Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Appeals Court Okays 'Lawful' Off-Label Pitchesby Thom Forbes

In a stunning free-speech decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has overthrown the conviction of a pharmaceutical salesman for promoting the off-label use of a narcolepsy drug, Xyrem, for purposes such as treating chronic fatigue, insomnia and fibromyalgia that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The government case claimed that the salesman, Alfred Caronia, engaged in the practice while working for Orphan Medical, a company that has been acquired by Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals. ...Read the whole story

  • retail Finally: Big Boxes Leverage Mobile, Social by Sarah Mahoney

    "Whether it's Best Buy, Target, Walmart or Toys R Us, we're seeing that brick-and-mortar stores have learned to adapt and even embrace the mobile shopper," Stephen Wyss, partner in BDO's retail and consumer product practices, tells "Marketing Daily." ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Interstate Gets Batteries, And Brand, To The Stranded by Karl Greenberg

    "We kept looking at data that showed the majority of batteries were purchased in these emergency/semi-emergency situations. We're always looking for ways to make our brand promise come to life in a meaningful way to consumers. 866-Rescue-Me delivers on both fronts." ...Read the whole story

  • electronics Holidays Will Be Kind To Devices, Gadgets by Aaron Baar

    According to a survey of 2,500 U.S. households, average spending on consumer electronics will be $1,058 this year -- up from $793 spent last year, according to Parks Associates. Among the respondents, nearly two-thirds plan to make a CE purchase this holiday season. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive NFL Legend Emmitt Smith Is Lincoln Brand Ambassador by Karl Greenberg

    The Super Bowl advertisement itself will also be a first: it's a consumer-generated social-media campaign in which people co-create the 60-second ad via tweets. Jimmy Fallon will be curating the effort. Specifics aren't clear just yet. The whole thing gets going on Wednesday. ...Read the whole story

  • Champagne Emphasizes Location In National Campaign by Tanya Gazdik Irwin

    The sparkling wine Champagne can only come from the region of Champagne, France. The ad campaign is designed to remind consumers of the role location plays in creating wines and to tap into growing American consumer interest in geographic origin. ...Read the whole story

  • restaurants QSRs' Buzz Suffers After Obamacare Remarks by Karlene Lukovitz

    Weeks after controversial remarks about cutting back on workers' hours as a result of rising costs due to the Affordable Care Act, Papa John's Pizza and Applebee's are still suffering negative buzz, reports YouGov BrandIndex. ...Read the whole story

Try It On Technology by Nanda Sibol

Consumers want to get the "right" item with the least amount of hassle. Virtual try on is helping to reduce risk and lower barriers to purchase. Consider how your brand can use technology at different points ...More

  • So Much Data, So Little To Show For It by Brian Kardon

    Sales is the next frontier for big data. Companies like Amazon, Netflix and Pandora have successfully harnessed big data with their effective recommendation engines by teeing up recommended products, movies and music based on past consumption ...More