Data & Analytics

Savings from restructuring actions will be reinvested to support the companys future growth strategies and to accelerate innovation across General Mills global business platforms.

Multi-award-winning Hollywood Producer and digital marketing expert Van Vandegrift will headline the 2012 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing and reveal how major brand owners are successfully executing online campaigns to win at the shelf.

Did you know that only 17 percent of Facebook members reside in the United States? That means that consumer goods brands must move their digital reach into global markets to capture the other 83 percent. Heres a look at which consumer goods brands already lead in Facebooks top 10 countries.

While a fickle economy forced many retailers into challenging periods of deep discounting, some top retail brands have stayed above the fray. In a recent survey of Americans about brands across several retail segments, Walgreens emerged as the first ever drugstore brand of the year; Target stores was top-ranked for second straight year; and Woot.com replaced Groupon as the best daily deal web site.

Recently, a CPG social forum asked the question Is Big Data the most dominant theme this year in our industry?If you look at the amount of coverage Big Data is getting, it well may be. However, when browsing through the literature on the topic, I realized that people may be forgetting about the most obvious Big Data opportunity.

Consumer goods marketers are still wrestling with fundamental questions when it comes to digital investments: How much should I spend on digital? Where should I spend it? What will be the value of my investment? Jerry Lohse, Senior Director, Accenture Interactive, answers these questions and more.

With strong brand names, Diamond Foods often plays above its weight. When it came time to invest in its trade promotion strategy, Diamond Foods opted to take a calculated route marked rather than the more common "spend and learn" approach of larger competitors.

Marketing, pricing and trade promotion activities are critical to the success of consumer products companies. The stakes are high as companies spend billions of dollars trying to grow their business. Those who can better understand, plan and predict are winning, those who cant move toward extinction.