Adweek
Deutsch LA has teamed with a Cannes pizzeria to feed the masses of attendees at the yearly advertising confab. From midnight to 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of festival week, delivery people from Mister Pizza will take to their scooters and hit hot spots like the Gutter Bar to distribute 1,800 slices. Deutsch LA will pick up the tab. Of course everything will have Deutsch branding.
New York Times
And another low-tech company that is faring well against the digital onslaught is small time, non-digital company Melissa & Doug. This August, their company will turn 25; a quarter century in the middle of the digital revolution for a company whose only digital toys are ones made for digits. The husband and wife company makes wooden puzzles, coloring pads, blocks, trains and simple costumes.
Businessweek
The Container Store, whose goal is to sell products meant to hold things, is faring well against the digital retailers. It seems they have cornered the market for storage. The company is looking to go public 35 years after its first outlet opened near Dallas. The company has 58 U.S. shops, a subsidiary in Sweden (Elfa), and about $700 million in annual sales, according to Standard & Poor's.
NYSportsJournalism.com
LeBron James has done a lot of things during his basketball career, but the four-time NBA MVP has never been on the cover of a videogame, until now, when he goes front-and-center for NBA 2K14, which comes with a "King James Bonus Pack" and marketing support starring the Miami Heat all-star, including one spot in which he re-enacts "The Announcement" of moving from Cleveland to Florida's South Beach.
NYSportsJournalism.com
The running-exercise-workout landscape is populated by companies with immediate brand recognition. But in this Q&A, David Allemann, co-founder of On athletic shoes, reveals how a garden hose, some Swiss engineers, word-of-mouth/social media marketing and lot of perseverance by ultra-athlete turned inventor Olivier Bernhard are putting the three-year-old company on the map alongside such veterans as Nike, Adidas, K-Swiss, Asics, Puma, Brooks, Saucony, Mizuno, Avia and New Balance.
Detroit Bureau
Telematics gone mad! Automakers are vying to out-cloud each other: In just the last week alone Audi announced it is adding a feature to its cars that will help drivers find an empty spot in a parking lot; General Motors plans to offer free OnStar RemoteLink Mobile App services, such as remote start and door lock for five years on 2014 vehicles; BMW has created M Power App allowing owners to record their driving performance whether it's on their way to work or working their way around the race track. And there's more!
China Daily
The Shanghai Disney Resort will have Chinese cultural cues, per Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. "In terms of Chinese elements, we feel it is important to balance China and Disney, not America, because the brand of Disney is global," Iger said. He said the new park will have a lot of entertainment and show elements that will be very Chinese in nature, "because they will be performed by Chinese people, and designed, directed and created by artists from China."
Convenience Store News
Bye, mom and pop! 7-Eleven is creeping across Florida, with plans to add approximately 40 stores in a five-county region in the Southwest region of the state. The Dallas-based division of Japanese company Seven & I Holdings Co. has reportedly expanded in the area with 38 new 7-Eleven locations since 2011. "We have specifically targeted Southwest Florida for growth because we see a real opportunity there," said Grand Distel, senior development director for 7-Eleven in Florida.
The Hindu
Social media and online marketing were the focus of the discussions at the International Conference on Travel Technology (ICTT) India that got under way at the beach resort of Kovalam on Saturday. Experts say pay attention and market where people are: travel decisions become increasingly influenced by peer reviews and opinions on social networks.
The Drum
The UK orange drink has been gone for five years overseas. Now it returns during the final of Britain's Got Talent final with a new campaign. The TV ads, with an "Arghh" theme show things like fake tan and muscles and will be supported by ads with Kiss FM and The Sun newspaper, in which a spoof Tango Page 3 ad appeared. The campaign was created by BBH London.