Uber, the San Francisco-based startup at the intersection of mobile, car transport and logistics, is disrupting the industry and causing wide-spread regulatory reverberations.

The app for U.S. urbanites to book a cab on iPhone or Android OS smartphones has emerged as an alternative to overcrowded public transit and an escalating dearth of regular taxis, but now finds itself in the crosshairs of local taxi and limousine commissions. The key issue, is Uber a limousine service or a cab service? Answer — a bit of both.

It's pitched as "Everyone's Private Driver. Request a swanky ride in a black car with just the tap of an app! We're changing the way people are getting around by offering a convenient, cashless, and stylish on demand car request service from your mobile phone." A clever marketing tie-in just saw the Uber app used by New Yorkers to hail vintage gangster cars in a "free on demand" (a double entendre for NYC cable VOD subscribers) promotion for the third season launch of Boardwalk Empire on HBO.

This week the app launched in Boston and last week in Dallas, making it available (in theory, if not in practice) in 15 cities in total: San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, and beyond the U.S., London, Paris and Toronto. But it hasn't all been smooth hailing — D.C.'s taxi commission has just proposed new rules to shut down Uber.

Uber's execs thought they had recently passed muster in Washington, following a six-month battle in the District of Columbia to legalize sedans used by its car-service partners.Continue reading...

Competition for locals looking to book "nearcations" in New York City's tri-state area is heating up. While the Big Apple doesn't need much help on the marketing front, Connecticut just launched its big tourism campaign. Now New Jersey's fabled Atlantic City is wooing northeastern residents to visit — and not for the reasons you might think. 

The Atlantic City Alliance, a non-profit funded and operated by local casinos, is focused on increasing tourism by pitching. The marketing challenge: how to promote a city synonymous with gambling without focusing on casinos? The strategy: woo potential visitors on the city's other charms, as part of a campaign titled "Do Anything. Do Everything."Continue reading...

HBO has won numerous awards for marketing and brand image campaigns — here's its latest.

Promoting its 2011 programming slate, it features the shortened "It's HBO" tagline and touts programming including the upcoming concert film Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden, new series Game of Thrones, the new seasons of Boardwalk Empire, Treme, Bored to Death, Curb Your Enthusiasm and the final season of Entourage, original movie Too Big to Fail, and acquired movies Inception and The Town.Continue reading...

Canadian Club whisky, or “C.C.” in common parlance, long ago hit skid row. Once a top-shelf liquor choice but long since fallen on hard times, the brand is refreshing its image by turning back the clock. As a major marketing partner of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, C.C. is claiming a piece of the show’s Prohibition-era glamour for itself.
 
On the show, Canadian Club is the imported liquor of choice, generously product-placed (and heartily imbibed) in the sordid but dazzling crime world of Atlantic City in the early ‘20s. But the deal doesn’t just play out onscreen. You may have noticed real-world liquor stores and wine shops decked out with signage for the show, and several major cities have hosted speakeasy-themed special events to tout the partnership of Boardwalk Empire and C.C.

There’s no doubt that the lure of the forbidden adds a spark to any experience. This is part of the magic of the Prohibition-era setting, when alcohol was sipped surreptitiously. Like many a taboo, this association could add a shot of sparkle to the C.C. brand. Chase it down with the sexy sepia glow of nostalgia for added luster. Now considered a well whiskey rather than a gentleman’s choice, C.C  was both more popular and a classier selection in the ’20s. By associating today’s C.C. with the brand’s glory days, it could climb back towards the top.Continue reading...