NEW YORK – The research firm Harris Interactive has released its 2010 rankings of tourism brands. There are some surprises. Hilton is the most notable in the list and now leads Marriott. Cheap hotels are lower on the list, but luxury brands also have lower scores due to the obviousMORE HERE
Israel does it. Virginia does it. Britain does it. Italy does it. They even do it on Marco Island, where old native Calusa artifacts helps to define an image of the city, and the Southwest Florida kingdom that they used to rule. It’s archeology, and it’s a very under-used weaponMORE HERE
We ran across the blog from Electro’s Sparc Studios in Clearwater. Their website has some fun stuff, including the above brochure of Caneel Bay, St. John, U.S.V.I. Welcome to the finest in post-war vacation art & amateur photography culled from the vast archives here at ElectroSpark Studios. Caution! Contains: Floridiana,MORE HERE
SAN FRANCISCO – Celebrities as brands is not a new phenomenon, but it is one that continues to evolve. Gaining income from a famous person’s legacy reserved for stars whose images were larger than life. But today, many owners of the intellectual property of lesser-known entertainers and artists are findingMORE HERE
COWLEY, England – Due to the popularity of the Mini, BMW is saying that it might need to expand production at its plant near Oxford. According to the Financial Times, the plant at Cowley builds 240,000 cars a year, and could be expanded to 260,000 to 300,000. But it mightMORE HERE
Some various brands in the news: On the Ticketron e-commerce site, if you see ticket prices, it shows you the sorts of performers and events that other people who like a particular artist were looking at hearing. We tried it out. In the case of Glenn Beck’s American Revival tour,MORE HERE
PHILADELPHIA – The venerable S.S. United States appears headed for the dreaded scrapper in Alang. Once the pride of Virginia (and the nation) the stately ship has no buyer, and NCL does not want to restore her. If you don’t think it can’t happen, just remember what happened to theMORE HERE
MARSEILLES – CMA CGM, the French shipping line, is seeking a fresh capital injection from groups like Louis Dreyfus and Butler Capital Partners, according to the Financial Times. The company is one of the more interesting in maritime circles, as it is led by Lebanese-born entrepreneur Jacques Saade and isMORE HERE
In December, US Mills, the former maker of Farina breakfast cereal, sold brands that included Erewhon, Uncle Sam, Skinner’s Raisin Bran (founded 1926) and New Morning to the company Attune Foods, makers of health food bars. (Farina was sold to Malt-O-Meal.) The best known of the brands is Uncle Sam, which isMORE HERE
BRADENTON – Pepsico CEO Indra K. Nooyi appeared on CNBC after Davos, talking about how the company was seeking healthier options for snack foods. Pepsico was going healthy. Really healthy, which would bring to mind new versions of Quaker Oats or some such. But when BrandlandUSA spotted these Tropicana tangerinesMORE HERE