Post Recession Consumer Spending

What will CPG companies do when the economy turns around? Apparently more of the same according to a recent piece in Brandweek http://bit.ly/csAWVz. Last year, most packaged goods companies pushed a value message. As we see a few green shoots appearing in the econmomy, apparently consumers are taking a more cautious and conservative attitude with their wallets. Campbell Soup exec Denise Morrison said “Keeping the value proposition with consumers is very important in this [post-recessionary] economy. There have been changes to the shopping behavior.”

2010 Minor League Baseball Opportunities

Fieldstone Promotions is creating and executing larger than life promotional events with Minor League Baseball. Geared towards family oriented audiences, benefits include direct demos/sampling, in game announcements and branded games, Jumbotron ads, PA announcements, etc. Leverage key accounts and in market opportunities with incentives and media opportunities. Summer long tour will reach over 500,000 consumers one-on-one. Plus millions of brand impressions. Contact: Mike LHomme, mlhomme@fieldstonepromotions.com.

New Event - Association of Coupon Professionals

The Association of Coupon Professionals as part of its commitment to improve business conditions in the coupon industry holding two regional Coupon 101/102 workshops. Attendees can learn the basics of the business or refresh themselves on coupon topics in a one day workshop - 10/7 Rosemont, IL and 10/28 White Plains, NY. For more information, call John Morgan, 610-789-9993, John.Morgan@acp-hq.org or visit www.couponpros.org.

Rosemount Wines To Appear On "Hell's Kitchen"

Cooking shows have never had a greater appeal than they have now. In a time when many can no longer opt to dine out at fancy restaurants, cooking and entertaining from home has become a fast-growing trend.

According to Promo, Rosemount Wines wants to take advantage of the rise in cooking show popularity by partnering with television's most infamous chef Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay rose to fame in America with his cooking competition show Hell's Kitchen. Rosemount Wines will be featured prominently in episodes of Hell's Kitchen and in turn Ramsay will include his recipes in a wine and food pairing guide released by Rosemount Estate. Consumers will also have a chance to win tapings to Ramsay's show at select markets selling the wine.

Rosemount will hope to generate great buzz for its wines as praise for cooking shows are not letting up any time soon.

Scrabble Returns To Subway

Everybody wants to be a winner and Subway restaurants wants to make sure of that.

According to BrandWeek, Subway is starting its Scrabble contest once more in which customers can instantly win big prizes, such as vacations and money, with the game pieces they receive on their cups. Game codes can also be entered on the Subway website for additional prizes.

This year's promotion for the Scrabble contest will feature previous winners. They will also feature famous athletes dining at Subway. This is to drive home the messages that it really is possible for the consumer watching at home to be the next winner and that Subway is where all winners like to eat.

Drama Queens: Cranberry Raisinets Debut

Raisinets has always been a stable favorite at the movie theater, the home theater, and just as a fun snack. So it is not surprise that Nestle has not developed a major national campaign for the product in 12 years. But there's a new berry in town, and Raisinet is being kicked up a notch for it.

According to BrandWeek, Cranberry Raisinets is the latest addition to the Raisinet brand. The company has launched webisodes featuring a sassy female Cranberry Raisinet character. The target audience are "on-the-go women", so the brand has placed several ads featuring female celebrities in women's lifestyle magazines and making an appearance on a female-centric Lifetime show. Raisinets is also offering a 3-night getaway for two in Arizona.

It's integrated approach for Raisinets to target new consumer niche and take advantage of cranberries as a hot food ingredient.

Sony Enlists Justin Timberlake For Ad Salvo

Celebrity sponsorships have always been a great way to promote products. But instead of pairing the celebrity and the product in an arbitrary manner, Sony has decided to include their expertise as part of a new campaign.

BrandWeek has listed Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning, and Nigel Barker as some of the many celebrity experts Sony is using to represent their electronics. For example, Barker, a photographer and judge on America's Next Top Model will be endorsing cameras. Manning, a football icon, will be celebrating the advantages of watching sports on a high definition television.

All of these celebrities have a special skill which have made them genius in their field, and Sony wants to transfer that idea to its products.