Why can't the Republic of Korea take a page from its exports. If K-pop, Hyundai and Samsung can create global brands, what the heck is wrong with the mothership? Luke Stanhope, Seoul-based strategic communications pro and former South Korea Fulbright Fellow offers this must-read on why the country has not been good at countering its bad press, and why it must create a compelling, enticing, and positive narrative about itself, and not just for tourism.

The storied brand is over 110 years old, has been sent off to WWI in the rucksacks British soldiers, and to refrigerator purgatory by multitudes of people who lack passion for vegetable yeast. The Unilever brand got a huge lift from its "End Marmite Neglect" campaign last year, playing on the idea that leaving Marmite to wither on the vine in the back of the fridge is just plain cruel. Sales increased 14%. And the brand got 2014 Brand of the Year at Marketing Week's Engage Awards. Though, odds are, soldiers are no longer eating it.

Besides getting comedy-sketch time on SNL this past weekend, Lincoln's getting some serious cash from its coffers. Ford Motor, with the backing of Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the board of directors, has committed $5 billion to a multi-year investment including a new premium-vehicle platform. The plan is to revamp the product portfolio and reposition Lincoln as a legitimate threat to brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Sodastream and PepsiCo are using the Florida market to test make-at-home soda. Sodastream stock was up 15% on the news. The deal gives Pepsi a new sales channel in an anti-sugar, anti high-calorie environment. The 10-week test in Orlando and Tampa includes naturally sweetened Pepsi Homemade and Sierra Mist Homemade with 50-60 calories per serving. Coca-Cola is planning a similar move with Keurig.

Chrysler is "Ready to Take on the World" to tout the Chrysler 200 in a new campaign as "America's Import." One ad starts in Japanese with English subtitles, showing that the narrator thinks it's a Japanese vehicle. Then an English voiceover says "Reliability is now an American thing. Introducing the all-new Chrysler 200, America's Import." More ads to follow will be in Swedish (focusing on safety), German (performance), and Japanese (quality). The commercials feature "The Fire" by The Roots.

The yoga-wear retailer is getting slammed after announcing a partnership this week with the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. Lululemon will contribute $750,000 to the Tibetan spiritual leader's nonprofit organization over the next three years to expand education initiatives and for "researching the connection between mind-body-heart," according to the company's press release.

With a new naming rights deal for college football's Citrus Bowl in place, Buffalo Wild Wings is in a great position to support and enhance its motto, 'Wings. Beer. Sports." But as Bob Ruhland, VP of marketing, explains in this Q&A, in a category filled with restaurants using a bevy of messages to attract sports fans, Buffalo Wild Wings works hard to differentiate itself by keeping its customers connected to each other and their favorite teams.

Target's partnership with Joy Cho exemplifies the retailer's mission to provide shoppers with inspiration, said Rick Gomez, the retailer's SVP of brand and category marketing. "We've invested significant resources to better understand our guests," Gomez said during a keynote presentation Wednesday at the Shopper Marketing Conference & Expo in Minneapolis.

Middle-class Americans have only $20,000 saved for retirement, just a tad less than the $250,000 they think they'll need during their golden years, per a new Harris Poll study performed by Wells Fargo. A third (34%) of working middle-class adults aren't contributing anything to a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings plan, per the survey of 1,001 adults, ages 25 to 75, with a median household income of $63,000.

Daimler AG used a surge in sales of new Mercedes-Benz models to boost its revenue by 10% in the third quarter despite the soft global economy, which the company expects to slow further by the end of the year. Daimler Group AG net earnings also increased significantly to 2.82 billion euros compared with 1.89 billion euros in the third quarter of last year and Mercedes-Benz cars is on its way to record sales this year.