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Lorillard announced in the autumn of 2013 that the sales of its electronic cigarette brand ‘Blu Cigs’ now make up about 4% of its total revenue. The e-cigarette brand was very popular prior to the acquisition but benefiting from Lorillard’s well-established chain of distribution and an aggressive marketing campaign featuring even celebrities in their TV ads, it now holds almost half of the US electronic cigarette market. Corroborated with an increase in traditional cigarettes sales, the bald move pushed Lorillard’s total sales up 10 percent, to $1.8 billion in 2013.
Since then, the corporation continued to increase profits with the newly acquired Blu, and the massive funding allowed them once again to expand their cloak even further on the niche market by purchasing U.K. e-cig company SKYCIG.
blu eCigs has hired Lady Gaga for a product placement initiative that it hopes to control the UK market by the end of next year. Jacob Fuller, chief executive of Blu eCigs UK, made the disclosure in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph in which he predicts that ecigs will overtake global tobacco sales by 2034.
‘In the US, Blu is working with Lady Gaga on a video with Blu in it.’
‘It’s a global video that’s going to allow us to piggyback on that brand exposure in the UK.’
‘Kevin Spacey uses Blu eCigs on The House of Cards and it’s been on the David Letterman show. As those episodes make it over here, we’re getting great UK exposure from that.’
‘Blu also uses actor Stephen Dorff as its celebrity spokesman in the US and he came to the UK for our launch.’
E-cigarettes were invented by Hon Lik China back in 2006, and are growing in popularity on a regular basis, with Blu eCigs increasing annual sales from $18m to $200m over the past 18 months.
The brand was launched in the UK in April in a rebranding of the very popular ‘Skycig’, an ecig company co-founded by Jacob Fuller in 2009 after he saw these devices at a trade show in Las Vegas.
‘E-cigarettes are going to revolutionize the tobacco industry like the mobile phone and digital camera have done to telecommunications and film. It’s going to move very, very quickly. People made fun of me five years ago for starting an electronic cigarettes business but look now. They’re everywhere.’ Said Fuller, as global sales of e-cigarettes are currently estimated at about $2 billion.
‘People say that’s astronomical but Blu eCigs did it in the US,’ added Fuller. ‘I think e-cigarettes have the potential to overtake tobacco, which is a $700bn industry.’
‘Tobacco is one of the biggest industries in the world but I’m talking about 20 years from now’
Blu eCigs UK, based in Edinburgh, has 120 employees and 14,000 commercial retailers, including the Co-op, Asda, WH Smith and Morrisons.
E-cigarettes have sparked a lot of controversy since they are unregulated and untaxed in the UK. ‘We believe science will win the debates’ added Fuller ‘E-cigarettes should not be classed as tobacco. They are nicotine delivery devices’ he concluded.


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On May 22, 2018, National Lifeline Association (NaLA) met with legal advisors to Chairman Pai and Commissioners Carr, O’Rielly, and Rosenworcel to discuss proposed changes to the Lifeline program. NaLA representatives Kim Lehrman, Jose Cortes, Chuck Campbell, John Heitmann and Joshua Guyan raised concerns regarding the proposed ban on wireless resellers. The proposed FCC changes are contrary to the purpose of the Lifeline Program which is affordable service. NaLA representatives were open to a budget for the Lifeline Program within reason. But the main aim of the organization is to support the low-income consumers that rely on the Program and as such, they maintained that their commitment is to affordability and consumer choice.
Proposed Lifeline Reforms Threaten Service Affordability
Resellers are important to the Lifeline program. They support consumer choice and affordability. The proposed FCC changes will have a negative impact on the industry and the families that it supports. The proposal to remove wireless resellers from the Lifeline space would:
- harm consumers by forcing more than 7 million (or roughly 70%) of all Lifeline subscribers to find a new Lifeline service provider
- leave some low-income families without wireless service and with limited service options.
- be detrimental to the program integrity and efforts to guard against waste, fraud and abuse
- NOT bridge the digital divide by spurring additional facilities deployment or more affordable services.
- upend the states’ role in designating ETCs, as well as the reliance interests of wireless resellers.
As the preference and demand for mobile voice and broadband services has increased, Wireless resellers have willingly sought ETC designations and relieved landline providers of the obligation to provide Lifeline service. It is not clear why the FCC is taking such actions against a program that has been so helpful to low-income Americans. Among those it helps are seniors and veterans who may be retired, disabled, on fixed income, as well as other Americans who are looking for work.
NaLA Asks FCC to Reconsider Lifeline Reform Plans
NaLA proposes adopting conduct-based standards and agent registration to properly focus on bad actors rather than efforts that will harm consumers. “The FCC should freeze or roll-back the minimum service standards and voice support phase-out that threaten to deny consumers access to affordable choices that best meet their needs.” The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has also contributed a budget in support of NaLA’s initiatives in this matter.
About the National Lifeline Association
The National Lifeline Association is the only industry trade group specifically focused on the Lifeline segment of telecommunications. We support the 4 essential pieces of Lifeline: ETCs & Providers, Distributors, Lifeline Supporters & Participants, and Government & Regulatory Bodies. We are passionate about the continuity and advancement of the Lifeline program and we drive this vision through education, cooperation and advocacy.

