[Technology] Every minute consumers spend with Picnik's applications means more exposure to brands that sponsor the tool. "The average user session is about 17 minutes," says Monica Harrington, marketing guru at Picnik. "Brand marketers want to figure out a way to get close to the consumer that's not intrusive." ...Read the whole story

[Strategy] "Consumers equate a company's size to whether they see you on TV," admits the online insurance company's CMO. Follow-up focus groups confirmed that the personification of Esurance by Erin translated to its having a personality. "TV," concluded John Swigart, is not as dead as some people profess it is." ...Read the whole story

[Automotive] Marketing Daily sits down with Stephen Berkov to ask questions like, "How has digital media changed the paradigm?" "Only after I consider a brand or product will I develop a favorable opinion. Creativity, innovation and relevancy leads to consideration. The ability to stay relevant is the challenge any brand faces." ...Read the whole story

[Hospitality] "In the U.S., we finally have coast-to-coast distribution; it's our opportunity to grow the awareness of our brand," says Jim Cone, VP/marketing. "While we have heard from customers that Hilton Garden Inn is a 'best-kept secret', our goal is not to be a best-kept secret." ...Read the whole story

[Financial Services] Banks can recover goodwill with more transparency about their practices. "Young boomers and Generation X have a lot of needs and a lot of years for those needs to be met," says Mercator Advisory Group's Elizabeth Rowe. "That's a lot of years to get off the non-interest fee bandwagon and get back to the good old-fashioned banking profitability generation of account service charges and interest spreads." ...Read the whole story