This is blog on brands by a marketing professor
http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Stan Oneal career at ML
In 1986, at the age of 35, he joined Merrill’s high-yield, or “junk bond,” department. Within three years he was running the department, competing with Michael Milken’s Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. When Milken pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 1990, it enabled O’Neal’s unit at Merrill to become the biggest junk bond operator for five consecutive years.
In 1997, O’Neal became co-head of Merrill’s corporate and institutional client group, which includes investment banking and securities trading. A year later, he was promoted to chief financial officer. In 2000, O’Neal was promoted once again to head the brokerage division, Merrill’s more prominent department.
He quickly redirected Merrill’s army of 15,000 brokers to focus on winning more millionaires as clients, and after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center he eliminated more than 20,000 employees and closed 266 offices around the world. This ruthless cost-cutting gave him an inside track to the top position, which he was awarded in 2002.
Soon after becoming chairman and CEO he set the tone for his tenure by purging the firm of dozens of its longtime senior employees and firing those who had been considered his rivals for the CEO post. Later he forced out some of his former allies, including Executive Vice President Thomas Patrick, who had campaigned for his elevation to head the company.
As the Wall Street Journal put it on Monday: “With his restructuring, Mr. O’Neal was seen as rejecting the longtime culture of a company known internally as “Mother Merrill.” For years, the brokerage giant was willing to accept lower profit margins in order to keep longtime loyal employees on the payroll, much like International Business Machines Corp. had a no-layoff policy during its 1980s heyday...
“Merrill’s board gave him leeway because he more than doubled the firm’s profit level to an average topping $5 billion annually from 2003 to 2006. Those at the company said he was proud of cutting through the cozy corporate culture.”
According to various press reports, O’Neal’s management style was little short of despotic. “Merrill Chief Executive Stan O’Neal would grill his executives about why, for instance, Goldman Sachs was showing faster growth in bond-trading profits,” wrote the Journal. “Subordinates would scurry to analyze the Goldman earnings to get answers to Mr. O’Neal. ‘It got to the point where you didn’t want to be in the office’ on Goldman earnings days, one former Merrill executive recalls.”
In July of 2006, O’Neal ousted three senior bond executives. They were, according to the Journal, “summoned upstairs, one after another, for 5- to 15-minute meetings” and told “there was no role for them.”
Winthrop Smith, who left as head of Merrill’s international brokerage after O’Neal became president, told Bloomberg.com, “He got rid of people with hundreds of years of [combined] experience.”
Earlier this month, after the end of the third quarter, O’Neal fired two top bond executives and, the New York Times reports, he was looking to fire his chief financial officer and replace him with a longtime friend.
Little wonder than a large number of former executives have been involved in discussions to launch a proxy fight if O’Neal was not removed.
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/oct2007/merr-30o_prn.shtml
In 1997, O’Neal became co-head of Merrill’s corporate and institutional client group, which includes investment banking and securities trading. A year later, he was promoted to chief financial officer. In 2000, O’Neal was promoted once again to head the brokerage division, Merrill’s more prominent department.
He quickly redirected Merrill’s army of 15,000 brokers to focus on winning more millionaires as clients, and after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center he eliminated more than 20,000 employees and closed 266 offices around the world. This ruthless cost-cutting gave him an inside track to the top position, which he was awarded in 2002.
Soon after becoming chairman and CEO he set the tone for his tenure by purging the firm of dozens of its longtime senior employees and firing those who had been considered his rivals for the CEO post. Later he forced out some of his former allies, including Executive Vice President Thomas Patrick, who had campaigned for his elevation to head the company.
As the Wall Street Journal put it on Monday: “With his restructuring, Mr. O’Neal was seen as rejecting the longtime culture of a company known internally as “Mother Merrill.” For years, the brokerage giant was willing to accept lower profit margins in order to keep longtime loyal employees on the payroll, much like International Business Machines Corp. had a no-layoff policy during its 1980s heyday...
“Merrill’s board gave him leeway because he more than doubled the firm’s profit level to an average topping $5 billion annually from 2003 to 2006. Those at the company said he was proud of cutting through the cozy corporate culture.”
According to various press reports, O’Neal’s management style was little short of despotic. “Merrill Chief Executive Stan O’Neal would grill his executives about why, for instance, Goldman Sachs was showing faster growth in bond-trading profits,” wrote the Journal. “Subordinates would scurry to analyze the Goldman earnings to get answers to Mr. O’Neal. ‘It got to the point where you didn’t want to be in the office’ on Goldman earnings days, one former Merrill executive recalls.”
