While consumers have gotten used to candy corn and Halloween costumes appearing on store shelves in August, one sign of autumn is appearing much earlier than usual: Retail chains, including Publix, CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens, are announcing flu shot programs now, instead of waiting for October. While stores have little to say about the availability and suggested timing of flu vaccines--the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does that--"if earlier flu shots turn out to be the rule rather than the exception, that can be hugely beneficial for retailers," Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, a retail …

Digital media and advanced TV guru Tim Hanlon is joining Interpublic's Mediabrands unit to run a new ventures-focused group, reports Adweek magazine. Hanlon, who most recently ran the Chicago office for Catalyst S.F., previously ran the ventures group at Publicis' VivaKi unit. More details here: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS380177180020100823

In a bold move for the wrinkle-phobic world of cosmetics, Avon says it will introduce Anew Platinum, its first skincare line targeted directly at women 60 and older. The line, marketed with a campaign starring actress Jacqueline Bisset, will be available in November. While the endeavor might seem like a no-brainer—why not use a glamorous 60-something to sell an anti-aging regime to this affluent (and rather wrinkly) crowd?—"it's really dicey," David B. Wolfe, head of Wolfe Resources Group, tells Marketing Daily. While women of a certain age certainly don't like the way beauty marketers rely on images of 25-year-olds …

Maura Clancey, a long-time media industry researcher who most recently was senior vice president of Knowledge Networks, died Monday, following a long illness. She was 50. Details on her obituary and services can be found here: http://www.meaningfulfunerals.n et/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=690579&fh_id=12023&s_id=0DA7A8A5877B45307869DB11DD489F5A

For its 17th year of partnership with the U.S. Open, American Express has launched a new branded web site that gives tennis enthusiasts a chance to learn what it takes for the younger stars on the circuit to train and contend in the sport. The site, nextcontenders.com, follows rising tennis stars John Isner, Sam Querrey, Caroline Wozniacki and Melanie Oudin, as they train for the U.S. Open, giving a glimpse into their personal lives, the shots that define their games and interviews with coaches and family. In addition, during the U.S. Open, American Express will bring back its Radio Live …

Things must be looking up job wise for for search marketers. New York digital agency 360i posted a blog touting 10 reasons SEMs need to work for the company. Among them, 360i offers a Tweeting bar that opens after 5 p.m., ability to wear jeans to work, fantastic view from the San Francisco office, and lots of treats. Perhaps, 360i took at cue from Silicon Valley heavies Google, Facebook and Twitter? Unemployment in New York stands below the national average, and the city will soon offer 578,897 jobs in industries as Wall Street, healthcare and entertainment, reports …

PocketGear, which sells apps for every smartphone except the iPhone, has closed a $15 million second round of financing led by Trident Capital with participation from BlackBerry Partners Fund. Billing itself as "the world's largest open app store," PocketGear offers more than 140,000 free and paid titles and powers mobile storefronts for 40 partners including Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson. Along with the $11 million raised by rival universal app store GetJar in June, the PocketGear funding indicates investor confidence in a widening market for apps beyond Apple devices.

Distilled SEO Consultant Rob Ousbey has identified a new feature Google is testing that updates the search results as the person types in the query. It all happens without the person searching on a keyword string without hitting the return key. Ousbey recorded a quick video to show the search engine results page (SERP) change as he amends the query. He notes that the Google Operating System blog refers to this as Google "streaming" the search results.

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new application on Facebook that allows consumers to shop for cruises and share with friends. The social commerce tool, created by Razorfish, allows users to easily view, compare, select and share Carnival cruises. The application, which Carnival claims is the first of its kind in the cruise industry, allows users to engage their social network in their vacation planning through personalized newsfeed updates and even invite friends to book the same trip. The application, available on Carnival's official Facebook fan page, enables the user to explore all available Carnival cruise options without …

The largest egg recall in history is creating more pressure on Congress to pass new legislation to give the Food & Drug Administration more authority. According to The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), as of yesterday, eggs contaminated with Salmonella had caused 273 confirmed cases of illness in California and Minnesota, and that number is expected to rise, as 10 states are currently investigating outbreak clusters. About 380 million eggs from a family-owned producer (Wright County Egg) based in Iowa have been voluntarily recalled.  Nearly 2,000 illnesses linked to a specific strain of salmonella occurred …