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Showing posts from January, 2010

New Product Development

There is no correlation between the percentage of net revenue spent on R&D and the innovative capabilities of an organization—none. That’s not to say that R&D capacity isn’t important, but at the end of the day, innovation is generated by new ideas, not by messing around in the lab – Bart Becht – CEO ,Reckitt Benckiser Today, 15 “power brands”—Air Wick air freshener, Finish and Calgonit automatic dishwashing detergent, and Lysol disinfectant among them—account for more than half of the company’s net revenues. What’s more, 40 percent of total sales are from products launched within the past three years—products like Vanish Oxi Action stain-removing gel, Cillit Bang lime and grime cleaner, and Air Wick Freshmatic automatic air freshener. Affluent consumers in a hurry will pay a premium for product innovations like these, and Reckitt Benckiser churns them out at a rate of more than 100 a year, despite a significantly smaller R&D budget than its peers (about 1.5 percent of net ...

ENVIRONMENT

Place environment before profits . Save the planet . Reckitt Benckiser has implemented an environmental initiative called Carbon 20. The initiative, which was announced in November 2007, aims to cut the total carbon footprint of its products - from creation to disposal - by 20% by 2020. As part of the initiative the company has reduced by 70% the amount of plastic in the packaging of its Vanish cleaner. The Independent characterised the Carbon 20 initiative as "a typically savvy bit of marketing on the part of Bart Becht, the company's CEO. It observed that Reckitt Benckiser's initiative seemed to go further than similar green initiatives by other companies, and that it would lead to increased profits. The article quoted a city analyst who follows Reckitt Benckiser: "I was surprised by this. Reckitt has never been considered the most environmentally-enlightened company, they are typical red-blooded capitalists". The newspaper also spoke with Martin Deboo, an ana...

The South West Effect

Look for opportunities beyond the traditional thinking cap . Break a problem down into parts and then analyse it from multi dimensional angles by peeping into gaps and points within it which creates opportunities for growth . Move fast and with a lot of self confidence into the niche defying all traditional logic . The success and profitability of Southwest's business model led to a common trend being named after the company, the Southwest Effect. Since Southwest's original mission in Texas was to make it less expensive than driving between two points (in the early 1970s, during the first major energy cost crisis in the U.S.), it developed a template for entering markets at rates that allowed the airline to be profitable, yet only on the basis of lean operations and high aircraft use. The key concept to the Southwest Effect is that when a low-fare carrier (or any aggressive and innovative company) enters a market, the market itself changes, and usually grows dramatically. For e...

Health

Keep the interest of the public in mind while designing the product . Do not hesitate to take course corrections and refining the product if it translates into an overall well being of the community . No place for ego or obstinacy Many canned soups, including Campbell's condensed and Chunky varieties, contain relatively high quantities of sodium and thus are not desirable for those on low-sodium diets. However, Campbell's Chunky, Healthy Request and other soups, as well as their V-8 and Tomato juices, have reduced sodium levels.These soups use sea salt as one of the methods in lowering sodium. In the fall of 2007, Campbell's was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for their efforts in lowering sodium levels, from Blood Pressure Canada. By autumn 2009, Campbell's claims it will have lowered the sodium content in 50% of its soups range.

Collectible Advertising

Think laterally and work towards evoking the interest of tomorrow , who will be the future of the planet . Focus on Community Development . Campbell Soup invested heavily in advertising since its inception, and many of its promotional campaigns have proven value in the Americana collectible advertising market. Perhaps best known are the "Campbell Kids" who represented the recognizable soup. Ronald Reagan was a spokesman for V8 when it was first introduced. In addition to collectible advertising, the company has also had notable commercial sponsorships. Among these was The Campbell Playhouse , which had previously been Orson Welles 's Mercury Theatre On The Air . Campbell's took over as sponsor of the radio theater program in December 1938.