domain: news


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Chanel West Coast straight-up changed her mind after saying she was a “regular girl” today – the 31-year-old rapper and MTV face adjusted her description to “basic b-tch” as she introduced the second episode of “West Coast Workouts” via her latest Instagram video. YoutTube is where the star’s 3.4 million followers have been heading to get a workout body just like hers – Chanel made headlines earlier this month for widening her multi-faceted career with fitness alongside juggling her LOL Cartel brand, music career, influencing, and “Ridiculousness” show.
Chanel’s video (seen below) showed her in the hot pink-painted gym that’s in her garage. The “Black Roses” rapper was surrounded by the girly theme, seen contrasting it in a skimpy white sports bra flashing her rock-hard stomach and cleavage, with a black-and-white pair of spandex Nike leggings keeping the look monochrome.
A quick intro led Chanel into deep squats with dumbbells – the camera also took in a revealing rear view – with resistance bands working the brunette’s legs as she delivered her reps. The post wasn’t even 30 minutes old before West Coast found herself told she absolutely wasn’t the “basic b-tch” she’d described herself as.
Chanel made headlines earlier this month for her own take on COVID-19. The rapper had already delivered a boiler suit dance to the iTunes chart-entered iMarkkeyz remix of Cardi B’s “Coronavirus Sh*t Is Getting Real” rant. Now Chanel has her own version.
“Chillin’ here at home dodgin’ ‘rona, social distance got me like a loner,” one lyric reads, with another saying:
“Ginger, lemon caught in Turmeric, my immunity is boomin’ b–ch!”
“Let’s not worry about the flossin’, more focus take precaution.”
Likewise popular has been West Coast going brazenly topless in leather strapping and pasties: “Just dodging corona like…”
Comments left to today’s video threw Chanel the thumbs-up over her super-fit body, also seeing her fans mention the eye-popping pinks forming the gym.
“Pink termites for sell??? Chanel I know ya didn’t kill em’ all you just said fk ya’ll and painted over them and into them walls! ??????????,” one user wrote.
“@ill_in nah they gone fam ?,” Chanel replied.
“Queen, u soooo far from regular ??” was another comment. Appearing to prove this has been Chanel showing off her Louis Vuitton merch during a Fashion Nova promo – Chanel also rocked a sheer Gucci dress towards the beginning of the pandemic – the thong-clad booty display came captioned: “Bored.”
Likes are an issue for this star. Earlier this year, West Coast made headlines for ranting that her social media followers don’t leave her enough of them.
“For the most part I f_cking like everybody’s sh_t, and nobody likes my sh_t. And I’m just like, b_tch I’m f_cking famous on a million episodes of TV, and you got way less followers than me and I’m liking your sh_t and you don’t ever wanna like my sh_t?” she wrote, adding:
“Who the f_ck do you think you are? You think I’m desperate because I’m friendly and liking your sh_t? Ain’t nobody f_cking desperate, I’m just being nice.”
For more from Chanel, check out her Instagram.


