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	<title>Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 1 (2006-2009) &#187; Theresa Howard</title>
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		<title>Cybercrooks profit by &#8216;squatting&#8217; on brand names</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/05/12/116349-cybercrooks-profit-by-squatting-on-brand-names/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/05/12/116349-cybercrooks-profit-by-squatting-on-brand-names/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 May 2009 07:00:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Sci/Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Sci/Tech-National]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=104780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As advertisers spend more online, brand name firms increasingly are seeing their names, customers and millions of dollars in sales hijacked by shady marketers.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As advertisers spend more online, brand name firms increasingly are seeing their names, customers and millions of dollars in sales hijacked by shady marketers. </p>
<p>Instances of deceptive marketing to build traffic for rogue sites or to sell faux-branded products rose 17 percent last year, according to MarkMonitor, whose software tracks digital marketing infringement. </p>
<p>Shady marketers are using so-called cybersquatting to do their digital stealing. They drive people to a &#8220;squatted&#8221; site via e-mails or through paid search. Once they&#8217;ve led someone there, they hope to steal credit card information, spur clicks on ads to skim revenue from online ad networks or sell fake products, such as pharmaceuticals or pricey handbags. </p>
<p>The tactics target electronics, sports apparel, luxury brands and pharmaceutical brands the most and cost marketers about $175 billion worldwide in lost revenue, says Fred Felman of MarkMonitor. </p>
<p>&#8220;When the economy goes south, white-collar criminals don&#8217;t quit,&#8221; Felman says. The company&#8217;s &#8220;Brand Jacking Index&#8221; report shows that daily incidences of cybersquatting against 30 of the top global brands rose to 449,484 last year vs. 382,246 in 2007. A first-time study coming out today in conjunction with industry group Chief Marketing Officer Council addresses how marketers are coping with the surge in cybersquatting. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re at a point in which marketers need a wake-up call in what&#8217;s happening to their brand,&#8221; says Liz Miller, vice president, programs and operations for the council. &#8220;Marketing is in the dark, and cybercriminals are ramping up their game.&#8221; </p>
<p>Incidents are up as marketers increasingly use search engine optimization to reach consumers online, where ad spending is expected to top $24 billion this year. While ad expenditures overall are expected to fall by as much as 10 percent, digital advertising in 2009 is expected to be up about 4.5 percent over 2008, according to online marketing tracker eMarketer. </p>
<p>As businesses fight for a share of dwindling dollars, rogue marketers are getting more aggressive. The CMO study says that marketers see their brands as more vulnerable to infringement online than in other media, with 29.5 percent of the 300 marketers reporting brand infringement on the Web vs. 22.6 percent in other media. </p>
<p>Despite the big cost to marketers, few of them invest in protecting their brands online. The CMO study reports 52 percent of respondents spend less than $100,000 on brand protection annually. Just 2.7 percent say they spend $5 million or more.</p>
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		<title>Dunkin&#8217; Donuts expects a solid 2009</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/01/02/106637-dunkin-donuts-expects-a-solid-2009/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/01/02/106637-dunkin-donuts-expects-a-solid-2009/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Personal Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Personal Finance-National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Theresa Howard]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=95155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; The economic outlook for 2009 may be sour, but Dunkin' Donuts thinks its prospects are sweet.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2009/01/l106637-100.jpg" alt="" width="577" height="206" />
<p>NEW YORK &#8212; The economic outlook for 2009 may be sour, but Dunkin&#8217; Donuts thinks its prospects are sweet.</p>
<p>The coffee and food chain expects to weather 2009 and keep the heat on rivals such as McDonalds and Starbucks. Coming are a new CEO, more value offerings, more stores and more marketing, with spending up more than 5 percent, led by a $100 million ad campaign starting Monday.</p>
<p>&#8220;It will be a difficult year economically but I think we&#8217;re well-positioned,&#8221; says Will Kussell, president and chief brand officer. The chain has 5,769 U.S. stores.</p>
<p>Dunkin&#8217; recently scored a symbolic win in Congress against Starbucks, which is undergoing a $400 million revitalization plan. As of Dec. 18, thanks to a concession change, Dunkin&#8217; bumped Starbucks as the official coffee of the Senate restaurant.</p>
