Michael Kors may very well be the most influential person in New York fashion—or at least the one with the most business prowess. 

The brand was just named the most-searched American fashion brand worldwide, beating out prominent names like Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein in a study by Digital Luxury Group.

Launched in the early 80's, the designer's clothing and accessories company continues to beat Wall Street expectations and reel in more HENRYS, or "High Earners Not Rich Yet" shoppers, with fashionable yet accessible handbags, watches and sportswear. Rightfully so, the designer's Fall 2013 collection debuted at New York Fashion Week with a survival theme, perhaps a reflection of its leading man's reputation in the industry. 

Arguably the new Coach, Kors claimed market share from its rival accessories manufacturer after the holiday shopping season. Coach has seen a slowdown as of late, with competitors like Tory Burch and Kate Spade—both of which appeared in the most-searched top 10—taking a strong stand in the luxury goods market.Continue reading...

The Esquire Network says it's ready for prime time.

The new network, announced today, aims to “capture the essence of the magazine,” David Carey, president of Esquire publisher Hearst Magazines, told The New York Times. "This is not the magazine on TV; that would not work."

The male audience is an ever-sweet spot for brands, as evidenced by offerings that vary from Spike TV to Discovery's Velocity Channel. The Esquire Network will replace the Comcast-created G4 video gaming channel (which gave Esquire fave Olivia Munn her start as co-host on Attack of the Show) on April 22, and be available in 62 million homes with cable or satellite service.

The rebranded network is a strategic partnership between NBC Universal and Hearst Magazines. NBCUniversal cable executive Bonnie Hammer positioned it as "an upscale Bravo for men." She added, "If this was going to come under my portfolio, I’m a little brand crazy, so I said, let’s create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for."Continue reading...

Print publications have been cutting back in various ways in recent years, including employing smaller staffs and printing on smaller paper sizes. Now the 119-year-old Billboard is unveiling a total redesign that involves its own chopping down.

In the redesign, which debuts Saturday, the brand’s iconic capital “B” loses a bit of ink and be lowercased. Business Insider points out it follows a recent design trend that's seen brands like Arby’s, Weight Watchers, Lifetime and the brand formerly known as as J.C. Penney’s, jcp. 

The longstanding colors inside Billboard’s lettering will disappear on the print publication to give it a more grownup feel, but remain mostly the same on the brand’s website (though the blue in the “a” is lighter and now the “b” will get a touch of green). Each letter will also be much thicker.Continue reading...

It’s getting harder and harder to get television viewers to actually sit and watch commercials, which means product placement continues to rise as a means to show consumers just how great a product is.

TV will be filled with awards shows for the next few months, live events often attract high tune-in, sprinkled with tune-out during commercial breaks. 

PepsiCo's Aquafina brand is partnering with fashion TV powerhouse Project Runway (which jumped from Bravo to Lifetime TV in 2009) with a contest inviting aspiring designers to submit their designs for a chance to attend the season 11 finale at the Fall 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York next month.

According to the press release, "Narrowed down from the pool of design submissions gathered over the past month, the four designers who receive the most votes will compete in a one-hour, live design competition in New York City on February 6, 2013. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000, Aquafina for a year and recognition among the esteemed Project Runway and fashion communities."Continue reading...

A lot has changed since Project Runway debuted 10 seasons ago on Bravo. For a start, it's no longer on Bravo — and TV is no longer a one-way, passive experience but more about hybrid TV/social viewing these days, of course. So P.R.'s TV home, US women's cabler Lifetime, is leveraging visual social platforms Pinterest, Instagram, Piictu and Viddy ahead of the 10th season debut on July 19. 

While still maintaining Facebook and Twitter marketing, Lifetime's "Make it Work" season launch campaign — a reference to P.R. mentor Tim Gunn's catchphrase — asks viewers “to share images and videos that inspire fans to showcase their fashion choices and encourage armchair designers nationwide to share their style" to spur buzz and tune-in.Continue reading...

As TV gets more social, TV networks been wooing bloggers as social media influencers for the past few years. As a network primarily targeting women, the newly rebranded Lifetime owns and operates its own blog network, called Lifetime Moms, in the blog network, Lifetime Moms, and now counts more than one hundred contributors and over four million plus unique visitors monthly.

Lifetime's blog network not only connects viewers and women with each other, it also brings advertisers (billed as partners) into the mix for parent company A&E Television Networks, creating a digital opportunity for cross-network and -platform partnerships.Continue reading...

Facebook faces doubts by advertisers as it gears up for IPO roadshow.

Lifetime unveils new logo and tagline.

BlackBerry launches "Touch Awesomeness" campaign, test keyboardless version to challenge Apple.

Apple files for touch-based music-sharing patent.

CNN delivers lowest monthly ratings in a decade.

CVS succeeds in grabbing drugstore customers from Walgreens.

Chesapeake Energy board crimps CEO's power.Continue reading...

When FOX canceled fugitive-finder America’s Most Wanted in May, it terminated one of the best-known brands associated with the network. The show premiered in 1988, a year before The Simpsons started, four years before The Cosby Show ended, and six years before notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger — featured on the program 16 times — went on the lam.

After more than 1,100 episodes (and about as many captured criminals), and despite an average of 5 million viewers during its most recent season, FOX axed AMW (though periodic specials — the first one on Oct. 29 — will continue to air on the network), and this time it appeared that a grassroots “save our show” campaign would not be as successful as the previous one, in 1996, when the network briefly ended the show’s run.

Crime-victim advocate and host John Walsh vowed that another network would pick up AMW, and his prediction rang true when it was announced that the 25th season of the show would run on basic cable. Not a cable channel known for criminal justice programming like truTV or even a “real life” channel such as Biography, however, but Lifetime, home to not-very-law-and-orderly shows like Project Runway and Dance Moms.Continue reading...