Mazda needs to change its approach in order to rise above the 2 percent of the US market at which the brand has been stuck for at least five years. So this weekend, Mazda is launching a new US advertising campaign that not only is meant to break through auto-marketing clutter but also to help stake the brand's attempts to move to a more upscale positioning.

"Game Changers" will feature TV spots that highlight "game-changing" American figures from sports to science. The idea is to communicate to US consumers that Mazda demonstrates some of the same attributes as these heroes, which admittedly may come as a revelation to many Americans.

"We're focusing on courage, creativity and conviction" in the new campaign, Russell Wager, Mazda's US CMO, told brandchannel. "Those three words are basically what consumers told us they thought Mazda was about." He explained: "Versus just being 'any brand,' the idea is to align our products with people who changed the world for good."Continue reading...

Mazda continues to attempt to climb out of the fray in the US mainstream car market with a determined repositioning as more upscale. The brand continues to add to its tech chops by pushing its SkyActiv sub-brand in creative new ways as well.

The latest: a tie-up with the formidable Star Trek franchise, with a cross-promotion with the latest Paramount film in the sci-fi series, Star Trek into Darkness. With TV, digital, CRM, out-of-home, social media and retail fronts, Mazda is spotlighting the revamped 2014 Mazda6 as well as the SkyActiv powertrain technology. Mazda staged a similar partnership last year with Universal's The Lorax, that time spotlighting the Mazda CX-5 crossover.

One feature of the new platform is a Paramount Star Trek app that has five "interactive missions," one weekly leading up to the movie's May 17 premier. The app launches a scavenger hunt for Star Trek and Mazda content, ascension through the "Starfleet Academy" and merchandise, according to Marketing Daily.Continue reading...

It seems every auto brand wants to move upscale these days. Mazda is just one of the latest.

The company said it's developing a new look for its US dealerships even as many of its dealers are continuing to adopt a showroom-renovation program that Mazda launched 10 years ago. Such is the importance for car brands of creating a "retail experience" that fits consumers' self-importance as well as developing and introducing upscale vehicles that can boost a brand into an upscale neighborhood.

Mazda dealers are abuzz about the new design direction—discussed by Mazda executives with Automotive News at the New York auto show last month—in part because dozens of them already are in the process of investing $2 million to $4 million in bringing their enterprises in compliance with a program Mazda called Retail Revolution when it launched the facility-upgrade program a decade ago. Retail Revolution facilities feature two-story, glass-enclosed vehicle displays and metal elements with green and orange accents.Continue reading...

AB InBev reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its disputed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which faces inquiry over Mexico worker deaths.

GE to buy Lufkin for $3 billion in oil-and-gas-industry play.

PepsiCo seeks to patent novel high-protein nutrition beverages.

Adidas stops controversial sale of t-shirts around injured Louisville player Kevin Ware.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to be honored for pro-women Makers series.

Apple's former advisor to Steve Jobs admits brand screwed up iPhone naming system.Continue reading...

HP board shakeup and chairman exit gives CEO Meg Whitman a chance to shake off troubles.

BP faults Deepwater Horizon claims overseer, launches first brand-wide fuel loyalty program.

BMW prepares X4 crossover for U.S. market, makes vehicles greener with fewer cylinders, less gasoline.

Al Jazeera America hires CNN's Ali Velshi as anchor.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos leads $5 million investment round in Henry Blodget's Business Insider.

Apple reportedly signs music labels for streaming service as Google's YouTube clinches deal with Universal Music.

Best Buy may have turned the tide on showrooming Amazon.Continue reading...

Walmart will test in-store lockers for online deliveries a la Amazon. 

CBS aquires 50 percent of TV Guide Network for $100 million.

Southwest Airlines becomes the official airline of golf.

California shoe company sues Under Armour for trademark infringement.

Facebook and TiVo continue to battle over thumbs-up symbol.

After weeks of rumors and potential leaks, the Miami Dolphins will unveil their new logo on April 25.

Doritos officially launches new global campaign and redesigned packaging.

Human Rights Campaign's red equal sign logo for gay marriage goes viral on social media.Continue reading...

The good news for Detroit's three automakers is that Chevrolet and GMC managed to get some of their new models recommended by the influential Consumer Reports. The bad news is that just about every other brand fielded by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler is still placed near the bottom in the magazine's new rankings of the best light vehicles on the market.

Just like every year, the new rankings—listed in the April 2013 issue of Consumer Reports—finds that Japanese brands, especially those made by Toyota, continue to dominate. Toyota landed three of the top seven spots, with Lexus as CR's best overall brand as well as Toyota at No. 4 and Scion at No. 7.

Subaru and Mazda finished second and third while Acura and Honda finished fifth and sixth. Audi led its German rivals to finish No. 8, followed by Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz to round out the top 10. Continue reading...

In bringing Alfa Romeo back to the U.S. market this year, Fiat has three big goals for the move: broadening the car lineup of its joint stable with Chrysler Group; trying to re-establish an Alfa brand that long ago was tarnished in America; and boosting output at its home-market manufacturing operations in Italy.

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told Reuters at the Detoit Auto Show that Fiat plans to introduce an Alfa Romeo 4C sports car to the U.S. market late this year. Marchionne said that the biggest remaining obstacle is to "make sure we hit the powertrains dead on." Still, he told the news service, "We are finalizing the car now, so it should be" in the U.S. this year.

From an American perspective, Alfa Romeo is one of the wild cards that got thrown into the deck when Fiat acquired the carcass of Chrysler from the U.S. government in 2009. It exited the U.S. market about two decades ago with a tattered quality reputation. Now, Marchionne has built the marque into one that would have a shot even in today's highly competitive U.S. market.Continue reading...