Posts

Strategic Alliance Between Televisa and Genomma Lab

Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (“Televisa”; NYSE: TV; BMV: TLEVISA CPO) and Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Genomma Lab”; BMV: LAB B) announced today that they have signed a strategic alliance agreement to sell and distribute personal care and over the counter pharmaceuticals in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The strategic alliance will operate through Televisa Consumer Products USA (“TCP”) a company owned 51% by Televisa and 49% by Genomma Lab. The sale and distribution of Genomma Lab’s products will be an integral part of the activities of TCP.

As part of this alliance, TCP will enter into, among others, a product supply agreement with Genomma Lab. Televisa will make available its different media platforms in the United States and Puerto Rico to TCP, which will provide Genomma Lab’s brands with significant advertising in the targeted markets in line with Genomma Lab’s business model.

This will enable Genomma Lab to expand the extensive success of its brands beyond Mexico and Latin America by accessing a Hispanic market of approximately 50 million consumers with a purchasing power of over $870 billion annually while leveraging off of Televisa’s reach and name recognition in the Hispanic market.

Subject to certain conditions, the parties contemplate closing the transaction in the following months and launching operations by year end.

About Grupo Televisa, S.A.B

Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world and a major participant in the international entertainment business. It has interests in television production and broadcasting, production of pay-television networks, international distribution of television programming, direct to home satellite services, cable television and telecommunication services, magazine publishing and publishing distribution, radio production and broadcasting, professional sports and live entertainment, feature-film production and distribution, the operation of an internet portal, and gaming. Grupo Televisa also owns an unconsolidated equity stake in La Sexta, a free-to-air television venture in Spain.

 

About Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V.

Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V. is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical and personal care products companies in Mexico and has an increasing presence in the international markets. Genomma Lab develops, sells and markets a broad range of premium branded products, many of which are leaders in the categories in which they compete in terms of sales and market share. The Company has significantly grown its revenue and profitability through a combination of a successful new product development process, consumer-oriented marketing, a broad retail distribution network and a low-cost, highly flexible operating model.

Source: Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V.

People still prefer real-life recommendations to online

Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing

Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing: real-life recommendations preferred?

Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing: real-life recommendations preferred?

Referring a product or service is not a new idea, it’s been around as long as people have—but is the way people make recommendations changing with the times? Despite increased online activity, new research from Mintel shows real-life recommendations are still more influential to consumers than those received online.
Mintel’s exclusive consumer survey showed most people who bought a product or service based off a recommendation did so on a referral from a friend/relative or husband/wife/partner (34% and 25%, respectively). Only 5% of respondents bought based on the recommendation of a blogger, the same for a chat room.

“It’s interesting to find that as much time as we spend online, we still prefer a personal recommendation from someone we know and trust,” states Chris Haack, senior analyst at Mintel. “Young adults are somewhat more likely to turn to the Internet for advice and referrals, but even they listen to their peers first.”

Most people base a recommendation on price and convenience, according to Mintel. Especially in the current economic climate, where shoppers are compelled to find the lowest price, it’s not surprising that more than 64% of respondents state that price drove them to recommend a product or service, while quality (55%) and convenience (33%) follow behind.

Mintel reports that Asian and Hispanic respondents are considerably more likely to recommend a product they saw advertised. Asians (14%) and Hispanics (10%) are also more likely to report being influenced by bloggers to purchase a specific product or service.

“The sheer number of people that purchase based on recommendations proves marketers need to pay attention to word of mouth,” states Chris Haack. “It’s becoming easier for businesses to lose control of their marketing messages, so companies need to carefully monitor and respond to consumer conversations about their brands.”

Source: http://www.mintel.com

Burger King enters mobile commerce full-throttle

Fast-food giant Burger King has entered the mobile commerce arena by letting consumers place orders and pay for them their iPhone. Now that’s fast food.

Restaurant locator - Burger King enters mobile commerce full-throttle

Burger King enters mobile commerce full-throttle – Restaurant locator

Burger King Mobile Restaurant Locator

Burger King teamed up with Gomobo and PointAbout for the development and design of the application. The Burger King NOW location-aware iPhone application is currently being tested in the Queens, New York, area.

“The idea of the iPhone app is to go the full nine yards with a rich mobile ordering platform,” said Noah N. Glass, founder CEO of Gomobo, New York. “This is the first case study that we have done with an iPhone application and we expect to launch these types of applications for other quick-serve restaurants we are working with.”

Gomobo helps fast-food and restaurant chains mobilize their services via mobile Web sites, and now through iPhone apps as well. Clients include Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Burger King, the nation’s No. 2 burger-and-fries chain after McDonald’s Corp., has been known for its innovation with new technology, including its highly viral Subservient Chicken online viral marketing campaign earlier in the decade. Ordering and paying through the iPhone application is part of that DNA.

The iPhone’s GPS functionality lets users skip the step of entering in an address into the app. Instead it automatically finds the Burger King location closest to them.

