Business Blog

Are you interested in what Fortune 500 companies are using blogs?  The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth just released a study:

This study examined the 2008 Fortune 500 list in an attempt to quantify the adoption of social media by identifying those with public-facing blogs. Similar work has been done with the Inc. 500, US colleges and universities and the Fortune Magazine’s list of the 200 largest charities.

As social media becomes more integral to the business function, we should see evidence of it in the use of blogs, podcasts, Twitter or other tools. Given that the Fortune 500 stand as a model for business success, it is interesting to examine their involvement in the social media arena.

Findings from the report include:

Eighty-one (16%) of the primary corporations listed on the 2008 Fortune 500 have a public-facing corporate blog with a post in the past 12 months. These early adopters include three of the top five corporations (Wal-Mart, Chevron and General Motors). The two remaining in the top 5, Exxon/Mobil and Conoco Philips do not have public-facing blogs at this time.

For the complete report, visit The Fortune 500 and Blogging Study – Center for Marketing Research – University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

link via Resource Shelf

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Business Week weighs in with  which ads deserved and thumbs up, and which ones did not.  Take a look at the grades, and the commercials here.

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The World Adversing Research Center (WARC) is a great resource for marketing information.

Here’s a few samples of the articles you can find in the database:

1. Coca-Cola Zero – a new product launch without the downside
Louise Cook, Zoe Hamilton, Michael Dick, Jason Briggs and Matthew Hook, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Bronze, IPA Effectiveness Awards, 2007

This Bronze Award-winning paper details the launch campaign for Coca-Cola Zero, a zero-sugar version of the brand targeting a male audience. The mainly media used were TV, posters, online and free newspapers, and substantial growth was achieved in a short but heavy summer campaign, without the loss of a price premium. Alongside increases in awareness, brand favourability, purchase likelihood and message association, the cannibalisation of other Coke products was below the expected level.

 

2. Green is the colour
Jenny Eldridge, Admap, December 2007

Recent years have witnessed a ‘green revolution’ among consumers, advertisers and the media alike as the issues surrounding climate change have gained increasing prominence. This has been demonstrated by the increasing number of consumers looking at the green credentials of the products they buy and the companies they do business with. Advertisers have been keen to target their products at this emerging group, which needs to be understood and targeted in a different way to traditional advertising.

 

3. Global brands – powerhouses
Leo van Sister, Admap, September 2007, Issue 486, pp.49-50

In this article, Leo van Sister, founder and partner of Brand Custodians®, discusses what makes successful global brands, and what keeps them as marketing powerhouses in a changing technical world.

 

4. Company Profile: Ford Motor Company(US)
Company Profile in association with Adbrands, March 2006

This Company Profile provides key details and analysis of Ford Motor Company, including its latest activities, market position, financial performance, brands, structure and history, together with onward links to related profiles on WARC and external web sites.

5. TLC: Life Lessons
New York American Marketing Association, Gold, Media Companies, EFFIE Awards 2007

TLC’s ad sales and ratings were down and viewers were emotionally disconnected from the network. With the heydays of Trading Spaces long gone, viewers and ad buyers weren’t sure what TLC stood for any more. TLC needed a new identity. We resonated with a lifestage and we created a strategic platform that would define the network as something more than just a TV channel. Based off human truths, the Life Lessons campaign took TLC in a new direction. The Campaign revitalized TLC, increased ratings and engaged our viewers.

 The database can be browsed by topic or searched by keyword.  The advance search feature is more useful than the basic search, as you can narrow where your search terms occur in the document.  The database contains a number of marketing-specific publications, as well as a few of the Gale industry encyclopedias.  For more details on the database, see the listing for WARC in the Biz Wiki.  Other marketing resources can be found in InfoTree and the Biz Wiki.

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