• Coke, Bottler Launching Campaign Against Soda Tax
  • Red Robin Calls In A Facebook Favor From 1,500 Fans
  • What The Increase In RV Sales Tells Us
    Shipments to retailers were up 16% in August compared with July. Indiana economist Morton Marcus says that means RV dealers and buyers are finding it easier to get credit, Joel Rose reports.
  • Why Kobe Holds The Cards In New Marketing Deal
    Kobe Bryant has signed an exclusive deal to become the face of, and appear in ads for, Panini, which will unveil its first set of NBA trading cards in October.
  • Let's Limit Our Intake Of Corn-Syrup Ads
    Dan Neal takes a look at the full-page newspaper ads that are part of a $1-million marketing campaign launched Tuesday by a food-industry-backed advocacy group. "If the food industry wants to do the right thing, it should be telling people to go easy on the sweets. Period," he says.
  • Branding Advice For Jeff Bezos From 11 Marketing Experts
    Kevin Randall, director of brand strategy & research at Movéo Integrated Branding and Fast Company blogger, convened a virtual panel of 11 experts to advise Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on how to make sure that its new private label line succeeds the way that "Intel Inside' did and avoids cheapening the brand name. Most of the experts approve of the Amazon Basics strategy. "The Amazon brand is trusted and, just like Sears-branded Kenmore appliances, Amazon may be able to do the same," says John Quelch, professor of marketing at Harvard Business School. Scott Davis, senior partner at Prophet, warns …
  • Walgreens Will Sell Beer, Wine After 10-Year Dry Spell
    As part of a broader attempt to drive traffic and boost sales, Walgreens CEO Gregory Wasson says the chain will start selling beer and wine in its aisles with 12 to 18 months. "There are no sacred cows in Deerfield," Wasson says. "Everything is up for evaluation." Walgreens, which started selling beer, wine and spirits at the end of Prohibition, got out of the business in the early 1990s, citing the complexity and cost of operating the department. There also was some question as to whether it fit with the company's health-and-wellness image, Sandra M. Jones reports. It will …
  • General Motors' EBay Experiment Running On Empty
    Less than a month after General Motors officials talked about the possibility of taking a program for selling cars and trucks on eBay nationwide, it says it's ending the experiment today, Tim Higgins reports. GM spokesman John McDonald says rolling out the eBay program could detract from its massive "May the Best Car Win" marketing campaign and other incentive programs. The program resulted in 1.5 million unique Web visitors and generated more than 15,000 customer leads for dealers but there's no tally on sales. Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs calls the program an interesting experiment. "It's not a …
  • Vegemite 2.0 Developments Offers Insight Into The New Kraft
    Ilan Brat writes that the launch of a lighter version of Vegemite -- a salty brown yeast spread favored by Australians -- is a perfect window into the ways CEO Irene Rosenfeld has changed the culture of Kraft. The salient point is that she had almost nothing to do with it; the idea for the product percolated up from regional managers of the brand and succeeded because of Rosenfeld's efforts to decentralize decision-making. Before it even had a name, Kraft had sold more than 2.8 million jars of the new product in Australia and …
  • Wal-Mart Expanding $10 Toy Deal To 100 Products
    Wal-Mart is expected to announce today that it is expanding its $10 per toy holiday promotion from last year, from 10 items to more than 100, Andrea Chang reports. The assortment will include top brands, classic toys and newly released items for $10, including Barbie dolls and Transformers action figures. Markdowns will be as high as 50%. "This year it's bigger, it's better," Laura Phillips, vp of toys for Wal-Mart's U.S. division, tells Chang. "It's about the wish list for the kids, and we know these price points help parents deliver." Meanwhile, Wal-Mart chairman Robson …
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