DreamWorks acquires Awesomeness TV, a YouTube teen network.

Walmart retools e-commerce and mobile.

Facebook says 30 percent of revenue now comes from mobile ads.

Boeing moves to upgrade popular 777 passenger jet.

Bud Light launches Music First initiative.

CBS scores big from Super Bowl ad revenues.

Cablevision adds Glenn Beck's network.

Del Taco emphasizes freshness of its food in campaign.

Disney rethinks role in Bangladesh supply after building collapse and deaths.Continue reading...

It’s been a long time since IBM was the safe default option for any company purchasing computer hardware or software. When Virginia "Ginni" Rometty was promoted to CEO 16 months ago, her charge was to put the once-indominable business services giant back onto a smoother path in a world that has been invaded by the likes of Apple, smartphones, apps and the cloud.

There’s just one big problem, Rometty recently told IBM’s 434,000 employees in a five-minute internal video message: Them.

All employees at IBM were told by their leader to "step up" by working faster and better, so that they more proactively and productively engage customers and stop letting potential deals slip away.

“Where we haven’t transformed rapidly enough, we struggled,” Rometty said in the video published on the internal IBM website and reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. “We have to step up with that and deal with that, and that is on all levels.”Continue reading...

For a long time, Avis played second fiddle to Hertz in the rental-car business and became known for its brand credo, "We try harder." Lately, Avis has been No. 3 in sales in the car-rental business to Enterprise and Hertz. 

But now, Avis is leapfrogging the competition and is becoming No. 1 in the fastest-growing arena of the rental-transportation industry: fleet-sharing. Avis Budget Group announced on Monday that it is acquiring Zipcar, the leading brand in the fledgling segment, for $12.25 per share or about $500 million.

The deal allows Avis to participate robustly in the car-sharing phenom while boosting Zipcar with more resources and rides. Advancing its mission of "Wheels when you want them," Zipcar execs say they welcome the Avis fleet to help out with availability on weekends, when demand from Zipcar members is highest — and Avis isn't serving the strong business weekday demand.

Already, naysayers are predicting that Avis will "ruin" Zipcar. Not a chance, argues Avis.Continue reading...

Cisco wants to be more than the largest manufacturer of computer networking equipment. It wants to guide customers through the myriad possibilities of the Internet of Everything, a phrase it's co-opting in service of its new brand positioning.

The tech brand has shut down its six-year-old tagline, "The Human Network." Its new tagline, unveiled today in a $100 million campaign — "Tomorrow Starts Here," a phrase you'll find, fittingly, all over the Internet and beyond: on its homepage and on social media as a promoted hashtag on Twitter, on its Facebook page, in a new TV campaign, in an infographic, in a series of blog posts, and in a new print campaign that comes to life via augmented reality and Cisco's mobile app.

The brand's chief marketing officer, Blair Christie, told TheStreet.com that it's more than just a campaign and new tagline.Continue reading...

Scrapping its iconic slogan of 50 years, "We Try Harder," Avis has announced that it's switching to a new tagline: "It's Your Space."

Why? Sometimes brands may need to leave well enough alone. And arguably, Avis has been as associated with this particular bit of corporate mission-speak as seamlessly as just about any other brand has managed to fuse its identify with its tagline, such as Nike with "Just Do It" or Walmart back in the day with "Everyday Low Prices."

But new CMO Jeannine Haas, after delving into research to see how the brand is perceived, has determined that Avis Budget Group needs to position its flagship brand in a more relevant way for a business clientele that continues to evolve.

"Brand marketing to drive profitable growth is one of our strategic growth initiatives," she stated in a press release. "This campaign is our latest effort in delivering against this key objective."Continue reading...

Cisco has taken on historical themes before, imagining Paul Revere with a Cisco Cius tablet and an updated Braveheart in the office. Above, its new video evokes Helen of Troy vs. hackers insides a Trojan horse virus, a means to communicate the brand's value protecting small business networks. Tagline: "The right network changes everything."

Brands must understand that customer service is an important part of the "value equation" for consumers these days even though it might seem that price remains their most important criterion for brand satisfaction because of the continued financial struggles of so many Americans.

Apple, Cadillac, Four Seasons, JetBlue, Kohl's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Scotttrade, USAA and Wegmans are among the brands that understand the importance of people as a driver of service excellence has increased substantially these days, and that's why they were among the 50 brands named this week by J.D. Power & Associates as 2012 Customer Service Champions.Continue reading...

With conference tournaments dominating this week in men's college basketball, it means that official March Madness is just around the corner. And when the NCAA men's tournament begins next week, brands are going to be more ready than ever to take advantage. That's because March Madness has become a multifaceted, extended marketing "season" much as the NFL Super Bowl represents earlier each year.

In fact, in some ways, March Madness arguably has become an even more effective tentpole marketing platform than the Super Bowl.Continue reading...