<p>Dunkin&#8217; spent much of 2008 re-emphasizing the basics, such as service speed, after seeing a dip in sales. &#8220;We started to see a little bit of a downturn in the early part of &#8217;08, particularly in Florida. That was the leading indicator for us,&#8221; says Kussell.</p>
<p>The introduction of flatbread sandwiches, which now makes up 5 percent of sales, and Dunkin&#8217; Deals has helped set the stage for an aggressive 2009, including:</p>
<p>&#8212; New ads. &#8220;You Kin&#8217; Do It&#8221; is the theme for TV, online and outdoor ads that highlight everyday challenges, such as work and traffic. &#8220;You Kin&#8217; Do It &#8230; says we&#8217;re going to help you get through what you have to deal with every day,&#8221; says Kussell.</p>
<p>Also on tap: more online social networking action, such as blogger Dunkin&#8217; Dave on Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8212; New CEO. Nigel Travis, 58, takes the top job Tuesday. Travis, former CEO of Papa John&#8217;s, has franchising and global experience from stints with Burger King and Blockbuster. Dunkin&#8217; opened its first store in China last fall and Travis is expected to focus on global growth.</p>
<p>&#8212; New stores. Kussell would not say how many stores Dunkin&#8217; will open in 2009 but says it will continue its westward expansion with stores in Indiana, Arizona and Nevada. In 2008 Dunkin&#8217; opened 500 in the U.S. while Starbucks said it would close 600 of its 11,000 in the United States.</p>
<p>&#8212; New value meals. Dunkin&#8217; will expand Dunkin&#8217; Deals, which bundled a bagel or sandwich for 99 cents with purchase of a coffee. &#8220;It&#8217;s been huge in this economy,&#8221; says franchisee Jim Allen, who owns 18 stores.</p>
<p>In the first quarter, a flatbread sandwich, typically $2.99, will go for $1.99 with coffee purchase.</p>
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		<title>Adidas chases fashion market with global ad campaign</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/01/02/106635-adidas-chases-fashion-market-with-global-ad-campaign/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/01/02/106635-adidas-chases-fashion-market-with-global-ad-campaign/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Consumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Consumer-National]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=95153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; With trendy sports apparel and shoes outselling true performance and athletic products, Adidas will go global in January with ads for its Originals fashion brand.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2009/01/l106635-100.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="278" />
<p>NEW YORK &#8212; With trendy sports apparel and shoes outselling true performance and athletic products, Adidas will go global in January with ads for its Originals fashion brand.</p>
<p>The line accounts for 20 percent of Adidas sales. The items, with an average price of $70, include the classic Stan Smith tennis shoe, fleece hoodies, skimpy tennis dresses and shimmery T-shirts.</p>
<p>Ads for Originals, the company&#8217;s first mass-market campaign in 60 years, are going worldwide after kicking off in the United States for the holidays.</p>
<p>Adidas will tap its roster of celebrity and sports endorsers for Originals. David Beckham, Missy Elliott and Russell Simmons appear in an ad that shows people dancing at a crowded party.</p>
<p>&#8220;Teens still want something that is fashionable and deals with innovation,&#8221; says Simon Atkins, director of U.S. marketing.</p>
<p>&#8220;The campaign and the people that are in it are on point with their needs,&#8221; he says. &#8220;That&#8217;s outside of a good, bad or indifferent economy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Adidas is vying for a bigger share of the sports apparel and footwear market, a $70.2 billion business in the United States. this year, according to tracker NPD Group.</p>
<p>And fashion is $45 billion of that versus $25.2 billion for performance products.</p>
<p>Brands such as Reebok and Skechers helped make athletic looks fashionable for every day. Brands built more on performance, such as Nike, Puma and Asics, have been trying to move more into fashion to grab some of those profits.</p>
<p>Growth of both categories is flat in the current economy, but retail expert Marshal Cohen says new styles and innovation can spur sales even in tough times.</p>
<p>&#8220;Luxury is the last thing that goes out in a recession and the first to recover,&#8221; says Cohen, NPD trend watcher and chief industry analyst. &#8220;Consumers are (looking for) a reason to buy, and technology and fashion drive people to make purchases.&#8221;</p>
<p>Asics revived its name in the youth market when it got its yellow-and-black Tai-Chi Onitsuka Tiger shoes onto actor Uma Thurman&#8217;s feet in the 2003 film &#8220;Kill Bill: Vol. 1.&#8221;</p>
<p>Nike gave new life to classics such as the original Air Jordan by letting people customize them through NikeID. Fashion is now about 20 percent of Nike sales.</p>
<p>And Puma began a growth plan in 2006 to focus on a sports lifestyle. Through October, Puma&#8217;s 2008 sales were up 9 percent.</p>
