First, his slogan was "Change." Then it was "Forward." So tonight, as President Barack Obama lays out his second-term agenda tonight in his first  State of the Union since winning re-election, he'll also be giving a sense of what his presidential brand looks to stand for in the final years of his administration, too.

It's reported that he plans to focus on unfinished business such as immigration reform, educational improvement, gun control and climate change. The White House also promises an emphasis on the still-stagnant U.S. economy and ideas for federal spending to stimulate it. 

At the same time, an unspoken part of Obama's agenda remains outmaneuvering the opposition Republican Party, which is facing its own crossroads as the president grabs the spotlight again this evening.Continue reading...

Hostess is in talks to sell off bread brands, as makers of Thomas' English muffins and Tastykake snacks emerge as two of the bidders for Wonder Bread according to the Wall Street Journal.

Hulu CEO resigns as web TV startup faces impasse.

NHL resolves labor dispute, faces shortened season.

Apple envy one of Fast Company's suggested New Year's Resolutions for brands.

Bank of America settles with Fannie Mae for $10 billion.

BMW is paring back car discounts in Germany.

CES lures brands and marketers to Las Vegas.Continue reading...

President Obama lobbied a group of big business leaders in Washington this week with his views about the looming fiscal cliff. But at least one of the most important heads of a major American business, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, was taking no guff either from Obama or from the leaders of the Senate and House with whom the president is deadlocked — and apparently willing to push to the edge, if not over it, in a political stand-off.

"It's a concern to all of us, because this is a very, very fragile recovery," Mulally said on MSNBC this week. "It's just so important that we come together on a plan to deal with both the revenue side, but also the expense side, because really what we're talking about is keeping the economic development going. That's the most important thing about this issue."

And while so far the U.S. auto industry has more than carried its weight in the nation's sluggish economic recovery, Mulally said that he couldn't guarantee that it would be able to post continued sales increases if Obama and Congress don't deal quickly and decisively with the fiscal cliff.Continue reading...

What does $2,000 mean to you? Tell us with #My2k twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…

— The White House (@whitehouse) November 28, 2012

"Call your members of Congress. Write them an email. Tweet it using the hashtag #My2K." —President Obama

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 28, 2012

In July 2011, President Obama warned House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that he would pressure Republicans to compromise and make a deal by "going to the American people" in order to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, and he's doing just that.

The White House (with more than 3 million Twitter followers) and Obama (with 23.9 million followers) created a trending topic on Twitter today by promoting the #My2K hashtag to rally support for the president's call for legislation before the year-end fiscal cliff deadline for former president George W. Bush's tax cuts package.

Obama is stepping up his effort to get Americans to lobby their elected representatives to pass the middle class tax cuts, personalizing the message with "My 2K" as a reference to the $2,000 (well, $2,200) that may be coming out of their pockets: "If Congress fails to act before the end of the year, every American family’s taxes will automatically go up. A typical middle-class family of four would see its taxes rise by $2,200 starting in 2013."Continue reading...

It's hard to think of a brand that is more in crisis today than the Republican Party. Not even JCPenney or Groupon, Kodak or BlackBerry come close.

The dimensions of the licking that the Grand Old Party took at the polls on Tuesday are still unfolding, but Republican leaders and rank-and-file members alike are trying to figure out, exactly, just where they go from here.

They certainly wasted little time in getting started. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, already was communicating via social media in the wee hours of Wednesday that his party needs a new outreach to Hispanics and other minorities — but one based on the appeal of conservative principles such as the importance of the family and hard work.

Beyond that basic formula, there's little agreement within the party ranks about where and how Republicans need to proceed in order to bolster the flagging morale of partisans, try to make back some of the lost ground in elections in 2014 and, of course, ultimately do better in capturing the White House in 2016 when two-term President Obama can't run again.Continue reading...

Pfizer drops on weaker sales of specialty care drugs and emerging market slump, plans to buy back up to $10B in shares.

UK lawmakers prepare to grill Starbucks, Amazon and Google on taxes.

Con Edison makes progress in restoring NYC neighborhoods' power, while MTA offers free fares in bid to get New York moving again.

Apple's Cook fields his A-team before a wary Wall Street.

Avon sees sales drop in China and the U.K.

Barclay's hit with record U.S. fine.

Burger King tests delivery service in Florida.Continue reading...

If you're a Republican politician in the Upper Midwest, you may appreciate what Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, has done to advance the cause of GOP politics, balanced state budgets, restraints on taxes and anti-unionism with his efforts to roll back the costs and power of public-sector unions. But for some of the same reasons, you probably aren't eager to see an aggressive "Brand Wisconsin" trying to get the companies in your state to expand or relocate in the Badger State.

Nevertheless, Walker himself is spearheading "In Wisconsin," a state branding and advertising campaign that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is promoting to try to lure more companies and jobs toward the Cheesehead State. The WEDC will spend $2 million this year on the campaign featuring well-known Wisconsin-based brands such as Organic Valley, Schneider National, Rockwell Automation, and Trek Bicycles, including web-only videos and print ads running in Illinois and the Twin Cities as well as Wisconsin. The new platform features an image of the state with the word "in" highlighted.

"We can offer a great deal to many companies that are looking to grow," Walker told brandchannel. "The pitch isn't just that we've got great [relocation] incentives but that our long-term bonds are strong, our budget is balanced, and our taxes are going down."Continue reading...

With little to gain and a lot to lose, playing politics is something brands generally do from a position of neutrality ("7-Election"), low-brow humor (Gas-X's "Gas Crisis") or outright mocking of the system (Etch A Sketch; Reebok's 2003 Terry Tate candidacy). So when the Most Interesting Man in the World chose to host a fundraising event for President Barack Obama, Dos Equis's parent Heineken USA was understandably vexed, forced into one of those frustrating statements all brands hate to make that include the words "views are strictly his own, and do not represent."

But maybe Dos Equis — and Heineken — should play to their brand strengths. According to a recent study, both brands' drinkers trend Democratic, with the former rated the most popular beer amongst lefties. So when viewers drunkenly yell at the TV during the first 2012 presidential debate on Wednesday, chances are they will do so with very partisan bottles in hand.Continue reading...