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Corporate greed has killed brand loyalty as consumers snub their noses at the most famous brand names, and snap up off-price items. PR can help brands regain some mojo.
Snack maker Mondelez once crowed that “the enduring strength of our iconic beloved brands gives us substantial pricing power.”
It is singing a different tune these days."People are value-seeking, and hence promotional intensity has been particularly strong," CEO Dirk van de Put told analysts on July 30.
His US growth model now stresses new targeted promotions, addition of core packs of Ritz crackers and Oreo/Chips Ahoy! cookies, and greater distribution in CostCo/Sam’s Club outlets and convenience stores.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta reports that low-income consumers really want to buy his products (Lay’s potato chips, Cap’n Crunch, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Quaker Oats), but first they must see more value on the store shelves. More deals and promotions are ahead.
Escalating price hikes during the pandemic left the consumer products giants open to charges of "greedflation” and “shrinkflation” (e.g. charging the same for less product). Their haughtiness turned off millions of customers.
Winning them back won’t be easy but PR is going to play a big part in the overall strategy as companies boost their budgets to promote deals on their biggest brands. The big brand message: we feel your pain and want to make things right.
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Greatest losers in a Trump restoration. EiU, the research and analysis unit of London’s The Economist Group, has compiled the “Trump Risk Index."
It’s a measure of the impact Trump’s policies on trade, immigration and security would have on America’s 70 largest trading partners.
Mexico will be the biggest loser. Trump vows to seal the southern border, and tighten immigration rules that would affect millions of Mexicans who enter the US legally and illegally. As No. 1 exporter to the US, Mexico enjoys a big trade surplus. Trump doesn’t like trade deficits.
Five other Latin American countries also land in the Top Ten. Costa Rica and Panama make the grade because of low spending for American weapons and dependence on the US for security. The Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras make the cut due to lax immigration policies.
Germany is the highest NATO member on the TRI. During his first term in office, Trump threatened to yank US troops from Germany, and rapped the country for failing to meet the alliance’s goal of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.
China has the top TRI score in Asia. Trump waged a trade war with China, and has threatened to slap a 60 percent tariff on its exports to the US.
What country has the least to worry about during a Trump restoration? Saudi Arabia, which was the first country visited by president Trump, has nothing to fear if its guy retakes the White House.
The Committee to Protect Journalists wants Israel to explain the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Al Ghoul and camera operator Rami Ai Refee, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 31.
They were covering the aftermath of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and were standing in front of his Gaza City home.
Al Jazeera claims the men were leaving the scene after an Israeli order to evacuate and were deliberately targeted.
A statement from the Al Jazeera Media Network said the killings were a “targeted assassination,” and it pledged to “pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.”
“Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Israel must explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what appears to be a direct strike.”
CPJ has documented the killing of seven Al Jazeera reporters and media workers since the start of the Israel-Hamas war began.
At least 113 journalists and media workers have died since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. They died nobly and did the world a great service in reporting on the misery and destruction of the Gaza Strip.
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