McDonald's has introduced "The Signature Collection" in the UK, a trio of high-end burgers on brioche buns. The chain says the burgers were created by its food development director, Duncan Cruttenden, and "a team of chefs with a wide range of experience, from Michelin-starred restaurants to cooking for international royalty." The burgers and fries will be marketed in black packaging.

Dentsu acquired exclusive marketing rights to Sabina Altynbekova, a volleyball player from the Republic of Kazakhstan, for one year. She will join the GSS Sunbeams in the Japan Volleyball League. As the deal gives the agency rights to use her in marketing campaigns, Dentsu plans to have her build brands and promote products and services in Japan for its clients.

Adhering to the old "acquire and fire" streamlining narrative, Kraft Heinz said it would be eliminating 2,600 jobs and shuttering seven factories. Bershire Hathaway took majority of ownership in Heinz in March, and merged it with Kraft. Production from these factories will move to facilities across North America, according to Michael Mullen, SVP of corporate and government affairs, in a statement.

China and Korea, take note. Japan will use the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to show the world it's still a tech leader. One example could be an autonomous, self-driving taxi service, currently in development. Tokyo-based Robot Taxi will field tests by the end of next March, per its CEO Hiroshi Nakajima. The company is a joint venture between DeNA, one of Japan's mobile internet pioneers, and ZMP, a robotics firm.

Harley-Davidson Inc.'s top marketing executive has left the company less than a month after Harley announced that it was beefing up spending in marketing and product development - both areas aimed at boosting sales for years to come. Mark-Hans Richer had been senior vice president of marketing since 2007. Previously he spent nine years with General Motors in various divisions.

Hyundai is formally entering the luxury car business. The maker has reversed course and now will launch a separate upscale brand called Genesis. Though it went upscale with the Genesis sedan a decade ago, it had not launched a separate brand because of costs and risks. The new Genesis brand will debut with two models, but plans call for the addition of four more by 2020. That list is expected to include one or more utility vehicles, as well as a sports coupe.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. said same-store sales increased 3.5% for the quarter, including 2.2% from menu pricing and 1.4% from the menu mix. Chief exectuive Steve Carley said brand transformation efforts in recent years are gaining traction. About 150 restaurants will be remodeled this year, and those units are showing sales about 3.5% higher than unremodeled locations.

Irish brewer of Guiness, the stout known worldwide, is changing the way it produces the beer. No more fish bladder. The company will ditch isinglass, a gelatin made from the ichthyological organ, which filters yeast particles, with an animal-free method late next year. Guinness beer is also brewed at locations in 49 countries, but the company said the new filtration method will only be implemented at its flagship brewery in Ireland.

A new campaign for Dove chocolate in China, by BBDO Beijing, is a prime example of an aural tactic called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR. It is key to a subgenre of videos of people whispering, tapping their fingers, scratching things, turning pages, crinkling paper or even making wet sounds with their mouth. Result: a tingly, relaxed state of pleasure. Until now, most marketers have largely failed to exploit that.

In a move that will give it an additional global footprint as well as another key sports marketing in-road, French automaker Peugeot has signed a deal to become a platinum partner for the ATP World Tour as well as the official car at more than 20 ATP World Tour tennis tournaments. Peugeot said it would use its primary tennis spokespersons, led by world No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 8 ranked David Ferrer, in marketing efforts to support the alliance.