<p>&#8220;Puma was essentially a defunct brand, but over the last few years, they&#8217;ve been able to put themselves back on the map, and they&#8217;ve done it through fashion,&#8221; says Cohen.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nike&#8217;s done a better job,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Adidas is now making a major move toward it. It&#8217;s a good card to play at this point in time.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Bubbles fizzling for champagne sales</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/29/106282-bubbles-fizzling-for-champagne-sales/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/29/106282-bubbles-fizzling-for-champagne-sales/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nation/World]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bars/Drinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Economy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Taste-Bars/Drinks]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=94826</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; There will be little celebration for champagne makers this year.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2008/12/l106282-100.jpg" alt="" width="233" height="350" />
<p>NEW YORK &#8212; There will be little celebration for champagne makers this year.</p>
<p>After last year&#8217;s strong 4 percent sales gain, the biggest since the buying frenzy in 1999 to ring in the new millennium, champagne makers are feeling the impact of the sour economy from $5 sparkling wines to $100 bottles of champagne.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t have a bright outlook for champagne this year,&#8221; says Frank Walters, research director for Impact, which expects the category to be down between 1 percent to 4 percent, from about 900 million glasses sold in 2007. &#8220;Luxury items are getting hurt, people are looking for value, restaurants are getting clobbered and with unemployment rising, people are watching their shekels.&#8221;</p>
<p>Other factors stealing the fizz:</p>
<p>&#8212; Consumer spending. Scaled back spending hurts champagne hard. The segment racks up 60 percent of sales from late October to January.</p>
<p>&#8212; Shorter season. An early Thanksgiving gave champagne makers five fewer days than last year to get products into stores.</p>
<p>&#8212; Bad PR. An advertising campaign &#8220;Unmask the truth,&#8221; put out by trade group Champagne, USA, calls attention to products that are not officially champagnes. Many domestic sparkling wines are called champagnes even though the grapes don&#8217;t originate from the Champagne region of France.</p>
<p>Still, champagne and wine makers and retailers are trying to spur buying.</p>
<p>&#8220;Grocery stores are lowering prices almost to cost to get people in to buy,&#8221; says Gary Heck, president, Korbel Champagne Cellars. &#8220;Most stuff is down by $2 to $3 across the board.&#8221;</p>
<p>Marketers for Martini &amp; Rossi Asti Spumante, which sells for $10 to $13 a bottle, are focusing on store shelves. &#8220;We want to make sure our brand is there for consumers to see when they shop,&#8221; says Celio Romanach, Martini &amp; Rossi&#8217;s brand managing director.</p>
<p>Luxury brands are trying to reach the still-rich with super expensive products. Moet &amp; Hennessy bundled its bubbly with high-end gift boxes and packages including a Dom Perignon Power Trio, a boxed set of three Dom Perignon vintages with a price tag of $1,500.</p>
<p>For its Piper-Heidsieck Rare, Remy Cointreau USA introduced a collectible bottle designed by a high-end French jewelry maker, says spokeswoman Marie Christina Batich. &#8220;Our consumers understand the value of our product.&#8221;</p>
<p>Remy will also deploy an old standby: free samples.</p>
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		<title>Retailers selling 2nd Black Friday</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/25/106070-retailers-selling-2nd-black-friday/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/25/106070-retailers-selling-2nd-black-friday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2008 07:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Consumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Consumer-National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Theresa Howard]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=94575</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK - Mark down Dec. 26, as the second Black Friday of this wacky shopping season.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2008/12/l106070-100.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="286" />
<p>NEW YORK &#8211; Mark down Dec. 26, as the second Black Friday of this wacky shopping season.</p>
<p>Except desperate retailers are making the deals even bigger.</p>
<p>Day-after-Christmas sales will rival those of the real Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that kicks off the shopping season and can put retailers into money-making territory for the year. This year, whopping pre-Christmas sales have not done enough to sway shoppers to spend. They&#8217;re awaiting deeper discounts, and retailers are promising them. Especially to those who arrive early.</p>
<p>&#8220;People can come in from 7 a.m. to noon and they are going to find great deals,&#8221; says Tom Aiello, a spokesman for Sears Holding, which owns Sears and Kmart. &#8220;It&#8217;s like Black Friday.&#8221;</p>
