This session will explore the challenges b-to-b marketers face in better aligning their programs to the buying cycle, and it will propose strategies for adopting a 'content marketing' posture to help better target and nurture buyers at different stages. It will put this engagement in the context of marketing automation adoption and discuss the importance of content marketing to power marketing automation campaigns.
Procter & Gamble Co. in late June will launch Noxzema Skin Fitness, described by Brand Manager Greg Ott as "by far the most significant extension" of the line.
A campaign from Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, and sibling interactive agency Giant Step Interactive will back the introduction, to include TV, print and outdoor. P&G won't disclose the ad budget, but the company spent $13.6 million on the brand last year, according to Competitive Media Reporting.
A pre-launch effort including TV spots and Web site banners broke last week to encourage sampling. They direct consumers to the Skin Fitness Web site (www.fitskin.com) without mentioning the product. Once there, consumers can ask to receive samples before Skin Fitness hits stores.
Noxzema has been showing its age lately. The brand has slipped as Andrew Jergens Co.'s Biore and Johnson & Johnson's Clean & Clear and Neutrogena brought out a rash of new products in the '90s which eroded Noxzema's franchise, said Suzanne Grayson, president of consultancy Grayson Associates.
The minty cream -- created in 1914 by a Baltimore pharmacist as Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy -- is still the third-largest skin cleanser in the U.S.
According to Information Resources Inc. figures, Noxzema had a 9.3% share of the $625 million facial cleanser segment at the end of 1998. But while competitors increased sales at double-digit rates, Noxzema sales dropped by 3.8%.
Biore's share grew to 22.5% in 1998, its first full year in the U.S., on the strength of its groundbreaking Pore Perfect strips and cleansers. Biore entered the market just two years ago.
Even second-ranked Chesebrough-Pond's -- another institution in a jar -- boosted sales by 169.9% last year to capture 16.7% of the market with new products such as disposable makeup remover wipes.
Ms. Grayson noted P&G has been unable to extend the Noxzema franchise since it bought Noxell Corp. -- and sister cosmetics brand Cover Girl -- in 1989.
Although Noxzema's share has stayed flat, it has managed to hold onto its sales volume as the competition became more intense, said Nathan Estruth, skincare marketing director at P&G.
"Everyone in the skincare business knows there's a lot of activity and a lot of competitors. This [launch] is not as much a response to competition as a response to women's needs," he said.
Mr. Estruth said the target for Skin Fitness is active women of various ages, rather than any demographic group -- busy, fitness-oriented women who want easy
Last year I mentioned that I'd heard a wonderful string quartet playing Mozart in the Montgomery BART. Quite some time afterwards, the cellist and violist contacted me to thank me for writing about them. I learned, however, that they'd been playing Haydn. Alas for my pride, but I certainly loved the music and the chance to experience it in live performance.
Last night I was treated to a full-length performance by the Novello Quartet. They played Haydn and Mozart, and thanks to some helpful remarks from the violist, Anthony Martin, I learned to appreciate the differences in their compositional styles.
The program included the second of Haydn's Opus 54 quartets, as well as his unfinished quartet, Opus 103. After intermission, we heard Mozart's "Dissonance" quartet, K. 465.
The Novello Quartet consists of first violinist Tekla Cunningham, second violinist Cynthia Miller Freivogel, violist Anthony Martin and cellist Elisabeth Reed. All are accomplished performers with early music groups in the Bay Area and elsewhere. As a group, they communicate extraordinarily well, never missing an entrance or cadence. They play on period instruments, gut strings and all, producing a soothing and mellifluous tone.
One of the nicest aspects of the evening was the venue, Ellen Webb's yoga studio in Oakland. It's an intimate setting accommodating a few dozen people, with lots of wood to soften the sound. The studio is attached to the home of Stephanie Weisman of The Marsh fame, and her husband Richard DiLeo. Stephanie has been organizing chamber performances in the studio for some time, and I can't wait for the next one.
★★★★★ I heard the Novello Quartet performing works by Haydn and Mozart at Ellen Webb's Yoga studio in Oakland on September 16th, 2006. It was a delightful experience, and I look forward to seeing them again soon!