[Financial Services] Fighting for new credit card holders in a fiercely competitive, saturated marketplace, banks are not only using more reward-program and rebate offers--increasingly, they're combining the two. "We expect to see the trend in combined reward/rebate offers continue as issuers seek to promote increased usage," says Andrew Davidson, VP, competitive tracking services for Synovate's Financial Services Group. ...Read the whole story

[Restaurants] Shamrock Farms, a Phoenix dairy, is hoping to parlay its relationship as milk provider for Subway restaurants into a little reflected publicity by helping the chain capitalize on its 10-year anniversary with pitchman Jared Fogle. ...Read the whole story

[Retail] L.L.Bean is bringing its boots to Chicago, opening its first store ever outside the Northeast corridor. What's more, this will be Bean's seventh "green" store, built to U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standards as the privately held company tries to leverage its outdoorsy nature-loving image in a brutal retail environment. ...Read the whole story

[Automotive] Mercedes-Benz is taking its three-year-old online music-download program "Mixed Tape" and mixing in TV. The global effort is being handled from Mercedes' headquarters in Stuttgart. The company reports that its music-download program has been successful, garnering some 2.5 million users and 28 million downloads since its inception in 2004. ...Read the whole story

[Beverages] A 287-foot tall Ferris wheel in the Meadowlands will get Pepsi branding. The deal is part of a new $2 billion lifestyle, shopping and sports complex called Xanadu, in Rutherford, N.J., adjacent to Giants Stadium. Pepsi signed a 10-year deal with Xanadu, giving it naming rights, among other marketing elements. ...Read the whole story