Seven years ago, P&G CEO A.G. Lafley told Claudia Kotchka, the company's vp for design, to "get design into the DNA of the company." She came up with the concept of "Design Thinking," and P&G is using the approach to change its culture. Leadership is listening, learning, and deploying; cross-functional teams are cracking vexing problems across its business landscape; and visualization, prototyping, and iteration are facilitating communication internally and with customers like never before. With a cadre of 100 internal facilitators, more than 40 design thinking workshops have been held in P&G business units across the globe during the …

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. will reveal Tuesday that Chris Brown's top-10 hit "Forever" is an extended version of a new Doublemint jingle written by the singer. It's scheduled to begin airing next month in 30-second spots for Wrigley's green-packaged chewing gum. Brown was commissioned to write and sing both the pop song and a new version of the Doublemint jingle, introduced in 1960. First, he updated the jingle and recorded it with hip-hop producer Polow Da Don. Then, during the same Los Angeles recording sessions in February, Brown added new lyrics and made a 4½-minute rendition of the tune. …

Stefan Jacoby, the CEO of Volkswagen of America since last fall, cuts a stark contrast to any stereotypes of "very, very businesslike" German auto officials, says VW COO Mark Barnes. During an eight-hour, 20-mph trip in a driving snowstorm last winter, Jacoby kept Barnes and a PR aide laughing with vows to find Elvis in the storm. To underscore the appeal of his brand, he notes that after he bought a Beetle in 1974, "I had much better success with girls." Jacoby has reached out personally to dealers and customers. He's visited about 50 dealers at their stores and …

Once upon a time, Noxzema seemed to be in almost every American medicine cabinet. The century-old brand had more than a 20% market share in the '70s. But people familiar with the matter say Procter & Gamble has been trying to sell the once-ubiquitous brand for several months. The company declines to comment. The facial-cleanser-cum-makeup-remover-cum-acne-remedy in a distinctive blue glass bottle had some of the strongest consumer affinity of any brand he's ever worked on, says Rick Brenner, who was a marketing director on Noxzema before and after Procter & Gamble acquired it from Noxell in 1989. But he …

Coca Cola hopes to help fuel sales in the U.S. Hispanic market through its Tienda Program, which offers small Hispanic businesses the opportunity to redesign their stores to attract more customers. With the program, Coca-Cola provides marketing and sales support, as well as promotional materials. Since the Tienda Program began four years ago, more than 5,000 small businesses have joined from 15 markets with a strong Latin presence, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. ''Hispanic consumers are very important for Coca-Cola. Out of every four soft drinks sold in the United States, we calculate that one …

Latinos and Asians will comprise the majority of U.S. population growth between now and 2020. But in California's Santa Clara County, they will represent 90% of all growth, according to population projections. Teams like the San Jose Sharks and the San Francisco 49ers will increasingly need to attract fans that did not grow up watching Joe Montana throw on Sunday afternoon, or hearing the crack of a slap shot on a winter night. The teams are cultivating female, Latino, Asian, and gay and lesbian fans; signing international stars who can forge lucrative immigrant connections in a team's home market; …