<p>But, hopefully, a calmer one. The day after Thanksgiving, a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death in a Long Island, N.Y., store.</p>
<p>The $300 billion retail industry is trying to stave off a record bad year. Industry sales will be flat or down.</p>
<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s not a lot of time for retailers to make up for what&#8217;s been lost,&#8221; says Kathy Grannis, National Retail Federation spokeswoman.</p>
<p>Among offers:</p>
<p>- Sears will offer up to 75 percent off on electronics and 50 percent off on Craftsman tool storage chests. Kmart will add 40 percent off to clearance items, already marked down 30 percent.</p>
<p>- Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us circulars in newspapers Thursday will bill the day-after Christmas as the &#8220;biggest&#8221; after-holiday sale, with deals including an $81.99 race car set for $19.99 and table games, originally $239.99, for $131.99.</p>
<p>- Crate &amp; Barrel has savings of up to 70 percent.</p>
<p>- J.C. Penney stores open at 5:30 a.m. with twice as many door-buster deals as last year. Among the 100 deals: 70 percent off jewelry,</p>
<p>&#8220;People are saying, &#8216;Why wouldn&#8217;t I wait for another 30 percent off on already 50 percent markdowns,&#8217; &#8221; says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with the NPD Group.</p>
<p>Post holiday sales usually account for 10 percent to 15 percent of the seasonal retail sales, but Cohen says the number will be higher as people cancel last-minute shopping for better deals Friday.</p>
<p>But good deals for shoppers are bad for retailers, whose margins are already squeezed.</p>
<p>&#8220;It can help them move out their inventory, and if they can just break even, that&#8217;s going to be good,&#8221; says analyst Jennifer Black.</p>
<p>Shelly Baur of Kirkland, Wash., will give her husband clothes. &#8220;The second present to my husband will be clothes shopping for the after-Christmas sales.&#8221;</p>
<p>In Ocala, Fla., Donna Ketterer and her husband are waiting for a deal on a video camera. &#8220;We feel this is an item that will drop in price after Christmas,&#8221; she says.</p>
<p>-</p>
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		<title>Marketers want you to throw a party</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/22/105772-marketers-want-you-to-throw-a-party/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/22/105772-marketers-want-you-to-throw-a-party/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Sci/Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edge-Sci/Tech-National]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=94322</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; On a recent Saturday, about 1,000 women across the country moonlighted as marketers for Microsoft's newest Xbox services.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 255px"><img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2008/12/l105772-1.jpg" alt="Eric Ospina plays video games as the grown-ups gab at a party to promote Microsoft's Xbox in Yonkers, N.Y." width="245" height="164" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Eric Ospina plays video games as the grown-ups gab at a party to promote Microsoft's Xbox in Yonkers, N.Y.</p></div>
<p>NEW YORK &#8212; On a recent Saturday, about 1,000 women across the country moonlighted as marketers for Microsoft&#8217;s newest Xbox services.</p>
<p>House cleaners, hairdressers, guidance counselors and IT technicians got a $150 pack of Xbox freebies for opening their homes to at least 10 friends or relatives.</p>
<p>And they earned bragging rights.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s cool because the kids in my school were like &#8216;oooh,&#8217; &#8221; says Aimee Maldonado, 40, a guidance counselor at a high  think I&#8217;m so cool.&#8221;</p>
<p>She was among the first 10,000 people in the U.S. to try a batch of new Xbox Live Internet-based games and services, which include streaming video, movie rentals from Netflix, as well as photo-sharing and other social-networking features and shopping.</p>
<p>Microsoft signed up Maldonado and the others to drum up interest among women like them in the services and the newest Xbox console, whose price was cut in the fall to $199.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve sold 20 million consoles to date globally since we launched three years ago,&#8221; says Heather Snavely, Microsoft&#8217;s director of interactive entertainment business global platforms. &#8220;In order to get to the next 20 million, we need to get a new audience of women and teens. We&#8217;re going after them in ways that are different than ways we&#8217;ve done before.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Xbox event hosts used their own Xbox 360 consoles to demonstrate the new services, which also require broadband Internet service and subscriptions to Netflix and Xbox Live, a service that offers social-networking activities and game play with friends in other cities.</p>
<p>They got an Xbox party pack of freebies that included microwaveable popcorn, Xbox trivia game &#8220;Scene It? Box Office Smash,&#8221; an Xbox universal media remote control, a three-month subscription to Xbox Live, and 1,600 Xbox Live points (used for game, movie and TV show purchases).</p>
