We might be seeing more up-trending financial charts, but overall, the economy is still in the tank.

And with tough economic times, comes price-sensitive customers. Manufacturers know that raising prices could be a recipe for disaster, so they’re opting to shrink the size of their packaging instead.

For instance, Georgia Pacific, maker of Quilted Northern toilet paper, chose to hack ½” off the length of its standard roll in lieu of increasing the price. This pricing strategy has become more prevalent in recent years, and I can’t help but wonder what impact these sly practices will have on companies’ bottom lines in the long term?

We all know the value of a loyal customer and this frequent downsizing seems to be nothing but a sneaky price increase that will surely upset customers once they catch on to it. While the smaller product might go unnoticed at first, customers may switch brands permanently when they realize these manufacturers are shrinking products behind their backs.

What do you think, should manufacturers “wipe out” these dishonest practices? Would you switch brands because of shrinking products?

My colleague Emily just wrote a great post about not bashing your competition but what about intentionally bashing yourself or your own brand? This week Domino’s Pizza unveiled a new ad campaign that takes quite a jab at its own product.

These new campaigns focus on the less positive qualities of Domino’s Pizza and boldly state ‘their crust taste like cardboard and their sauce like ketchup.’

My question is: Is it ever a good idea to bash your own brand?

Rebranding can be a challenging project for any company, but the strategy behind a rebrand is often more important than the ‘new and improved’ image. While Domino’s Pizza’s ad agency is known for making bold statements, I wonder what focus group research, if any, was done to determine that customers were unhappy with its pizza. Domino’s Pizza’s ads give the impression that Twitter was an important source of customer feedback. With the rebrand, Domino’s has tried to off-set its own harsh critics with less-obvious tactics designed to show the favorability of its new product.

What do you think of Domino’s Pizza’s marketing direction? Will customers internalize too many former negative qualities that Domino’s is bringing to light or will customers embrace the new product?

Happy New Year! First, let me congratulate anyone who managed to keep their New Year’s Resolution until now. Keeping a resolution is difficult, and if it involves being healthier, then you probably won’t make it through the College Bowl Games, and definitely not past the Super Bowl.

As the first official b2bFishbowl post of 2010, I felt added pressure to kick off the year with profound advice that can be applied to your B2B marketing efforts (and maybe your personal lives). I’ll keep it simple for those working off a post-holiday hangover. Your one marketing challenge in 2010 is this:

Decide how you want to define yourself and aspire to be that every day.

Spend time to determine how your brand, products and services are defined for your target audiences. Then, each day, follow through to make sure the marketing communications you execute live up to that definition. Give your company appeal and purpose in the markets you serve. If you do it right, you’re sure to make your life as a B2B marketer a lot easier, and you’ll create strong relationships with customers and prospects in the process.

And, like other resolutions, if you begin to struggle or feel yourself straying from your goal, lean on others for support.

What is your New Year’s resolution? Do you have a B2B MarComm mantra that you are determined to follow in 2010?

Russia has at last unveiled the logo for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi. After the storm of controversy over the 2012 London Olympic logo, which has been called “hideous,” “childish” and “ugly,” it’s nice to see a much cleaner and up-to-date logo.

The Sochi 2014 brand was developed by brand consultancy Interbrand and an “Expert Brand Council” established by the Sochi 2014 organizing committee. Their strategy was simple—to develop an emblem that would drive fans to Sochi’s website and online platforms. They accomplished this by developing the first Olympic logo to feature a web address (I think it’s a pretty neat idea!).

Now, let’s look at the design. The lowercase lettering seems plain, but once examined closer you realize that the word Sochi is mirrored by the numbers 2014, drawn to reflect each other. This is meant to reflect the meeting of Sochi’s point between the sea and the mountains. The Olympic rings sit in their original colors beside the web address. Personally, I feel that the logo comes across a little ”flat” but it’s a much bigger improvement from previous Olympic logos.

What do you think about the Sochi 2014 Olympic logo? Is it better or worse than the London one?