Meet Drew Barrymore, the expanding solo retail brand.

The 37-year-old actress, who has spent her lifetime performing, announced this week that she has undertaken lines of wine and cosmetics.

"I just want to do the things that you actually do in life, which is drink wine and play with makeup," she told OK! magazine in an interview posted Thursday. "It took years... to make both of these brands."

Barrymore Wine, which launched itself with a Pinot Grigio, was created to honor her family, she said on the label's website.  In promotional copy highlighted by Buzzfeed, she pokes fun at "Real Housewives of New York" star Ramona Singer, who has also launched a Pinot Grigio: “Move over Ramona Singer, you’re so yesterday’s news… let the “Real” Stars, not reality stars, show you how to drink Pinot Grigio!”Continue reading...

Taylor Swift may only be 22 years old, but she knows a thing or two about self-promotion. Her fourth album, Red, is coming out on Oct. 22, but it's already making waves (the title track zoomed to #1 on iTunes). Now she's finding plenty of quirky ways to get the word out and drive album sales.

One is to sign a three-year deal with shoemaker Keds that includes the production of limited-edition red sneakers that hit stores on the same day as the record. And it's not just because the brand rhymes with her new album title. “I think they add something casual and cool to your look, and the new colors and patterns are so eclectic,” Swift told Women’s Wear Daily.  

While cross-promoting with (RED) might be a tad too obvious, there's also a cross-marketing tie-in with Papa John’s for a Taylor Swift Pizza Party. Hungry fans (who call themselves Swifties, by the way) can purchase a Red combo: CD and a large pizza combo with one topping for $22. The album will also be sold at U.S. Papa John's stores.Continue reading...

Kicking off this week's Brand Bites, model Bar Refaeli's new under.me lingerie line campaign channels an iconic cheeky tennis poster.

PETA take note: the Sierra Club's new "Coal Will Say Anything" campaign shows how it's done.Continue reading...

Amazon leads Klout list of most influential retailers.

Avon ousted CEO Andrea Jung's two-year exit deal criticized by former CEOs.

Bank of America settles fair-lending case for record $335 million.

Beats by Dre pumps up headphone sales.

Diddy plans to launch tequila brand.

Facebook tests private messaging between users and brand pages.

FedEx disciplines delivery man who tossed computer monitor.

Frito-Lay sued over "all natural" claims.Continue reading...

Al Gore promotes "sustainable capitalism."

Apple aims to reimagine TV and how we consume media, while graphic novel imagines Steve Jobs' design thinking.

AT&T's dream to acquire T-Mobile's US operation may be over.

Barclays enables charitable giving with the tap of a card.

BT files patent suit against Google.

Disney and Atlanta Braves are involved in a trademark dispute.

Facebook sues a different Mark Zuckerberg, sees profits hit $1B ahead of IPO.

Goldman Sachs rises as finance powerhouse.

History Channel struggles at the top.

Jersey Shore's Snooki sued by branding partner.

Morton's steakhouse chain finds a buyer.Continue reading...

How much is that doggy bed in the window? Shopkick knows.

The mobile application, which melds in-store and mobile retail, rewards consumers for just walking in, with further deals for scanning partner brand products at more than 250,000 stores across the U.S. 

Launching a year ago this month (it officially turns one on August 17th), its users have surpassed 6.5 million product scans as 12 new major brand partners sign on: CoverGirl, Disney, General Mills, Levi’s, Libman, Mead Johnson, Meguiar’s, Mr. Clean, Olay, Revlon, Tilex and Trident.Continue reading...

P&G has upped its F-commerce game with new Facebook stores for Tide, Gillette, Olay, Gain, CoverGirl, Luvs and Febreze, mixing social with detergents, cosmetics and diapers in a bid to fish where the fish are — and make it convenient for them to swim up to the checkout.

P&G's pilot store launched on Facebook last year, powered by Amazon, but now, the e-commerce functionality is being outsourced to PFSWeb's eStore, the CPG giant's independent online e-commerce site selling its branded products directly to consumers.

“Shop now” buttons on each brand page link to a retail page for e-commerce with a splash tab inviting fans to “Purchase on Facebook through these trusted retailers.”Continue reading...

CoverGirl's newest brand ambassador, Taylor Swift, joins Queen Latifah and Ellen DeGeneres to help launch MyCoverGirl, the brand's new year-long Facebook promotion, in a spot that debuted Friday. Fans who 'like' the brand on Facebook will be entered in a draw for a chance to dance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Additional prizes throughout the year include free samples and a chance to meet the other celeb spokesmodels (including the not-shown Drew Barrymore). The brand is donating $1 to Make-A-Wish Foundation for the first 50,000 fans who participate.

Swift's first CoverGirl commercials, touting the P&G-owned brand's first luxury line — NatureLuxe, which launches this month — also highlight the new FB promotion.Continue reading...