January
Howard Beales, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, reiterates FTC chairman Timothy Muris' outline to enforce existing privacy laws, not push for new regs…. Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Co. settles with the FTC for inadvertently disclosing nearly 700 e-mail addresses of Prozac users (a second Prozac gaffe, mailing unsolicited samples, strikes later in the year)…. The FTC considers a national Do Not Call list for telemarketing, vigorously opposed by the Direct Marketing Association…. AOL Time Warner expands its partner roster through deals with Kellogg USA and Burger King…. Marketers of the Year for 2001 include DreamWorks SKG's head of marketing and national promotion Anne Globe, McDonald's CEO Jack Greenberg, and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
February
Bob Merz, director of marketing for 7-11, oversees preparations for the c-store's 75th birthday (in July)…. PROMO asks, Are consumers sick of brands? Turns out they're just sick of bad marketing…. The fallout of General Mills' purchase of Pillsbury continues as Nestlé SA takes sole ownership of Haagen-Däzs through a $641 million buyout from partner Pillsbury…. Custom publishing revenues grew 10 percent to an estimated $1.5 billion…. Kraft Foods, Toys “R” Us and Toyota climb aboard the re-release of E.T. The Extraterrestrial…. Frito-Lay returns its promotion and retail merchandising account to Tracy Locke Partnership as parent PepsiCo consolidates.
March
PROMO celebrates its 15th anniversary…. A story on the 16 most influential campaigns includes 1989's Bud Bowl, 1994's Guinness Win Your Own Pub In Ireland, and 1996's Pepsi Stuff…. The U.S. Postal Service calls an agency review for its $100 million account…. The Consumer Electronics Association predicts sales will hit $95.7 billion in 2002…. Miller Brewing and Allied Domecq ink a $50 million deal to develop and market “malternatives.”… Pepsi drops tie-ins with Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones after a 2001 campaign tied to Episode I — The Phantom Menace did not meet extremely high expectations.
April
Newly renamed Masterfoods USA (formerly M&M/Mars) breaks its largest promotion in its 61-year-history with the Global Color Vote…. Burger King goes after McDonald's market share with a $300 million brand re-launch that includes 14 new products, an online loyalty program with eBay, and promotional partners including Universal Studios…. The severity of the marketing slump is fully realized as coupons — the “recession-proof” tactic — suffered drops in both distribution and redemption for 2001…. Bankrupt Kmart is allowed to drop its NASCAR sponsorship while Martha Stewart says she'll stick with the retailer…. BMW of North America wins two Gold awards and takes top honors as the Best Campaign of 2001 in the Promotion Marketing Association's annual Reggie Awards.
May
Coors Brewing Co. and PepsiCo pay $300 million and $160 million, respectively, to become official sponsors of the National Football League, knocking rivals Anheuser-Busch, Miller Brewing Co., and Coca-Cola Co. out of those slots…. DreamWorks SKG's Shrek dominates PROMO's 2002 EMMA Awards, winning best overall campaign and tying in with Baskin-Robbins for best feature film promotion and home video release…. The FTC attacks deceptive spam by challenging the way some marketers gather e-mail addresses…. Stadium sponsorships hit the wall as marketers reevaluate bloated 20-year, $20 million deals…. Unilever announces it will spend more on sponsorships globally.
June
Trade promotion experts sound the alarm for marketers to heed new guidelines from the Financial Accounting Standards Board that change the way packaged goods companies report trade spending…. ACNielsen reports that fewer shoppers frequent grocery stores…. GMR Marketing rides the wave of event marketing to earn the top spot as PROMO's Agency of the Year (141 Communicator and DraftWorldwide round out the top three)…. Coca-Cola bounces back from losing the NFL sponsorship by signing a four-year deal with the National Basketball Association.
July
Loyalty marketing grows up: Pepsi-Cola Co., Miller Brewing Co., and Kellogg stop or revamp their loyalty programs as auction-based promotions and Upromise grow in popularity…. Nearly 60 percent of promotion agency professionals got no salary increase in 2001, according to PROMO's Agency Salary Survey…. Philip Morris sells Miller Brewing to South African Breweries…. Blockbuster gives 4,000-plus stores a face-lift, with sections devoted to selling videogames
August
Unilever hones its Master Brands strategy to back key brands and concentrate on connecting with consumers beyond product categories…. Tube foods gain momentum at ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods, and Mott's, building on the 1999 launch of Yoplait Go-Gurt…. In other tube news, TV networks weave advertisers right into scripts with product placement that Tivo can't zap out (such as Revlon's role as an evil cosmetics empire in ABC's All My Children).
September
Hershey Foods Corp. abandons plans for a sale after it rejects a last-minute $12.5 billion offer from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co…. A consortium of U.S. capital firms — including Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs — take a $2.26 billion bite out of Burger King when they purchase it from Diageo…. Four men are convicted for fraudulently redeeming McDonald's game pieces in a scheme led by a Simon Marketing security director, who pleaded guilty.
October
Anheuser-Busch Cos. sells its 22-year-old in-house marketing agency, Busch Creative Services, to three of its own executives, who rename it the Spark Agency…. Frankel promotes Dick Thomas to president-CEO…. Consumers want less, better direct marketing, according to research by Yankelovich Partners and DIRECT Magazine. The study found that 54 percent of consumers responded to at least one direct-marketing effort over the past six months and 40 percent made a purchase.
November
CoActive Marketing scoops up PROMO's top PRO Awards honor for its Eat Like a Champion program for Safeway supermarkets…. Agency veteran Bud Frankel is honored with the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Annual PRO Awards at PROMO Expo in Chicago…. Burger King's sale hits a road bump when the food chain's recent poor performance leads the consortium to revise agreement terms…. McDonald's says it will close 175 restaurants worldwide and cut 400 to 600 jobs to revive business.
December
Burger King sale regains life as Diageo looks to push the sale through…. Anheuser-Busch teams with Microsoft Corp. to bring Xbox games to bars and clubs in 100 markets…. Small-format and specialty stores are poised to drive retail growth in the next five years…. More brands create homegrown sports tie-ins as grassroots marketing steals thunder from sponsorship deals…. State tourism boards, including New York City, battle post-Sept. 11 budget and travel woes…. Internet campaigns dominate PROMO's seventh annual Dialog Awards, recognizing the best in interactive promotion. Gold winners include Subaru and PT Cruiser.
