IBM’s A Boy And His Atom now holds the Guinness World Record for the World's Smallest Stop-Motion Film.

The film is a byproduct of IBM’s acumen in moving atoms, key to research in the fields of atomic memory and data storage at the core of their broad suite of products and services. The story is about a boy—who is 1/25,000,000 of an inch big—and his friendship with a wayward atom.Continue reading...

Many brands are respectfully coming forward with various kinds of support for the victims of the Boston bombings last week and for Beantown itself. And then there's Mercedes-Benz, whose products played a singular role in actually bringing the crime and terror spree to its end.

"It's a great feeling to have been able to assist with that," Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman Donna Boland told brandchannel.

It was common knowledge that the Tsarnaev brothers allegedly had carjacked a Mercedes-Benz ML 350, taking its owner on a rambling journey around the Boston area on the night of April 18—a trek that ended up in the death of one brother and the capture of the other that same night in Watertown, Mass.Continue reading...

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” Warren Buffett 

The Reputation Institute recently published its list of the world’s most reputable brands as rated by consumers. The Global RepTrak 100 measures the reputation of the most highly regarded companies across 15 countries including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, UK and US. Each company receives a reputation score out of 100, based on trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.

Reputation is “defined by the level of trust, admiration, respect and good feeling stakeholders have towards a company,” Anthony Johndrow, managing partner at Reputation Institute told Forbes. “Consumers are more and more interested in issues such as transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.”

Here's how the top five brands made it to the top of the ranking.Continue reading...

Satellite-based navigation and fierce independence define Alaska Airlines, a lifeline and crucial carrier for the West Coast and Hawaii.

While Alaska Airlines is tiny compared to major carriers, with 124 planes as compared to United Airlines, which has more than 700 planes and four times the passengers, the airline has been instrumental in creating industry-changing technology and transforming convenience for its many remote passengers. 

Alaska’s forbidding topography and extreme weather made it the first to refine satellite guidance which has transformed landing at the country’s challenging airports and become an integral part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plan to modernize the nation’s air traffic system at a projected cost of tens of billions of dollars.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a crusty old dog like me to fly these approaches anymore,” said Doug Wahto, a Juneau native who started flying with Alaska Airlines in 1970. Wahto said he used to read wind conditions by looking at snow blowing across mountain ridges. Continue reading...

The powerhouse Coca-Cola brand will be feted at France's prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2013.

The multinational beverage giant will be recognized with Creative Marketer of the Year Award, formally known as the Advertiser of the Year Award, for innovative marketing across multiple platforms and creativity in brand communications. That the award is no longer called "advertiser" but "creative marketer" tells how far the the industry has come in almost 60 years of Cannes Lions awards — as has Coca-Cola.

“Creativity has been and always will be at the heart of our brands. It fuels our business — with consumers, customers, fans, agencies and partners all over the world,” said Joe Tripodi, EVP and Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer, Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola won its first Cannes Lion award in 1967, and has since garnered more than 100 Lions including a Design Grand Prix in 2008 for the US entry "Coca-Cola Identity" and most recently, the 2012 Outdoor Grand Prix win for China for its Coke Hands outdoor activation (above) by Ogilvy Shanghai.Continue reading...

Chrysler can celebrate its comeback from the dead in just three years in large part due to the contributions of two executives. Let's call them Mr. Outside, Olivier Francois, and Mr. Inside, Klaus Busse.

Francois is the Chrysler CMO whose inspired vision and creative command conjured up the "Imported From Detroit" campaign that caught fire at the 2011 Super Bowl and other magic that just got Chrysler Group named Ad Age Marketer of the Year for 2012, and Francois named a 2012 Brand Genius by Adweek.Continue reading...

Tiffany celebrates its 175th anniversary today, opening its doors on Sept. 14, 1837. Fans are posting congrats on the brand's Facebook page — with some celebrating by buying a bauble or two from its 1837 anniversary collection and special edition Rubedo rose-gold jewelry, and others lusting after "the one and only" yellow Tiffany diamond, all 128.54 carats, re-set for its 175th anniversary.Continue reading...

When it comes to advertising and marketing, it doesn’t really matter if it is corny or ridiculous or seemingly overwrought. What matters is if it is effective. 

Cue the Effie Awards, which measure advertising effectiveness both domestically and globally, with its latest accolades announced today at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.

For its second annual global list, after analyzing finalist & winner data from 39 worldwide Effie competitions from the past year, Unilever was named the most effective advertiser globally; while McDonald's was named the most effective brand, globally, for the second year in a row.Continue reading...