When is an independent film festival no longer independent?

When it becomes the Sundance Film Festival, apparently.

The evolution of any independent art form -- from music and film to art and literature -- into the mainstream is often a slow and barely discernable process. What started as an underground venture somehow ends up attracting celebrities sporting Oakley’s lip balm and Lia Sopia jewelry.

The Sundance Film Festival, even according to the most forgiving definition of the term “independent,” is hardly that – at least anymore. And this reality is a problem for both the festival’s name, and its brand.Continue reading...

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, which just opened its 2,000th restaurant, will experience a brand makeover in the upcoming months. Following in the footsteps of competitor, Ruby Tuesday’s, Applebee’s plans to upgrade experience operations, marketing endeavors, and food. Customers can expect updated exteriors, more inviting interiors, and less “flair.” Although Applebee’s remodel comes at a time when major restaurant lenders are reluctant to make loans, falling costs for materials and labor have proven to be an opportunity.

Applebee's is currently testing several models in this current phase of its revitalization. Its 100 additional overseas stores will be included in the upgrade. Aside from the addition of lower-calorie meal options, visitors can expect new paint and carpeting, artwork evoking the neighborhood rather than local team photos, and more localized fare. But don't expect the signature red apple logo to change or it neighborhood-focused brand message.Continue reading...

In recent years, Sears and its corporate sibling Kmart have been the ailing cousins to the virile Target and Wal-Mart, but some aggressive marketing and Web 2.0 thinking might keep those brands from joining A&S and Kaufmann’s in department store heaven.

Sears and Kmart are operated by Sears Holding Corporation, whose chairman is the billionaire Edward S. Lampert. The mercurial Lampert tends to run Sears the way George Steinbrenner ran the Yankees (constant executive turnover, pound-foolish penny-pinching), but just like “The Boss,” Lampert has opened his wallet for the players on the field, in this case apps and websites in the league of online retail, the Wall Street Journal reports.Continue reading...

Fashionistas wept when eLuxury closed earlier this year, but they will be pleased to learn that the online boutique has been turned into a web magazine called Nowness.

According to luxury firm LVMH, a shift in the market -- and not in sales -- lead to eLuxury’s closure. The past year has seen many design brands concentrate on custom e-commerce sites, crowding the category and spreading thin demand. Nowness will feature a more comprehensive scope, and focus on a variety of creative fields including fashion, art, design, entertainment, travel, food and wine, and beauty.Continue reading...

Successful food brands often hesitate to mess around with what's working. Maybe they remember one of the most notorious mishaps in branding history: When Coca-Cola introduced the new taste of  "New Coke" in 1985, public outcry forced the company to reinstate the original formula.

Apparently, Domino's Pizza isn't worried about a similar backlash -- the company is about to change its long-time pizza recipe. The move, says Domino's Chief Marketing Officer, Russell Weiner, reflects "what consumers are looking for. We're not talking about a slightly-altered version of our previous pizza. It's a completely new pizza reinvented from the crust up, and we are proud of it. ... We spent the last 18 months reinventing the brand in anticipation of our 50th anniversary."Continue reading...

For its 30th birthday, Wet n Wild is giving itself a makeover involving a sleek new look and three new product lines.

In January, 2010, the brand will introduce 70 eye, face, lip, and nail products with updated packaging, advanced formulas, and a new tagline: "Glamorous everyday. Fabulous everyway."

Wet n Wild hopes to appeal to a broader range of women while still keeping their signature low prices, which sounds eerily similar to the path carved by some Chinese beauty companies.Continue reading...

It appears the body is still warm. Woolworths’ owners want to revive the brand's place on the high street.

After entering administration last year, Woolworths is ready for a return to brick and mortar operations. Bought by brothers Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay of Shop Direct, the owners believe the store can now extend beyond its online-only offerings. Of course, they are hoping someone else will do the grunt work, and are looking for franchisees.Continue reading...

Goyard was once a family-owned luggage-maker that, since its establishment in 1853, catered to the international traveling set. Now, collector-turned-owner Jean-Michel Signoles is working to revive the brand and restore its former glory with "organic" global expansion, while giving pet owners something stylish in which to carry their little friends.

For the past 11 years, Mr. Signoles' goal has been to maintain the look and quality that has been so frequently counterfeited. He set up a new workshop in his hometown of Carcassonne in southwestern France, and introduced new shapes and vibrant colors to the classic leather and coated-fabric material bearing the signature chevron pattern.Continue reading...