Could there be a better match than between the red and white of Target's logo and identity and the red and white of Canada's maple leaf flag — or between Canada's relatively sleepy retail environment and the jolt that Target will bring?

Canadians and the Minneapolis-based retailer are moving closer to finding out. Target is poised to open its first outlets in Canada in the next few weeks, the first of a total of 124 stores planned for the country this year. Its coming invasion of store openings in March and April is exciting many Canadian consumers, prompting wariness among its soon-to-be competitors and necessitating a country-specific strategy from Target despite its accomplishments in the much bigger market to the South.

The move north involves more than simply remembering the "u" in "neighbor," as noted on its Canadian website, or featuring hockey-playing polar bears (with its logo conveniently placed center ice) on its Canadian Facebook page. It also means respecting local preferences in food, clothing and doing business.Continue reading...

Pepsi promoted new artists like Hunter Hayes as part of its presence on the Grammy Awards last night, but most of its music marketing budget remains devoted to one very established diva: Beyonce.

Beyonce is demonstrating her personal-brand firepower these days like no time in recent years. Using her Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show as a launching pad, she also gave an award at the Grammys with Ellen Degeneres, made time to serve as the cover girl for the March issue of Vogue, taped an interview with Oprah Winfrey scheduled to run on Saturday and, of course, is awaiting reaction to the documentary about her that HBO plans to run on Sunday.

That's all by way of ramping up fan fever for her new "Mrs. Carter World Tour," which kicks off in Belgrade in April and finally reaches the United States in late June. MasterCard is holding a ticket presale event.Continue reading...

IBM’s new study of 1709 global CEOs in 64 countries and 18 industries shows top executives and brand leaders are embracing openness, transparency and employee empowerment over the traditional command-and-control ethos that has defined the corporation for the last 100 years.

While just 16% of C-suite occupants surveyed actively participate in social media, adding or replacing email and phone usage, that number is projected to increase to 57% by 2017.

“As CEOs ratchet up the level of openness within their organizations, they are developing collaborative environments where employees are encouraged to speak up, exercise personal initiative, connect with fellow collaborators, and innovate,” the study concludes.Continue reading...

Big-name fashion designers are flocking to the Olympics this summer, with host country talent Stella McCartney leading the way, in partnership with Adidas, as the chief designer for the United Kingdom’s squad. There have been a few naysayers to McCartney’s designs, but fashion designers have got to be pretty used to that by the time they hit the big-time.

Now word comes, via the Telegraph, that Prada is getting into the Olympics gear, designing uniforms for Italy’s Olympic and Paralympic sailing teams.Continue reading...

Above, GE Chief Marketing Officer Beth Comstock discusses the "great mash-up" — the collaboration between big companies, start-ups, government and academia driving healthcare breakthroughs, as GE demonstrated in the "big data" elements of its Super Bowl campaign. Feel free to follow and join in the conversation via the #WhatWorks hashtag on Twitter.

One of the definitions that Dictionary.com gives for  “gourmet” is something “involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation.” It’s not generally the first word that springs to mind when someone says A&P.

That’s not stopping the grocer from partnering with New York-based Artichoke Basille’s Pizza Co. “to develop an exclusive line of gourmet frozen pizzas,” according to pgstorebrands.com.

“When we tried their pizza, we knew it would be a hit with A&P customers, and now we’re proud to make it available in our retail stores,” stated Tom O’Boyle, executive vice president of marketing, merchandising and supply & logistics. “The Artichoke cousins’ passion for quality aligns with (A&P’s in-house) Food Emporium Trading Company brand, which offers customers a collection of international specialties from around the globe.” 

The 10-inch pies go for between $6.99 and $7.99 and are sold in two varieties: artichoke (naturally) and margherita.

Besides serving up one of New York's finest pizza brands, A&P, of course, is itself slice of American history. Once one of the largest businesses in the US and the world, A&P's brand story is climbing the bestseller charts.Continue reading...

Vanity Fair's October issue cites Dockers' Alpha Khaki line as the 'it' pants for fall. Yes, Dockers.

Now GQ magazine, long known as the place to check out for men’s fashion news, has cozied up the Levi Strauss owned brand. GQ is spreading the word about its annual Menswear Awards by matching Dockers with its award winner and nominees for a limited edition “collectible” capsule collection.

Fibre2Fashion.com reports that Dockers has partnered with the publication’s Best New Menswear Designer Winner, Alexander Wang, along with five other designers to produce a limited-edition collection.Continue reading...

The recently opened BMW Guggenheim Lab gives new meaning to pop-up art, as seen in the above video. Reclaiming a rat-and-rubble infested 2,000 square foot East Village lot between Houston and East First Street, the Lab is a social experiment in urban living.

“When people say we’re taking it to the streets, we literally are. Hopefully this will be a petri dish of ideas for the decision makers of tomorrow,” said Richard Armstrong, director of the Guggenheim Foundation.

BMW unveiled the six-year project with the Guggenheim Museum in May, described as a traveling cultural project for cultivating 21st century design and urban living ideas, while including the public with free programs and spaces. Running through October 16 in NYC, more than 100 events are planned centered on the theme “Confronting Comfort” – how to make urban life more livable.Continue reading...