Starbucks wants people come back for more, and more--all throughout the day. Over the last couple of years, they've been market testing an afternoon menu of alcohol (beer and wine) and savory snacks.

"As our customers transition from work to home, many are looking for a warm and inviting place to unwind and connect with the people they care about," Clarice Turner, Starbucks' senior vice president of U.S. operations, said in a news release.

Way back in July 2009, we posted a report that Starbucks was about to beging testing a new retail concept in Seattle that included the sale of alcohol on premise. The chain then started selling late afternoon savory snacks and alcohol at one shop in Seattle in October 2010. Now, five stores in the Seattle area and one in Portland, Oregon offer the extended menu.

Now comes word that they are expanding the concept, and will begin selling beer and wine in a small number of Starbucks in Southern California and Atlanta. Starbucks is also planning to add savory snacks, cheese plates and hot flatbreads to menus in four to six outlets in each market to see if they might entice people to start a different sort of habit--the Starbucks happy hour. We call it "Bucks-thirty."

Source: Los Angeles Times

A month ago we posted the news that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia had inked a deal to sell housewares at J.C. Penney. It sounded like a great deal for Penney's and MSLO, but it seems to have made Macy's feel like a jilted bride.

And there is nothing like a mega conclomerate's scorn.

Macy's is now suing MSLO in New York State Supreme Court claiming the deal with J.C. Penney violates the terms of an exclusive deal to sell MSLO products at its stores.

The J.C. Penney deal involves opening store-in-store Martha Stewart shops inside most of its stores beginning next year. MSLO products at Macy's are scattered througout their Home departments, and are a valuable draw for the retailer.

Let the mud-slinging begin.

Source: USA Today

For decades, Saab owners have dealt with endless electrical problems, hose leaks and other mechanical defects that were just part of the Saab experience. Still, through all of the mechanical troubles Saab owners suffered through, they have always been some of the most loyalfanatically loyal fans.

Even now, with Saab in bankruptcy after being tossed to the curb by General Motors, and effectively no longer in operation, Saab enthusiasts are gathering this weekend across this counrty and around the world in rallies, caravans and other meet-ups designed to show their affection for the Swedish brand.

They're holding out hope--hanging on by the thinnest of threads, that all is not lost and that a white knight might come in and save Saab at the last minute.

The chances of that are slim, however.

From Brandchannel, here is a quotefrom former Saab CEO Victor Muller:

"Although I am not anymore Saab’s CEO — you all know that we did not manage to keep the company alive, unfortunately — I would like to thank all of you personally. Without people like you, Saab would have no reason for existence. Without people like you, we would have never bought Saab back in 2010. At that time there were convoys all over the world. Today and yesterday, some 110 events in 42 countries were organised. Which car brand would ever be able to touch that? That is something unique.

Saab is everything but over. I do not want to create any expectations based on nothing. There are some very interested parties who would like to take over Saab as a going concern. They do not want to buy some parts of Saab, but the whole enterprise. This is very encouraging. I cannot predict whether this will succeed. This is something I cannot exert an influence on. I am just helping — to the best of my abilities — the administrators make a deal."For adventurous shoppers seeking deep discounts, Saab dealers still have about 2,200 cars in their inventories that are still for sale.

Source: WSJ.comand Brandchannel

As the number of baby boomers who offically become  "seniors" grows exponentially over the next years, we will see more and more companies targeting this still highly active group.

They are currently the fastest-growing and wealthiest segment of the population, and were least hurt by the recession. According to data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, adults over the age of 50 spent $2.7 trillion on consumer goods in 2010. Everyone from pharmecetucal companies to insurance carriers to retirement communities see the opportunity with the senior class.

Television is also a high-value area for the post 18-49 set. So it is no surprise that a cable network has arisen to provide programming for the AARP crowd. Let's face it--older folks have a lot of disposible income, and spend a lot of time watching television.

RLTVis a cable channel specifically targeting seniors, and has hired talent with whom this audience can relate. Seventy-seven year old Sam Donaldson and Florence Henderson will each have their own shows, as well youngsters like Joan Lunden, 61, and Deborah Norville, 53.  

Programming such as "Making Medicare Work for You," will find a place on RLTV, as well as reality shows like "Another Chance for Romance" and "Sunset Daze," which the Los Angeles Timescalls a "Jersey Shore" for adventurous senior citizens in Surprise, Arizona. Another reality show "Family Pickle" takes a look inside New York City’s world renowned Carnegie Deli, home to "the wildest cast of characters you’ll ever meet."

"Advertisers are waking up to the fact that the 50-plus population is an audience they have to pay attention to," said Kevin Donnellan, an executive vice president with the AARP, and a producer of two magazine shows for RLTV. "We're no longer living in that era where people are thinking about their father's Oldsmobile."

RLTV was launched in 2006 and was originally called Retirement Living TV (the founder made his money building retirement communities) but recently changed to Redefine Life--a broader message to match this broad audience group.

RLTV does not boast of its distribution deals as of yet, but as cable distributors and other media outlets realize the extreme value of the senior community and its impact as part of the viewer demographic, they're bound to pick up speed.

The controversy around a surgically implanted device to help people lose weight has been festeringin the Los Angeles area for months. Opponents of the "Lap-Band" a ring that is surgically implanted around the stomach to discourage overeating have questioned the effectiveness and safety of the device, as well as its marketing claims.

