Hot Food, and Air, at Bus Stops

New York Times, December 2, 2008 — CRITICS claim that advertising is just a lot of hot air. For the next month, at certain bus stops, they will have a point. In the latest example of a trend that is becoming increasingly popular on Madison Avenue, heated air will descend from the roofs of 10 bus shelters in Chicago, courtesy of the Stove Top brand of stuffing sold by Kraft Foods.

Cut the Mustard

Red Dot Square uses virtual reality to reinvent the center of the store

Hub, December 1, 2008 — Yes, it is critically important to understand how the mindset of the shopper is different from that of the consumer. But we must not forget that the shopper and the consumer is the same person. The greatest challenge of shopper marketing is, in fact, connecting the shopper experience to the consumer experience. The most important insight of all is how shoppers plan to use what they buy once they’re back home, once again living their lives as consumers.

P&G Charms N.Y. Visitors, Residents With Restrooms

Marketing Daily, November 24, 2008 — The Charmin Restrooms are back. For the third year, Procter & Gamble is promoting the toilet-tissue brand with a grassroots effort that offers what New York desperately needs, if only in Times Square and only for a brief period: clean public restrooms. The loos, in Times Square between 45th and 46th streets, were launched with an official first flush Monday by former N'Sync singer Joey Fatone, who serves as Charmin's "King of the Throne."

Hotel Puts an iMac in Every Room

Springwise Newsletter, November 18, 2008 — Located in the Saint Blaise neighbourhood of Paris's 20th arrondissement, Mama Shelter has equipped each of its 172 rooms with a 24-inch Apple iMac multimedia center. Created by the Trigano family—founders of Club Med—along with Parisian philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter combines modern, technology-enabled accommodation with a friendly, communal vibe. By replacing the ubiquitous in-room TV with the multimedia iMac, Mama Shelter not only mimics the same type of shift going on in many homes, it also ups the ante for hotels in urban centers around the world.

Fliers go for cheap fares, with a la carte fees for bags, food

USA Today, November 12, 2008 — More than half of US air travelers now prefer buying the cheapest available ticket, then paying fees for "extras" such as food and drink, preferred seating and checking bags.

Is The Mall Dead

With lighter wallets and heavier burdens, Americans are rethinking their conspicuous consumption. That's bad news for retailers.

Newsweek, November 12, 2008 — There's something growing in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the marsh just nine miles west of Manhattan—and it isn't the gentle ferns that the bucolic name suggests. Instead, what's emerging is a man-made behemoth, the largest and most expensive mall ever built in the United States. Originally slated to open this month, Xanadu is now scheduled for completion next summer. Lawsuits, political grandstanding and construction delays have nearly doubled the mall's cost to $2.3 billion. When it's finished, the half-mile "retailtainment" center will be a Vegas-meets-Disneyland pleasure dome with the country's tallest Ferris wheel and first indoor artificial ski slope. There will also be a two free-fall skydiving jumps, indoor surfing, a mini-city for kids, a digital... continue reading

Hotels Offer Guests the Latest Technology Tools

New York Times, November 11, 2008 — Hotels are under such pressure to keep up with their gadget-obsessed guests that they are working with technology companies to regain their edge.

Wake Up Call†

Brandweek, November 11, 2008 — Given its recent financial struggles—at the core of which are weak sales that have forced the closing of about 600 of its U.S. stores through the first half of fiscal year 2009—the question many people are asking right now is: Can Starbucks get its mojo back?

Promotional Swag More Effective Than Ads†

Brandweek, November 10, 2008 — As marketers continue their debate over the next great advertising medium, a new study released today by the Advertising Specialty Institute found it's not TV, print or radio that gets consumers' attention, but good old promotional swag.

Delta Adds First-Bag Fee but Ends Fuel Surcharge

New York Times, November 5, 2008 — Delta Air Lines, the nation’s biggest carrier, said Wednesday that it would charge some passengers to check their first bag, but that it was eliminating the fuel surcharges to book tickets using frequent-flier miles. It said it was adopting the fee as it matches its policies with Northwest, with whom it merged last week.