The future of retail will involve more human interactions, according to Peter Merholz, president of consulting firm Adaptive Path. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Merholz noted that farmers markets and food trucks are on the rise and self-checkouts are on the decline because consumers crave some human connection "that enable low-key, face-to-face interactions with merchants" and that provide more personal qualities.

With the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) just around the corner, the managers of Detroit's Cobo Hall, which hosts the event, are finally doing something they haven't done in years: expanding. The hall will get a $300 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion and other renovations. Officials hosted a walking tour Tuesday to give journalists a peek at the renovations and additions, even as crews work to get the existing portions in place for the annual show.

Herein, Rob Siltanen, chairman and chief creative officer at Siltanen & Partners talks about the origins of Apple's "Think Different" ad campaign and the "To the crazy ones" commercial that launched it.

Malcolm Gladwell, social trendmaker and observer and dead ringer for Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, does a Q&A about his book, The Tipping Point. He says the impetus for the book was the dramatic crime decrease in New York in the mid-1990s.

Here's the next contextual branding scenario, as described by Fast Company's Martin Lindstrom: As you cruise past the local McDonald's, the car radio begins playing "Happy Birthday." There's more. The lyrics mention your son by name and, eerily, it happens to be his sixth birthday. At the end of the song, McDonald's offers him a free birthday meal, an offer which will expire in 30 minutes. A notion that was once the province of science fiction has become a reality, at least in Tokyo.

Larry Young, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. President and CEO, said Monday that the company expects to see a modest 1.5% to 2% price increase next year. Speaking at a Beverage Digest conference, Young explained that the company expects cost increases to be more favorable in 2012 than they were in 2011.

Facebook will roll out its first mobile advertising campaigns by the end of March. The company makes money from side-bar advertisements on its website, but has been notably absent from the mobile advertising scene. A mobile advertising platform will be an enormous new revenue stream for Facebook, which will likely IPO in mid-2012. Many of Facebook's 800 million users access the site via mobile devices.

After nearly 60 years as a Chicago-based institution, Playboy is moving its editorial operations out west. Executives confirmed that the magazine's editorial, art and photo departments will be based out of the company's Los Angeles office by May of next year.

Acura, which has struggled to gain luxury credibility, will pull the wraps off three new models at next month's Detroit Auto Show that will quite literally introduce a new face.

Every year there's at least one big toy hit. In recent years that has meant something digital. Probably this year, as well, but one of the hottest items on the market this year is a new take on an old idea: tops. The tops are Hasbro's Beyblades that battle each other in a plastic arena. Besides different colors and themes, there's also a show on the Cartoon Network.