AT&T has landed at top spot on CR Magazine's 14th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, beating out other top Russell 1000 large-capitalization companies on merits including human rights and corporate governance.

Rounding out the top 10 on the new list: Mattel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eaton Corp, Intel, Gap, Hasbro, Merck & Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Coca-Cola. 

The ranking crunches 298 data points of disclosure and performance measures across seven categories: environment, climate change, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance and philanthropy. 

Notably, 26 companies on the 2013 list were not on the 2012 list, while 11 companies have appeared on the list every year since 2007. For those that were bestowed the honor, many were quick to highlight the significance of employee participation to the success of the company's initiatives.Continue reading...

When it comes to product strategy, Campbell Soup has gone through more twists and turns over the last several years than one of the noodles in its classic Chicken Noodle Soup.

The world's leading maker of soup has come up with heartier flavors and lighter flavors, chunkier textures, new ingredients, heart-healthy blends — you name it. The company also has infamously tacked back and forth about sodium reduction in its soups, firset embracing the idea as a major new platform and then, recently, trimming back its salt-cutting ambitions in the interests of taste.

Once again, Campbell is stirring the pot, this time under new CEO Denise Morrison, who presented her strategy to analysts in New York this week that the Campbell Soup Company has a few things cooking to jump-start growth.

Her new approach "requires moving from a high dependence on line extensions to more disruptive innovation, new and differentiated products, packaging and category segments that create new pathways for growth."Continue reading...

Tim Allen is the new voice of Campbell's Soup — and of Chevrolet, which is something of a coup (not coupe) for GM.

Following on the heels of Robert Downey Jr.'s deal to become the new voice of Nissan, Allen's sonic branding of Chevrolet is a natural fit for the veteran actor and comedian.

Beginning with advertising voiceover work for the launch of the new Chevy Cruze small car this fall, the likeable, recognizable Allen is a bona fide automotive enthusiast, which attracted the new stewards of the Chevy brand to tap him for a vocal marketing campaign worthy of some of their hot new vehicles.Continue reading...

Campbell Soup Company today launched "It's Amazing What Soup Can Do," its first-ever umbrella advertising campaign to support its U.S. soup brands. The first spot, "Happier Place" (above), highlights all Campbell's branded soups and is one of 15 television ads planned. The scale of the $100 million-plus integrated campaign, which includes TV, print, radio, online, social media, along with in-store activation and sales promotion, is "significantly larger" than any previous Campbell campaign.Continue reading...