Think Post-It Notes gone viral-digital. Barcode stickers that hold messages in text, video, audio, or photo – triggered when scanned. A sci-fi log line? Nope. Stickybits is a mobile app for Android and iPhones that tracks virtual messages among peers, friends, and customers – all brought together by a common bar code.

A sort of digital tag, a barcode is programmed by the first user’s scan. The next person to scan that barcode receives the embedded message on their phone, and can add a new message – creating a stream connected to a place or an object where the barcode is located.

Using SimpleGeo's technology, Stickybits geolocates the barcodes to show where they are scanned and then follows the object and the evolving storyline. A user can switch between map views and streams and trail other people’s object streams. The app lets you know when new bits are added. The actual app is free, but 20 vinyl barcode stickers cost $10.Continue reading...

In pre-recession days, branding was a big deal for technology companies. Splashy, lavish marketing campaigns were used to tout a tech brand's key attributes and get consumers to take notice. Those days are gone, but now H-P (Hewlett-Packard) is bringing back the glitz with a new eight-week, $40 million ad campaign – its first in more than five years.

The new branding campaign, "Let's Do Amazing," breaks this weekend and will run on high-profile television shows, such as the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament on CBS. The ads sport a slick dimensionalized version of H-P's staid logo, and the campaign has a hip, humorous tone.Continue reading...

As the surge to create online news brands continues, GlobalPost is an emerging contender. In its second year of operation, it has achieved several significant milestones: 750,000 unique visitors monthly, an audience from 230 countries, and more than 4 million visitors since launch in January 2009. Internet metrics of success aside, GlobalPost has proved detractors wrong: There is a healthy online audience for quality international news – and making money while doing so is a viable possibility.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, GlobalPost has assembled a team of over 70 correspondents from 50 countries. They’ve also created a network of partners including PBS, CBS, AOL, Huffington Post, Reuters, WorldFocus, Fox News (The O’Reilly Factor), NewsMax, and more.Continue reading...

Founded in 1992, fashion brand "For Us By Us" became all the rage in its acronym form. At its peak the brand reportedly grossed more than $350 million.

But now "us" is getting out of the business. The company is re-branding itself "FB" and looking to market its new designs as older and more mature. The new brand's first gambit? A "legacy" campaign. It's not a bold move but it is a smart one that just might finally deliver on the founders' brand promise.

Don't call the rebrand a comeback. Seriously, don't do that. In the brand's own words: "Don’t call it a comeback! The brand that sparked a movement of fashion and music fusion is back. In a marketplace yearning for classic apparel, powerhouse FUBU The Collection answered the call. After a seven-year hiatus from the US market to focus on global expansion, the fashion empire has returned to stake its claim as the “All-American” timeless brand, which it is. Out of its storied past, a new generation of fashion and lifestyle has been born and its name is FB. Welcome to the movement!"Continue reading...

Burberry has sued TJX for copyright infringement and plagiarism. [WWD]

The characters of 'Mad Men' were remade into a line of plastic dolls. [BrandFreak]

Twitter has launched a new location-based feature for users. [NY Times]

MySpace wants to attract video game designers for a makeover. [LA Times]

YouTube extended its promotions to include mobile phones. [Adweek]

Tropicana boxes are getting smaller as prices increase. [Consumerist]Continue reading...

After customers complained, Wal-Mart puts more products on its shelves. [Reuters]

Furriers are experiencing a profit boost thanks to recent fashion shows. [NY Times]

Royal Dutch Shell has concluded gasoline sales with Iran. [WSJ]

American Eagle brand Martin + Osa will dissolve before the summer. [WWD]

There were a few good reasons why Chevrolet and General Motors’ other surviving brands admittedly came late to the social-media table. There was that bankruptcy thing last year, and the worst sales environment in decades. And when GM first began sniffing around online networks a few years ago, it began at the corporate level.

But now Chevrolet is leading GM into a determined new surge in social media, and the brand’s coming-out party is going to be its heavy participation in South by Southwest, one of the nation’s largest and most influential interactive conferences. Chevy will be asking SXSW attendees in Austin, Texas, to help it evaluate three emerging applications.Continue reading...

As social-networking site MySpace premieres the second season of its viral “Married on MySpace” series, brands have jumped at the sponsorship opportunities. The show's first season, geared toward young couples as well as reality show junkies, successfully generated more traffic for the site and MySpace wants a repeat performance.

