more than price. Offer value and convenience. That means understanding the people who buy your products. Find out what their needs and wants are—and reward them when they respond. There may even be some opportunities in times like these. For example, people are dining out less and preparing meals at home. What a great opening for packaged goods companies. I can see the message: Buy these ingredients and you’ll have a nice dinner. Here’s another example: Last month, Pottery Barn held complimentary seminars for its customers on “the best ideas” for the holidays. Anyone who attended received 10% off any of the merchandise featured in the class. The seminars were held in partnership with Real Simple magazine, which offered students two free preview issues. And Dole Food Co. is examining its promotional pricing, among other things. As marketing chief Paul Panza says, “Requiring someone to put up the cash to buy four or five units of something just doesn’t make sense in this economy.” (See page 30.) On another front, we’re about to have a new administration in Washington. That could mean a host of new guidelines, regulations and federal laws affecting aspects of promotional marketing. You name it—these rules could affect endorsements, user-generated content, green marketing and network neutrality. Brian Quinton takes a look at what’s behind the regulatory push, and why companies may have to adjust their campaigns to remain in play. (See page 26.) Also in this issue, Richard Tedesco analyzes Promo’s proprietary research on event marketing. Not surprisingly, budgets are being trimmed and marketers are looking for promotions that can prove their worth. (See page 20.) Yes, we’re certain to be confronted with another challenging year—one likely to P spark real change and innovative marketing. And that’s not all bad. l 6 Resource Sales Associate Cynthia Foristel cynthia.foristel@penton.com Resource Sales Associate Karen Putrimas karen.putrimas@penton.com Online Sales Development Director Rob Shore rob.shore@penton.com Production Manager Brenda Wiley brenda.wiley@penton.com Classiﬁed Production Coordinator Lindsey Sutton lindsey.sutton@penton.com P E N TO N M A R K E T I N G M E D I A S T R AT E G I E S Senior Vice President, Penton Media Financial Services and Marketing Group Warren N. Bimblick Publisher Leslie Bacon Group Editorial Director Ray Schultz Group Copy Chief Charles Vietri Group Research Editor Richard H. Levey Audience Marketing Manager Seth Olson Show Director Angela Eastin READER INFO Editorial e-mailbox: promo.mag@penton.com Subscriber Service: (866)505-7173 (toll-free in the U.S.); (847)763-9504 (for calls originating outside the U.S.) Reprints: reprints@pentonreprints.com or (888)858-8851 List Rental: Marie.Briganti@walterkarl.infousa.com EDITORIAL OFFICES 11 Riverbend Drive South Stamford, CT 06907-0225 Phone (203) 358-9900 Fax (203) 358-5834 ADVERTISING 249 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011-5300 Phone (212) 462-3580 Fax: (212) 683-4572 Chief Executive Oﬃcer Sharon Rowlands sharon.rowlands@penton.com Chief Financial Oﬃcer/Executive Vice President Jean Clifton jean.clifton@penton.com Chief Revenue Oﬃcer Darrell Denny darrell.denny@penton.com Vice President, General Counsel Elise Zealand elise.zealand@penton.com Reprints: Contact Penton Reprints (www.pentonreprints .com) to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in PROMO at (888) 858-8851 or reprints@pentonreprints.com. Instant reprints and permissions may be purchased directly from our Web site; look for the iCopyright tag appended to the end of each online article. Portions of our magazine subscriber lists are available to carefully screened companies that oﬀer products and services directly related to the industries we cover. Any subscriber who does not want to receive mailings from third-party companies should contact the subscriber service department at (800) 441-0294 (USA), or (913) 967-1707 (outside USA). ©2008 Penton Media. All Rights Reserved January 2009 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - January 2009

Promo - January 2009 Contents Editor's Note Casual Games Dr. P and the Roses Outside the Cup Geek�Chic Expresa Tu Hispanidad Jump Start Commentary The Show Must Go On Fed Up Q&A: Smart Food Agency Center Resource Center Gray Goes Green Index of Advertisers

Promo - January 2009

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