It is reported by Wall Street Journal that "Pepsi is launching its first new ad campaign for Pepsi-Cola in three years." The reason that Pepsi is turning its attention back to traditional advertising (after a sole commitment to online, social, event, and new media channels) is because its biggest brand--Pepsi-Cola slid to Number 3 in US soda sales last year, following not only Coke, but also Diet Coke. Who says traditional media is dead?

According to the WSJ, in May 2011 US consumer confidence fell to the lowest level since Nov. 2010. Although high-end retailers, gas stations, and uniquely branded retailers have seen that sales went up, most retailers still struggle with the increasing costs, price pressure, and the economic consequences of the down-turn. Today FiG is going to share with you some thoughts on how to overcome this difficult selling season, and our discussion will focus on the topic of creating (or re-creating) an effective loyalty program.

FiG Advertising and Marketing is proud to announce the launch of Rodine Communications new website.  This was a multi-faceted project that involved creating a visual brand identity and logo for the first time in the company's history.

At the beginning of the year, Heineken introduced a new global brand campaign with a film titled "The Entrance" (created by W&K). In the film, Heineken demonstrated a mystique-filled and desirable gentleman by making the ultimate party entrance. The spot includes various people gathered in a large mansion--one that seems to be briefly put on hold when the gentleman walks in. Everyone wants to see him, and he has a splendid time with each very unique individual he comes across.

QR codes is short for "Quick Response Codes", which were created by Denso-Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota, more than a decade ago. If you are not familiar with QR codes yet they are similar to barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products. The main difference between QR codes and barcodes is the amount of information that they can hold.

It seems like that this spring is an exciting business season. It is not surprising to see that Apple won the most valuable brand in the world since it introduced the iPad 2. Facebook continues to be the fastest growing company. Google started its "Groupon" business beta test and opened its online music service. And last week Microsoft purchased Skype to join the video chat game. With all the achievements and moves of the big tech companies, FiG sees a future that will call for great integration.