The chips are down for Sears, as they have been so often over the last few decades. Its latest round of closings of its Sears and Kmart stores, announced shortly after Christmas, may be the first ring of a death knell that could attend what used to be America's biggest retailer and the namesake of the building that originally was known as Sears Tower, in Chicago.

But Sears continues to go down fighting. In the past, it continually has attempted to offset its failing relevance as a retailer of soft goods and concentrate on areas and brands where Americans continue to rely on Sears, including Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools.

The latest tactic: taking advantage of Sears' underappreciated but significant role as an outlet for fitness equipment. Few know that the retailer is America's no. 1 seller of fitness equipment, so it's stepping up its attention to the sector through branded content, community and conversation.Continue reading...

Scripps Networks owns some of the most powerful brands on cable television with HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and DIY. All of the cooking shows on these networks have thus far avoided the temptation of dabbling in product placement. After all, in the first half of the year, Food Network pulled in $283.2 million in advertising while HGTV earned $300.2 million in the same time period, according to Kantar Media. 

However, the company’s Cooking Channel, which launched last year, is still trying to figure out how to make dough on the scale of its sister networks. Kantar reports that the channel brought in $12.3 million in the first half of the year. Enter product placement.

Ad Age reports that the network's business side sees a plum opportunity with a series titled From the Kitchens Of, which doesn’t have a set air time and is broadcast sporadically, not only visits the kitchens of corporations including Pillsbury but also features each company’s products within its show and recipes. For that right, the advertiser foots half the costs of producing the episode, Ad Age reports.

"We wanted to be able to offer advertisers something different than" Food Network, stated Jeff Stettin, VP of ad sales for Cooking Channel. "We feel that with a network that was just starting out, we could take a little bit more risk."

Other brands that have been involved the first season’s 10 episodes include Clorox, Sara Lee, Kellogg, and Sears’ Kenmore, Ad Age notes, with all series one sponsors already signing on for a 13-episode second season run.

It used to be that Sears’ in-house brands – Craftsman, Kenmore, and DieHard – could only be found at Sears-owned stores and acted as magnets to consumers, bringing them in so they’d check out other products.

But those days are over. Following in the footsteps of a deal to sell Craftsman at Costco and agreement to DieHard products at Meijer, Sears is reportedly prepping to sell its Kenmore goods elsewhere as well, marking the first time that Kenmore goods would be sold elsewhere in the brand's 98-year history.Continue reading...

Chipotle soft-launches ShopHouse Kitchen, a Southeast Asian fast casual restaurant concept, in Washington, D.C. (prompting Seattle's Shophouse eatery to rebrand to Little Uncle).

Yahoo and AOL may be planning an ad sales partnership.

Kenmore may be next brand 'farmed out' by Sears.

Bing introduces "adaptive search" to personalize results.

Eterniti teases luxury 'supercar' at Frankfurt Auto Show.

Facebook expands social ads push, delays IPO to late 2012.

Google buys more than 1,000 patents from IBM.

Louis Vuitton names next CEO, opens first airport store.

Marni and Estee Lauder partner on perfume collection.

Solyndra bankruptcy and loan become a bigger embarrassment for the Obama administration.

Toyota steps up research to make driving safer.

& Advertisers and retailers move up Halloween promotions earlier this year (on both sides of the pond).

The Standard Operating Procedure with an in-house brand is that it’s sold, well, in-house, but Sears Holdings Corp. is about to break a new barrier for the company. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sears “has agreed to sell its Craftsman tool line through Costco clubs nationwide.”

And the two retailers aren’t wasting any time. The “hand tools, power tools and tool storage units will start appearing on Costco shelves as early as Saturday” over Labor Day weekend. Since Costco members don’t tend to shop at Sears or Kmart, the company has its hopes pinned on gaining new customers for the Craftsman brand via Costco's wholesale store.Continue reading...

Super Bowl XLV combatants, brand marketers including Kraft and Verizon, automakers and other game advertisers and fans gird for the game in north Texas this weekend between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Apple and Campbell Soup say that iAds are twice as effective as TV. 

AT&T reaches out to business users. 

BJ’s Wholesale places itself on auction block

BMW may lease, not sell, its Megacity EV.

Dunkin’ Donuts foresees 50% hike in expansion deals this year.Continue reading...

In 1893, Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck, two young men with a knack for selling watches, started a company that became one of the great direct marketing innovators and retail brands in the US.

The company sold everything imaginable, targeting primarily rural families via a giant mail order catalog. It wasn't until 1925, when American cities grew up, that Sears Roebuck, later to be known simply as Sears, opened retail stores.

Today, it seems, Sears is gradually going back to its direct marketing roots via online sales. While its retail store sales plummet, Sears is ramping up its e-tail offering with the hope of being more (Web)SavvySanta than the sad Santa depicted in its holiday 2010 campaign.Continue reading...

Now that he is unemployed, Conan O'Brien has more time to tweet. [AP]

Kimberly-Clark now tells bedtime stories to its GoodNites consumers. [Brandfreak]

Yelp must soon defend its practices against claims of extortion. [Econsultancy]

Saks is counting on its outlets and online sales to increase profits in 2010. [Daily Finance]

Myspace is experimenting with a new "in-steam" advertisement program. [Adweek]

Fashion Delivers for Haiti is $5 million away from reaching its donation goal. [WWD]Continue reading...