P&G feeling the squeeze

ut even P&G is feeling the squeeze during this recession. Spooked by rising unemployment, a bear market and crisis in the financial industry, consumers are pulling back even on necessities, buying less and using up what they already have in the house before buying more.

Cincinnati Enquirer

The 25th Anniversary Of Apple's "1984"

CNBC

Trend Briefing: Generation G

"Captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy—and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care—the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers.

In fact, for many, sharing a passion and receiving recognition have replaced 'taking' as the new status symbol. Businesses should follow this societal/behavioral shift, however much it may oppose their decades-old devotion to me, myself and I.”

trendwatching.com

Tap Dance

But if Flavor Options suggests that progress on the front lines in the marketplace is incremental, it also offers proof of just how resistant the marketplace can be to limits. At a certain point, you would think, the race to purity gets won; eventually, you cannot get purer than pure. And yet, just as you can never actually drive to the horizon, the end point of “new and improved” simply does not exist. That’s why the idea of selling filters that add something to water, even as they subtract something else, isn’t actually surprising at all — it’s pretty much inevitable.

New York Times

Work Ethic 2.0: Attention Control

It's time we upgraded our work ethic for the age we're living in, not our grandparents' age. Hard work is still a virtue, but now takes a distant second place to the new determinant of success or failure in the age of Internet distractions: Control of attention.

InternetNews

Disney Focuses on Boys

Walt Disney Co. is making a push to crack a market that few media companies have been able to conquer -- boys aged 6-14.

Next month, the company will launch a boy-focused entertainment brand called Disney XD, consisting of a new cable television channel, a comprehensive Web site with games, music, videos and social networking.

Wall Street Journal

Gatorade Quietly Aims to Revive Brand

The ads are part of a big rebranding effort for the Gatorade brand that includes a redesigned package and, according to a person familiar with the matter, a Super Bowl commercial. PepsiCo is trying to reach consumers beyond sports nuts to help reverse the brand's weak sales performance. The company is expected to spend roughly $150 million on the ad push, according to the person.



Wall Street Journal