"The reason [these people] deserve to be word-of-mouth influencers is not because they earn more, they've made these investments work better," says Anne Marie Kelly, senior vice president of marketing and strategic planning at MRI. "The reason they're talking to people is because they're doing better. They have more credibility." ...Read the whole story

Karla Martin, a partner with Booz & Co., says retailers need to redefine the way they serve their core audiences. "You don't go to a museum to see every landscape ever painted," she tells Marketing Daily in a question-and-answer session. "You want to see things from the 18th-century pastoral school. They want that kind of editing. They want retailers to stock brands that show they understand a certain lifestyle, especially now, coming off five years of hard-core brand identification." ...Read the whole story

The e-card, showing photos of a red barn in a snowy field, bears the greeting, "Think kindly, act gently, care deeply, give freely. Sponsored by Campbell's Soup," along with the explanation about the $1 per-click (up to a maximum of $250,000) FAA donations. Senders can include a personal message of up to 500 words. The link to the associated Campbell's HelpGrowYourSoup.com site states: "Thanks to supporters like you, we've reached our donation goal!" ...Read the whole story

The ad breaking during the Winter Classic shows scenes of kids at a hockey practice, cutting to a morning scene of a Honda vehicle starting up under newly fallen snow, a child rising from bed, coffee brewing, and a parent bringing his child to hockey practice. The ad showcases several Honda snow-capable vehicles like Ridgeline and Odyssey, and finishes at the practice with voiceover: "As reliable as the people who drive them. Honda, official vehicle of the NHL and hockey parents everywhere." ...Read the whole story

The Top 10 DMAs that are home to adults who ate more than five individual portions of cold cereal in the last seven days: 1 ... ...More