Konstantin Pinaev, Moscow-born head of co-creation at Thinktank, has compiled a list of 10 things marketers should know when mulling the Russian market. Some items: brands, as we understand them in the West, did not exist in Russia until the early 1990s. Thus, the world of brands is dynamic, heritage is often slender, reputations aren't established and consumers are fickle. He adds that many people will be surprised by just how strong local champions can be.

Sixty-one percent of Millennials who use smartphones and 58% of shoppers ages 36 to 65 use their phone to shop the grocery store, finds the Sprint Mobile Moment of Truth Survey, performed by the Barkley ad agency. These shoppers most commonly use their phone to compare prices (61% of Millennials vs. 63% of older shoppers); find coupons, 57% vs. 58%; make lists, 54% vs. 51%; text/email, 47% and 48%; and research products, 45% and 42%. Facebook, Amazon Mobile and QR Reader are the apps most frequently used in the grocery store.

After the hurricane, there are long lines of drivers waiting for hours for a fill-up because of fuel shortages at many gas stations and the lack of power to operate pumps at others. There is also demand because people are using gasoline-powered generators to get electrify running. Officials say up to 80% of New Jersey stations are currently unable to sell gas. Refineries, however, were largely undamaged, meaning they could be back in production within days, said Summit Energy Services analyst Matt Smith. But getting gasoline where it is needed could take longer. "We could very well see shortages through …

At the yearly Specialty Equipment Makers Association confab in Sin City, Fiat introduced the Fiat Custom Shop. The plan is to give customers a variety of factory-installed customization options along with the opportunity to finance the upgrades through their regular monthly payments. The additions will be covered by the Fiat warranty. The Fiat Custom Shop will actually be located just off the Fiat assembly line. Initially there will be about 60 parts offered, but Fiat plans to add pieces monthly.

A lot of companies have stepped in to fill gaps that FEMA and the Red Cross can't. Duracell has trucks into Battery Park with phone chargers and Internet accessible laptops; some gyms like New York Sports Club opened their doors (and showers) to non-members; banks waving ATM withdrawal fees for people with competitors' cards. At the jump a list of companies that took action.

CVS Caremark announced on Wednesday a donation of more than $100,000 to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund to provide support to communities that have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. A donation of $50,000 was made from the company's foundation, the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. In addition, CVS/pharmacy is providing snacks and bottled water valued at more than $50,000 to distribute in communities in New Jersey that were impacted by the hurricane

Unilever is launching what it calls a "live social experiment" to better understand consumer attitudes to sustainable living and improve its behavior change marketing efforts. The company has enlisted 12 UK families to take part in the 'Sustain Ability Challenge' - a series of monthly challenges which it claims will help them save 15% off their monthly food budget at the same time as reducing household rubbish by 25%.

Marketing firm Global Diligence Technologies wants to expand access to Native American arts and crafts and change the way Native Americans are perceived by mainstream brands. "The main consumer knows nothing about the forgotten market, our company would like to bridge that gap, we want elite brands to be marketed to the native people" said Alexander Chambers founder of the company. Conversely, "If a silversmith only sell his or her jewelry at a local flea market, we want to expand that market for them, we want them to sell at a larger scale to increase their sales."

Old Spice agency Wieden & Kennedy is looking for a "social strategist" to help out with that client. To find that person, W+K has created a series of Internet challenges, including the creation the best original Pinterest board dedicated to the sport of inline speed skating, posting an original piece of content to Reddit which needs to garner the most upvotes in a single week, creating a new Twitter account and using it to get the most followers in a week using only the following nouns: "BLUEFUDGE," "HAMMERPANTS" and "GREEK YOGURT," as well as creating an original YouTube video that …

U.S. gasoline and heating oil futures fell Tuesday, dropping from pre- Hurricane Sandy highs as several key East Coast refineries and pipelines restored operations. Traders anticipate a big drop in demand for fuel following the devastating storm. As of Tuesday, most of the region's refineries appear to have emerged mostly unscathed by the storm.