Kids start talking about what they like at age 3 and that's when you should start marketing to them, Lisa Mancuso, Fisher-Price's SVP of marketing, tells Vivienne Manning-Schaffel. That's not to say that mom is out of the equation -- of course not, she controls the purse stings -- but she doesn't have a lot of extraneous time or money in this day and age. It's more efficient to consult with the child and let them make the buying decision in categories that are appropriate, points out Dave Siegel, president of Wonder Group and co-author of Marketing to the …

I had occasion to wait for someone by the information booth at Grand Central Terminal yesterday and passed the time observing a clerk doling out timetable and travel advice with a smile, cheery voice and obvious relish for her job. I remarked to an out-of-town companion that you would not have seen such a pleasant demeanor just a few years ago when "surly disposition" seemed to be the main job qualification for the position. Maybe corporate friendliness is a byproduct of a product of these otherwise disagreeable times. Barbara S. Peterson reports that some airlines, "stung by …

Bryant Urstadt takes a hands-on -- hands down, really -- approach in his look at the yoga brand Lululemon, which a subhed claims has turned fitness into a spectator sport. He opens his piece in downward dog position, surrounded by about 400 women colorfully and provocatively garbed in Lululemon attire atop Lululemon mats at Manhattan's Bryant Park, where biweekly open-air yoga practices are held. "The signature Lulu piece is the $98 Groove Pant, cut with all kinds of special gussets and flat seams to create a gluteal enclosure of almost perfect globularity, like a drop of water free from …

When valedictorian Kenya Mejia professed her still unrequited and previously undisclosed love for classmate Jake Minor at the close of her address at the Alexander Hamilton High School graduation in Los Angeles this spring, she was speaking from the pocketbook, not the heart. Spouting "I love you, Jake Minor!" was a set-up by marketing executives and consultants for Twentieth Century Fox who wanted to create viral buzz for the July 10 opening of the romantic comedy "I Love You, Beth Cooper," Ethan Smith and Sabrina Shankman report. Mejia got $1,800 for the stunt but the 67-second YouTube clip that captured …

Scorched locks of hair from Michael Jackson's infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial shoot are being turned into "diamonds" by a Chicago-based jeweler, LifeGem, that previously claims to have created the precious gems from locks from the likes of Beethoven, Alex Palmer reports. Meanwhile, De Beers Diamond Co. says its profit dropped 99% in the first half of this year, NPR reports. 

Ads on all sides of the push for health care reform have been inundating Washingtonians for months; now they're moving out in congressional districts with no sign of abating, Ray Suarez reports.

Store-brands accounted for 22.7% of organic food sales for the 52-weeks ended June 13, up from 13.6% for the same period in 2007, according to Nielsen. The lower prices of private-label organics are helping grocers cater to more price-conscious shoppers, Timothy W. Martin writes. Supervalu, the fourth-largest U.S. food retailer by sales, expanded its Wild Harvest organic brand to 312 items, from 150 last spring. Safeway, the third-largest U.S. food retailer, last fall began selling its organic food brands to other retailers. "When the economy started slowing, we noticed our [same-store] sales really picked up," says Shon Boney, …

Coca-Cola has begun test-marketing a drink called Vio that contains skimmed milk mixed with sparking water flavored with fruit, Maurice Chittenden reports. There are four "natural" flavors - peach mango, berry, citrus and tropical colada - but the concoction also contains 26 grams of sugar a bottle, which may put a damper on health claims. Available at natural food stores and delis in New York, Vio comes in an 8-ounce "aluminum bottle" and does not require refrigeration. Someone says it tastes "like a birthday party for a polar bear," but admittedly that someone is a copywriter. The drink …

Apple and the four largest record labels are working on a project to goose sales of digital albums by bundling an interactive booklet, liner notes and other interactive features with music downloads, Matthew Garrahan, Kenneth Li and Joseph Menn report. "It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album, when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," said one executive familiar with the plans. Look for a September debut. Apple is also feverishly working on a portable, touch-screen tablet-sized computer that will have a screen that may …