Interbrand announces the 2013 Best Retail Brands report.

Coca-Cola honored with first Clio brand icon award.

Starbucks names new global CMO in former Sephora marketer Sharon Rothstein, as McDonald's passes Starbucks as most social brand.

Apple rumored to pull out the stops for the next iPhone to take on Samsung, which has replaced Nokia as top smartphone brand in China and confirmed it's developing a smartwatch to take on Apple's rumored wearable computer.

BlackBerry prepares to bring million-selling Z10 smartphone to U.S. on Friday with 100,000 apps.

Burger King hopes folks gobble up new turkey burger.

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's introduce Jim Beam bourbon burger.

Clorox introduces smart tube technology to packaging design.Continue reading...

'1' hotels will rely on reusable materials in their construction, Starwood says...

...while the Baccarat brand will invoke the elegance of the longtime crystal manufacturer. 

It's been 13 years since private equity firm Starwood Capital Group got out of its investment in hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts. But apparently, it misses the lodging business.

SCG, which is involved in many areas of global real estate, announced on Wednesday the creation of two hotel brands: Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels & Resorts.

The announcement comes as the U.S. hotel industry shares a boom that is also occurring in many world cities. Many analysts expect the expansion will continue for at least a few years as supply attempts to catch up with demand.Continue reading...

Efforts to curb overfishing of the world's most popular species are reaching deeper into supermarkets and fast-food menus.

The UK grocery Sainsbury’s will begin a “Switch the Fish” campaign on Friday, giving away seven tons of such “sustainable fish” as lemon sole, mussels, Cornish sardines and coley fillets, Marketing magazine reports.

To make the campaign ongoing, Sainsbury’s has also trained its fish counter employees at 495 stores about sustainability, TheDrum.com said.Continue reading...

Apple joins Google in $500M+ bid for Kodak patents; smacked by USPTO as 'Steve Jobs Patent' for iPhones and iPads deemed invalid and Siri secrets revealed.

Diageo seen as unlikely to bid for Beam following UK report that drinks giant talked to Suntory about joint bid.

Barnes & Noble cuts Nook price from $99 to $79.

Michael Bloomberg weighs making bid for The Financial Times, which includes the paper and a half-interest in The Economist. 

Caribou Coffee celebrates 20th anniversary.

Carlos Slim brings Telcel brand to U.S. for Mexico calls.

CVS Caremark reportedly aims to acquire drug-store chain in Brazil.

Chili's begins soft rollout of new menu items.

Darden Restaurants looks to retool value proposition for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants.Continue reading...

When 12-year-old Claudia Kincaid and her 9-year-old brother Jamie decide to run away in 1967’s The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, they head off to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they sleep in a big, antique bed and they make money from the coins tourists throw into the fountains. 

If the fictional pair were to hit the road today, they might want to head to the headquarters of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in Stamford, Connecticut. That is where the company has opened its new two-level Starwood Experience, an open idea lab that might also appeal to another young hotel lover (Eloise). The showcase invites visitors to check out what’s coming next in a few “next generation model guest rooms,” according to a press release. (Certainly this would feel better than the old lumpy antique bed at the Met.) 

The idea is to test out new innovations in two- and three-dimensional design, guest-facing technology, brand programming, event activation in public spaces, and food and beverage initiatives for such Starwood hotel brands as Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Aloft, Element and Four Points by Sheraton.
Continue reading...

Apple shares reach $700 as iPhone 5 shatters sales record.

Belvedere owes Bruce Willis for years of representing Sobieski vodka.

Burberry says strategy won't change as brand brings capes to London Fashion Week.

Chrysler and GM will get a chance at deal similar to new labor accord between Ford and Canadian Auto Workers.

Conde Nast plans French Vanity Fair.

Dole Food to sell businesses to Itochu.

Dos Equis finds some fans unimpressed with Obama endorsement by its "most interesting man" actor.Continue reading...

The Sonesta travel brand includes an eclectic collection of international luxury hotels, resorts and cruise ships. With a tiny hotel portfolio relative to major hotel brands (it currently has only ten U.S. hotels, for example), Sonesta is making a push to gain brand awareness by entering a new segment -- the extended stay market.

By acquiring fifteen Staybridge Suites and two Residence Inns, Sonesta is able to jump start its new "ES Suites" brand in the primary markets of Atlanta, Houston and Orlando, in addition to locations in Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio. Mike Wohl, operations vice president at Sonesta ES Suites, told HotelNewsNow.com, "We really like the extended stay business. It has matured to the point where it is a solid fundamental market segment on a national scale. It's a proven segment, and we really like the business model."Continue reading...

China is the second latest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?!  A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China.

This week, Xiaomi, Apple, Google, Lamborghini, Coca-Cola, Chinese fashion dilemma, brands on Weibo, a 300th KFC and more... Continue reading...