Facebook is encouraging its U.S. users to share that they've voted for an interactive map, while Twitter has set up its election page to track the #Election2012 winds of change. But it's Facebook's more visual sub-brand, theonce niche mobile photo-sharing app Instagram, that's the darling of the digital world for the 2012 U.S. presidential election cycle.

Since being snapped up by Facebook for $1 billion in April, and following its launch of an Android version of its app, the brand has grown its user base from 15 million to 80 million since January 1st, with an astonishing 4 billion photos posted this year to date. Further proof, if any is needed, that photo-sharing is hot: Coca-Cola is getting in on the game with its Happy Places app, while Twitter and Facebook are racing to improve their photo filters.

The 2012 U.S. presidential election day represents Instagram’s coming out party. Its usual feed today is replaced by a stream of voter’s ballots and related political imagery, which could exceed half a million uploads by election day's end. While encouraging its users to share their election day photos with the tag #ivoted, they are being reminded to not snap a pic of their election ballot, which could render it void in certain states. In another first, the New York Times is also featuring voters' Instagram photos on their homepage election coverage.Continue reading...

Nissan is doubling down on its investment in the Leaf electric vehicle in a big way, by opening a $1.6-billion factory in Smyrna, Tenn., to bring to the U.S. production of a car that has been built in Japan until now. Although Nissan is selling fewer Leafs than a year ago, the Japanese automaker — which just moved up 30 percent to #73, with a brand valuation just shy of $5 billion, on Interbrand's new Best Global Brands report — is determined to turn around Leaf's fortunes.

In addition to localizing Leaf production, Nissan underscored the EV's woes late last week as word got out that it plans to introduce a budget version of the nameplate next year in a bid to make the sticker price more plausible to more Americans, according to Automotive News. The low-cost trim level would be positioned below the two higher-spec Leaf versions currently on the market, apparently, and will debut as part of a 2013-model facelift of the entire Leaf line. Continue reading...

Social innovation is at an all time high and campaigns integrated with social media are the latest incarnation exemplified by the new Mercedes-Benz #YOUDRIVE Twitter campaign, which will let fans help shape the ending. Ever the innovator on digital, Mercedes-Benz is up 10 percent in Interbrand's just-announced 2012 Best Global Brands report.

TV viewers in the UK will ‘drive the action’ of a three-part story about the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class to be shown this weekend during commercial breaks in "The X Factor." A cat and mouse caper features a young music star (played by Top Boy actor Kane Robinson) aided by a female accomplice attempting to secure a secret gig that authorities are keen to close down.Continue reading...

How low can you go? If you're Carlos Ghosn, you want to build a car cheap enough that Nissan finally can compete in the very lowest-priced segment of auto sales throughout the developing world. So as promised earlier this year, Nissan — up 30 percent on Interbrand's just-released 2012 Best Global Brands report — is moving forward with a plan to delve into the ultra-low-cost car market by offering a model for about $3,000 to $5,000.

And the Nissan-Renault alliance has promised to do so through a revival of the Datsun brand. Nissan plans to offer six Datsun vehicles, beginning in 2014, at a price range lower than all but a handful of smaller car makers in China and India, Ghosn told the Wall Street Journal. A $3,000 Datsun would be about one-third of the price of the currently least expensive Nissan, the $8,000 Tsuru compact.

By not doing so previously, the CEO of Nissan and Renault said that the company has left itself out of about 40 percent of the potential market in countries including India, Indonesia and Russia. "We just see an opportunity," Ghosn explained earlier this year. "Today, in all the markets we are present, there is a level of price below which we cannot compete, we have no offering. The risk is to do nothing."Continue reading...

Interbrand's 2012 Best Global Brands report sees Coca-Cola on top, Apple and Samsung make gains, Disney and HP decline, and BlackBerry lose 39 percent of brand value.

Samsung files to add iPhone 5 to Apple patent lawsuit as US court lifts injunction against Galaxy Tab sales and Galaxy S3 outsells iPhone 5 in UK.

Amazon plans to hire 10,000 British temp employees for the holidays.

American Airlines accuses pilots of sabotage as loose seats embarrass execs.

American Express ordered to refund $85 million to customers and pay $27.5 million in penalties.

Apple's iPad Mini rumored for Oct. 17 unveiling.

Cadbury wins exclusive right to its signature purple color in legal battle.

Disney unveils new homepage with entertainment focus.

Facebook sells more access to members as part of ad analytics push; Wall Street approves.

Google's stock market value passes Microsoft's for the first time.

Guinness launches "cloud TV" campaign.Continue reading...

Above, watch Interbrand Global CEO Jez Frampton's master class on what makes a world-changing brand. In this program, Jez shares real-world stories as he discusses the building of world-leading brands, and the fundamentals of brand valuation that determine Interbrand's Top 100 Best Global Brands annual ranking. 

This video was filmed before a live audience for the What's Next? television series that airs across Latin America. It's produced by HSM Global, producers of the World Business Forum, and airs on their ManagemenTV network. It's also distributed online by HSM's Wobi.com, which provides insights and inspiration dedicated to building better businesses, better people, and a better world — all themes that Frampton discusses in this video.

CPG brands and supermarket retailers understand there's nothing that gets consumer trial and acceptance of new products like good, old-fashioned sampling. So as Pepsi is attempting once again to grow the U.S. market for mid-calorie sodas with a new sub-brand, Pepsi Next, it's time to put the reliable sampling technique to massive use.

In fact, sampling will be a centerpiece of the campaign, "Drink it to believe it," that Pepsi has launched behind Next, the product it tested last year and will begin rolling out nationally to retailers on March 26. Walmart stores will be a key partner for the launch as Pepsi samples Next at 800 Walmart Supercenters across the country. Pepsi also plans to continue a national sampling program for Next in more than 40 cities nationwide through August.Continue reading...

If you have a big idea, especially if you're a designer, the Industrial Designers Society of America (better known as the IDSA) annual competition is the place to show off your spark of creative genius.

IDEA® (International Design Excellence Awards) is an international design competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. Entries are invited from designers, students and brands worldwide.

The competition opened to submissions on December 1 and runs through February 10 (with a Feb. 17 late deadline already announced). Finalists start receiving notifications that they've made the first cut on March 20, and the final judging is from May 2-4. Winners will be announced on July 2, and the ceremony is on August 18.

At a whopping $300 per entry as an IDSA member, and $400 per entry for non-members, you may ask yourself why spend all the money? The short answer: the benefits of entering the contest and the experience gained are well worth it, not to mention the pay-off for winning.Continue reading...