Chicago Tribune
The Pew Charitable Trusts' poll of 7,000 U.S. households finds that 57% don't consider themselves ready for a sudden financial setback; 55% say they break even or spend more than they make each month, and a third have no savings. But 56% rate their own financial situation as positive, up from 55%. And a little over a quarter of respondents give the economy a positive grade, at pre-recession levels.
USA Today
Research firm NPD Group says dessert consumption is declining. The analysis, from the 29th annual "Eating Patterns in America" report, which tracks the daily eating habits of 5,000 consumers in 2,000 households, finds only 12% of dinners eaten at home include a dessert. That is down from 15% 10 years ago, and 24% of Americans who said they had dessert with dinner back in 1986.
Brand Channel
With the FCC's vote to regulate the Internet under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act, the agency can prevent Internet service providers (ISPs) from manipulating the speed sites are transmitted on their networks (though Comcast and their ilk will, of course, sue.) Verizon issued a press release on the decision...in Morse code, which makes the point that the decision is archaic, and that the FCC shouldn't have the power to tell cable operators how they can deliver content through their pipelines. A quick pros-and-cons rundown at the jump.
Nation's Restaurant News
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. has struck an agreement with the J.M. Smucker Company and Keurig Green Mountain Inc. to sell single-serve Dunkin' Donuts branded K-Cups at retail outlets, the company said Thursday. The deal, more than a year in the making, includes a profit sharing agreement between Dunkin' and its operators that could yield $2,500 to $3,000 per unit, per year.
Automotive News
Nissan North America Chairman Jose Munoz said new capacity in the United States, Mexico, South Korea and Japan will help it reach 10% share in the U.S. ahead of schedule. He had said that goal would be tough to reach before March, 2017, without that added supply. He also said he targets increased North American operating profit margin of at least 8%, thanks to high-margin nameplates like the Murano crossover and Maxima sedan.
Bloomberg
Granola bars, oatmeal, eggs, and Greek yogurt. Blame them for the decline in cereal consumption that is hurting the company that makes Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, and Apple Jacks. Kellogg, the world's largest cereal maker, is hurting. The company's U.S. morning-foods net sales fell 8% in the fourth quarter of 2014. It was the division's seventh quarterly decline in a row. Despite $1 billion a year on advertising, sales of 19 of Kellogg's top 25 cereals fell last year.
Consumerist
The latest brand mashups of a familiar product transmuted into another are among us: Girl Scout Thin Mints ice cream bars, and Taco Bell hot sauce tortilla chips. Target and Shop-Rite both carry Good Humor's Thin Mint bars. A six-pack costs $3.50 at Shop-Rite.
Automotive News
British luxury maker Jaguar Land Rover Group is considering a North American auto plant to keep up with growing world demand for luxury vehicles. Confirmed by Tata Motors Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, the proposal comes seven years after Ford Motor spun off the iconic British brands, which were subsequently acquired by the Indian company bearing his name in 2008. Tata didn't say where in the U.S. the company was looking to plant stakes.
Adweek
Terraboost Media has, since 2009, been placing advertising-emblazoned hand-sanitizer dispensers in businesses and public spaces. Usage increased 650% in the four weeks ending Oct. 15, 2014 during the ebola scare. Whether Terraboost benefitted from "terror boost" is all sanitizer under the bridge at this point. Or maybe not. The company says it has doubled its size in the last 19 months to a total of 54,000 dispensers/billboards, which are seen an estimated 2.5 billion times monthly.
NYSportsJournalism.com
National sports media company InStadium, Inc., has 500 teams as partners, under the NFL, MLB, MiLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA. Its current or recent clients include ABC, AT&T, Chevrolet, Disney, Ford, GEICO, Google, HBO, Lexus, Microsoft and State Farm. Last year the venue media company launched InStadiumTV at MLB and Minor League stadiums, centered on short-form brand-sponsored video. Barrett Davie,EVP and founder talks about the company in this Q&A.