With Q1 earnings of $649.4 million, Q2 at $745.6 million and Q3 at 851.7; Adobe sure is laughing its success of Creative Suite and Acrobat success. According to Bruce the company is poised to break the $3 billion revenue mark, and they’re positioned to achieve double-digit growth well into the future. Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Adobe said it expects revenue of $860 million to $890 million.

And according to him a majority of corporate customers still haven’t upgraded, which is surely a good sign for future revenue from CS3. The fact that the suites are doing better than the individual products shouls sound like a song to Adobe’s ears. Though the ability of Microsoft to wreck havoc on its revenue sources still troubles Adobe, still its happy as it has not rested on its prior success but is still thriving ahead to deliver better features to its users. No doubt more than 98.5 percent of people with computers have Flash player installed, and more than 90 percent of people with computers upgrade their player within a year of a new release*. Even Microsoft’s own MSN site has a lot of Flash on it,Bruce pointed out, demonstrating that Silverlight (Microsoft’s new competitor to Flash) is not yet there. Knowing there is a competition, still being miles ahead of it really should result in some nice strategic planning.

Being an ardent performer, Adobe is doing customer research on big customers who have not yet moved. Considering this information the company is gathering, and the fact that CS2 had performed for a long long time after its release, it seems CS3 will also go on to rake in revenues for a long long time. The next quarter will be an interesting one when most of the European and American firms will set aside their budgets for new product buying and upgrades. It would be interesting to watch the division of individual packages to suite buyers.

A list of few happenings at Adobe -
March – launched its Creative Suite 3 product line
May – announced that it has agreed to buy privately held media software company – Scene7
June – unveiled its Visual Communicator 3 software, designed to create video broadcasts
July - introduced its FrameMaker 8 software
Sep – announced the release of its Font Folio 11 software
and announced a tie up with BEA Systems Inc. (BEAS)

Sources:
Adobe website
Utility Belt
RTT News

Google has understood well the importance of knowledge availability at right time. After having made a collective mapping of world in Google maps, the company has launched a program that will pay people to take digital photos of local shops and verify their operating hours and payment options – essentially, creating a digital Yellow Pages to layer on top of Google Maps.

According to the company and program terms, the representatives can earn up to $10 for each business they catalog for Google – $2 for the business’s information, and $8 for getting the company to verify that the information is correct by either sending in a postcard or approving it online.According to Utility belt at Business2.com, if Google can get people to add business details to its maps, the referrals effort could prove to be financially rewarding in the long run. As part of the program, representatives also will be telling local businesses about Google’s AdWords program. It discusses that Google’s move is also important as it fights with Yahoo, Microsoft and others for the future of mobile advertising. As more devices, particularly mobile phones and in-car navigators, gain access to the Internet, companies will have more chances to reach consumers through mobile advertising. If Google can create the most comprehensive directory of local venues, it will have both a better shot at recruiting them as advertisers, and a more comprehensive local product.

Recently HLL has changed the naming of Rin Supreme washing cake to Surf Excel. The advertisement that accompanies the change also comes in a typical HLL package – kids-light-fun, the tried and tested by HLL in basic toiletries. But then Rin has been a highly successful brand and infact a superbrand. So changing the name may sound absurd. But lever has been looking forward with a plan to unify and reconstruct its brand portfolio and aiming at changing to Unilever in next coming years. Moreover once Tide launched its Tide bar last year, industry expected an action from HLL’s side.

According to an HLL spokesperson, as quoted by www.financialexpress.com, the rationale behind HLL’s recent move is, “The migration was done to enable better differentiation of brands within the existing portfolio. Rin Supreme was on the stain removal platform which goes with the Surf Excel platform of stain removal and therefore the migration was synergistic.”

So much for strategy, now lets see the consumer’s likely reaction to the brand change. Thing is that both Rin and Surf Excel enjoy a brand status in minds of people, so the consumer mind will have a strong brand recall of both. It comes in fact as a brand extension of Surf Excel clubbed with trimming of Rin. Now with both brands being popular one, it may seem a smooth change. But it wont be as both the brands have their own associations. Rin’s associations will be different to those of Surf Excel.

Surf Excel being premium brand in relative to Rin will have more expectations. And a washing bar has been seen as an inferior product as compared to washing powders, so lending a bar the name of Surf Excel will not go down strongly in starting. But then Indian middle class will be the main target group of the re-branded product and they may see the product as a better product from house of surf excel. While Rin has been associated majorly with effective wash of white clothes, the new bar will present an image for whites and colored clothes, good for Levers.

While the Surf Excel bar wont fail but then the faring of change from whiteness to Daag achhe hain will a nice case to watch…

McDonald is going to change the association it had with Coca Cola since 1955, by having a pilot program wherein it will offer Pepsi products Gatorade, Propel Fitness Water, Lipton Iced Tea, Tropicana orange juice and Mountain Dew in its select outlets in U.S.

It justifies McDonald to have such a step because of the following facts:

Why Pepsi -

Justifying for Coca Cola too, stressing the 52yr old association, a McDonald executive said that “It’s fountain that tips the scales for Coke, and it’s McDonald’s that tips the fountain scale.” And by not keeping Fountain Pepsi, they are keeping the association on the top. Moreover the products are available in bottles and cans only and Mc Donald doesn’t plan to go ahead with fountain option for Pepsi.

But McDonald says that the pilot will not affect the 52 yrs old association. “We value our relationship with Coke,” a McDonald’s spokesman said. “They are a preferred beverage supplier.”

With non carbonated drinks gaining ground, Coke is going to suffer more. And in case such a pilot is conducted in India, where Pepsi has a lead over Coke (though lower than Thumbs Up), its going to have a significant impact. Mc Donald has definitely seen the trend and must be worried of losing its customers to other fast food chains.

Excel 2007