Sabra Dipping Company specializes in making the exotic mainstream in the U.S. with its line of Mediterranean hummus and dips. But when it sent the mainstream – in the person of Philadelphia firefighter Ray Clothier – to the exotic environment of Turkey, the company found it to be a story compelling enough to warrant its own web series which launched this week on the brand’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Clothier, who  had never before traveled outside of the U.S., was the winner of Sabra’s “Taste Intervention” campaign, in which participants explained how they needed to get out of their food ruts and try something more adventurous. Clothier said he wanted to be able to cook better meals for his fellow firefighters at Fire Station 56.Continue reading...

Toyota is on the hunt for the correct plural of Prius, as we noted last month. The brand's marketing team is inviting the public to vote on plural variations and will announce the winner on Feb. 20 at the Chicago Auto Show. 

As of this morning, Prii is in the lead as the model's plural name (with 25% of the vote — good news for the Winklevii), followed by Prius (24%), Priuses (20%), Prien (19%), and Prium (12%).

The naming contest is being promoted with a campaign dubbed Wordliness, a series of web shorts hosted by James Lipton, the inquisitive host of Bravo TV's Inside the Actors Studio.Continue reading...

Among the world’s most glamorized and vilified agencies, the CIA is keeping up with the times, and presenting a new image to the public with a digital facelift – a prerequisite for any brand presence in the 21st century, particularly one charged with national intelligence.

It's also reaching out beyond its website, as evidenced by the above. America's Central Intelligence Agency has a new video on its YouTube channel — that’s right the CIA has a YouTube channel — as the first in a series of webisodes meant to engage not only the public, but children.Continue reading...

Best Buy admits UK launch lacked impact.  

Bridgelux raises $21M in funding.

CNN anchor says network is getting outFoxed in 2010 election prep. 

Coca-Cola recognized for packaging design while Pepsi unveils "skinny can."  

eBay prepares plan to help PayPal repel Google and Apple threats. 

Facebook gains foothold in China with Hong Kong office.Continue reading...

Stand down, Facebook and MySpace — Lockerz’ mission is to eat your lunch and have the cool kids sit at its table. With a goal of worldwide domination — which these days, means being the digital homepage of teens — the Seattle-based Lockerz is a social network with a twist.

Offering a blend of content, community and commerce, participation reaps tangible rewards in the form of points that can be redeemed for purchases and discounts. After watching a video, PTZ (points) can be redeemed for up to 100% on hot brands in the Lockerz SHOP.  Non-members are informed how many PTZ they earned watching that video, and are then invited to join.

Its two revenue streams: advertising and selling real (not virtual) goods. To boost engagement, time spent on the site and the user experience, Lockerz also offers its members original content, and is already seeing success from its scripted programming.Continue reading...

Brand managers kept Nissan out of last month's Detroit Auto Show and Sunday's Super Bowl TV lineup, but they’re doing plenty of other things to make sure the company capitalizes on its increasingly strong performance in the U.S. auto market.

For several months, Nissan could rely on buzz about its Leaf all-electric vehicle to supply marketing energy behind the overall brand. But now that Leaf is on the market, the Nissan brand is moving into the next phase, as the American arm of the Japanese automaker tries to close the gap with its relatively stagnant main rivals, Toyota and Honda.

The biggest marketing gambit for Nissan — its sponsorship of the upcoming Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.Continue reading...

In the most populous country in the world, Johnnie Walker is launching a massive digital and social media campaign focusing on individuality and celebrating modern-day pioneers in China.

The campaign, which ties into the whisky’s “Keep Walking” theme, is called “Yulu” (“Words of a Journey”) and features mini documentaries on leaders in business and the arts, from Zhou YunPeng, a blind folk singer and poet, to Xiao Peng, entrepreneur and founder of 1rest.com.

The subjects of these high-quality documentaries are certainly not shilling Johnnie Walker – the whisky isn’t mentioned at all by them – but rather, they are part of building a brand associated with following one’s dreams.Continue reading...

Now that Chrysler today has cleared the decks of leftovers from last year by reporting a $199-million loss for 2010, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne can’t pivot fast enough to building Chrysler’s future.

And in doing so, the charismatic Fiat CEO is pursuing a two-pronged strategy: re-ingratiating Chrysler (funding a "Game On" blogger road trip to the Super Bowl, above) and its pre-existing brands with the American masses while re-introducing the Fiat brand, via the 500, to an upscale market.Continue reading...