Unilever is bringing together its food and personal-care brands in a single marketing platform--ViveMejor--for Hispanic consumers. It includes a bilingual Web site (ViveMejor.com), a free bilingual magazine distributed in stores and TV segments to run on Spanish-language television. By studying 3,600 shopping trips by more than 800 consumers, Unilever discovered Hispanic shoppers shop more often because they prepare more meals at home, but they enjoy their shopping experiences less than general-market shoppers. The study also found that Hispanic shoppers generally appreciate being communicated with in Spanish in stores, and are more receptive to in-store meal suggestions than the …

Wal-Mart is reducing the number of U.S. stores selling a fashion line by designer Mark Eisen, which it unveiled last year as part of a drive to match successful low-price designer labels at rivals like Target. The reduction will not be as large as the retailer's rollback of its urban-style Metro 7 line for women, according to Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley. Metro 7, launched in fall 2005, was quickly pushed into about 1,500 stores before executives decided it was not selling well enough in several markets and decided to cut it back to below 1,000. The Eisen line, called …

National retailers that want the look of Southern California depend on consulting firms such as Directives West, Barbara Fields Buying Office and Doneger Group to advise them on what's hot on the West Coast and will sell nationwide. What these firms do "is beyond the runway," says Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association. Metchek refers to Sandy Richman--whose firm, Directives West, produced the L.A. Over Easy fashion show last month--as the West Coast "gatekeeper." The petite fashionista funnels tips to Macy's, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, Abercrombie & Fitch and other clients. Barbara Fields has …

Many doctors object to drugmakers' common practice of contracting with data-mining companies to track exactly which medicines physicians prescribe and in what quantities. Now, the issue is bubbling up in the political arena. Last year, New Hampshire became the first state to try to curtail the practice, but a federal district judge three weeks ago ruled the law unconstitutional. This year, more than a dozen states have considered similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. They include Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington, although the results so far …

Small pet food companies like SmartPak Canine are trying to mend customer relationships following the national product recall the same way they built their businesses: one consumer at a time. In early May, independent tests that SmartPak commissioned for all of its LiveSmart brands found that its Adult Lamb and Brown Rice dog food contained melamine. The day it received the unexpected results, it called every customer who ordered the dog food. It worked with UPS to intercept and redirect consumer orders to SmartPak. By letter, e-mail and Web site updates, it has passed along what it knows about …

Studios have been quietly trimming the premiere budgets for movies, sometimes giving filmmakers cash for a private dinner, or even forgoing the party. "A party is not going to sell movie tickets," says Rob Moore, president for worldwide marketing, distribution and operations at Paramount. The Hollywood party may have reached a zenith in 2001 with the Walt Disney Company's $5 million event for "Pearl Harbor," when Disney entertained 2,000 guests in Hawaii aboard the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Last year, the average price for a major studio film increased 3.4%, to $65.8 million. By contrast, average marketing …

Dr. Andy Anderson--the chief historian at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo--has turned genealogical research into an unusual marketing vehicle. After he taps into rich families' fascination with their forebears, the bank aims to turn them into customers for its private-banking arm. By Wells Fargo's estimate, the former Stanford University history fellow has had a hand in developing relationships that have led to $1 billion in new assets for the bank. After joining Wells Fargo in 1977, Anderson helped organize the archives of the bank, which was founded in 1852. He also helped create several of the bank's nine Wells Fargo …

Cerberus Capital Management will depend on a small group of auto-savvy advisers to direct the future of Chrysler Group, including former Ford Motor group vice president, marketing and sales Robert Rewey, ex-Ford vice chairman David Thursfield, former Chrysler COO Wolfgang Bernhard and Gary Dilts, once a Chrysler senior vice president, sales and head of dealer relations for the company. Bernhard--who was pushed out as Volkswagen's chairman earlier this year--played a large role in the final stages of the deal with Cerberus. Some believe his presence will be felt in any changes that take place. It is almost certain …

Logic dictates that if there are Alpha Moms, there also must be Beta Moms. The latter--the self-proclaimed antithesis of the super-achieving Alpha model--are lashing back. The problem many women have with being a so-called Alpha Mom, says Maria Bailey, CEO of mom-marketing firm BSM Media, is that "that they don't want to be pushovers for marketers to influence." In fact, Bailey counts more than 50 subsegments of moms (with some overlap; for example, home-schooling moms tend also to be Christian moms). How, then, should marketers navigate the minefield that is mommy marketing? One suggestion Bailey …

Hologic, a leading provider of mammography equipment, has agreed to buy Cytyc, whose flagship product is a Pap test for cervical cancer, creating a women's healthcare powerhouse. Hologic will pay $6.2 billion in cash and stock. Hologic has a 55% share of the mammography equipment market, and Cytyc offers a radiation treatment for breast cancer. By combining forces and brands, they will be able to better target obstetrics and gynecology specialists, oncologists and other doctors, offering a complete suite of preventative diagnostic tests, executives at the two companies say. The companies said the deal is expected to generate …