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...

The state of Connecticut unveiled a new tourism platform around the tagline ‘Still Revolutionary’ this week. The new place branding campaign, which kicked off Monday, is described as a two-year, $27 million dollar initiative to bolster travel and the northeastern state's image and coffers.

Unveiled by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith, and Deputy Commissioner Kip Bergstrom, ‘Still Revolutionary’ emerged from a crowdsourcing effort that asked more than 1,500 residents (and businesses, such as Stew Leonards), “What’s Your Connecticut Story?” The project gathered locals' thoughts on what they love most about living, working, and playing in Connecticut.Continue reading...

Rebranding a state can be a dicey proposition. As the Wall Street Journal noted in an article about New Mexico's desire to come up with a new marketing slogan,

New Jersey hired a consultant a few years ago to come up with a new tourism slogan. The result? "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over." That may have been an improvement over its 1970s tagline, "New Jersey's Got It," which inspired innumerable jokes about venereal disease. But state officials thought "We'll Win You Over" sounded defensive and spiked the campaign.

So we're watching with interest another rebranding project in New York City's tri-state area: Connecticut, which has been saving its pennies and now has $22 million in its coffers to spend on boosting tourism and business investment in the state. The Nutmeg State hasn’t spent any money in the last two years on tourism and is now opening up its wallet to try and rebrand itself over the next two years.Continue reading...

Airbus raises prices of A320neo plane amid strong demand, as Boeing threatens to compete better in 2012 .

AirTran must reinstate whistleblower pilot.

American Express invests $125 million in China mobile payments startup.

Apple eases into corporate market with Macs, while textbook push draws interest.

BankUnited draws bids from TD Bank and others.

Beyonce and Jay-Z challenged by Blue Ivy trademark applicant.

Burberry sales surge on international demand.Continue reading...

Shopping online in Connecticut has just gotten a little pricier.

The state of Connecticut figured it could make some extra bucks for itself when it recently passed a law to apply an sales tax to online retailers that goes into effect July 1, the Associated Press reports. But some online retailers aren’t into the idea one iota and have decided to remove themselves from doing business with Connecticut-based affiliates in order to avoid the 6.35% tax.

The largest of these sites, Overstock.com, had fewer than 10 affiliates in the state that “have earned $250,000 from revenue sharing during the past three years,” the Greenwich Time site reports. No those affiliates will go without that extra revenue. 

The way that it works is that if an online shopper wants to get a product from Overstock that is actually coming from a Connecticut company, the tax would apply. Overstock, which generated $1.1 billion in revenue last year, called the move "unconstitutional," joining smaller online retailers in breaking ties with Connecticut-based retailers.Continue reading...