<p>Xbox found women including Maldonado and Chicago-area resident Danielle Jamil through a service called House Party, which sets up home parties for marketers. House Party has a database of 100,000 names of people who have provided a profile of personal information and who want to be &#8220;brand advocates.&#8221; The advocates host a preplanned party to show off the marketer&#8217;s brand to their friends.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a tremendous opportunity in terms of building a brand,&#8221; says Jamil, 36 a manager at a marketing firm who lives in Downers Grove, Ill. &#8220;People trust their friends more than they trust an ad or a commercial.&#8221;</p>
<p>Marketers pay House Party from $120,000 for holding 1,000 parties to $300,000 for up to 5,000 parties. The marketer&#8217;s only additional costs are for such incidentals as the sample box for hosts.</p>
<p>Microsoft was one of the 43 clients for which House Party orchestrated events this year. Others included Fisher-Price, Kmart, Kraft, Poland Spring water and Clairol. Next year, the company has more than 85 parties lined up.</p>
<p>Based on the profiles, House Party picks people most likely to talk about a brand or service and settles on a group of hosts for the client marketer. &#8220;We&#8217;re trying to get authentic enthusiasm going,&#8221; says CEO Kitty Kolding. &#8220;We know that word-of-mouth is far more valuable and has more impact when the person delivering the message has a real passion for the product.&#8221;</p>
<p>To get picked to host a party for 10 to 20 guests, women who own an Xbox had to answer questions about how active they are on social-network sites such as MySpace. Selected hosts then received weekly e-mails with party tips and reminders leading up to the event.</p>
<p>Kolding says the company tries to work the list so the same people aren&#8217;t always picked. &#8220;We try to gather a whole new group of consumers every time we do an event,&#8221; says Kolding. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want serial hosters.&#8221;</p>
<p>Shannon Arnett, 30, of Batavia, Ohio, was excited to be picked as an Xbox host.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have the older Xbox 360,&#8221; she says. &#8220;When it first came out, (the games and services were) more geared toward the men. &#8230; Now, Xbox is trying to bring everyone together.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>New sugar substitute hits shelves</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/22/105770-new-sugar-substitute-hits-shelves/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/12/22/105770-new-sugar-substitute-hits-shelves/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=94320</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; The $112 billion beverage industry, continuing its quest for the perfect no-cal sweetener, began cautiously rolling out a handful of products with a new sugar substitute that got federal approval this week.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium" src="http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/files/2008/12/l105770-100.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="214" />
<p>NEW YORK &#8212; The $112 billion beverage industry, continuing its quest for the perfect no-cal sweetener, began cautiously rolling out a handful of products with a new sugar substitute that got federal approval this week.</p>
<p>Rebaudioside A, natural extract from the stevia plant known as Reb A, got much-awaited approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have jumped to try it right away in a few mainly juice and water products to see how consumers accept it.</p>
<p>&#8220;I do not expect to see it on any of the flagship brands any time soon,&#8221; says beverage expert John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest.</p>
<p>Reb A zero-calorie varieties of Pepsi&#8217;s SoBe Lifewater rolled into stores Thursday, and in March Pepsi will introduce Trop 50, a 50-calorie Tropicana juice drink that also has a dash of sugar.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are working across the board, and we will bring the products to market when they are ready,&#8221; says PepsiCo Americas CEO, Massimo d&#8217;Amore.</p>
<p>This month Coke will introduce 50-calorie versions of Odwalla with Reb A and sugar, and 50-calorie Sprite Green will launch in Chicago and New York.</p>
<p>Beverage executives are jazzed about the product because of consumer demand for beverages that are low-calorie and perceived as healthier.</p>
<p>But whether Reb A, which is believed to provide better taste, is the magic bullet for the flagship colas is uncertain. For now, Coke and Pepsi are working to see how Reb A mixes with cola and other soft drinks.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re testing stevia and Reb A in a variety of products, but it absolutely comes down to taste,&#8221; Joe Tripodi, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola, said at an industry meeting this week.</p>
<p>Reb A mixes well with juices because their flavors better mask other tastes, and they have a healthy perception. So does stevia, because it&#8217;s from a plant.</p>
