Talk about a captive, high-end target market. About half of the cabins on the Utopia, a $1.1-billion cruise ship set to launch in 2013, will be offered as permanent residences ranging from about $3.7 million to $26 million, Hugo Martin reports. The ship plans to be moored in all the best neighborhoods at all the right times -- Cannes during the film festival; Rio de Janeiro during carnival; Sydney Harbor on New Year's Eve; Monaco during the Grand Prix auto race. The keel has not been laid yet and some wonder if, given the economy, the time is …

The essential ingredients of guerrilla marketing -- an unusual idea, an irreverent execution, the element of surprise -- remain constant, but technology is taking the fine craft of turning heads with a "gotcha" gimmick to new levels. This roundup takes a look at four developments in the field. Todd Wasserman examines how marketers are using technology such as GPS, QR ("Quick Response") codes and augmented reality. Robert Clara looks at how marketers on both coasts are commandeering rundown buildings for installations that seem like street art. Noreen O'Leary shines a light on "guerrilla do-gooding" -- a trend toward …

Chrysler is setting up toll-free telephone lines for its Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands that, starting next Monday, customers can call not only to complain about problems but also to book test drives or ask questions about warranty coverage. Each of the brands will measure how quickly and effectively it -- and its dealers -- solves problems. The goal is to solve problems within 24 hours of the first call. An outside company, Convergys, will handle the calls at centers in Salt Lake City and Windsor, Ontario. "The communication today is between the customer and …

Several major food companies have been slowly and quietly reducing the amount of sodium in their products in response to pressure from consumer watchdogs and government regulators, Ilan Brat and Maurice Tamman report. ConAgra has cut about a third of the sodium its Chef Boyardee canned pasta line over five years, for example, with nary a peep. There is, of course, a rationale to keeping mum. "If you gradually move sodium down in products, the consumers that use those products get used to them still tasting good but at lower salt," says Douglas Balentine, Unilever's North American director of …

Marketers are increasingly using weather patterns to take advantage of the inherent appeal of their products. In addition to its regularly scheduled national advertising, for example, Campbell Soup monitors the weather in 30 second-tier markets such as Des Moines and St. Louis. Its "misery index" uses an algorithm that incorporates temperature fluctuations and gives "extra credit" when things get nastily wet, Natalie Zmuda and Emily Bryson York report. Planalytics COO Scott Bernhardt says 40% of his clients use weather intelligence, up from 25% to 30% just 18 months ago. "Marketing into a situation that's favorable for your product [causes] …

The jury is still out on whether or not the "Made in China, made with the world" campaign -- which just ended a six-week run on cable networks in the U.S., Europe and Asia -- has been effective in turning around consumers' perceptions about goods assembled in the world's No. 1 exporter. Even in China, Calum MacLeod reports. A survey of people by Horizon Research Consultancy in five major Chinese cities shows that 44% believe that counterfeit and shoddy goods are the second-worst blot on China's image, behind corruption at 59%. They wonder if an ad campaign is …