Everywhere a consumer looks, digital is ready to attack. Whether it is on mobile screens or in-store iPad kiosks, interactivity and engagement are the words of the day. 

But there was a time when those terms weren’t subconsciously attached to digital efforts. Once, people actually used paper and writing implements to engage and interact. Moleskine, the Italian notebook manufacturer, has been counterintuitively turning out its paper products since 1995 and it has paid off so handsomely that the company is now planning an IPO on the Italian Stock Exchange, according to The Atlantic. In this digital age, is that subversive? Rebellious? Dumb?Continue reading...

JCPenney cuts an additional 2,200 jobs and delays stocking Martha Stewart products as judge suggests mediation with Macy's.

McDonald's U.S. sales slip, but less than anticipated.

Disney welcomes new movie-studio chief and big plans for Star Wars franchise.

Adidas is hot on heels of Nike in sportswear in China.

Amazon logs rising revenue from servicing cloud's server needs.

Arby's targets "modern day traditionalists."

Cablevision claims coercion led to deal with Viacom.

Caribou Coffee launches new branding campaign.

Citi passes stress tests.Continue reading...

Our most-read blog posts of the past week range from the Starbucks' "Black Guy" Receipt Scandal to Skype on Facebook:

#1 Starbucks Latest to Suffer "Black Guy" Receipt Scandal

#2 Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not

#3 BP Returns to TV

#4 Facebook Launches Video Calling With Skype

#5 Petite Lap Giraffe: A Tiny Viral Marketing Success

#6 Coke and WWF Green the Philippines with “Living Billboard”

#7 Target Aims Logo at Chicago Landmark

#8 Duane Reade Opens Premium Drugstore 'Experience' on Wall Street

#9 How Moleskine Converts Fans (and Retailers) to Brand Ambassadors

#10 Colgate Puts Teeth Into Social Marketing

If any brand name seems to be loved by all who come in contact with it, it is Moleskine. This 14-year-old Italian iconic brand became known for a simple notebook. 

But today, writes the company on its website, "the name Moleskine encompasses a family of nomadic objects: notebooks, diaries, journals, bags, writing instruments and reading accessories, dedicated to our mobile identity. Indispensable companions to the creative professions and the imagination of our times: they are intimately tied to the digital world." Companies with legacy products anxious to hook on to the digital bandwagon could take a lesson from this.

It isn't just the brand's positioning that makes it so special — it is the manner in which the company nurtures and interacts with its fiercely loyal fans and retailers.Continue reading...

Bank of America agrees to mortgage settlement.

Campbell Soup exits Russian market.

Caribou Coffee eyes expansion beyond Midwest US.

Chrysler loses bid to prevent retailer from selling “Imported from Detroit” merchandise.

Ford says Europe’s debt woes cloud market’s auto outlook.

Groupon cedes market share to LivingSocial.Continue reading...

BMW and Mercedes outpace rivals in China, as Shanghai auto show opens and a new report shows the most popular brands in China are predominately foreign. Ford's China JV execs mull own brand, while Volkswagen reveals the new Beetle at events in Shanghai, New York and Berlin today. The Volkswagen Group also saw record first quarter sales as China deliveries boom.

VH1 woos female viewers with new programming, while siblings BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, and Spike remain holdouts on Time Warner Cable's iPad app due to Viacom lawsuit, although Cablevision's iPad app gets only grumbles.

Toyota resumes production at all Japan plants for first time since tsunami, as its Lexus brand slips behind rivals in the US. TEPCO also laid out a plan for shutting down nuclear reactor.Continue reading...

Moleskine execs no doubt used their iconic notebooks to come up with the brand's extension into products designed to compliment their notebooks and planners.

The new collection includes pens, pencils, bags, computer cases, reading glasses, a USB-rechargeable lamp, a book and e-reader stand — not to mention clips, pockets, adhesive labels and "removable accessories" to personalize their planners and notebooks.

The new products, which can be viewed on Flickr, were just unveiled at Milan Design Week.

TED’s tag line is “Ideas worth spreading,” and it has been doing just that since founded by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks in 1984. An annual conference event since 1990, Wurman left following the 2002 conference, and the owner/curator now is Chris Anderson, whose Sapling foundation acquired TED in 2001; he hosted his first TED in 2003. TEDTalks debuted online in 2006.

TED.com has become the ‘Who’s Who’ of technology, entertainment, and design. TEDTalks are available free on TED’s website, and on iTunes, YouTube, and most recently a free iPhone app. The archive now exceeds 600 talks viewed more than 230 million times worldwide since launch in 2006.Continue reading...