<p>&#8220;Leaf extract sounds much better than chlorinating sugar or methylating a couple of amino acids,&#8221; says Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University and author of &#8220;What to Eat&#8221; and &#8220;Food Politics.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;It has a much less chemical sound even though it&#8217;s a chemical. (It has an aura the way) tea has a healthier aura. Whether it is remains to be seen.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Ford and VW put ad dollars behind new big vehicles</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/09/10/96308-ford-and-vw-put-ad-dollars-behind-new-big-vehicles/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/09/10/96308-ford-and-vw-put-ad-dollars-behind-new-big-vehicles/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=84883</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#x2014; In this time of high gas prices and low auto sales, many carmakers have cut ad spending and focused on fuel-efficient small vehicles. But that hasn't stopped Volkswagen and Ford from putting the pedal to the metal this fall on rollouts of big new family haulers.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8212; In this time of high gas prices and low auto sales, many carmakers have cut ad spending and focused on fuel-efficient small vehicles. But that hasn&#8217;t stopped Volkswagen and Ford from putting the pedal to the metal this fall on rollouts of big new family haulers. </p>
<p>Volkswagen and Ford are putting a large share of their current ad budgets behind their biggest launches of the year, which happen to be big vehicles: the three-row Routan minivan for VW and the seven-passenger Flex crossover for Ford. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re in a tough year no matter what size vehicle you are selling,&#8221; says Stephanie Brinley, analyst at industry tracker AutoPacific Group in Southfield, Mich. However, &#8220;If they don&#8217;t advertise, they won&#8217;t sell (them). It would be a whole lot worse for them to draw back from advertising their new models and hope that the right people will find them by word-of-mouth.&#8221; </p>
<p>Besides, she adds, there&#8217;s still a market for these. &#8220;There are still families that need to seat seven and need the cargo capacity.&#8221; </p>
<p>Volkswagen will court families for its minivan with a quirky campaign built around actor and mom Brooke Shields. Ford&#8217;s campaign for the Flex crossover emphasizes style and goes after buyers who would not consider a minivan &#8212; particularly men and buyers moving down from big truck-based, gas-hungry SUVs. </p>
<p>The Routan, which began arriving at dealers last week, starts at $24,700 and seats seven. Volkswagen hopes for it to be a key part of its plan to more than triple its U.S. sales to 800,000 vehicles a year by 2018. </p>
<p>&#8220;The minivan is not the SUV or truck segment,&#8221; says Tim Ellis, VW&#8217;s vice president for marketing. &#8220;There are a lot of families. We expect to see a robust level of minivans being sold over the next couple of years and expect this to have the second-biggest volume behind Jetta.&#8221; </p>
<p>One way VW has reached out to families: Buyers of Routans this month get $1,500 in a 529 college savings account at Upromise. </p>
<p>Ellis says that VW projects Routan will gain 5 percent of annual U.S. minivan sales of about 750,000. But sales of minivans, which have an unhip image, are down from the 1990s, when more than a million a year was routine. </p>
<p>The Routan is made for VW by Chrysler, the minivan pioneer and only Detroit automaker still building them. It is a modified version of the newly redesigned Dodge- and Chrysler-brand minivans. VW says changes it made in style and handling have given Routan a German flavor. </p>
<p>&#8220;Volkswagen chose to partner with Chrysler because of its market leadership in the segment. &#8230;However, the Routan is a Volkswagen by design and driving dynamics,&#8221; says Ellis. </p>
<p>That&#8217;s important because &#8220;German engineering&#8221; is a crux of its ad campaign. Ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky created the campaign that features Shields, mother of two and star of NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Lipstick Jungle.&#8221; </p>
<p>In ads that began this week, Shields says people are having kids just to justify buying a Routan. She urges them to procreate for love, not to get German engineering. Marketing also includes the BabyMaker 3000, a Web site launching later this month where couples can upload their photos and see what their kids could look like. </p>
<p>&#8220;The ads just ooze with satire,&#8221; says Ellis. &#8220;Brooke is perfect. She&#8217;s a mom. She&#8217;s a successful writer of children&#8217;s books. She&#8217;s topical, she&#8217;s relevant, she fits our demographic target, and she&#8217;s on a lot of magazine covers now.&#8221; </p>
<p>Ford, by contrast, is going for people who need a hauler, including SUV downsizers, but want room with style. The boxy Flex, a car-based crossover with better-than-SUV gas mileage, is getting a full-court press of ads that will be Ford&#8217;s marketing focus for the rest of the year. </p>
<p>&#8220;What people want today is a more stylish car-based ride and handling with fuel-based benefits,&#8221; says Usha Raghavachari, brand communications manager for Ford crossover vehicles. </p>
<p>In addition to ubiquitous TV ads (glittery, night ambience), the car scored product placement in &#8220;Desperate Housewives&#8221; as the ride for cool dad Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) and is in sponsored content on &#8220;The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.&#8221; </p>
