• Forget The Mass Games, Play Speed DPRK!
    The eminent Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (or North Korea, for enemies) has launched a driving video game. Like the country itself, the game Pyongyang Racer is not at all about racing but about getting points for driving where you are allowed to drive and following driving instructions. If you speed you will be arrested and put into the Mass Games. The writer's comments: "It's slow, wildly boring, empty, incredibly restricted, and at least a decade behind technologically. It's a perfect, irony-blind parody of itself. I loved it."
  • Oracle Also Upping Marketing Tech
    Software giant Oracle just announced that it will pay $23.50 a share to acquire Eloqua, a Virginia-based provider of marketing software. The deal is valued at $871 million net of Eloqua's cash, and is Oracle's 10th acquisition of 2012, and its second deal this month. Eloqua's specialty appears to be taking a lot of guesswork out of the heavy lifting of marketing, and also using software smarts to turn marketing contacts into sales leads.
  • Facebook's Stealth Marketing Platform
    Facebook has been at pains to develop ROI metrics for its social platform. Enter Publishing Garage, a new program - and platform - designed to work with mega-agencies and brands to improve how brands use Facebook to market themselves, and measure when it's working well. It's under the wire right now, but an online search for "Facebook Publishing Garage" takes you to Addie Marino, a brand specialist and creative strategist for Facebook in New York. One of her projects: a logo and design work for Publishing Garage.
  • GoDaddy Teases Super Bowl Spot
    Danica Patrick will be back, it is being filmed in Los Angeles and it supports the .CO domain, but the company known for revealing news only a bit at a time is not telling much else.
  • Hollywood Punches Ticket For Super Bowl Movie Previews
    On Super Bowl Sunday, TV viewers will see quarterbacks, running backs and linemen, but they will also see Jack the Giant Killer, The Croods, Iron Man 3, the Man of Steel and several plans to save the Earth from destruction. Here are 15 movie previews being targeted for Feb. 3 on CBS.
  • Mayan Marketing Boom
    If you were very surprised to wake up this morning, and even maybe took an extra Valium to stay asleep while the world ended, the world did not end. It was a boon, in fact, for some markets. The Russians stocked up on vodka (an excuse for stocking up on vodka?) Guatemala, not a huge tourist market, and home of the Tikal Mayan temple, is seeing an influx of leaders from the region, as well as around 200,000 foreign tourists. For $79,000 per couple, the Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya offers "The Ultimate New Beginning" package, which includes a spiritual …
  • Staples Is Fast, JCP Is Slow
    In an evaluation of the top 25 online retailers conducted by independent research company STELLAService, Staples, Zappos, and Office Depot tied for first place in terms of fastest shipping time in November 2012, with an average delivery time of one day. The study found department store JCPenney's online division to be the slowest, with an average delivery time of nine days.
  • Instagram Flips Page On Flap
    Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has come to the fore to talk about the company's new terms of service and privacy policy. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service posted new terms Monday. The web caught fire when the buzz spread that the company could use your photos in advertisements or sell them without your permission. In the new terms, the company said the user agreement meant Instagam can sell users photos and info to companies. Systrom said the language isn't clear and that the company won't sell your photos and data.
  • OceanSpray Pushes Cranberries For Xmas
    OceanSpray has teamed up with chefs from the Walt Disney World Resort, who were asked to create "'holiday worthy' dishes with special Disney flair" --- dishes that feature -- what else? -- cranberries. The dishes are being showcased throughout the Disney World Resort property, Ocean Spray said. They include artisan cheese stuffed mini Craisins brioches and pumpkin mousse trifle with cranberries and apricot-orange sauce. That's a mouthful.
  • Hasbro's Furby Now Speaks Furbish
    Hasbro's Furby plush creatures are evolving. The Furbies talk Furbish, for instance. The Furby, back from a decade-long vacation, was on the "hot toy" lists this season. The original Furby brought the second-largest toymaker about $500 million and was 10% of Hasbro's sales. The Furby is $54, can be used with iPhones, iPads and Android phones to translate what the upgraded robotic toy is saying, and is expected to help Hasbro reverse its revenue decline this year.
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