Toyota has taken a four-point lead in New York, a market which, five years ago, was a General Motors stronghold; GM had a 4.5% lead in terms of market share at that time. The downside marks the failure of GM's chief executive officer, Rick Wagoner, to keep his word. Two years ago, Wagoner promised GM's dealers that he would turn the market tide in their favor, yet the market has slumped even further. This was revealed in survey data compiled by Michigan-based R.L. Polk & Company. In Los Angeles, sales of Toyota cars zoomed up, beating out sales of GM cars by a 2-to-1 ratio. A somewhat similar pattern was observed in Miami. Data also show that Toyota's sales have increased by 36% in the New York, Los Angeles, and Miami metropolitan markets since 2002. On the other hand, GM's sales plummeted by nearly 20% in the same markets during the same period. In the Los Angeles area, GM's retail market share fell to 13.7% from 15.4% in 2005, while Toyota's escalated to 28.3% from 24.9%.
Aurora Capital buys Mitchell International
Los Angeles-based Aurora Capital Group has bought San Diego-based Mitchell International, Inc., for $500 million. Software-maker Mitchell serves the auto insurance and collision repair industries by providing information, workflow, and performance-management solutions. Mitchell was founded in 1946 and is owned by Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm. Aurora chairman Gerald Parsky said the company is investing $230 million in equity in the deal, including $90 million from the General Electric Pension Trust. With 550 staff members in San Diego, Mitchell had a total of 850 employees at the time of the purchase.
FTC asks marketers to curb violence
The Federal Trade Commission's chairman, Deborah Platt Majoras, has asked the entertainment industry to work harder to reduce violence in marketing targeting children. The FTC released a report on ads that fell short of self-regulation requirements. The FTC gave the industry average marks for its efforts to curb violent content. Majoras, however, said that advertising self-regulation and the industry's attempts to market its unrated products have been "inconsistent." She also said that although the report "shows improvement," there is still work to be done. While it does not market R-rated films to children, almost 90% of the film industry advertises on websites where children under 17 make up one-third of the audience. The report, which is the FTC's sixth, studied viral marketing on sites like MySpace and YouTube. Companies also advertise on TV shows popular among children. The music industry came under fire, as well; the commission criticized it for its advertising on cable shows as well as its "ineffective policies" for "preventing kids from buying inappropriate CDs." The FTC asked the industry to display parental advisory labels in TV and online ads. The commission also awarded poor marks to video-game companies, many of which place ads on websites frequented by large numbers of children.
Echelon study finds luxury marketers are more instinct driven
In a study on luxury marketers, McLean-based Echelon Marketing Group found gaps in marketing strategies. The study suggested that luxury marketers need an improved economic understanding of two things: their target audience (the country's most affluent consumers) and the most efficient ways to grab their attention. Echelon's president, Don Neal, said that luxury marketers, apart from paying attention to regular "demographic, geographic, behavioral, and attitudinal" data, should also explore a fifth angle, "econographic," data. "Econographic" data reveals the attitudinal and behavioral patterns of affluent consumers. Neal said that most luxury-marketing professionals rely on instinct rather than data and that large luxury brands do not have large marketing departments but are good at brand positioning. He added that most marketers do not do direct marketing. Lastly, the study suggested that instead of relying on email, luxury marketers should adopt strategies based on direct mail, catalogs, telephone calls, and special promotional events involving consumers. A division of IXI Corporation, Echelon Marketing Group provides strategic marketing solutions to leading companies and organizations based on its proprietary consumer economic data and analysis.
New global executives to enhance Kimberly-Clark's marketing plan
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is attempting to shift its marketing budget and strategies to less traditional digital media. The company, which did not have a central marketing organization (CMO) until recently, has hired three global executives for its CMO. The corporation's budget allocation for marketing will also reach a whopping $200 million by 2009. The recent recruitment are part of the company's move to increase supervision of its global brand development, market research, and integrated marketing communications. The company wants to speak "the same language around the world." With that aim, its new team is creating a common marketing language as well as developing strategies, branding, and research tools for the company. The new hires are Andrew Bienkowski, Vice President of Global Brands, who was formerly the chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola; Roger Chacko, Vice President of Global Marketing Knowledge and Intelligence, who was formerly Senior Vice President of Strategy Development in North America for Mars; and Clive Sirkin, Vice President of Global Integrated Marketing Communications, who was earlier Group Managing Director for Leo Burnett Company. Sirkin will manage Kimberly-Clark's ties to advertising and other marketing agencies. Kimberly-Clark, which is often overshadowed by rival Procter & Gamble, is looking to reverse its fortunes by spending more on marketing.