<p>Digital marketing includes iPhones, Xbox, Dish and Yahoo Mobile. An iPhone application gives 360-degree views and a dealer locator. There are downloads for Xbox gamers, and a Dish Network interactive feature will take viewers to Flex videos by clicking out of a commercial. Yahoo Mobile marketing includes rich-media ads and banners. </p>
<p>Ford also paid to feature Flex in first-ever digital ads embedded in 100,000 covers of Esquire magazine&#8217;s 75th anniversary issue, on select newsstands starting Wednesday. A digital chip creates moving images of the Flex in panels in the two-page foldout.</p>
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		<title>Party bra lands creator a Maidenform deal</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/04/07/81867-party-bra-lands-creator-a-maidenform-deal/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/04/07/81867-party-bra-lands-creator-a-maidenform-deal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=70541</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Elaine Cato, 40, never intended to become a bra designer.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Elaine Cato, 40, never intended to become a bra designer. </p>
<p>All she wanted, seven months after the birth of her second daughter in 1998, was to look hot for a New Year&#8217;s Eve party. Last week, Maidenform rolled out for other women what she invented to solve the problem, calling it the Breakthrough Backless bra. </p>
<p>About a month before ringing in 1999, the size-four Nashville mother of two had set her sights on fitting into a black, backless number for the party. The problem: Her 34DD bust needed a little support after nursing baby No. 2, and she could not find a backless bra that worked. </p>
<p>&#8220;When I couldn&#8217;t find anything on the market to support this outfit, I thought maybe I could take one of my bras and alter it,&#8221; says Cato. &#8220;I started to experiment with reconfiguring the straps.&#8221; </p>
<p>She was not an expert. &#8220;I took a sewing class in high school, and my mom taught me stuff about sewing,&#8221; she says, &#8220;but I never went beyond the basics.&#8221; </p>
<p>But she cut and sewed some old bras together and ultimately created a backless bra that even had five other configurations, including halter and crisscross, and was a hit at the New Year&#8217;s Eve party. </p>
<p>&#8220;When I wore the bra that night &#8230; women were asking, &#8216;What do you have on?&#8217; &#8221; Cato says. &#8220;They knew that for a heavy-busted woman with small body frame, the adhesive types of bras on the market really don&#8217;t give you the lift and support that you want.&#8221; </p>
<p>Cato saw marketing potential in her bra and figured out how to file for a patent because she couldn&#8217;t afford the $4,000 fee for a patent attorney. </p>
<p>She was granted the patent in 2000, but her big break came after she heard about ABC reality show &#8220;American Inventor,&#8221; which had a million-dollar top prize for the best invention. </p>
<p>She won an audition to compete in the show&#8217;s second season last year. Her bra finished second in the competition, but Maidenform noticed and surprised her with a licensing offer on the season&#8217;s final episode. </p>
<p>Maidenform tweaked the backless bra, but it remains true to Cato&#8217;s design. It has adjustable straps that are attached to the outside edge of the cups in the front, loop over the shoulder and come back under the arm to attach to sturdy but pliable 2-inch wings that extend back from the cups. </p>
<p>It went on sale at retailers last week for a suggested price of $32 and will be the centerpiece of Maidenform marketing this year that emphasizes new products and seeks new customers. The tagline of the campaign: &#8220;This Feels Right.&#8221; </p>
<p>Innovation &#8220;is our big story for the year,&#8221; says Sally Skidmore, Maidenform&#8217;s vice president of marketing and advertising. &#8220;We&#8217;re bringing something new to the market that (the female consumer has) never seen before.&#8221; </p>
<p>The Breakthrough Backless bra and other new products, including seamless and single-construction bras, are featured in the new ads. </p>
<p>Print ads will run in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour. </p>
<p>Online advertising includes banner ads, as well as video and ring tones at MySpace.com. Billboards and posters will run in out-of-home ad spaces ranging from women&#8217;s locker rooms at gyms to a giant display on a tall, old warehouse along the Long Island Expressway in New York. </p>
<p>The warehouse has two billboards on the roof, a giant poster down the middle and walls of windows at each end have been painted to look as if women are throwing their old bras out the windows. The idea: &#8220;Out with the old, in with the new.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re really trying to encompass something new for Maidenform,&#8221; says Greg Smith, chief creative officer for The Via Group, the Portland, Maine, agency that created the campaign. &#8220;How we are able to market the brand is derived from what they have done with the product.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Large brewers taking niche beers mainstream</title>
