Apple tries to leverage lower prices.

Cars.com sets up custom channels on Pandora.

Chipotle finds customers tolerate higher prices.

Dove asks women, "Who inspired you?" in new campaign.

Kia asks NBA star Blake Griffin to soar again.

Kraft keeps investors and advertisers hopping with its "leaping" strategy aimed at hitting home runs.

Mattel to buy preschool brands.Continue reading...

Steve Jobs is eulogized worldwide as Apple CEO Tim Cook figures out how to carry on.

BBC to cut 2,000 jobs.

Costco raises membership fees.

Friendly's finally files for bankruptcy protection.

Groupon may have to settle for smaller IPO.

HP to forego any more big software acquisitions.

NBC shows rare weakness in the mornings as Today battles Good Morning America on ABC.

Oracle's Ellison embraces the cloud.Continue reading...

Pepsi returns to musical roots in spots for tonight's debut of The X Factor on Fox, while the UK version of the show copes with criticism over treatment of contestant. Meanwhile, analysts say that PepsiCo shareholders could reap big gains if the company executes a strategic split-up.

SABMiller gets Foster's to accede to a deal.

Burger King's post-King advertising clicks with consumers.

AOL needs Patch to turn a profit.

Apple schedules Oct. 4th press conference, presumably for iPhone 5 reveal.

CBS scores huge ratings for first episode of Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher, including setting a Canadian TV record.

Chipotle sees strong growth potential from ShopHouse Asian eateries.

Chrysler seeks to keep lid on UAW pay through 2019.Continue reading...

Our most-read blog posts of the past week include America's Most Popular Brand, Apple City, Kardashian Copycat, and more:

#1 America's Most Popular Brands: The Bloomberg Businessweek List

#2 Walgreens' "Nice!" Private Label

#3 Kraft’s Miracle Whip Campaign Under Fire From Anti-Divorce Activists

#4 Apple City Planned for Cupertino

#5 Kardashian Kollection for Sears Sued for Botkier Kopycat

#6 Social Media Marketing: The In-Text Context

#7 Jay-Z and Kanye West Pop Up in NYC to Promote “Watch the Throne”

#8 Versace Joins Club of Those Who Won’t Sandblast Jeans

#9 Medea Vodka: Message on a Bottle

#10 On Social Media Strategy, Hooters Is No Boob

U.S. stock markets braced for more losses today.

Audi cuts A6 price as lure for U.S. luxury buyers.

Bank of America is setting to slice thousands of jobs, Wall Street Journal says.

Barnes & Noble gets investment and ends acquisition talk.

Cadillac plans to market plug-in coupe similar to Chevrolet Volt.

Foster's shuns SABMiller acquisition idea.

Fox will return its American Idol judges for 2012 and signs deal with Ultimate Fighting as box office for Glee concert movie disappoints. Continue reading...

Walgreens has launched Nice!, its new private label brand, as part of the CPG giant’s retail strategy to claim more real estate and mindframe in the increasingly competitive category. The label uses the tagline “smart. quality. everyday.”

Nice! is a... nice companion to the Good & Delish private label, developed earlier for Duane Reade (which Walgreens owns). Its initial sku’s include dried fruit, white rice, baking soda, canned soup, tomato sauce, tea bags and macaroni & cheese.

“You will see a lot of transition within Walgreens brand portfolio over the next 12 to 18 months,” said Maurice Alkemade, divisional vice president, general merchandise manager for private brands in an article for the trade publication Private Label magazine.Continue reading...

Ubiquity is one of the main attributes of the modern pharmacy chain. Every time a snippet of desirable urban or suburban or even small-town commercial real estate has cropped up in the US over the last couple of decades, it seems as if a Walgreens or Rite Aid or CVS has been there to snap it up.

Now, Walgreens is pursuing a fascinating strategy for leveraging its “everywhereness” in a big way that could have major implications not only for its brand but also for the future of all-electric vehicles in the United States.

The Chicago-based drugstore giant has pledged to install EV-charging stations at 800 of its stores around the country by the end of the year.Continue reading...

Apple hints at what it might do with some of its cash: buy Hulu.

Applebee’s implements new Facebook strategy.

Cheesecake Factory boosts menu prices to combat higher costs.

GE quarterly profits rise as finance arm continues to recover from recession.

Google grabs 20 million users with Google+.

NFL players reportedly have reservations about the new collective-bargaining agreement that kept them from approving it on Thursday after the league’s owners had OK’ed the tentative deal.

Reebok kicks off new marketing campaign.Continue reading...