Vittorio Missoni, Who Took Fashion Brand Global, Missing by Thom Forbes

Vittorio Missoni, 58, an owner of the family-run Missoni fashion business who is generally credited with expanding the Italian company into a global brand, was aboard a small plane that has been missing off the coast of Venezuela since Friday morning. He was traveling with his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, two friends and two crew members from the resort area of Los Roques to the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, normally about a 40-minute journey. ...Read the whole story

  • research Ace Metrix: Brand Coup For 2012 Top Ads by Karl Greenberg

    Sixteen brands in 15 categories -- with Best Buy, Cadillac, Ford, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Samsung and Visa topping the lists -- had the best advertising of 2012. Twenty had the most effective individual advertisements among 6,000 ads measured. ...Read the whole story

  • retail Sales Of Holiday Electronics Down 7% by Sarah Mahoney

    Despite strong sales early on in the season, NPD reports that sales of consumer electronics fell 7% in the holiday season, to $13.7 billion. (NPD excludes some of the industry's hottest segments, including Kindle, iPads and Surface, as well as mobile phones.) ...Read the whole story

  • food and beverages Survey Probes Americans' Snacking Habits by Karlene Lukovitz

    The once-dominant cultural concept of snacking as a special occasion between meals is long gone. In 2012, 52% of all eating occasions among U.S. consumers were snacking occasions -- up from 49% in 2010, according to The Hartman Group's Eating Occasions Database. ...Read the whole story

  • electronics Computers Still Popular For Researching, Purchasing by Aaron Baar

    According to a Harris Poll of more than 2,300 adults, an overwhelming majority of smartphone owners favored using a laptop or desktop for researching goods or services. A similar disparity arose when it came to purchasing products or services. ...Read the whole story

  • financial services Annuity.com Targets Baby Boomers by Tanya Irwin

    Annuity.com is launching a brand campaign targeting baby boomers. The creative, which launches Jan. 7, showcases how safe an annuity is through the ongoing image of a "Safe Man" who follows consumers throughout their daily lives. The campaign will run on cable networks and syndicated TV. ...Read the whole story

  • health Innovation Key To Smoking Cessation Products by Karl Greenberg

    E-cigarettes, lozenges, and inhalers could steal smoke from cigarettes, per a new Mintel study on smoking cessation aids. The firm finds that sales of such products are set to increase 3% from 2011-12, reaching $1 billion, and they are expected to continue growing. ...Read the whole story

  • Brainwave Tech, Smartphones To Dominate CES by Laurie Sullivan

    Hundreds of companies will share their wares at the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 8, but a few trends and patterns have begun to emerge, such as brainwave technology that identifies intent before movement. ...Read the whole story

  • Messaging The Shooter by Bob Garfield

    The media are awash in gratuitous violence -- just as they were in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Countless dime novels, broadcasts, comic books ... ...More

advice A Smorgasbord Of Segments by Eric Bosco

With the abundance of segments today, it's impossible for a brand to fully reach all relevant segments. Marketers need to be more focused and measured ... ...More

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