Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

The 98th annual meeting of the Association of National Advertisers took place last week, and the main topic of discussion was the current economic conditions.

A key challenge for manufacturers is the need to drive sales in multiple channels. Direct response TV and high-performance Web sites remain popular methods for manufacturer-consumer interaction. As consumers increasingly use online resources to research products advertised on TV, manufacturers must communicate directly with them.

With so many financial services providers permanently out of the market it makes sense that consumers are looking for new vendors. Consumers may have also determined that they need a fresh start with a vendor whose performance record more closely aligns with their personal goals.

The food processing industry has no shortage of new product introductions but only a few find widespread success in the marketplace. Some products represent innovation in the way the food is prepared, cooked, or packaged. Other products are improvements on earlier versions.

A recent article on RainToday lists five unexpected places where you may snag new-business leads.

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research explains how uniform manufacturers can increase sales to businesses. It’s all about identity signaling.