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The hunter became the hunted yesterday (27 May) as Pilgrim's Pride made a hostile bid for Hillshire Brands. The news comes just days after H...
Food manufacturers based in Venezuela have long struggled to supply the country's oil-fuelled economy amidst strict government controls and...
Marfrig CEO Sergio Rial was upbeat about the progress he saw at the Brazil-based meat processor yesterday (11 March), insisting the company...
Poor logistics, including a lack of infrastructure and trained manpower, keep modern branded food retail from actualising its potential in I...
As one of the largest traders of agricultural raw materials in the world, Archer Daniels Midland is probably a direct or indirect link in more food supply chains than it is possible to quantify. Global sustainability director Timothy Venverloh explains how ADM is setting about making its business and those of the companies it supplies more sustainable.
Cargill this week opened its first animal protein plant in China. With demand for protein soaring in the country, the move looks a sound one from the US agribusiness giant. However, the poultry sector in China can be a challenging place to do business.
Tight cattle supplies have seen Cargill announce it is to close its Milwaukee beef processing plant with approximately 600 jobs at risk.
Pilgrim's Pride is reportedly upping its offer for the acquisition of Hillshire Brands to US$55 a share.
Hershey, Mars and Nestle - plus cocoa suppliers Barry Callebaut and Cargill - are among 12 companies to set up a new industry initiative to "accelerate" efforts to make farming in west Africa "more sustainable".
Cargill Meat Solutions, the US meat business of agri-giant Cargill, has confirmed that it will be laying off staff at its Dodge City processing facility in response to tight cattle supplies in the country.
Cargill has blamed "external" effects - including problems with corn shipments to China - for a slump in earnings in its third quarter.
Agri-giant Archer Daniels Midland Company plans to sell its global chocolate operations by the end of the third quarter, the company said this week.
Today's European Roundtable being held in London by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at creating a sustainable global supply of palm oil, promises to be an absorbing occasion.
- BRICs and beyond: Fonterra, Beingmate partnership
- Consuming issues: The hunger-obesity paradox
- On the money: Hormel still looking for M&A
- On the money: Mengniu hones in on "star" brands
- just-food interview: Agropur CEO Robert Coallier
- Fonterra, Beingmate launch infant formula JV
- Mondelez eyes snacks categories in India
- Parmalat nears Lacteos Brasil acquisition
- UK firm Pasta Reale enters administration
- Italy yoghurt woes lead to Emmi profit warning


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Vote in AuburnArt’s “Drawing from our Roots” Contest
For the past few weeks, AuburnArt has been taking user submissions of hand-crafted art for an artist search contest called “Drawing from our Roots.” All of the submissions are of Auburn nature, of course, and range from paintings, drawings, photos, and jewelry.
From now until March 31st, you can vote for your favorite on AuburnArt’s Facebook page. From there, three finalists will be chosen, judges will select the winner, and announce it on April 5th.The winner’s piece will then be sold at AuburtArt’s store (next to Toomer’s Drugs) and at AuburnArt.com. Go vote.


