To increase business-class traffic by providing the most comfortable flying experience, American Airlines is launching a seat that reclines almost--but not quite--flat. While other carriers, such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, already have fully flat seats to mimic a bed-like experience on overnight international flights, American chose the lesser alternative to save room for a lucrative row of business-class seats. This breed of traveler--whose tab can reach almost $10,000 for some trips--is "the big airlines' revenue bread and butter," according to The Wall Street Journal. That's why American is spending $87 million on the new seats alone; United is …

You've heard of the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Gen Y, the Tweens, and all the other demographic groups targeted by marketers. Now meet a new one: the Grups. They are in their 30s and 40s, but they're young at heart and act more like people in their 20s. The big difference is that they earn a lot more disposable cash and they're willing to spend it to maintain a youthful lifestyle. The term "grup" was coined in a New York magazine article, and comes from a "Star Trek" episode featuring a planet run by wild children trapped in perpetual youth. …

Seeking new ways to expand its business and capture new markets, Ford Motor Co. will begin offering a small selection of parts for a few of its cars in the automotive aftermarket. The new initiative, dubbed the Ford Licensed Accessories program, will be conducted through the automaker's dealerships and will focus on outfitting models including the Fusion, Mercury Milan and the upcoming Lincoln MKZ sedan with quality aftermarket parts. Two companies have been named by Ford to supply kits containing parts such as air dams, side skirts, spoilers, and DVD screens that are built into the backs of head rests. …

Chrysler's Dodge brand is going to the movies to promote its new 2007 Caliber model. The automaker will run new 60-second cinema ads in theaters and distribute promotional brochures to ticket buyers as part of the initiative. The effort also includes vehicles parked in theater lobbies, in-theater banners, standees, static clings and signage support. Promotions company Screenvision is handling the project for Dodge. "Screenvision offers us the ability to create a tailor-made message for the young, desirable audiences that not only frequents the movies, but also are target buyers for our new Dodge Caliber," said Dodge spokesperson Mark Spencer. "With …

PepsiCo is moving further into the non-carbonated beverage category with the announcement of a new long-term alliance with juice marketer Ocean Spray. The deal calls for Pepsi to market, bottle and distribute single-serve cranberry juice products in U.S. and Canada under the Ocean Spray brand name beginning next year. The two partners will also look to create new product innovations in the future. "Over the past several years, we've built successful, mutually beneficial partnerships with strong brands like Lipton and Starbucks, and now we plan on working side-by-side with Ocean Spray to create a major healthy refreshment business focused on …

Although the weather indicates it is still the thick of summer, retailer JC Penney is already thinking about the new school year. This weekend the company will launch a new, integrated back-to-school marketing campaign that includes a heavy online component designed to appeal to students. Themed "You've Got It Inside," the campaign includes ads that send kids to the jcpenneybts.com microsite where kids can travel down a click-path that has them watching videos, clicking on featured products and eventually making a purchase. "With each season, we keep building and building a stronger, deeper and more rich experience for the consumer …

Major advertising companies and their top clients are beginning to get serious about social networking Web sites and the user-generated content they provide--after first viewing the medium with skepticism and fear. In a significant sign that such companies are serious about the potential of such sites, last month advertising giant Interpublic Group agreed to spend at least $10 million on advertising at Facebook, the wildly popular Web site for college students and others. The deal was accompanied by a separate agreement in which IPG acquired 0.5 percent of privately held Facebook. IPG also created a user-generated content lab last month. …

Financial services marketer MasterCard and search engine Yahoo have combined forces in a new promotion that includes user-generated content and offers participants free air travel connected to credit car transactions. The initiative is tied to Yahoo Travel, a trip planner feature that enables users to plan their trips and create a customized, printable travel guide that they can take for their journey. Yahoo has amassed 20,000 trip plans submitted by travelers from around the world which users can access, searching by destination, trip experience or author profile. Travelers also can document their trips with tools that allow them to add …

Fast food marketer McDonald's really gets a kick out of soccer. Quick on the heels of the sport's quadrennial World Cup tournament, McDonald's announced it has renewed its longtime sponsorship of the Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup through 2014. The deal gives McDonald's global rights to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 event--scheduled for a country yet to be determined in South America, as well as access to the FIFA Confederations Cups in 2009 and 2013. As part of the sponsorship, McDonald's retains its status as the exclusive retail foodservice operations sponsor. McDonald's …

Marketers who want to capture the hearts and minds of college students are advised to start thinking green. A new study reveals that many collegians, rather than being concerned with binge drinking and playing video games, are in fact socially conscious and put a premium on products from companies that demonstrate a healthy respect for Mother Nature. "We are seeing that today's young people expect corporations to be socially responsible and that students prefer to associate with brands that they perceive to be positive contributors to the community," said Samantha Skey of Alloy Media + Marketing, which commissioned the study …