Yahoo agrees to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion, but questions already arise about how new native ads will affect cachet.

Buick Motor Co. celebrates 110 years. 

P&G launches major review of its advertising ROI.

Actavis acquires Warner Chilcott in $5 billion pharma deal.

Billabong sees brand value drop after failed buyout attempts.

Campbell Soup meets high earnings hopes.

Chrysler quality now rivals Toyota, exec claims.

DirecTV considers bid for Hulu.

Domino's debuts DVD that smells like pizza.

GM accelerates financial and operational streamlining, CFO says.

Google may allow branded apps for Glass.Continue reading...

Many other auto brands are pinning their hopes for global gains on a continued strengthening of the US market and their position in it. So why not Nissan and its Infiniti luxury brand? The chiefs of both brands are expressing their intentions to leapfrog other marques in the next few years in large part by persuading more Americans to buy them.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that he has ordered his team to double Nissan's sales in the US by 2017. If Ghosn also means to double market share, that would give Nissan about a 15 percent chunk of American car sales within three years, compared with its 7.7 percent share and sales of 1.1 million units last year, up in volume by 5 percent over the previous year.

With the European market difficult for its sibling Renault brand and other national arenas, including China, proving somewhat iffier, Ghosn has focused on his disappointment with Nissan's recent sales performance in the US and has vowed to correct it. Much of the problem stemmed from difficult and late launches of the redesigned bread-and-butter sedan, the Nissan Altima, and other new models last year.Continue reading...

BMW is investing 3 billion euros in EVs and marketing. 

AP execs outraged over government probe of phone records.

Sony is targeted for breakup by American investor.

Airbus aims to steal limelight from Boeing at upcoming Paris Air Show.

Amazon workers go on strike in Germany.

BNP Paribas eyes mobile and online banking.

Citibank says "no fees" means "never."

Coach approached Tory Burch about a deal.

Coca-Cola faces claim that Coke top-secret recipe has been found.Continue reading...

With their racing heritage and ongoing participation in the sport, Mercedes-Benz and BMW know something about keeping close competitors in their rear-view mirrors. That's why it may take more than a new branding campaign for Lexus—which also races—to take back its US luxury-market leadership from its German rivals this year.

BMW took the American luxury-segment crown away from Lexus in 2011, when the Toyota-owned brand was dealing with short supplies after the earthquake and tsunmi in Japan, and the German brand has held on to it for the last two years. There's been a lot of speculation that Lexus might be able to regain the No. 1 spot in the segment this year because its supply situation is now fully resolved, and it's got some new products.

But that isn't happening—at least not yet. And actually, in April, Mercedes-Benz strengthened its 2013 lead over BMW in the segment, having finished in second place behind BMW for each of the last two full years. In April, the Mercedes brand widened its sales lead to nearly 4,700 vehicles for the year to date over BMW, with nearly 93,000 sold to BMW's more than 88,000.Continue reading...

It was inevitable that, as infotainment has risen in importance as a consideration for auto purchase, the value of the "info" part of infotainment would rise as well.

Now, that evolution has reached a likely and logical next step: Infiniti is making the information core of its concierge "personal assistant" service available to you even if you choose not to buy or drive an Infiniti.

The Nissan-owned luxury make, newly under the global leadership of Johan de Nysschen, has been telling dealers to give out free access to the Infiniti Personal Assist service as a tool to stimulate floor traffic, according to Automotive News. Dealers have been authorized to sign up showroom visitors for free 60-day trial subscriptions to the feature even if they have no interest in buying an Infiniti.Continue reading...

There remain obstacles in doing it, but there's no denying the strong rush of foreign upscale automakers that are announcing plans to expand production in the United States these days.

Toyota is expected to confirm on Friday morning that it is moving production of its Lexus ES from southern Japan to Georgetown, Ky.; Nissan is looking to build a second US plant for its Infiniti brand, which already makes the JX SUV in Tennessee; and German luxury automakers each in their own ways are expanding American manufacturing footprints that used to be mainly afterthoughts. Mainstream players are participating in the trend too, such as Subaru, which is set to expand US production, presumably at its existing plant in Indiana.

For Toyota, one of the keys to its Lexus decision was several years of appreciation in the value of the yen, which made Japan manufacturing cost-prohibitive. Another key in the Lexus decision was recognition that, after decades of closing the gap, the quality standards apparent in US manufacturing by all brands, and by American workers, finally rivaled those established by Japan in the 80s.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola appoints SVP of integrated marketing Wendy Clark (right) to new role as SVP of its newly created a Global Sparkling Brand Center, combining its global brand and integrated marketing teams under her leadership.

AccuWeather named Jim Candor as chief strategy officer, Steven Smith as chief digital officer, and John Dokes as chief marketing officer.

Conde Nast promoted CMO Louis Cona to president and chief revenue officer of the media group. 

Crocs hired Andy Sackmann as CMO.

Dockers hired Adrienne Lofton Shaw as vice president and CMO.Continue reading...

Luxury is back at the forefront of fashion and lifestyle despite the still shaky worldwide economy.

Findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend, show gains in brand equity across 155 categories from auto makers to department stores across three key criteria: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

"This may show that after a number of years spent tightening their belts, consumers are looking to the quality and value they feel these brands provide,” said Aron Galonsky, SVP Brand and Communication Consulting at Harris Interactive.

Mercedes-Benz took top honors in the Luxury Automotive brand category for the third consecutive year, with Acura (which takes on uber-luxury in its latest US TV commercial, below), Audi, BMW, Infiniti and Land Rover receiving their highest scores ever. Harley-Davidson got its highest score in the study's 25-year history regaining top spot as Motorcycle Brand of the Year.Continue reading...