The (ex)planet that launched a thousand merchandise items

When the International Astronomical Union shook up the solar system by stripping Pluto of its planet status, it did more than ban the celestial body from the cosmic planet club.
Discovered in 1930 by 24-year-old American astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto’s planet reign lasted 76 years.
Pluto’s naming is an interesting story on its own.
11-year-old Venetia Burney, from Oxford, England, suggested the name.
It was chosen from a long list that included Atlas, Apollo, Zeus, Minerva and even Bacchus. As Jeff Mullin pointed out, it’s not surprising that New York Times reporters supported Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and intoxication.

The shakeup launched a merchandise wave that would do credit to any presidential campaign.
Scores of Web-savvy entrepreneurs went on the Internet, selling Pluto memorabilia fromT-shirts and mugs to bumper stickers and mouse pads.
Apart from objecting to poor Pluto’s demotion from a proper planet to a wannebee or dwarf one, they obviously wanted to cash in.
Within 24 hours of the “bad” news, a wave of Pluto items appeared on Cafepress.com (a San Francisco-area Internet company that prints T-shirts and other merchandise), including 200 designs on more than 1,500 products.
Many items and slogans related to Pluto's demotion and advocated its return with T-shirts proclaiming "Save Pluto" and "Stop Planetary Discrimination."

Why is there such uproar about the reclassification of the solar system?
The public just doesn’t buy it.
It’s similar to a company suddenly rebranding or redefining its product, without customer input.
And if there is no market acceptance, it’s doomed to fail.
The product “planet” had suddenly been redefined as:
"a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit".
(As The Chaser pointed out, this definition also applies to globetrotting Luciano Pavarotti)

People all over the world were happy with the known solar system, and were not waiting for a reshuffle.
They just don’t see the advantage of coming up with this new planet definition.
To quote Dr. Hiroshi Kyosuke of the University of Tokyo:
"It seems counterintuitive to me that we should say Pluto is no longer a planet, yet Donald Rumsfeld is still Secretary of Defense. After all, Pluto has done no harm."

Pluto the dog, who made his debut in 1930, couldn’t agree more.
According to Disney insiders, he worries about the fate of this namesake and all the textbooks that must be rewritten.

Our Pluto might not be reinstated as our ninth planet, but the 1930 discovery for sure made marketing history.

Comeback Kate - Crisis Management Moss-Style

Remember September? When life seems to crash around the pretty ears of Kate Moss?
Give the lady credit – she made a remarkable comeback.

She obviously knows a thing or two about crisis management – she went into rehab, officially dumped her hard drugs-using boyfriend, kept her mouth shut and went back to work.

The strategy worked like a charm: not only did she start her comeback by picking up a string of new contracts and held onto her old ones, including (funny enough) Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume.
French vogue featured her in its December 2005 issue under the heading: “Scandalous Beauty.”

Having the public on her side makes Kate bankable and media saleable.
Kate’s image is that of a survivor, and the public loves her because of her cocaine scandal.
The media took notice of the “Kate fascination” and cashed in.

Vanity Fair featured Kate in its December 2005 issue with the headline: “Can she come back?”
The answer is obviously yes – in its September Fashion Issue 2006, Moss graces the cover again, this time, wearing long, white gloves, leather boots and a white fur hat.

What is the key success factor in overcoming a crisis like Kate’s?

1. Acknowledge the facts (or at least: don’t deny them)
2. Communicate your hurt, suffering and humiliation
3. Take measures to amend the situation (rehab, public apology)
4. Keep a low profile (no talk shows and interviews once the public apology is made)
5. Focus on your work
6. Avoid repeating the same mistake
7. Provide evidence that you are a indeed a reformed character

Kate did a great job on all accounts.
She apologized, checked herself into rehab, broke up with her disastrous boyfriend, kept a low profile and worked hard.

As a result, Kate appeared in the ad for Italian designer Roberto Cavalli as well as the 2006 Pirelli calendar, and became the face of Coco Mademoiselle perfume and Rimmel cosmetics.
New contracts with mobile phone brand Virgin Mobile and French luxury label Longchamp are in the making.
Burberry, which canceled a campaign featuring Moss after the scandal, embraced their favorite waif again.

Although scandal has long been part of the Moss image, she seems to have struck a nice balance between mainstream reliable working mother and living-on-the edge supermodel.

Our Kate could give Mel Gibson some valuable crisis management advise….

Green Marketing – the BP Story

When we hear “green marketing,” different images spring to mind.
Is it about the environment, about organic food or about lifestyle?
It’s fashionable (read: profitable) for companies to profile themselves as green or having green products.
Even Vanity Fair launched a green issue that sold well.

In a recent study, the majority of the consumers (64% of all and 51% of environmentally conscious interviewees) couldn’t name a "green" brand.

The general public wants companies to be eco-friendly and produce fuel efficient, biodegradable, natural and organic products.

Public companies took note.
Dow Chemical launched its "Human Element" campaign, addressing environmental concerns in the "global community."
In June 2006, Shell Oil followed with a $30 million marketing campaign.
General Electric continues to build on its "Ecomagination" launched in 2005 to address the demand for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.

Green marketing is tricky because the public is very much aware of "greenwashing" – paying lip service to its consumers while continuing past practices.
Ford found that out when it retracted its promise to produce 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010. In its statement, Ford promised to look into building vehicles that use alternative fuel and flexible-fuel vehicles, which can use either an ethanol-based fuel or regular gas.
Its consumers were not amused.

The trailblazer in corporate green marketing is without a doubt the oil company British Petroleum.
BP is credited with being one of the first companies to make a significant grab for the green title with its 2003 "Beyond Petroleum" campaign.
In it, BP emphasized wind power, solar energy and renewable energy resources.
Under chairman John Browne, BP became one of the largest producers of solar panels, and made significant investments in hydrogen and wind power.

Despite its commitment, the majority of BP’s revenue comes from petroleum.
BP’s green image has attracted eco-conscious investors, including World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
During the company's annual general meeting in April 2006, WWF called for a resolution to have BP disclose how it measures and controls the risks to its investors of operating in environmentally sensitive areas.
Although it was voted down by a whopping 89%, it is a clear sign that “green” investors expect BP to live up to its image and keep on distinguishing itself from its peers.
If not, it will not only loose on the PR front, but “green” investors might decide to disinvest, according to Trillium Asset Management, which manages $700 million in socially responsible funds.
And that would also be a blow for green marketing....