N.Y. Attorney General Cuomo charges Bank of America with fraud

Does little to help clean up public image of bank brands

Washington Post, February 8, 2010 — New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed fraud charges Thursday against Bank of America and two of its former top executives, alleging that they lied not only to investors but also to government officials who were orchestrating a massive bailout of the bank in the final months of 2008.

Starwood To Launch New Hotel Brands In New York City

Defying a down economy, Starwood Hotels plans to open six hotels in New York City in 2010, including its two newest brands, Aloft and Element.

Brandchannel.com, February 8, 2010 — Starwood will open Aloft New York Brooklyn and Element New York Times Square West, in addition to the W New York Downtown, a Four Points by Sheraton on Long Island, and two Sheraton hotels in Brooklyn and the Tribeca section of Manhattan.

Quick Shout Out: Happy 6th Birthday, Facebook!

Who knew that a little site for Harvard students would become a worldwide phenomenon?

Brandchannel.com, February 5, 2010 — Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes probably had little idea that their brainchild would eventually become a global platform for connecting friends, spreading political and humanitarian causes, posting cute cat videos, and hosting time-sink applications like Farmville and Mafia Wars. But here we are.

The State of the Internet

The Luxury Lab's Graphic Round Up of 2009

Luxury Lab, February 5, 2010 — A cool visual representation of Internet trends for 2009.

Dettol spot named most effective TV ad of 2009

Brand Republic, February 4, 2010 — The most effective ad campaign of 2009 was an ad for Dettol's Surface antibacterial spray, according to TNS Research International figures that measure how "motivating" ads are.

Marketers to boost mobile spend after measurement system launch

Marketing, February 4, 2010 — Nearly 60% of marketers will invest more in mobile marketing following the launch of GSMA's mobile measurement system, according to a new report.

W Hotels to Name a 'Fashion Director'†

Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2010 — Putting a new spin on the term "designer hotel," boutique chain W Hotels is hiring a fashion director to amp up its style credentials and its profile within the fashion industry.

After a two-year search, the chain is planning to announce next week—on Feb. 11, the opening day of New York Fashion Week—that it has hired stylist Amanda Ross in what is very likely a first for the hotel industry.

Consumers Party On for Major Brands

Call it a modern day tupperware party.

BusinessWeek, February 3, 2010 — Big, mass marketers like Microsoft, Kraft Foods, Ford, Verizon, Nestle and S.C. Johnson are going grassroots, enlisting consumers to throw parties in their homes to sell their products.

For Microsoft, which said it achieved "significant" success from a 14-country house party event in October for Windows 7, the appeal is the opportunity to make a lasting impression in relaxed, intimate settings.

Virgin's Grand Brand Promise Goes Deep

Brandchannel.com, February 3, 2010 — To augment their already voluminous list of products and services – Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Megastores, Virgin Cola, Virgin Galactic – Sir Richard Branson has added the strangely named “Necker Nymph,” a three-person “aero-submarine,” designed to mimic the flight patterns of an airplane below the water’s surface. Yet another feather in Virgin's eclectic, cutting-edge, and adventurous branding cap.

Bespoke Branding for Gucci Luxury Brands

The key is treating each brand as a specific case study, and not using a one- approach-fits-all strategy, whether the issue is technology or franchising.

Business Day, February 2, 2010 — Previously the president of Unilever’s frozen foods division, Polet was famously mocked on appointment as an “ice-cream seller” who did not know anything about luxury. But, by 2007, Fortune magazine named him European Businessman of the Year. In 2008, all the Gucci Group brands had positive recurring operating income for the first time since owner Pinault Printemps Redoute (PPR) bought a majority stake in the group in 2001, and though, like the rest of the luxury industry, Gucci Group has been hard hit by the recession — last year’s third-quarter sales were down 10% compared with the corresponding period in 2008 — Polet is optimistic