The 1-800-GET-THIN weight-loss surgery billboard campaign is ubiquitous along Southern California freeways--in a town known for its obsession with physical appearance. Local opponents have questioned the "aggressive marketing" of the device through the freeway billboards, radio, television, direct mail and the Internet. Two former employees have accused 1-800-GET-THIN and its affiliated surgery centers of operating in unsanitary conditions, improperly billing insurers and putting an emphasis on profits over patient safety.

And now, the opposition is getting a national sponsors in  U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and two other House members who are calling for congressional hearings to examine whether the sponsors of the ad campaign, their affiliated clinics and the device's manufacturer are improperly promoting a potentially dangerous surgery. Waxman wants Congress to subpoena documents from 1-800-GET-THIN and Lap-Band manufacturer Allergan Inc.

"We believe the Committee should hold hearings to examine whether FDA device regulation has been ineffective in protecting the public from dangerous medical devices like the Lap-Band,"  said Waxman and Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) in letter.

The Los Angeles Timesreports that five patients have died in Southern California since 2009 after Lap-Band surgeries at clinics affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records.

For its part, the Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 1-800-GET-THIN and some of its affiliated surgery centers, saying that its advertisements were misleading because they did not adequately disclose dangers of the surgery. The company has agreed to change the ads to address the FDA's concerns.

"The fundamental mission of the FDA is to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical devices," Congressman Waxman is quoted as saying. "That is why it's critical that we understand how unsafe devices get on the market and how to protect patients from these risks."

If Oprah can have her own television network, so can Ryan Seacrest.

He, along with events promoter AEGand talent agency Creative Artists Agency(CAA) are partnering with billionaire Mark Cuban to essentially take over his existing network HDNet. The new network will be called AXS TV (pronounced "access") and will be a pop culture and music cable channel that is expected to debut in June.

Reports are that the network's programming will rely heavily on live lifestyle and live entertainment content from the music assets of AEG, and the "A-list connections and production capabilities of Seacrest." Cuban will still lead the venture.

The Hollywood Reporter suggests that the venture is “virtually” a 50-50 partnership between Cuban and the new partners.
 
Seacrest, CAA and AEG have been pitching the network concept for some time. At one point there were reports that the group was in talks to take over VH1 Soul, a little-watched spinoff of MTV Networks' VH1 channel.

HDNet has been around for about a decade, and is currently in a reported 25-35 million homes, through distribution deals with DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter and Dish. Those numbers are still small, with the big cable networks in 100 million+ homes.

Seacrest’s shingle, Ryan Seacrest Productions (which produces the ubiquitous Khardasian franchise among other projects), will have a production commitment with the new venture. Ryan Seacrest Media, a holding company separate from RSP, is the investor in AXS.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last spring, Seacrest insisted whatever deal he and his partners at CAA and AEG struck, it “will not be the Ryan Seacrest channel … it will not be branded with my name or my face. My role would be to hope to provide content for them, but primarily it would be an ownership role.”

Source: AXS.tv press announcement

Neurmarketing research is becoming a more active experiment with many advertisers from Google to Frito Lay. By studying consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective responses to advertising or product stimuli, marketers can learn why consumers make the decisions they do, and what part of the brain is telling them to do it, then adjust marketing and advertising accordingly.

And now, the Advertising Research Foundation has conducted a study of neuromarketing effectiveness, analyzing the latest methods being used to evaluate advertising and products to determine the effectiveness, drawbacks, and promise of various analytic methods.

The study was sponsored by eight major marketers: American Express, Campbell Soup Company, Clorox, Colgate-Palmolive, General Motors, The Hershey Company, MillerCoors, and JP MorganChase; and four major TV networks: ESPN, Viacom Media Networks, NBCUniversal, and Turner. The project was also supported by Dentsu, Publicis Groupe, A&E, and Warner Bros.

The study is the first major review of neuroscience methods that apply to media and advertising response. The New York-based ARF brought together eight neuromarketing research companies from across the globe to have their methods reviewed and analyzed by an academic review panel with expertise in methods evaluated in the study, namely: facial coding, biometrics, electroencephalography (EEG), steadystate topography (SST), facial electromyography (fEMG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The academic reviewers concluded that neuromarketing research has the potential to provide important new insights for the evaluation of commercials and other visual stimuli, but also that there remains a need for continued validation efforts to strengthen this field. Nevertheless, the ARF strongly maintains that, while researchers should not abandon traditional measures, they should likewise not simply defer learning about and trying neuromarketing approaches until all the academic validation questions are answered. The potential contribution of these approaches to the creation of great advertising is simply too compelling.

Above all, advertisers should not be reluctant to use neuromarketing methods qualitatively, especially early in the creative process, to identify opportunities and pitfalls in storylines, messaging, and key branding moments. Additionally, the ARF provided its viewpoint on which types of approaches are best suited to the most common research objectives and questions that advertisers have.

The findings from this work are summarized in the ARF’s newly released white paper, Uncovering Emotion: Using Neuromarketing to Increase Ad Effectiveness.

During last year’s Super Bowl, Volkswagen scored a huge hit with an ad starring a young boydressed as Vader trying to employ the mythical powers of The Force around his house. This year, the Star Wars theme returns, and Volkswagen's advertising spend is being maximized with a social media component.

For this year they've created a customizable iconic crawl inviteto "invite your friends to your Big Game party," and a canine chorus teaser ad that barks the Imperial March. Keep an eye out for the 2012 Game Day commercial—it is bound to be epic.