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Debenhams is launching a multi-million pound Christmas campaign – the retailer’s first since 2006.
The TV campaign, which has been created by JWT London, airs for the first time on Wednesday 7th November and shows a woman’s journey home for Christmas. The ad, called ‘Christmas Made Fabulous’, stars Designers at Debenhams newcomer Jenny Packham, alongside favourites Julien Macdonald and Henry Holland.
On Wednesday 7th November the ad will be show at the end of Coronation Street on ITV, Grand Designs on Channel Four and during Dallas on Channel 5.
During the ad the audience shares in a series of Christmas moments such as party-goers celebrating on a balcony, a little girl dancing with her granddad and a man haplessly wrapping his gifts for his girlfriend on the train.
The ad builds on the brand’s successful ‘Life Made Fabulous’ TV campaign with the familiar sight of Designers at Debenhams working in their studios as the ad’s heroine peers through windows or passes by Henry’s, Julien’s and Jenny’s workshops.
Billie Piper of Belle du Jour fame remains the voice of the ad campaign; with the words ‘Wherever you are this Christmas, make it fabulous with Debenhams’ giving a festive twist to the familiar ‘Life Made Fabulous’ strapline.
Richard Cristofoli, Marketing Director at Debenhams, said: “It makes sense to launch a Christmas campaign with a recognisable brand identity established in the consumer mind-set. And that’s what we’ve done.
“The British public love a good Christmas ad, which is why we have been building up to this moment from the start of our ‘Life Made Fabulous’ brand campaign in 2011.
‘It’s about showing customers the quality items we have on offer and communicating our unique Designers at Debenhams concept while creating that all important festive feeling.”
The Debenhams’ Christmas TV campaign will be supported by strong print advertising, with the launch ads being Aurasma enabled. This allows readers to see the TV ad on their smartphone by scanning the print version in front of them.
As well online activity on Debenhams.com and Debenhams TV, the store has also created an online hub to encourage customers to share photos of their Christmas moments, whether it be finding the perfect present for a family member, drinking champagne at the Christmas party or a new recipe for the festive season. Each week the best submission will win a prize at www.christmasmadefabulous.com.
A strong social media campaign will also see Debenhams encouraging customers to share their favourite #christmasmoments on Twitter and Facebook.
Cristofoli added: “This is not just about putting an ad on TV – we want our customers and staff to share in the experience of getting excited about one of the best times of year.”


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UPDATE: Rumours are intensifying after Meg Whitman, current CEO of HP, told a room of HP and Palm employees that a final decision to continue or not continue to support the fledgling webOS will come in three to four weeks.
She says that “It’s really important to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision” and that if HP does decide to keep the platform it will “do it in a very significant way over a multi-year period.” The delay has been caused by the recent decision on HP PC business and the work behind HP’s Autonomy aquisition. If HP does decide to keep webOS, Whitman has suggested they will focus on tablets more than phones.
It’s going to be interesting, but today all we can say is stay tuned to techgeek.com.au.
ORIGINAL: The rumours that HP is selling webOS have grown stronger since last nights report from Reuters. Now The Verge is reporting that, according to “multiple sources”, HP is holding a all-hands meeting tonight, led by Meg Whitman, that will decide the fate of webOS.
As we told you yesterday, the purchaser is rumoured to be IBM, Oracle, and RIM as well as a few unlikely contenders.
Details are scarce, but you can be sure techgeek.com.au have all the news on the sale of webOS as it comes to hand. Fingers crossed something good happens.


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Digital advertising is being held back by the current siloed approach to consumer data, which is failing to give marketers a complete picture of the customer journey, writes Harvey Sarjant of Sirdata.
He believes a new generation of intelligent data modelling holds the key to enabling advertisers and marketers to target consumers more accurately based on intent.
Consumer data is the lifeblood of modern marketing and it’s currently undergoing dramatic shifts, driven largely by an increased demand for transparency around how consumer information is processed.
Despite the increasing amounts of ‘Big Data’ at their disposal and the growing investment in data management technology, marketers lack the resources to harness its full potential in accurately targeting the desired audience at the precise moment when they intend to make a purchase.
This means that although the digital advertising industry is growing rapidly, campaign performance has stagnated to the point where it’s threatening to undermine a sector that’s predicted to top traditional TV advertising in terms of spend in 2017.
Read ful article :


