Monacan-Italian cruise line Silversea Cruises is rebranding itself as an option for consumers to “adventure with style.” With the help of brand consultancy The Partners, the cruise liner has created a wittier, more unified  brand identity to stand out in a competitive field. “In recent times the brand has come up against more and more competition in the luxury cruising sector as more and more luxury cruise lines begin to offer adventurous cruises,” said Stuart Radford, creative director at The Partners, the brand consultancy firm who oversaw the rebranding project.

Chicago agency Marc USA has been tapped as AOR for Jacksonville, Florida-based Firehouse Subs following a review that included 19 agencies that were narrowed to three finalists. Marc USA ultimately prevailed on the Firehouse Subs account, which bills approximately $30 million annually. The sandwich chain is planning a major expansion in coming years. Firehouse co-founder Robin Sorensen said the company, which has more than 900 restaurants today,  plans to double that by 2020.

Here's a tutorial for PR firms thinking about putting out research. Watch out, you might be called out on your perspicacity, not to mention the actual purpose of the exercise. The Hunter Public Relations 2015 Food News Study was discovered by the wrong person (Hamilton Nolan) at the right time, or vise versa. To wit, one thousand consumers were surveyed to get some kind of weathervane on how important food stories are and the top ones. The fix is in with the results: only five food stories seem to have mattered. That's a lot of people for five results. But …

Ever see rooms on AirBnB that seem to have the same descriptions and look a lot like hotel rooms. They probably are. Some boutique hotels are using Airbnb they way the use Expedia and Priceline, to find new customers. Airbnb only charges hosts a 3% fee.

Michael Francis, who will be brought into Walmart as a change agent for marketing, as CMO Stephen Quinn retires, plans to challenge the Walmart bureaucracy. The goal is to add more lifestyle awareness to its merchandising. Good luck. Walmart does not love change agents much, CEO Doug McMillon, and his championing new initiatives, not withstanding. Francis spent 27 years with Target.

Experian Automotive says December is the time that luxury buyers select most often when buying a new vehicle. The last month is also first in high-end vehicle sales accounting for 10% of all luxury sales. November is second, at 8.8% of purchases. Said Brad Smith, Experian's director of auto market statistics. “Every year as the holiday season nears, consumers can expect to see a number of commercials and marketing campaigns advertising incentives on luxury vehicle models.”

Popchips has named David&Goliath as its agency of record, as the company prepares for a raft of new product launches next year. The relationship between the two Los Angeles-based companies gives David&Goliath responsibility for all of Popchips' advertising and creative work, along with work on brand repositioning.

Pop star Taylor Swift’s “1989 World Tour Live” concert video will be exclusively on Apple Music, starting Dec. 20. Apple introduced Apple Music in June. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in October the music streaming service had netted more than 6.5 million paid users, and that an additional 8.5 million people were participating in a free trial. Swift said in June she would put her hit album “1989” on Apple Music.

Truck owners love country music, and traditionally that meant male truck drivers. But Fiat Chrysler's Ram truck brand has been seeking to win women to its ranks, with country music. Miranda Lambert and Kellie Pickler are two artists the brand has tapped in recent years to be spokeswomen; it has also run programs with Yahoo and Rolling Stone magazine. Lambert was in an ad this year highlighting the courage of women -- a spot with an all-female cast and narrator.

Men’s Wearhouse Inc. is moving away from buy-one-get-three-free at its Jos. A. Bank brand. Doug Ewert, CEO of Men’s Wearhouse, had said his company has a track record for fixing brands, and saw a strategic opportunity for market share growth with Jos. A. Banks. But, “What we did not know then but do now was just how toxic some of the promotions were, and how deep and far-reaching the transformation required would be, and how significantly near-term performance would suffer.”