• Negative News Outdrew Positive In 2013
    There must be something to that old saw, "If it bleeds, it ledes" because negative news seems to have gotten the most eyeballs this past year, from the frosty reception Coke's anti-obesity campaign received when it launched in January to the disrobing of George Zimmer at Men's Warehouse to Lance Armstrong's crash as a viable spokesjock. Nike took it on the chin for both Armstrong and a Tiger Woods ad, in fact, though we should point out that accolades are always rolling in for its larger body of work.
  • Hyundai Shifts Into 2014 With 'Dealer Guy' At Wheel
    The news Friday that John Krafcik, whose five-year contract to lead Hyundai Motor America expires at the end of the year, was stepping down seemed to surprise most observers with words like "abrupt," "surprise" and "unexpected" featured prominently in ledes and headlines. David Zuchowski, who has been Hyundai's EVP of sales, will succeed him as president and CEO. Analysts and journalists on the automotive beat were not the only ones who didn't see it coming.
  • What To Do With 10 Million Lbs. Of Chicken?
    Wonder how to create a viral story? Just wing it.
  • Edgar Bronfman, 84, Headed Seagram When It Was Regal
    Edgar M. Bronfman, who led Joseph E. Seagram & Sons - a Canadian distillery founded by his father during Prohibition - when it was the dominate marketer in the U.S. liquor business, died at home in Manhattan Saturday of natural causes at 84, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, the family charity, announced.
  • Target Faces Tough Sledding After Data Theft
    After admitting yesterday that it had stemmed a security breach that may have resulted in the pilfering of 40 million customers' credit and debit card information, Target began what promises to be a tough and protracted sell in restoring customer confidence just as shoppers gear up for the final weekend of Christmas shopping.
  • Where There's E-Cig Vapor, There's Fire
    E-cigarettes are increasingly in the air-and hence on the minds of politicians, activists and commentators. The news this morning includes stories about six senators calling for a federal investigation into the marketing practices of electronic cigarette makers, articles on proposed bans in public spaces in North Texas and Spain, a Wall Street Journal overview of ongoing anti-e-cigarette efforts in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and a "Perspective" piece in the New England Journal of Medicine that carries the hed: "The Renormalization of Smoking? E-Cigarettes and the Tobacco 'Endgame.'"
  • Reports: WME Deal For IMG Imminent
    Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor and its private equity partner Silver Lake will announce as early as today a $2.3-billion deal to acquire sports marketing and media agency IMG Worldwide, according to numerous reports.
  • Journal Recommends 'None-A-Day' Multivitamins
    An editorial accompanying two original studies and one review of existing research published yesterday in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" seeks to put the kibosh on the marketing, sale and use of multivitamins once and for all with the prescriptive headline: "Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements."
  • Beyonce's Surprise Turns Mum Into Marketing
    Perhaps it was a surprise she was not quite counting on: Beyonce the Artist has been overshadowed by Beyonce Knowles the Marketing Genius since she released her new audio-video opus as an iTunes exclusive right after the midnight hour on Friday morning, "sending fans into a downloading frenzy" around the world, as the UK's Metro puts it.
  • Will Unlocked Phones Be Squawking At 30,000 Feet?
    It will be easier for consumers to get out of the grip of Ma Verizon, Ma AT&T, Ma Sprint, Ma T-Mobile and Ma U.S. Cellular under a deal announced yesterday that creates industry standards for unlocking devices so they can be used on another carrier's network once a contract comes of age. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler brokered the agreement between the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and riled-up consumer groups.
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