Best & Worst of 2007 & 2008

Two West commended Old Navy for their makeover in the Brand Spotlight. Check out their new logo and look. Let us know what you think.



Every year Landor Associates publishes their Newsmaker Brands Survey. This survey examines Americans’ perceptions of high-profile brands that made headlines in 2007 and are expected to make headlines in 2008.

On the Brand Show, Two West was excited to have Landor as a guest on the show once again to discuss the winning and losing brands of 2007 and their predicted winning and losing brands of 2008. Russ Meyer, Landor’s Chief Strategy Officer, explained how Americans continue their obsession with online brands and the indications of an upcoming recession have consumers searching for brands that will help them stretch their dollar.

Here’s the top 5 predicted winners & losers of 2008 according to Landor. Let us know if you agree with this list.

Winners
Google
Amazon
Wal-Mart
eBay
Target

Losers
United Airlines
Delta Airlines
Blockbuster
Countrywide
Gap

Branding Loneliness

With millions of Americans looking to the Web for love, this week’s Brand Show looks into how online dating sites are trying to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Match.com and eHarmony.com have traditional marketing models, however, sites like SugarDaddie.com market themselves through public relations. Sites like SugarDaddie.com, which attempt to pair good looking women with financially successful men, are becoming even more popular and in turn targeting a different type of online dater. On this episode, we will look at how online dating has grown and how it has become more socially acceptable since its inception in the mid 1990s.

This week’s Brand Rant discusses how retail stores like Target and Toys “R” Us continue to advertise a recalled toy despite the toy being recalled nearly a month ago. And in the Brand Spotlight, we look into how Subway, the nations largest fast food restaurant, is attempting to be green by using 100 percent recycled products. Dr. Steve Pasternack, the owner and creator of SugarDaddie.com joins us to discuss his online dating site. Also, Brandon Wade, founder and CEO of SeekingArrangement.com discusses how his site has grown to have more than 100,000 users in just a year.

The toy “Aqua Dots,” which was recalled weeks ago, is still showing up in advertisements for popular stores.


Subway has become the first fast food restaurant in the United States to go green by offering recycled napkins, cups and cutlery.


Online dating sites that market themselves to beautiful women seeking rich men are becoming more and more popular.


Visit the web sites of our two guests at www.sugardaddie.com and www.seekingarrangement.com

A new program allows online daters to search for dates that look familiar to celebrities.

Online dating has become vastly more popular and more socially accepted since it was introduced in the mid 1990s.