• How Twitter And Facebook Focus On Marketers
    Following Twitter's launch of its advertising API (application programming interface) where marketers can manage Twitter from their own apps, none other than Sir Martin Sorrell said Twitter's for PR. "If you look at the Olympics in London, the big winner was Twitter. It wasn't Facebook. It wasn't even Google."
  • Emirates Emblematic Of Middle East Sports Sponsorships
    Emirates Airline's recent $180 million deal with Formula One is one example of how GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) companies are inking big sports deals for brand building. As a new global partner of Formula One, the Dubai-based carrier will have a branding presence at 15 races on the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar across the globe.
  • Google Nixes Bricks And Mortar
    Andy Rubin, Google's Android chief, says recent reports that Google retail stores are in the works are unfounded. There had been buzz about Google getting into retail in major cities, but the chief of Google's Android ecosystem said no to reporters at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.
  • PayPal Co-Founder Launches Affirm
    High-profile Silicon Valley entrepreneur Max Levchin is launching a new mobile payments startup called Affirm. It's the first project emerging from Levchin's San Francisco tech incubator Hard, Valuable, Fun (HVF), which he started after selling his last company - Slide - to Google and then eventually leaving the search giant. Previous to that, Levchin and investor Peter Thiel had sold PayPal to eBay.
  • Burberry Global Media Review Goes To Asia
    Mediacom is said to be one of the agencies participating in Burberry's pitch for its APAC media planning and buying business in Hong Kong this week.
  • Steak n' Shake Puts 7-Patty Burger On Late Night
    Yes, seven patties. Seven. Amazingly, the thing has only 1,330 calories. Looking to vie against other late-nighters like Denny's, and McDonald's, Steak 'n Shake has launched an AllNighter Menu between midnight and 6 a.m. while also making its full breakfast menu available now from midnight to 11 a.m. The "7x7 Steakburger," is a $7.77 tower of seven Steakburger patties alternating with seven slices of American cheese. While Steak 'n Shake's menu calls the burger "The Ultimate Challenge," nutritionists are likely to call it something different.
  • C-Stores Focus On Health And Wellness
    If the First Lady Michelle Obama criticizes C-stores for unhealthy offerings, there must be a problem. Consumers know it, too. Technomic, in its new "Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report" in January, says consumers' perception of healthy food is changing as they become more health-conscious. The study also found that consumers strongly associate with contemporary definitions of health, but balance better-for-you food choices with occasional indulgences. See what C-stores are doing in response.
  • Google Chrome Taps 72andSunny
    72andSunny is working on a new campaign for Google Chrome. Until now, much of the brand's messaging has come out of Publicis' Groupe's BBH. Google traditionally taps a roster of shops on a project basis. Mullen has created work for the Nexus tablet; Johannes Leonardo, which was behind the recent "Project Re:Brief" effort that updated classic ad slogans for the digital space. Google spent $72.2 million on measured media for Chrome between January and November of last year, per Kantar Media.
  • Safeway Looks To Cut Print Ads
    The fifth-largest grocery player in North America spent $20 million on newspaper ads through November of 2012, way down from $33 million in 2010. "As people become more digital, there's an opportunity, which we're working hard at, [to] actually get out of the paper ads and make the ad itself personalized for every household," said Chairman-CEO Steve Burd during a fourth quarter earnings call with analysts. He talked about Just for U online digital coupon loyalty program. The program now counts 5.4 million U.S. households, or 45% of Safeway's sales base.
  • JCPenney Gets New Brands
    JCPenney is getting lots of new apparel brands: Canada's Joe Fresh brand will launch in JCPenney stores beginning March 15, with a collection of modern basics for women. JCPenney also said it is rolling out an upscale fancy-dress line, Pearl by Georgina Chapman of Marchesa brand. The collection of gowns and cocktail attire will be priced from $50 to $250. The line will be featured in more than 500 stores on March 1, and presented with upscale fixturing, including an elegant chandelier.
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