Now out of Beta, GoldRun's smartphone platform uses objects as ‘virtual breadcrumbs’ for scavenger hunts and branded campaigns with pots of social commerce gold at the end of the digital rainbow. It engages users real-time with an interactive experience that yields real world rewards.

It strutted its stuff at the recent Fashion's Night Out event in New York, partnering with Bloomingdale’s and NBC on “Look the Part, Be the Part,” the first co-braned cross-industry promotion to use augmented reality.

Running through Sept. 26, shoppers at Bloomingdale’s 44 stores nationwide can participate in a photo opp with virtual characters from NBC’s fall lineup by downloading the free app, and are eligible to win a trip to Los Angeles for an on-set visit or a grand prize trip to Chicago for a walk-on role in NBC's new series, The Playboy Club.

In addition to posing with bunnies from The Playboy Club, Bloomie’s reps with GoldRun- loaded iPads are on hand to snap photos for customers with virtual cast members from four other new NBC shows: Whitney (starring Whitney Cummings), Free Agents, Prime Suspect with Maria Bello, and Up All Night, featuring Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett.Continue reading...

Vanity Fair's October issue cites Dockers' Alpha Khaki line as the 'it' pants for fall. Yes, Dockers.

Now GQ magazine, long known as the place to check out for men’s fashion news, has cozied up the Levi Strauss owned brand. GQ is spreading the word about its annual Menswear Awards by matching Dockers with its award winner and nominees for a limited edition “collectible” capsule collection.

Fibre2Fashion.com reports that Dockers has partnered with the publication’s Best New Menswear Designer Winner, Alexander Wang, along with five other designers to produce a limited-edition collection.Continue reading...

Global stock markets rise this morning in last day of trading in wild week.

American Airlines plans to spin off its Eagle commuter unit.

Angry Birds parent Rovio seeks $1.2 billion valuation.

Anheuser-Busch InBev counts on NFL to lift Bud Light in a big way.

Apple holds sway in tablet wars.

Brinker’s increases focus on value at its restaurant brands such as Chili’s Grill & Bar.

Coca-Cola stumbles on Facebook post in Portuguese.Continue reading...

For clothing retailers, an idea that can be extended is worth its weight in gold. That, apparently, is what Banana Republic thinks of the AMC hit television series Mad Men.

Last summer, Banana Republic leveraged the popularity of the series about the advertising industry of the 1960s into a mini-Mad Men campaign with select specially designed products featured in a Mad About Style guidebook, along with sponsoring a "Mad Men Casting Call" contest that offered winners an opportunity to appear in the actual show.Continue reading...

Brand marketers have long been intrigued with the use of scent as a potential differentiating feature. Maybe it all started with Smell-O-Vision, an ill-fated technology that was used to pump different smells throughout movie theaters in 1960. Smell-O-Vision stunk — it died after just one movie.

Nowadays, scent is a key part of any number of beauty and cosmetic products, typically targeting women. Increasingly, though, scent plays an important role in men's products, especially deodorants. And the latest innovation is a masculine knock-off of a concept that was first aimed at women in 2005 — the scented razor.Continue reading...

Last week, Google launched a new service, Google Advisor, to help consumers make money decisions and compare financial products: credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts.

Today, the search giant unveiled its own financial product, Google Wallet, at a press conference in New York, with partners Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint, sharing the stage.

Can Google Banking be far behind?Continue reading...

Alibaba develops China search engine with Microsoft as challenger to Baidu.

Apple is in talks to bring the iPhone to India, and will sell the iPad at Wal-Mart.

AT&T's U-verse TV is coming to Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Bank of America and other mortgage lenders face lawsuits from up to 40 state attorneys general.

Beijing Auto hopes to reinvigorate brand with $2.7 billion marketing push, as China car sales cool down.

Blockbuster begins search for a new CEO.

Bloomberg LP plans a data service catering to U.S. government.

Bloomingdale's, Macy's, J.C. Penney and other retailers go beyond discounts (incl. BOGO) to compete.Continue reading...

Large and small retailers alike have always been faced with inventory control challenges. UPC barcodes that could be scanned were a marked improvement over manual systems, but they weren't a complete solution.

When RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags were introduced into the retail environment, there was great hope that this technology would, once and for all, provide foolproof inventory control.

Wal-Mart aims to see if that's the case. According to The Wall Street Journal, The world's leading retailer will begin using removable "smart tags" next month in an effort to track items such as individual pairs of jeans. It's a smart move from an operational standpoint, but privacy advocates are worried about what else the tags may reveal.Continue reading...