Smartmoney.com: McDonald’s is testing high-end coffee in restaurants, and analysts say it’s a matter of time before that company and other U.S. fast-food chains start offering a better brew. Profits on specialty coffee, a nearly $9 billion a year retail market in the U.S., are too large for the chains to ignore. Test Results Positive So Far “McDonald’s is testing […]
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Real-world Gaming
The New York Times: The first advertisement appeared in USA Today a week ago, right on schedule. People from around the world had stayed up all night waiting for it, talking in chat rooms and online forums. It had to be a clue, they thought. Everything before it had been a clue. “LOST. The Cube,” read the ad, posted at […]
Targeting the Teens
TheStar.com: When it comes to marketing to youth, it’s usually worse to aim at the demographic and miss, than it is not to advertise at all. When McDonald’s launched the “I’d Hit It” online advertising campaign in the U.S. — without knowing the slang translated to having sex with a cheeseburger — the gaffe blew up in the company’s face. […]
Presents of Mind
Entrepreneur.com: Bored by the idea of giving her husband a traditional gift basket to celebrate his promotion, Kate Dyer-Seeley made her own by filling a sleek, plastic box with treats including brainteaser games, mints and other cool, fun items. When her husband took it to work, the box was such a hit that Dyer-Seeley, 29, and two friends, Karen O’Hollaren, […]
Soulmates Online
Yahoo! News: Lycos is making it easier for lonely hearts to find their soulmates online. The company will launch on Wednesday a search engine that only indexes dating Web sites, giving users links to personal profiles found at iMatchup.com, LoveAccess.com, Tickle, True.com, and Lycos’ own Matchmaker.com. “We did research last year and it revealed that [online] dating customers want a […]
Branded ingredients: the Path to Growth?
FOODnavigator.com: The news this month that the world’s number one drinks giant Coca Cola has linked up with Tate & Lyle’s Splenda sweetener in a new branding venture could signal the beginning of a new wave of ingredient – manufacturer tie-ups. Danisco’s head of global marketing services Henrik Vesterborg Andersen speaks to Lindsey Partos about the challenges and benefits such […]
Ice-cream that won’t drip…
CEE-Food industry.com: A Russian dairy company has created a new ice cream brand called UFO whose extra-terrestrial name reflects its ‘unearthly’ ability to avoid melting. Produced by dairy processor MyasoMolTorg, based in Reazan, UFO is a cherry-flavoured ice cream product made with the latest in stabiliser technology. Once removed from the freezer, the ice cream does not melt into a […]
USB speakers
eCoustics.com: iFun, Jazz¡¦s latest USB mobile theater, is especially designed for women and young-aged notebook users. With its compact size, stylish shape and fancy color, iFun features not only its hi-tech design but also easiness to carry with your notebook; it is also thanks to its USB bus power so that no external adapter is required. No doubt iFun is […]
Personalized Toys
Wired News: Picture an Elmo or Winnie the Pooh plush doll that knows a child’s name and favorite food, and tells stories and sings songs incorporating such personal details. Or a new version of Furby that recognizes voices and reacts with emotions from surprise to dismay, and responds to specific words a child says. These electronic toys, which make a […]
You’re Warned
We Make Money Not Art: When threatened, animals often display physical warnings; e.g. porcupines or puffer fish both erect their spines as a physical defence and warning, snakes rattle their tales or expand their body, chamelions change colour… Wearable Warnings, a project by Philip Worthington at the RCA in London, is a coat inspired by such behaviour. The prototype coat […]