ING U.S. came up with "the number" as a way for Americans to think about how much of a nest egg they would need to retire comfortably, and it turned out to be a very effective advertising icon for getting across the point: You need to have a tangible retirement goal to plan, save and invest effectively.

Now, ING U.S. is back with a new visual aid in a new TV advertising campaign, and it could turn out to be just as or even more effective: "orange" money. The orange color represents the well-known hue of the ING brand, but more important is that orange money stands for the stuff in your wallet, or savings, that you shouldn't spend because it's designated to put away for retirement. Only the "green" money is safe to spend.Continue reading...

Beginning Sunday with the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament selection show on CBS, March Madness will get a grip on America. And that's the cue once again for a number of prominent brands to try to get a grip on March Madness fans.

Among brands that will be either sponsoring March Madness telecasts or advertising heavily during the next few weeks on the broadcast and cable networks that carry the 68-team tournament are Buick, Acura, Dove Men+Care and ING.

"The goal with March Madness advertising is reaching that core target and gaining prestige with them by associating with a prestigious event, as well as reaching next-generation fans and that passion of the recent graduate," Gary Robinson, manager of advertising and brand for Acura in the U.S., told brandchannel.Continue reading...

The flurry of mobile banking ads lately is no accident. Just like every other business, banks have figured out that consumers are on the go — and connected — all the time. Banks are already scrambling to get their piece of the mobile payments market, and now mobile banking apps are the latest new thing.

A slew of campaigns are featuring the ease of mobile banking, with banks such as Barclays expanding mobile. Bank of America says, "Life is mobile. So is your bank." Chase calls mobile banking, "The power of Chase in the palm of your hand."

But Capital One, instead of pitching the mobile app itself, is focusing on the convenience factor for the consumer.Continue reading...

In June 2011, the Dutch financial services giant ING Group agreed to sell ING DIRECT USA to Capital One as part of a restructuring agreement with the European Commission. As part of the deal, ING Group permitted the use of "ING DIRECT" only until February, 2013, so the companies adopted Capital One 360 as its new brand name.

As a result, the distinctive ING Direct orange ball is rolling into the archives, to be replaced by Capital One's red-and-blue logo with the addition of a red ball enclosing the number “360” with a sideways chevron. But not all current ING Direct US "Savers," as they like to call their Facebook followers, are convinced. Some fans just can't let go of the ball.

ING Direct customer David Mejias started a “save the orange ball” petition on Change.org, while another brand loyalist, Maria Elena Villegas, posted on Facebook: “So, Capital One bought the rights to the orange ball only to destroy any brand recognition and customer loyalty amongst ING customers? If anything, they should have rolled everything over to look and feel and work as ING Direct works. This is an absolute waste of branding, customer loyalty, and potential goodwill or at least neutrality from current ING customers by Capital One.”Continue reading...

Back in January 2011, Starbucks became the first national retailer to offer its own mobile payment technology combined with a loyalty program. It led to more than 100 million mobile transactions occurring in its U.S. stores since the launch. 

Now, in a move to push mobile commerce even further, Starbucks is accepting payments in some 7,000 retail locations via Square, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payment app for iOS and Android smartphones. In addition to laying out cash for that latte, users of Square Wallet can browse menu information and store hours, gain access to their transaction history, and even explore nearby businesses. Since Square Wallet is linked to a debit or credit card, there's never a need to reload a balance, and a digital receipt appears instantly.

It's not only been a huge boost for the Square brand (as Dorsey tweeted, "Immensely proud of the teams at Square and Starbucks: 7,000 stores launched 3 months TO THE DAY after signing the deal. #nailedit"). The announcement by Starbucks seems to come at a time of increased activity that could make 2013 the year of mass adoption of mobile payment technology. Indeed, Dorsey this week announced that "Square is now facilitating over $10 billion of commerce annually for small businesses across the US. Up $2 billion in just 2 months."Continue reading...

Here's to the many brands that have been stepping up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation on the U.S., providing everything from money to food to power and their employees, products and services to help disaster relief efforts. A partial list of charitable first-responders follows (and if we miss any, please let us know in the comments):

AT&T will extend late-payment windows for wireless and wireline customers, waive late payment fees and not disconnect services because of non-payment, and in an unprecedented open-network arrangement with T-Mobile, will enable roaming to customers of both companies in the impacted areas. AT&T wireless customers can make a $10 donation (up to $50) for Hurricane Sandy relief by texting to relief organizations. AT&T and T-Mobile also joined forces on a wireless roaming agreement, while Verizon Wireless is offering free charging for all cellphones.Continue reading...

Most North Americans will know the Capital One campaign that always ends with the tagline, "what's in your wallet?" Now we know what's not in Capital One's wallet: $210 million, the amount of a government-imposed settlement for pressuring and deceiving card holders into buying products they could not use and did not want.

It’s the first case enacted since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created by the Dodd-Frank bill passed by Congress two years ago to protect taxpayers and strengthen the financial industry against a repeat of the 2008 crisis which cost the United States 10 million jobs and $17 trillion in household wealth.Continue reading...

AT&T posts $4-billion quarterly profit and sells 3.7 million iPhones (click here for highlights).

Amazon pursues careful state-sales-tax strategy.

Apple and Samsung gear up for "patent trial of the century" as Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 is banned in EU.

Apple is expected to beat estimates in today's earnings conference call, if not a blowout.

BMW invests in EV-charging network.

Billabong gets lower takeover offer.

Capital One deceptive-marketing fine "unlikely" to change its strategy.Continue reading...