James Surowiecki trots out a whole bunch of interesting observations, data and examples in his "Financial Page" column this week to support the notion that the middle is the worst position you can find yourself in these days -- at least as far as branded products go. Take Apple, which has found that you can succeed by charging more for superior products. Or take Flip, which has found that you can succeed by charging a lot less for what Wired recently dubbed the "good enough revolutions" and Surowiecki calls "well-priced adequacy" or the realization that you can flourish …

Former McDonald's CMO and longtime industry consultant Larry Light challenges his fellow marketers to redefine marketing in the age of consumer frugality lest it continue its death-spiral from a profession to "the trade of managing and executing marketing communications." Light says that CMOs' roles are being trivialized into coordinating, mediating and arbitrating among factions and channels within the organization. But brand management is about "the enduring, profitable growth of the business" and that means that CMOs must take leadership in helping to define growth strategy, aligning the organization behind a common brand-business purpose and direction, leading innovation and other …

After 46 years of serving up its coffee in grab-and-pour glass pots and more than a year and a half of research and development, 7-Eleven is going to change the way it delivers about a million cups of joe each day, Linda Lisanti reports in an exclusive interview with Jay Wilkins, the chain's category manager for hot beverages. The chain will switch from glass pots to urns, install new coffee bars with a more functional layout and redesign it cups and coffee branding. It will also start to target promotions to Millennials -- the 20-to-35 year old male …

General Motors today is taking the wraps off the EN-V, a new two-passenger zero-emission vehicle for dense metro areas that it has been developing with Segway. It looks like a large helmet on two wheels, Tim Higgins reports. A GM exec says the concept will be especially appealing to drivers in big Asian cities. GM and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC), will exhibit three working versions of the vehicle -- the Pride, Magic and Laugh -- at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai in May. It could retail at one-fifth to one-sixth the price of …

Reports of the death of Polaroid instant film were not premature, but son/daughter-of-Polaroid is about to make an appearance thanks to an enterprise dubbed The Impossible Project. The company, Dan Nosowitz reports, has reversed engineered the chemistry behind the film and this week will begin selling a black-and-white version of it online. Color is coming this summer. Both the ultra-old SX-70 film, used by the bellows-type Polaroids from the 1970s, as well as the newer 600-series type film, will be available. And it's being sold at a higher price -- …