In July of 2006, O’Neal ousted three senior bond executives. They were, according to the Journal, “summoned upstairs, one after another, for 5- to 15-minute meetings” and told “there was no role for them.”
Winthrop Smith, who left as head of Merrill’s international brokerage after O’Neal became president, told Bloomberg.com, “He got rid of people with hundreds of years of [combined] experience.”
Earlier this month, after the end of the third quarter, O’Neal fired two top bond executives and, the New York Times reports, he was looking to fire his chief financial officer and replace him with a longtime friend.
Little wonder than a large number of former executives have been involved in discussions to launch a proxy fight if O’Neal was not removed.
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/oct2007/merr-30o_prn.shtml
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Humour in Financial Advertising
Master's abstracts for 2003
DIFFERENT SUBCULTURE PERSPECTIVES OF MONEY AND HUMOROUS ADVERTISING APPEAL
Aarambh Shah, MA
University of Florida, 2003
Email:
ADVISOR: Jorge Viellegas
Hispanics. Money. Humor.
Money is an object that is based on trust; it has served as a medium of exchange for centuries, which have derived from the pre-capitalistic formations of barter. Thus economically, money has been seen as objective and utilitarian, a commodity that is ordinary, mundane, impersonal, neutral, and is comprised of quantitative meaning. However, many social scientists see money as a subjective unit, an object where different individuals attach an affective and emotional meaning to it. This research taped into the subjective components of money from a Hispanic intra-subculture perspective due to the high demand from marketers to target financial products toward them, and the vast complexities that lie between these groups in terms of attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, a major consensus from empirical evidence has been conducted involving how Hispanics are less likely to plan and prepare for their future (i.e. they are present oriented) than their counterparts: Anglo-Americans. Yet, the majority of research has only focused on Mexican Americans as opposed to other Hispanic subcultures. As a result, this exploratory research investigated differences in attitudinal and cognitive abilities for both planning and preparing for their future and humorous advertising appeals. Even though a convenience student sample was used, a major finding from this research has shown that Cuban American (both high and low acculturated) are more likely to prefer a non-humorous financial advisement while Mexican Americans (both high and low acculturated) are more likely to prefer a humorous financial advertisement. Therefore, marketers can utilize these techniques to further tap into these Hispanic niche markets by creating and customizing ads towards their preferences, while indirectly helping them gain financial independence. [#487]
http://www.aejmc.org/abstracts/masters.php?syear=2003
Association for Education in Journalism and mass communication
DIFFERENT SUBCULTURE PERSPECTIVES OF MONEY AND HUMOROUS ADVERTISING APPEAL
Aarambh Shah, MA
University of Florida, 2003
Email:
ADVISOR: Jorge Viellegas
Hispanics. Money. Humor.
Money is an object that is based on trust; it has served as a medium of exchange for centuries, which have derived from the pre-capitalistic formations of barter. Thus economically, money has been seen as objective and utilitarian, a commodity that is ordinary, mundane, impersonal, neutral, and is comprised of quantitative meaning. However, many social scientists see money as a subjective unit, an object where different individuals attach an affective and emotional meaning to it. This research taped into the subjective components of money from a Hispanic intra-subculture perspective due to the high demand from marketers to target financial products toward them, and the vast complexities that lie between these groups in terms of attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, a major consensus from empirical evidence has been conducted involving how Hispanics are less likely to plan and prepare for their future (i.e. they are present oriented) than their counterparts: Anglo-Americans. Yet, the majority of research has only focused on Mexican Americans as opposed to other Hispanic subcultures. As a result, this exploratory research investigated differences in attitudinal and cognitive abilities for both planning and preparing for their future and humorous advertising appeals. Even though a convenience student sample was used, a major finding from this research has shown that Cuban American (both high and low acculturated) are more likely to prefer a non-humorous financial advisement while Mexican Americans (both high and low acculturated) are more likely to prefer a humorous financial advertisement. Therefore, marketers can utilize these techniques to further tap into these Hispanic niche markets by creating and customizing ads towards their preferences, while indirectly helping them gain financial independence. [#487]
http://www.aejmc.org/abstracts/masters.php?syear=2003
Association for Education in Journalism and mass communication
Friday, January 18, 2008
TV Commercial for 2 Lakhs
Brand equity of 31st October 2007 carried an article with the title " Playing it Cheap."
It says while people in the mainstream cannot deliver it, there are people who can give an TV ad film starting at close to Rs. 1.5 lakh. It gives some names
Chennai based Branded Filmz works on Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 3lakh projects. It did for a nationalised bank and a detergent brand.
Rajan Anekar of Tungsten films works prinicipally in the Rs.4 to Rs 6 lakh range.
