Mitsubishi is reaching out to its core demo -- active people in their late 20s and early 30s -- at venues such as dog parks, trail heads for mountain biking and farmer's markets, Patricia Odell reports, where they can look at the Mitsubishi Outlander GT, the Lancer Sportback and the Lancer. The automaker will also be at more sedate events such as festivals and road races with the intent of gathering names through raffles and its WAYI ("What Are You Into?") mailing list. People can also schedule test drives at local dealerships. "We really need that …

Goodbye, Sierra Mist; hello, Sierra Mist Natural. Elaine Wong reports that PepsiCo's lemon-lime brand has been renamed and repackaged after having been reformulated to contain no preservatives or artificial flavors. For example, it's made with "real" sugar, not that high fructose corn syrup stuff that the Powers Who Position would like to rename and repackage as corn sugar. The campaign, which includes print, out-of-home and digital ads, humorously positions Sierra Mist Natural as a "hero." A "full year's worth of media" kicked off yesterday with TV spots that show a variety of "nature experts" -- …

"Every single brand in the universe, especially in this industry, is talking about heritage -- even when there's no heritage, no history," says Gucci CEO Patrizio di Marco. "Consumers are into substance." Well, it just so happens that Gucci does have a history, as well as a woman's designer, Frida Giannini, who has been pushing the brand's heritage for about five years now, "critics be damned." It turns out, Christina Passariello reports, that products like the New Bamboo bag (an update of a 1947 classic) and the "Flora" collection of bags (inspired by a 1960s scarf created for …

Bruce Horovitz reports that Budweiser is announcing today a national free-sample effort that kicks off in trendy establishments next Monday in an effort to entice the elusive -- at least to it -- under-30 imbiber. The campaign carries the slogan "Grab Some Buds." The big day in the campaign, Sept. 29, will feature "Budweiser National Happy Hour." Free samples -- ranging from 6 to 12 ounces depending on local laws -- will be available to anyone over 21. Bud expects to give away 500,000 samples through October and is partnering with Facebook to give a brew to folks turning …

Oreo's Double Stuf Racing League now has a roster that stars Eli, Shaquille O'Neal, Apolo Ohno and Venus Williams, but former "players" Peyton Manning, Serena Williams and Donald Trump are missing in action.

Wal-Mart will expound on its plans to expand into urban markets with smaller stores that carry fresh food during its meeting with analysts next month, Jayne O'Donnell reports on a story broken by AP. Target, its chief competitor, is expected to divulge more about its own urban strategy this Friday. "Urban is just the next frontier," says Madison Riley, managing director of retail consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates. "There are only so many places they can grow." Wal-Mart has been testing a concept called Marketside -- stores averaging 15,000 square feet that focus on fresh food …

More than 68% of Americans are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and nearly 35% are obese. But, writes Matt Carmichael, few marketers are taking notice except clothiers. (It should be pointed out, ahem, that most people are wearing the rose-colored glasses of denial themselves.) Overweight consumers certainly don't need a different kind of toothpaste, Carmichael points out, but how about more spacious restaurant booths, wider desk chairs and more leg- and shoulder-room on airplanes? (In fact, Joe Sharkey's "On the Road" column in the New York Times would indicate …

Elizabeth Olson reports that sports teams and leagues are increasingly communicating with fans "intensively by mobile devices" and discovering that they are open to receiving lots of data and information because of their passion for their favorite teams. The NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, is sending out 1.5 million text messages a month. NBA Mobile, which has 100 mobile applications, had more than 1.7 million downloads last season and the NHL has started a mobile site, m.nhl.com, that displays live game scores. "Mobile has a lot of tentacles, from building a database of fans, reaching commercial …