Who knew The Weather Channel was such a hot commodity?

It turns out that the cable network's online and mobile properties are hot beds for advertising trends and a launch pad for hyperlocal marketing initiatives for major advertisers like Taco Bell, Delta Airlines and Jeep.

Twitter and The Weather Channel (TWC) have developed a weather-based ad-targeting product, leveraging 60 percent in the twitterverse that accesses the microblogger via smartphone, to receive Promoted Tweets related to… weather. “Based on certain forecasts, Taco Bell, Seamless, Delta Airlines, Farmers, Goodyear and others have fallen in line with Ace Hardware, targeting nearby consumers via mobile ad networks such as MoPub and Jumptap and—in a lot of cases—TWC's popular smartphone app,” notes AdWeek.Continue reading...

One of the most beloved demographics in America today is members of the military and their families. Every politician has at least one in his or her back pocket. Every major arena and stadium honors them. Every major city memorializes them. Every flag waves thanks to them.

Celebrating Veterans Day on November 11 is another way Americans show their thanks and respect for those who have taken part in something that the rest of us – no matter how much we saturate ourselves with films and books and conversations – can never fully understand: the everyday battles of war or, at the very least, the preparation for it.

This year, 7-Eleven is showing its love for all active, veteran and retired U.S. military personnel and their immediate families, by offering free, small Slurpee drinks between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.Continue reading...

U.S. House is expected to pass debt ceiling bill tonight, with the Senate set to vote Tuesday.

Amazon launches AmazonLocal daily deals in Groupon's hometown of Chicago; launches MyHabit app to compete with Gilt Groupe; beefs up streaming offering to compete with Hulu by adding Universal titles; and looks to expand Kindle library.

Apple iPhone 5 now rumored for October; Apple TV lets users buy TV shows with streaming update; and Apple blocks Samsung tablet release in Australia.

Twitter confirms "significant" ($800M?) funding round led by Russia's DST Global; adds Dutch and Indonesian local sites; and opens NYC office.

Adobe bows to Apple and builds Flash alternative.

Airbnb looks to defuse user security concerns by offering $50,000 guarantee to homeowners.

Allstate to shut banking unit, posts $620M in losses on tornado claims.Continue reading...

Aetna rises despite drop in demand for medical care.

Boeing beats estimates, boosts outlook.

Borders woes parsed in post-mortems.

Delta Airlines cuts capacity on rising fuel costs.

Disney and Marvel team for Captain America game, while Disney looks to shore up Bollywood business with UTV ownership.

Dow Chemical quarterly profit up 74%.

Dunkin' Brands CEO says IPO a byproduct of "unbelievable buzz."Continue reading...

While nothing comes for free in economy class on U.S. airlines anymore – not even the peanuts – airlines are trying to woo business- and first-class customers by upping the quality of the complimentary wine they serve en route.

The Associated Press reports that United, American and Delta are among the airlines that have sommeliers to pick out the wines that passengers in the expensive seats will sip, taking into account such factors as reduced sense of taste and smell in flight, menu pairings and the flight’s destination.

Delta is also training its flight attendants to be able to talk knowledgeably with passengers about in-flight wine options. Flying coach? No sommelier here, and be prepared to pay for your plonk.Continue reading...

How leading industry brands are performing in social media customer service comes under the microscope in a new study released by market researcher Alterian — specifically, how effectively 12 brands are using social media to resolve customers' issues and the impact on their marketing efforts.

Microsoft was the top performer in the report — titled "Social Media Report Cards: Measuring Brand Engagement" — across all industries, achieving the highest overall score for social media customer service. 

Alterian's researchers examined brand leaders in six industries: travel, banking, cable, mobile, gaming and consumer electronics, and concluded that higher scores went to brands showing “a correlation between rapid customer service response times and positive consumer sentiment on social media.”Continue reading...

Google is betting big that mobile and visual search will bring brands and consumers together as never before. That's why it's pitching Google Goggles as a compelling opportunity for brand marketers.

Five major brands — Buick, Disney, Diageo, T-Mobile and Delta Airlines — are kicking the tires on Google's visual search app, which is iPhone and Android compatible. The incentive: to see how mobile visual search results direct consumers to their branded mobile sites, and to help extend their offline marketing to the mobile web.

As Google explains in a blog post, the brands "Goggles-enabled" non-digital marketing collateral such as print ads, movie posters and other media. When consumers take pictures of these with Google Goggles, they will be recognized by the app, and users will have the option of clicking-through directly to a mobile destination from the brand.Continue reading...

The majority of retailers seem to jump right from Halloween to Christmas with nothing more than a mere nod towards Thanksgiving and a few glittery gourds in the window display. Based purely on the gathering together of family, it is a holiday which does not require much decoration, dressing up or gift-giving.

But this is America, and we cannot let that slide!

Luckily, Macy’s saves the day on Nov. 25 with its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, chock full of tethered (and untethered) commercialism. After all, the retail giant has a Black Friday sale the day after to promote — and holiday shoppers to excite, of course.

Cue its child-oriented marketing machine, including the extended commercial that is Yes, Virginia — its animated special airing on CBS on Dec. 17.Continue reading...