At the Conference Board Marketing Senior Executive conference Tony Hsieh of Zappos said company culture and brand are same thing: brand is lagging indicator of company culture. He says employees are hired for culture. "if someone is bad for culture, we fire them. and peformance reviews are based on how they are living the culture." In the four weeks of training is a company culture immersion. And all employees do the call center and all employees hop on the phones during holidays. "At the end of the first week of training we tell the entering class that 'we will …

JCPenney has unwrapped its holiday marketing campaign, and says it will support its value-driven message with ads themed "New list. New gifts. Who knew!" TV ads, called "Who's on your list?," are scheduled to air beginning next week on major TV and cable networks, and an additional spot will promote its Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree online initiative. The Plano, Tex.-based retailer will also use outdoor, print, digital and direct mail, as well as mobile and social media marketing. It's also brushing up its tech offerings, with its mobile initiative adding new apps for iPhones, iPads, and Android, …

Android became the second largest smartphone platform worldwide in the third quarter with a 25.5% share, up from just 3.5% a year ago, according to new data from Gartner. The research firm estimates Android phones alone accounted for 75% to 80% of Verizon Wireless's smartphone trade, while also helping to boost the sales of manufacturers such as Samsung and ZTE. During the quarter, Apple also surged ahead of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion to become the fourth largest phone maker globally, with a 3.2% market share, just ahead of RIM's 2.9%. Smartphone sales nearly doubled from a year ago to …

Google released an application Tuesday that lets users control YouTube on the desktop or TV with a remote app for Android-running smartphones. The YouTube Remote app makes it possible to connect phone running Android to browsers and create a remote control-like interface. It lets users play, fast-forward, pause, browse, preview, control the video's volume or just search for favorite YouTube videos and then push them to the bigger screen and control them in YouTube Leanback. The big screen browser can be on an LCD computer monitor or (Google) TV. I actually checked out Google TV at Best …

Goodbye Mr Goodwrench. General Motors is ending the parts and services brand and replacing it with brand-specific programs under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac monikers: Chevrolet Certified Service, Buick Certified Service, GMC Certified Service and Cadillac Certified Service. The program is part of an effort to make the corporate entity invisible to consumers and make it about the four brands. "Our number one priority is providing a world-class ownership experience that creates positive long-lasting relationships with our customers," said Steve Hill, VP and general manager, GM customer care and aftersales, in a statement.  "Certified Service supports GM's …

Sears says it will open for half a day on Thanksgiving, giving shoppers a head start on Black Friday. "It's part of a series of changes based on listening to feedback from last year," company spokesperson Tom Aiello, tells Marketing Daily. "It also includes things like extending our layaway period from 8 weeks to 12." Sears' move will make it something of a retail renegade. While Walmart is typically open for part of Thanksgiving, Black Friday specials aren't available until Black Friday. And most stores—while they may open at midnight—are closed for the actual holiday.

Who says Black Friday sales are just for retailers?  The InterContinental Hotels Group is launching a promotion tied to the big shopping day exclusively on Twitter. The Atlanta-based company is calling it "the hotel industry's largest Twitter exclusive Black Friday deal." IHG's more than 3,100 U.S. locations will participate in the Black Friday frenzy. Called "50 Free Friday," the promotion complements IHG's current offerings, "Sweet Dilemma," which awards guests with free nights or double Priority Club points, and "Check it Free," which reimburses guests for their checked baggage fees. Through Nov. 29, consumers …

Whole Foods Market has unveiled its list of Top 10 wines for the holidays, all priced at $20 or less, and says it will tweet the results of its annual holiday tasting Nov. 17. The Austin, Tex.-based chain says its wine buyers will offer "tasting notes and insights" about the wines, the wineries and the winemakers. It says it will also offer a contest for a VIP tour of California wine country, in partnership with Smooth.com.

Pepsi Co. and GNC have signed a joint venture agreement to develop and sell fortified coconut water products under the newly created Phenom brand name. The products are expected to be available during the second quarter of 2011 at GNC locations nationwide and on gnc.com exclusively prior to a wider release in other leading retail outlets in the United States. The Phenom joint venture follows the successful retail launch of PepsiCo's Gatorade G Series Pro at GNC stores in May 2010.

SB Nation, which operates a network of 290 sport-specific blogs, has secured $10.5 million in a third-round funding led by Khosla Ventures. Headed by former AOL executive Jim Bankoff, the Washington, D.C.-based startup will use the new capital to expand staffing and further develop its technology. The company says its traffic has tripled in the last year. Web measurement firm Compete estimates SBNation.com's audience at 1.3 million unique monthly visitors as of September. The financing was first reported today by All Things D.