		<link>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/03/19/80021-large-brewers-taking-niche-beers-mainstream/</link>
		<comments>http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/03/19/80021-large-brewers-taking-niche-beers-mainstream/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:00:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Theresa Howard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bars/Drinks]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/?p=68833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK - It may seem heresy to purists, but flavored beers are going mainstream as brewers reach for sales growth.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8211; It may seem heresy to purists, but flavored beers are going mainstream as brewers reach for sales growth. </p>
<p>Sales of flavored distilled spirits and niche and upscale &#8220;craft&#8221; brews have shown that a splash of citrus, vanilla, berry or other flavorings go a long way with younger drinkers. </p>
<p>&#8220;The name of the story is growth, and the only way to get share is to come out with something different,&#8221; says Frank Walters, research director at Impact, which tracks spirits sales. </p>
<p>Now, mainstream Bud Light will try for a taste of the action. Anheuser-Busch will introduce Bud Light Lime (with real lime juice) in May with a $35 million marketing push. Its decision to flavor a flagship brand and not create a new label signals a change in attitude by beermakers. </p>
<p>&#8220;By putting the Bud Light name to it, Anheuser-Busch is signaling that they envision some kind of mainstream opportunity,&#8221; says Benj Steinman, editor of industry newsletter Beer Marketer&#8217;s Insights. &#8220;It&#8217;s not just a small niche. Otherwise, they would not put the Bud Light name to it.&#8221; </p>
<p>Miller Brewing, meanwhile, is expanding package options for its second season for Miller Chill, a light beer flavored with lime and salt. Julian Green, a Miller spokesman, says the company decided to give the brew its own Miller Chill label and not make it a variety of Miller Lite because marketers believe it sounds &#8220;more premium.&#8221; It first was test marketed in Arizona and a few other states. </p>
<p>The brew will be sold in fancy, slim, 12-ounce cans and 16- and 22-ounce aluminum bottles, as well as the original glass bottles. </p>
<p>A-B, the world&#8217;s largest brewer, took its first swig only last spring, with Michelob Ultra in Pomegranate Raspberry, Lime Cactus and Tuscan Orange Grapefruit flavors. </p>
<p>Last month, came Budweiser &amp; Clamato Chelada and Bud Light &amp; Clamato Chelada, beers mixed with Clamato Tomato Cocktail, a clam-juice-flavored, bloody mary-type mixer. </p>
<p>&#8220;The palate for consumers has broadened, and they are looking for more variety,&#8221; says Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing.  </p>
<p>He says he expects the $1 price premium per six-pack for lime over regular Bud Light to offset an expected 20 percent decline in regular Bud Light sales as some buyers switch. </p>
<p>&#8220;Loyalists don&#8217;t want lime beer,&#8221; Peacock says. &#8220;But about 29 percent of beer consumers have some form of sweeter palate.&#8221; </p>
<p>Coors Brewing, meanwhile, will continue to offer seasonal flavors for its fast-growing, Belgian-style Blue Moon brand. Blue Moon seasonal brews include pumpkin for fall, lime for spring, honey for summer and dark Belgian sugar for winter.</p>
<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></p>
<p><strong>SPECIALTY SHOPS </strong><br />
<strong> </strong></p>
<p>Any beer, wine or spirit available in Arizona, but not on the shelves at your liquor or grocery store, can be special ordered. See store for details.</p>
<p>Here are details on the Tucson liquor stores that stock specialty wines, beers and liquors, including selections from France. </p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.ajsfinefoods.com/">AJ&#8217;S FINE FOODS</a></strong> 2805 E. Skyline Drive, 232-6340</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://beveragehouse.net/">THE BEVERAGE HOUSE</a></strong> &#8226; 6250 N. Oracle Road, 219-6424, &#8226; 4231 E. 22nd Street, Suite 141, 323-6566, and &#8226; 8660 E. Broadway, 296-9933</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.bevmo.com/productlist.asp?area=home">BEVMO!</a></strong> 6228 E. Broadway, Suite 100, 514-0695</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.catavinoswines.com/">CATA VINOS WINE SHOP</a></strong> 3063 N. Alvernon Way</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.58degrees.com/">58 DEGREES &amp; HOLDING CO.</a></strong> &#8226; 5340 E. Broadway, 747-5858 and &#8226; 4280 N. Campbell Ave., 529-2020</p>
<p>MAGEE ROAD LIQUORS  7980 N. Oracle Road, 297-9113 </p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.pasticheme.com/wine.html">PASTICHE WINE SHOP</a></strong> 3025 N. Campbell Ave., 325-3333 pasticheme.com </p>
<p>PLAZA LIQUORS AND FINE WINES 2642 N. Campbell Ave., 327-0452 </p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://rumrunnertucson.com/">RUMRUNNER WINE &amp; CHEESE CO.</a></strong> 3131 E. First St., 326-0121</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://vino100.com/">VINO 100</a></strong> 10110 N Oracle Road, 575-8466 vino100.com</p>
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