• Elena Ford, Family Scion Who Is Head of Global Marketing, Arrested On DUI
    The great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford was arrested late Sunday and is accused of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. She also faces child endangerment charges because her son was in the car with her. In 2009, Ford became director of global marketing, sales and service, a new position.
  • Honda Wants 12% U.S. Gain In April, Even With Production Down
    Shortages notwithstanding, Honda Division is telling dealers to shoot for a 12% sales gain this month, or 115,000 units. The company sent a memo to dealers on Monday that it is aware of delays. The company's Japanese plants have been down since March 11 and are scheduled to start up at reduced rates on April 11.
  • Feds Investigate Smartphone Apps For Privacy Issues
    Prosecutors in New Jersey are studying whether a large number of smartphone applications illegally transmitted information about their users without proper disclosure, a source said. The investigation is looking at whether app makers have fully disclosed the type of data they are using and how they are using it. Such activity could violate federal computer-fraud law. Pandora says it has gotten a subpoena pertaining to a grand jury investigation of information sharing by smartphone apps.
  • Dunkin' Offers Royal Jelly-Filled Donut
    The Canton, Mass.-based chain will offer a special donut to commemorate the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. A company spokesperson confessed she could not remember the last time the company had marked such an occasion with a donut, but pointed out that Nigel Travis, the parent company's CEO, is British born.
  • Craft Beers See Big Jump In Popularity
    For the over 1,750 craft breweries now making beer in the U.S., business could not be better. Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams, Anchor Brewing and a long roster of smaller-volume and local brands are seeing such big growth in demand they are having trouble keeping supplying volume. Craft beers accounted for 5% of volume last year, up 11% while total beer sales were down 1%. Some analysts see craft beer share reaching 20% within the decade if trends continue. About 30% of craft beer is sold on tap, around the three times the national average.
  • Huffy To Make Comic-Themed Bikes
    Marvel Entertainment has signed a deal with Huffy to make bikes and scooters based on Marvel characters that have movies out now or in the pipeline. They include "Thor," "Captain America," "The Avengers" and "Spider-Man," but the licensing program will include other characters as well. While this is Huffy's first deal with Marvel, it has had deals with parent Disney Co.
  • B2B More Social
    B2B marketers have vastly increased their social-media marketing commitments. Forrester Research predicts firms will spend $54 million on social media marketing in 2014, up from just $11 million in 2009.
  • Pepsi's 'Next' Move: Mid-Calorie Cola Launch
    PepsiCo plans a new mid-calorie cola this summer, Beverage Digest reports. The "Pepsi Next" soda will have 60 calories, versus 150 for regular Pepsi. The new SKU will get a large marketing push.
  • Epsilon Marketing Breach Means Trouble For Bank Brands
    Email marketing giant Epsilon got hacked and now several banks, including Citibank, JP Morgan and Chase, and the Kroger supermarket chain are warning customers that their personal information has been ripped off. At this point nobody seems to know how extensive the theft is, but Epsilon sent 6.5 billion e-mail marketing messages in 2009.
  • Concussions Are Part Of the Facts Of Life In 'Madden NFL 12'
    With the immediate dangers and lasting effects of concussions to football players in the spotlight, the newest version of "Madden NFL" will help get the message out that football players who receive a concussion should stay out of the game for the day. The new game will be more realistic when it comes to collisions and subsequent concussions. When a player is concussed, he will be shown being removed from the field and sidelined for the rest of the game. The announcers will explain that the player was removed because of the seriousness of the injury.
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