JiWire, the leading location-based mobile company, has just announced a partnership with Borders bookstores in the U.S. The deal adds 500+ bookstores to JiWire’s Wi-Fi ad network and signals the next leap to in-store WiFi location-based advertising.

Contextual location-based advertising is growing quickly. As Wi-Fi usage increases, particularly in ‘lifestyle’ venues like Starbucks and large bookstores, it’s changing the way brands interact with consumers.Continue reading...

What an interesting, paradoxical time for Starbucks. Once regarded as a bullet-proof brand that engendered the fiercest form of customer loyalty, Starbucks has of late been somewhat shunned by cost-conscious consumers. Feeling the effects of the economy, Starbucks' customer base has shrunk as coffee drinkers move to McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, and other less expensive alternatives.

While the company watches its own retail empire contract, with 600 stores closed in the past two years, Starbucks is putting its energy into driving the sales of Seattle's Best Coffee, a former rival the company acquired in 2003. Starbucks aims to expand the brand to more than 30,000 locations, up from 3,000, by the end of its fiscal year in September.

Starbucks is pursuing an aggressive strategy to place Seattle's Best Coffee in U.S. Burger King and Subway restaurants, AMC movie theatres, and in a number of varied outlets, including Alaska Airlines, Borders bookstores, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The company also plans to sell the brand in convenience stores and supermarkets, and via all forms of on-street distribution, such as coffee carts, kiosks, mobile trucks, and vending machines.

The distribution push is accompanied by the launch of a new Seattle's Best logo and slogan. The brand will move away from its type-only treatment to a contemporary graphic that highlights a drop of coffee in what could be interpreted as a wide-open smiling mouth.Continue reading...

America's second-largest bookstore chain is getting into the e-reader biz. Borders' Kobo device will begin shipping June 17 to coincide with Father’s Day in America. Borders is now accepting pre-orders for the $150 e-reader, vying for share of the virtual book marketplace with Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook. 

Two factors distinguish Kobo from its competition. On the up side, it boasts an affordable price tag. On the down side: no Wi-Fi or 3G wireless connectivity. There is, however, a Bluetooth connection for remotely syncing with (select) smartphones and updating Kobo-owners' reading lists wirelessly.

Borders is simultaneously entering the digital world with the Kobo device and a virtual ebook store which will feature one million apps for Android, Blackberry, and iPhone/iPads. The Kobo eReader has been touted as “the real Kindle killer” by Wired Magazine.

It’s a no-frills product, to be sure.Continue reading...

Carlsberg's new World Cup spot (above) features soccer legends.

BMW prototype sparks bomb scare in Manhattan as global sales increase.

Borders unveils Kobo e-reader.

Smirnoff tops power 100 ranking of alcohol brands.

Uniqlo dubbed New York's "hippest retailer."

IBM acquires Cast Iron systems for cloud capabilities.

JetBlue unveils new "digital brand experience" campaign.Continue reading...

Their names start with 'B," and that's not the only thing Borders and Blockbuster have in common. The bookstore chain Borders could be on the brink of bankruptcy, much like Blockbuster, and for some of the same reasons.

Borders, like Blockbuster, has stubbornly held on to its bricks-and-mortar sales model, even as competitors like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have aggressively expanded online and moved into the e-book marketplace. Borders, in fact, never even had its own fully functional e-commerce bookstore until 2008, when it ended a seven-year relationship with Amazon, which was fulfilling online orders for Borders.Continue reading...

Like Oprah, Martha Stewart wants a namesake cable network. [Business Insider]

Singer Macy Gray will relaunch her plus-sized Humps clothing brand. [WWD]

Thank to small companies, Dell is doing better than ever. [WSJ]

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, "personal spending" is up. [CNN Money]

Facebook users can now look through Apple apps without clicking away. [LA Times]

Casino sales are up as consumers spend more during today's recession. [Boston Herald]Continue reading...

A plan by Amazon.com to open a warehouse in Canada has ruffled the feathers of some patriotic Canadians worried about their nation's cultural integrity.

For the last eight years, Canadians have purchased books through Amazon’s Canadian website, Amazon.ca, which employs third-party contractors to ship orders from the United States to Canadian customers. But this month the company decided to create a distribution center in the country, thus setting off independent booksellers.

"If they're allowed to do this, it could open the doors to others. We could see Barnes & Noble and Borders in Canada," said Stephen Cribar, president of the Canadian Booksellers Association.Continue reading...

Diet Coke's latest ads target a younger generation of consumers. [Brandweek]

Netbook manufacturers are tailoring products for children. [Reuters]

Stop & Shop will see a 24-hour strike by its workers starting tomorrow. [Boston Herald]

Diane von Furstenberg will lend her talents to Claridge's in London. [WWD]

YouTube initiates an auto-captioning feature to aid searching. [Econsultancy]

Borders begs for another loan in order to save its failing business. [Daily Finance]Continue reading...