Southfield, Mich.-based advisory firm AlixPartners calls the new demographic "Generation N" for "neutral about driving" because of the younger generation's disinterest in cars, plus unemployment. The firm says they will drag down auto sales until at least mid-decade. The firm's new study says there are 5 million fewer potential car buyers today than five years ago as Baby Boomers drive less, Millennials shun driving and unemployed consumers put their purchases on hold, according to the 2012 AlixPartners Automotive Outlook. Sales will suffer from a generation of "new drivers who are really not even interested in getting a license," said John …

Heineken is launching its most extensive marketing campaign to date for its Birra Moretti and Desperados premium beers, as part of wider strategy to globalize its premium world beer brands. The brewer is rolling out a multimillion-pound campaign this month to support its Italian Birra Moretti beer in the UK. It will feature Facebook activity, sponsorship tie-ups, experiential events and sales promotions as well print adverts throughout the year. The beer is also the official beer sponsor of Jamie Oliver's The Big Festival in September.

Retail dollar sales of oil and fats products will drop 5% from 2011 to 2016 in the U.S., according to a recent forecast by market researcher Euromonitor International. But butter seems to be gaining. Grocery-unit sales of butter grew 2.19% in the year ending May 13, compared with a 0.21% uptick in olive oil and a 6.24% decline in margarine, spreads and butter blends, according to SymphonyIRI dater. Marketers also adding flavors and spices to butter to fend off private labels and appeal to Millennials, per Phil Lempert, a food-industry analyst who runs the website SupermarketGuru. Butter giant Land O'Lakes …

Nestle Crunch has launched its first TV campaign in five years for its new Nestle Crunch Girl Scout candy bars. The co-branded bars hit retail shelves on June 1, but a pre-sale Facebook fan promotion in May sold out in less than 24 hours. Nestle chose to break its traditional digital- and print-media advertising strategy and use TV to build faster recognition and sales.

Arizona State University is poised to collect millions of dollars in the next decade as part of an exclusive contract with a bank to provide student ID cards that double as debit cards. The university joins a growing number of colleges using campus debit cards to bring in money at a time when state financing has fallen. The agreements are drawing criticism from a national consumer group questioning whether students are being manipulated into using a bank's services not because it's the best deal but because it benefits the school financially. There are nearly 900 college partnerships with financial institutions. …

Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-born executive who serves as chief executive for both Nissan and Renault, may be ready to step down, but only sometime during the upcoming five-year business cycle, company officials caution. "Ghosn has said this is the last midterm plan he'll commit to, meaning he may not stay here for the next midterm period," Nissan spokesman Koji Okuda told the Bloomberg news service, adding that, "We need to prepare for his possible departure within a five-year period."

When President Obama dines at restaurants like Komi, Citronelle, Ben's Chili Bowl and Ray's Hell Burger, the establishments get national media to social media attention and even gossip-column coverage. Quick serve Taylor Gourmet's 14th Street location had President Obama as a guest on May 16. He got the Spruce Street sandwich, which sent the sandwich's sales up 250% at all outlets. Overall, the outlet President Obama visited has experienced a 25% sales increase, while the others have seen a 15% increase.

According to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, the national average stands at $3.45 today. It fell 2 cents overnight and dropped a dramatic 47 cents from this year's high in April. The decrease is a sharp contrast to the $5-per-gallon fears expressed by many in early spring. With crude oil at its lowest price per barrel since October 2011 and slumping wholesale gasoline contracts for fall delivery, "the market is suggesting gas below $3 by Halloween and certainly by Thanksgiving," explained Tom Kloza with the Oil Price Information Service.

Nissan is betting its newly redesigned Altima can topple the long-time segment leader, the Toyota Camry. But its rival is clearly not ready to cede dominance anytime soon, a senior Toyota official told TheDetroitBureau.com. "It simply won't happen," said Toyota brand boss Bob Carter when asked if Altima has a chance of winning the perennial midsize grudge match. At the end of 2012, he declared during an interview, "Camry will be the best-selling car in America for the 12th consecutive year."

Great work being done in the field of branded content is in areas not typically associated with branded content: user-generated stories, events, out-of-home media, gaming and music are examples Of 800 pieces of work entered for Lions as branded content, about 10% made the so-called ShortList. Only a quarter of those 84 finalists represented an original scripted or unscripted web or TV series, or an integration into existing programming. These included a song created by the Colombian military aimed at 16 hostages with radio access that delivered a message of hope via morse code; and Nissan's and PlayStation's GT Academy, …