Producer Rekha Achutan is another person quoted in the articel as a person who works in the low budget area.
Vivek Kamat of Vivek Kamat Films is another lower budget Tv Ad film maker
It says while people in the mainstream cannot deliver it, there are people who can give an TV ad film starting at close to Rs. 1.5 lakh. It gives some names
Chennai based Branded Filmz works on Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 3lakh projects. It did for a nationalised bank and a detergent brand.
Rajan Anekar of Tungsten films works prinicipally in the Rs.4 to Rs 6 lakh range.
Producer Rekha Achutan is another person quoted in the articel as a person who works in the low budget area.
Vivek Kamat of Vivek Kamat Films is another lower budget Tv Ad film maker
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Best Performances of Advertisements in 2007
Best performing Advertisements in 2007
1. Eye of the beholder, for Unilver's Dove by WPP Groups Ogilvy nd Mather
Online video cost less than $150,000
Ad was posted on youtube last year.
viewed 24 million times
2. D'OH for The Simpsons Movie by Omnicom Group's Freshworks
Cross promotion by 7-eleven. It converted 12 of its stores into fictional store selling items referred to in the movie.
7-Eleven says the promotion garnered about $7 million in free publicity.
7-Eleven site got 10,420,730 hits on July 11 2007 compared to an average of 400,000 hits daily.
3. Drummer in a hair band for cadbury milk chocolate bar by Publicis Groupe's Fallen
It is a TV featuring gorilla playing drums. When put on internet, seven million downloads were done. More than 200 people put reworked versions on various sites.
4. The Human stain for P&G's tide by Publicis groupe's Saathci and Saatchi
This ad won a silver lion at the Cannes
5. K-Fed Insurance Salesman, for Nationwide Mutual Insurance by Interpublic Group;s TM Advertising
The ad shown for week on varius segments generated 3,584 news stories. The company estimates it to be worht $23.3 million in free publicity.
1. Eye of the beholder, for Unilver's Dove by WPP Groups Ogilvy nd Mather
Online video cost less than $150,000
Ad was posted on youtube last year.
viewed 24 million times
2. D'OH for The Simpsons Movie by Omnicom Group's Freshworks
Cross promotion by 7-eleven. It converted 12 of its stores into fictional store selling items referred to in the movie.
7-Eleven says the promotion garnered about $7 million in free publicity.
7-Eleven site got 10,420,730 hits on July 11 2007 compared to an average of 400,000 hits daily.
3. Drummer in a hair band for cadbury milk chocolate bar by Publicis Groupe's Fallen
It is a TV featuring gorilla playing drums. When put on internet, seven million downloads were done. More than 200 people put reworked versions on various sites.
4. The Human stain for P&G's tide by Publicis groupe's Saathci and Saatchi
This ad won a silver lion at the Cannes
5. K-Fed Insurance Salesman, for Nationwide Mutual Insurance by Interpublic Group;s TM Advertising
The ad shown for week on varius segments generated 3,584 news stories. The company estimates it to be worht $23.3 million in free publicity.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Meaning of Branding
A discussion in orkut branding community motivated me to look into the dictionary for the meaning of word brand.
I had a look at the oxford dictionary. It gives the meaning for brand as:
n. burning or charred log or stick,permanent mark deliberately made by hot iron, stigma, trade mark, goods of particular mark or trade mark, iron stamp for burning-in a mark
v.t. burn with hot iron, label with trade mark, impress on memory, stigmatize
I think using the meaning "impress on memory" is more appropriate when we are talking of branding now in marketing.
I had a look at the oxford dictionary. It gives the meaning for brand as:
n. burning or charred log or stick,permanent mark deliberately made by hot iron, stigma, trade mark, goods of particular mark or trade mark, iron stamp for burning-in a mark
v.t. burn with hot iron, label with trade mark, impress on memory, stigmatize
I think using the meaning "impress on memory" is more appropriate when we are talking of branding now in marketing.
Branding related posts in handbook
consultants-for-branding-india
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2008/01/consultants-for-branding-india.html
brand-equity-websites
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/brand-equity-websites.html
meaning-of-brand-and-branding
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/meaning-of-brand-and-branding.html
brand-building-brand-equity-and-brand
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/brand-building-brand-equity-and-brand.html
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2008/01/consultants-for-branding-india.html
brand-equity-websites
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/brand-equity-websites.html
meaning-of-brand-and-branding
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/meaning-of-brand-and-branding.html
brand-building-brand-equity-and-brand
http://nrao-mgmt-smi-handbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/brand-building-brand-equity-and-brand.html
Summer internships - Investment Banks
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