When users place their order and come in to pick it up, they can skip the line and just grab their food, since they have paid for it via the app.

The application also tracks and saves order history and then acts as a loyalty card by offering incentives and deals.

Customize your Burger King meal

Burger King enters mobile commerce full-throttle

Burger King enters mobile commerce full-throttle

The goal behind this application is to drive incremental same-store sales – a key metric for the restaurant industry, Mr. Glass said. He also said that orders placed via the application have been 25 percent larger than in-store.

When customers start using the service, they increase their frequency of visits by 42 percent and the mobile offering takes existing loyal customers and increases their value by 75 percent.

The application is helping Burger King drive additional sales, since new customers can discover the stores near them that they may have not known about previously.

In terms of security, the application is fully secure. So, customers don’t have to worry about their credit card information being misused.

Also, the information is stored within the application, so that it doesn’t need to be re-entered each time the customer places an order.

When picking up their food, customers just need to give the last four digits of their mobile number, to confirm they are in fact the person that placed the order.

PointAbout helped Gomobo develop the application. It took the guts of the Burger King mobile site, which was developed by Gomobo, and poured it all into an iPhone experience.

Also, PointAbout made it possible for the application to remember the phone ID and allowed it to pull GPS information.

“Traditionally QSRs have focused on the four walls concept, which means doing marketing within the four walls of the restaurant,” Mr. Glass said. “They focused on what could be done in-store to make sure that patrons come back

“The mobile device allows them to extend where transactions take place and let customers make transactions from anywhere, therefore extending those four walls to the consumer’s hands,” he said. “It is also a much more efficient way of taking an order and the payment.”
Source: Mobile Marketer

Mundet, the Wonderful Apple Soft Drink Centenario Promotion

Mundet announces the first winner of its national Centenario promotion — Julissa from Calexico, California. This contest commemorates the 100+- year heritage of Mundet, offering exciting prizes under special gold bottlecaps that can be found on Mundet Manzana Verde (Green Apple) and Sidral (Original Red Apple) Mundet bottles.

Mundet, the delicious apple-based soft drink which has been a part of the Mexican heritage since the early 20th century, is celebrating its 100+-year heritage with an exciting Centenario promotion. Consumers have the opportunity to win exciting instant-win prizes located under special gold bottlecaps found on Mundet Green Apple and Sidral Mundet glass bottles. The grand prizes are Centenarios, Mexican bullion coins created in 1921 to honor the 100-year anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain, with an approximate value of $1,500 each. Additional prizes include T-shirts and teddy bears.

The first Centenario prize winner was Julissa from Calexico, CA. The Centenario promotion is national in scope. Consumers still have a chance to win prizes, including more Centenario coins, because the promotion is scheduled to run through May, 2010, or until all prizes are awarded.

Mundet soft drinks are known for their unique and delicious real-apple flavor. Sidral Mundet does not contain any flavoring (natural or artificial), since its unique flavor comes from real apples. Mundet is popular with adults and children, and is considered by many to have health benefits due to its pasteurization process and since it does not contain caffeine. Many Mexican mothers use Mundet as a hydration fluid for their children.

Since 1988, Mundet soft drinks have been distributed in the United States exclusively by Novamex (www.novamex.com). Mundet is currently one of the best-selling Mexican soft drinks in the US. Novamex is a leader in the marketing and distribution of authentic Mexican products in the United States, including Jarritos, Mineragua and Mundet, delicious soft drinks with the great authentic flavor of Mexico. In additional to product sales, marketing and distribution, Novamex provides educational and sports opportunities to children and youth in high-Hispanic markets throughout the United States, and assists hundreds of churches and non-profit organizations through the donation of soft drinks that can be sold for fundraising purposes.
Source: Mundet

The Younger, Hipper Hispanic

The younger, hipper Hispanic target is most likely native-born in the US and differs greatly in their consumer behavior from older/immigrant Hispanics – they speak English fluently and tend to be familiar with main-stream American culture and have similar buying habits to whites, AA and other non-Hispanics.

The Younger, Hipper Hispanic

The Younger, Hipper Hispanic

Young blacks and Hispanic college graduates are reviving cities.  They live in funky row houses and apartments in old neighborhoods that have been spruced up.  They’re part of the ‘Bohemian Mix,’ a cluster that has a substantial percentage of blacks and Hispanics.  It’s the most affluent of the racially and ethnically diverse groups.  Bohemians socialize across racial lines, jog, shop at Banana Republic, read Vanity Fair, watch Friends and drive Audis.

Of note regarding youth in general: “Youth Digerati” (as opposed to the old nickname “Youth Literati”), an ethnically mixed group, is the most affluent urban cluster.  Young Digerati tend to live in fashionable neighborhoods and are now more affluent than “Money & Brains” – older professional couples who have few children and own homes in upscale city neighborhoods.
Source: TIA