Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. To see the original, go to http://tinyurl.com/5b9awo.
I wouldn’t want to be an auto dealer right now.
The auto business is getting hammered by the recession. Sales have dropped for 12 consecutive months, the first time that’s happened since the recession of the early ‘90s. Through [...]

[Editor's note: This is John Reinan's weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com, reprinted with permission. To see the original, go to http://tinyurl.com/599f6e.]
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If you believe that alcohol lubricates creativity, then it’s no surprise that Dean Phillips has quietly emerged as one of the more innovative marketers in the Twin Cities. As the fifth generation to head his [...]

Seeking to reverse a geriatric image and boost flagging sales, the California Prune Board in 2000 decided to rebrand its product. Advised by Ketchum, California – which produces about 90 percent of the prunes consumed in the U.S. – declared that henceforth its fruit would be known as “dried plums.” Why not? It worked for the Chinese gooseberry, which [...]