“Married on MySpace” will follow one chosen couple (who met through the website, obviously) down the aisle, but not until site members have voted on all that the nuptials entail. As the number of reality shows increases and the space becomes cluttered, attention spans tend to decrease. Yet MySpace hopes that the road to wedded bliss, with all of its twists and turns, will keep people watching. Continue reading...

Fashion retailers that know how to read the market can survive, and even thrive, in tough economic times. The latest news from American Eagle Outfitters proves this point. The company announced this week that its fourth-quarter earnings were up from $33 million a year ago to $59 million this year. Sales for the quarter were $972 million this year versus $906 million for the fourth quarter last year.

At the same time, American Eagle announced yesterday that it is closing down its Martin + Osa brand, a chain of 28 stores, and an online store. The four-year-old brand just wasn't producing, so American Eagle said it would focus on its core brands – AE, aerie, and 77Kids – all of which have "a greater potential of creating long-term shareholder value," according to CEO Jim O'Donnell.Continue reading...

Generally, a strong, popular brand can weather a bad mention in the press. Even a second bit of bad press should be no big deal. However, three, four, or five are cause for alarm. And family dining and entertainment establishment Chuck E. Cheese's should be alarmed.

The Chuck E. Cheese's brand name has been turning up in the news with rather disturbing frequency, and each report evokes more of images "jail time" rather than "fun time." Here is a list of some of the reports from the last few months:Continue reading...

For those of you who missed last year's promotion offering a free Disney theme park ticket on your birthday, the recent Disney "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion provided another opportunity to obtain a one-day gratis ticket to the park not only for yourself, but for friends and family willing to volunteer for a day.
 
If you never heard about it and want to join in, well, you’re too late. Just ten weeks after it’s unveiling, the Walt Disney Co. ended the promotion on Tuesday after reaching its goal of 1 million volunteers.Continue reading...

Sure, Lady Gaga may be the latest groundbreaking and outrageous performer to catch the media's attention, but don't count out the original "material girl" just yet. Madonna has been front-and-center recently, and her aura is anything but dim. She's currently starring on ABC's new TV show, "The Marriage Ref," and she caused her usual buzz at Sunday's Oscars when she appeared with 26-year-old boy toy model Adam Senn.

Now the iconic performer has struck a deal with Macy's to launch the "Material Girl" collection, inspired and designed with Madonna and her daughter Lourdes. The "fast-fashion" collection will target juniors and hit the market in August, just in time for the back-to-school season.Continue reading...

Once upon a time there was just Red Bull. Today, however, the brand finds itself fighting to stay alive in one of the most viscously competitive consumer markets around. Ironically, it's a market the brand practically created.

To stay ahead, the brand employs all manner of brand-building measures, some conventional, some not. The brand runs standard 30-second TV commercials about the drink "giving you wings." It also underwrites F1 racecars and sponsors star athletes like Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Shaun "Flying Tomato" White. The brand's less conventional sports sponsorships include airplane races and "soapbox derbies." But one Red Bull promotion is wildly unique. Continue reading...

If you tuned into the 82nd Annual Academy Awards this past weekend, besides seeing Alec and Steve, Sandra and Jeff, and James and Kathryn, you also saw Apple’s first commercial for the iPad. It’s very possible Apple fanboys were more excited for the ad than many award-winners were for their respective Oscars. And now that we've had a few days for the commercial to settle in, it's time to gauge its effectiveness.

At first glance, the commercial appeared flawless. It was a classic Apple ad that perfectly illustrated the exciting and sexy features of their much-hyped, state-of-the-art product. However, beneath the spectacle of the actual device was the curious reality that the iPad was sitting on a person’s lap the entire time. Yes, we all saw how amazing the various functions were – but isn’t the iPad supposed to be a sleek, portable device? If that’s the case, the iPad in the commercial came across as a little, well... big.Continue reading...

Disney's 'Rapunzel' will see a tough new makeover for male viewers. [LA Times]

Cutting back on discounts gave J.Crew an unexpected boost in sales. [WSJ]

Bank of America has put an end to overdraft fees on debit card purchases. [NY Times]

Twiggy, known for her modeling past, is designing a collection for HSN. [WWD]

Chile's recent earthquake negatively effected its wine industry. [Businessweek]

Cynthia Rowley has extended her clothing line to include bridesmaid dresses. [Vows]Continue reading...