exxon tops fortune 500 list

Exxon Mobil tops the Fortune magazine's list of the 500 biggest publicly traded companies with a whopping revenue of $442.85 billion.

As a result of the financial crisis that is sweeping countries across the globe, overall earnings of the Fortune 500 companies fell by 85 per cent to $99 billion in 2008.

While Exxon was the world's most profitable company earning $45.2 billion in profit in 2008, recession-hit financial services companies Citigroup and Bank of America were out of the top 10 list this time.

From a regional marketer of kerosene in the US to becoming the largest publicly traded petroleum company in the world, Exxon has come a long way.

Exxon's brands are Exxon, Esso and Mobil. Rex W. Tillerson is the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil. Fortune's report was based on based on overall revenue earned by these companies.

Seth's Mantra

Seth Godin wrote on his blog that two words hold the secret of marketing - First, Ten.

This, in two words, is the secret of the new marketing.

Find ten people. Ten people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you...

Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they'll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat.

If they don't love it, you need a new product. Start over.

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Recession Trends - from TV to Web - Ad Spends

Reckitt-Benckiser has a new recession-approved media strategy: moving TV dollars to online video. And the shift is substantial - estimates of $ 20 million dollars almost 5% of the annual spends up from less than 1% in 2008. Signs of time to come. Definitely in markets where the web-audience is mature enough and the numbers are there to plan a communication program.
This is riding on increasing consumer consumption (read youtube et all)towards digital video. Cost efficiencies comparisons between CPM on web to CPM on TV has pushed more dollars into digital video. And when you factor the measurable R.O.I on online advertising its alarming for the traditional media players.

Is Green the Most Abused Brand?

Talking Green is the in thing these days. Every top corporate is today talking about 'greener' ways to do business. Even if an iota of amount is being spent on Green initiative, it reaps tremendous P.R benefits and gets quoted in the media space very easily. The scope of such initiatives should be looked into & more importantly sustaining it.

Earth Hour, Earth Day are all interesting efforts to extoll the virtues of Greener Business, but it needs to be seen what impact it has created in the corporate sector. Green initiatives is not just about individuals joining in to switch off power as a symbolic gesture.

Which is why 'Green' is the most abused brand today. Everyone talks big on Green, but who is doing it...