AmEx Boosts Small Business Saturday by Thom Forbes

For the third year now, American Express -- and a plethora of "supporters" -- is trying to add Small Business Saturday to the vocabulary and shopping habits of consumers who presumably devote Friday (and, controversially, Thursday night) to battling crowds at the malls and Monday to clicking on deals in cyberspace. It's been hard to avoid commercials for the promotion in recent weeks, on screens of all sizes. And the Facebook page for Small Business Saturday has 3.1 million "likes." ...Read the whole story

  • Q&A: Century 21 CMO Thorne On Super Bowl by Aaron Baar

    In this age of one-to-one marketing through digital channels, it might seem incongruous for a realty company to employ such old-school mass media tactics, but as CMO Bev Thorne explains, the significant investment (30-second spots are going for $3.8 million this year) is more than worth it. ...Read the whole story

  • retail Holidays Put Women In Contradictory Moods by Sarah Mahoney

    To reach women during the holidays, maybe marketers should turn up the "meh" and tone down the "merry." A new study reports that for the average American female, the holidays are emotionally complex, and portraying them as stoked-for-the-holidays shopping machines may backfire. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Honda Launches Humorous Year-End Campaign by Karl Greenberg

    Honda is joining the year-end sales mix with "Happy Honda Days." The effort, which has an oddly '60's color-TV feel, features the odd parent or two, with an obstreperous mother saying the wrong things to her son at the wrong time, among other wackos. ...Read the whole story

  • beverages Ocean Spray's 'Big Guys' Join Sugar Policy Fray by Karlene Lukovitz

    Ocean Spray and the cranberry industry are pumping up their efforts to get cranberry drinks exempted from a potential ban on sugar-added beverages in school venues like vending machines and snack bars. Proposed regulations are due out in the spring. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Los Angeles Show To Glow As Sales Improve by Karl Greenberg

    With the Los Angeles Auto Show coming up, pundits are talking about auto trends. That's not too surprising, as the show will have a record 50 debuts -- half-and-half global and domestic, but more skewed toward luxury and imports. ...Read the whole story

  • advice Marketing Lessons From Team Obama by Jeff Hennige

    An Obama 2012 campaign promise to emphasize education has already been fulfilled in some respects: The president's team schooled Romney's on how to run an ... ...More

Follow MediaPost