• BuzzFeed Says Posts Were Deleted Because Of Ad Pressure
    BuzzFeed has found three instances when editors deleted posts after an advertiser or employees from the company's business side complained about their content. A memo was sent to staff members on Saturday by the news and entertainment website's editor-in-chief. The three deleted posts had criticized products or advertisements produced by Microsoft, Pepsi and Axe body spray.
  • BMW Plays With Augmented Reality Glasses
    BMW's Mini unit in the UK has unveiled a concept for augmented-reality driving glasses. The glasses let motorists see navigation details, speed and other information overlaid on a heads-up display. They can connect to a user's smartphone via Mini's app, and receive incoming calls and texts, which drivers can answer using controls on the steering wheel. A first-mile/last-mile feature can guide drivers from their parking spot to their destination and back again. During Mashable's demo with a prototype, they also recognized the address of local events.
  • McDonald's Owners Doubt 'Create Your Taste'
    McDonald's franchisees are not optimistic about management, even with the new leadership under Steve Easterbrook. A Janney Montgomery's Scott survey of McDonald's owners finds them even less optimistic than they were a year or even a one month ago. One franchise owner says the brand "has jumped the shark." At a "Turnaround Summit" with operators earlier this year, owners were not impressed with the ideas like "Create Your Taste" customization platform.
  • Scion Shifts Ad Model For New Launches
    Toyota's Scion division, which hasn't had the sales verve it used to, unveiled the iM hatchback and iA sedan at this month's New York auto show. Once the cars are in dealerships in September, Scion will kick off its most expensive marketing campaign since Toyota Motor Corp. launched the brand in 2003. "We may have paid a price for the underground marketing," concedes Scion VP Doug Murtha. "At some point, you need greater visibility."
  • Social IQ? Nordstrom Is Smartest
    Nordstrom is number one in a study ranking the social media performance of department stores. The study, The Rival Results Index, by digital marketing analytics company Rival IQ scored 12 high-end department stores based on their social media performance during first quarter 2015. Macy's followed Nordstrom in the overall rankings, with Harrods (London), Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman rounding out the top five.
  • Pepsi Challenges Consumers To Redesign Can
    Pepsi has partnered with fashion designer Nicola Formichetti for its "Live For Now" Design Challenge, encouraging consumers to redesign the brand's iconic can. The campaign and contest, which will accept submissions through May 13, includes a $1 donation to the Liter of Light organization for every use of the social media hashtag.
  • Discover Lets Users 'Freeze' Card
    Discover credit-card customers can use a "Freeze It" feature to stop new purchases and cash advances, in case their card has been stolen. The feature can be used from a mobile device, online or over the phone. The card holder's account can be turned back on at the customer's discretion. "We're giving card members a fast and simple security feature that gives them more control over their accounts and more peace of mind if a card goes missing," said Julie Loeger, SVP of marketing, in a statement.
  • Using Restaurant Design To Reach Millennials
    Communal tables, open kitchens, sustainability, recycling and, of course, outlets for computers are Millennial-skewing restaurant trends finding their way to QSR chains. Brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Denny's are joining such younger concepts as LYFE Kitchen and Modmarket in creating dcors to entice younger consumers. The Chicago-based research firm Technomic Inc. recently estimated Millennials wield about $1.7 trillion in spending power, and they are closing in on the long dominant clout of baby boomers.
  • Mayweather-Pacquiao Building Money, Hype, Histrionics
    With just over two weeks to go until the (belated) "Fight of the Century" between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the marketing and financial potential are all on the rise. Each man is opening the doors to their boxing clubs to give the media and the public up-close looks at their workout sessions, and brands like Tecate are ramping up activation. Meanwhile cable networks Showtime and HBO are supporting their boxers with TV spots and in-depth specials.
  • Walmart Shareholder Trinity Church Loses On Assault Rifles
    Walmart has won the latest skirmish with a shareholder, which also happens to be one of the oldest churches in the nation, New York's Trinity Church. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a previous ruling that would have required Walmart to let its shareholders vote on a proposal for tighter oversight of firearm sales. The church did not like that Walmart sells guns with high-capacity magazines of the sort used in mass killings. It wanted to require Walmart board approval for selling such weapons.
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