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...

When a person invests heavily in something, they generally are expecting to make their money back — and then some. But New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez seems to be working some new business angle that hasn’t been discovered before: investing in one product while endorsing its competitor.

Coconut water has been "the next big thing" for a while now, with ABC News and other trend-watchers picking up on the trend more than a year ago, as consumers started ditching their sports drinks and vitamin-infused water for a more "natural" thirst-quencher.

Rodriguez has been a longtime investor in coconut-water maker Zico. But Zico’s main competitor for the top spot in what CNBC calls a $200 million industry, Vita Coco, just announced that Rodriguez was endorsing their product, which brought in $0 million in 2010.Continue reading...

Looking for a summer job? Corona and Budweiser have some tempting offers on tap — but you have to be very, very good at relaxing and/or tasting beer. The beers are hoping to get plenty of attention from applicants who would be happy to become brand ambassadors in return for cash or free travel.

Corona is searching for an “Official Corona Relaxation Expert” from California to represent the state’s laid-back vibe. The expert will be retained for three months, including a five-day/four-night stay at Dreams Riviera Cancún Resort & Spa next February. Duties include hosting the opening and closing night fiesta, sharing relaxation tips with other Corona guests while in Mexico and embodying “overall relaxation techniques to the best of your ability.” Hopefuls can apply through July 31.

The promotion dovetails with the “Corona Beach Getaway” campaign in which consumers have a chance to win one of 100 trips to Mexico by finding custom-wrapped Corona bottles or cans in stores.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Budweiser is upping the stakes by offering one lucky winner the chance to be its BEO: Beer Executive Officer.Continue reading...

As he looks for a soccer-related role representing the UK at next summer's Olympic games, David Beckham has signed a deal to appear in multiplatform advertising and PR campaigns as part of Samsung’s London 2012 Olympics sponsorship. 

Samsung, the global Olympic partner for wireless communications equipment, signed the soccer star in a deal that goes into effect immediately and runs through Dec. 31st, 2012.Continue reading...

Procter & Gamble's new campaign for its Venus line of women's shaving products features Jennifer Lopez as the "Venus Goddess" — the brand's first-ever global ambassador — and a new Goddess focus to its digital marketing. According to P&G's marketing materials,

she'll inspire women around the world to "reveal the goddess in you," by feeling confident, powerful and beautiful, inside and out. Lopez — and her amazing legs — will star in all elements of the brands marketing campaigns for 2011 which includes an exclusive remake of the iconic Venus song, plus the launch of a new philanthropic effort dedicated to empowering women through education: the Venus Goddess Fund for Education.

A $70,000 corporate citizenship component will see the Venus Goddess Fund for Education donate $1 per consumer-shared "goddess story" uploaded to its website, up to "a maximum of 5,000 stories (or $5,000). In addition, a set donation of $65,000 will be made; $50,000 to the Step Up Women’s Network (U.S.) and $15,000 to CARE International (Canada)."

Michael Vick's first endorsement deal following his jail term for dogfighting charges was for a Nissan dealership in Woodbury, NJ, which released a spot (above) in December. Today comes word that the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has signed a two-year endorsement deal with Unequal Technologies, the maker of the football pads he wore most of his last season.

"We're real excited about it," commented CEO Rob Vito about the deal with Vick, the company's first celebrity endorser, to the Associated Press. "Michael is good people. He paid his dues. President Obama reached out to him. He deserves an opportunity. This is what makes America so great. He's moved forward. He's a whole other person."

Nissan today released a new spot, above, that features the moving story of electric car activist turned brand ambassador (and employee) Paul Scott.

It's one thing when your brand hires kids in their teens and twenties to serve as ambassadors and act goofy. (Search YouTube for "Quiznos Cups" to see countless young people wearing inflatable Quiznos Q Cup costumes in public on behalf of the brand to see what we mean.) But it's quite another when they don't get paid.Continue reading...