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The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines (CCIFP), together with the French Embassy to the Philippines and Micronesia, present “Behind the Cuisines,” a two-day virtual event that aims to explore the current situation of the F&B industry in the Philippines, as well as support French and Filipino restaurateurs, food retailers, distributors, and local farmers who have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exploring the French and Filipino culture
“Behind the Cuisines” features a webinar on the theme “The Changing Phases of the Food and Beverage Industry: Defining the New Food Normal” (by registration) on Oct. 22, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The highlight of this day will be a series of high-level online conversations from key individuals in public and private sectors to inform everyone about the current state of the F&B industry in the country, key insights and practices presented by leading companies, and prominent market trends.
It follows a live cooking segment for the second part of its series, “A Fusion of French and Filipino Flavors” featuring Erwan Heussaff, that offers a platform for different French and Filipino food businesses to showcase their products and services amid this uncertain time. This virtual event will happen on Oct. 23, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and streamed live on the Facebook page of the CCIFP: https://www.facebook.com/frenchchamberphilippines.
Overall, CCIFP envisions both days of the event to complement one another by: first, imparting vital information regarding the current situation of the F&B industry in the Philippines; and second, providing the audience with ways on how they, in their own homes, can help support French and Filipino food businesses impacted by the pandemic, all while celebrating both cultures.
Support local farmers and communities with partner beneficiary, AGREA
CCIFP warmly invites the public to get a glimpse of French and Philippine culture through “Behind the Cuisines” as this will be a free event. Register to the webinar and support local farmers and communities. 15% of the total revenue will be donated to the Chamber’s partner beneficiary, AGREA. Should you wish to personally support this initiative, you may access this link: https://app.glueup.com/event/behind-the-cuisines-40061/.
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Parspec, headquartered in San Mateo, CA, has successfully raised $11.5 million in Seed funding to advance its AI-powered software platform aimed at streamlining the selection and sale of construction products.
The funding round was led by Innovation Endeavors, with notable contributions from Building Ventures, Heartland Ventures, and Hometeam Ventures. The participation of prominent investors underscores the industry’s recognition of Parspec’s potential to innovate construction procurement.
Innovation Endeavors’ Josh Rapperport has joined Parspec’s board as a member, while Allen Preger from Building Ventures serves as a board observer. The influx of capital is earmarked for expanding operations and further developing Parspec’s technological infrastructure.
Parspec, under the leadership of CEO Forest Flager, stands out as a technology-focused company dedicated to simplifying the procurement process for construction materials, with a particular emphasis on lighting and electrical products. Leveraging artificial intelligence, Parspec’s platform facilitates product selection, quoting, and submittal preparation for sales agents and distributors.
The company’s initial focus is on catering to sales agencies and distributors in the lighting and electrical sectors. Presently, Parspec collaborates with three of the top ten lighting agencies and four of the five largest electrical distributors in the United States, including industry giants such as Sonepar, Graybar, Rexel, and CED.
Forest Flager commented on the significance of Parspec’s approach, stating, “To select products today, practitioners typically compare design specifications to technical product documentation hosted on thousands of manufacturer websites. It is a time-consuming and error-prone process that contributes to procurement costs in construction that are nearly double comparable industries.” He added, “Parspec uses AI to instantly identify spec-compliant products and associated documents, reducing labor by more than 50% compared to manual methods while improving compliance.”
The impact of Parspec’s innovative solution is already evident in the industry. Eli Basset, Manager at CED in San Francisco, affirmed, “With Parspec at our disposal, we’re more efficient than competitors doing it the old way. That means I can go out there and capture market share.” Clients report substantial benefits, including a 50% reduction in time to quote and prepare submittal documentation, enabling teams to bid on 5-15% more jobs. Moreover, customers have experienced a 2-5% increase in win rates by quoting products more likely to be accepted by their clients, leading to a significant boost in revenue and profitability.
Pratyush Havelia, Parspec’s CTO and co-founder, highlighted the company’s technological prowess, stating, “Recent advances in AI have enabled us to reinvent the product selection, quoting, and submittal process for our customers.” He elaborated on Parspec’s utilization of cutting-edge NLP & computer vision models, emphasizing the personalized product recommender system across a live database of over 2 million configurable product families.
“Parspec isn’t just another software solution,” remarked Netesh Gohil, Vice President of Operations at SESCO Lighting, Inc. “It’s critical to our business.” SESCO, the largest lighting sales agency in the United States, has been a Parspec customer since 2022, underscoring the platform’s significance in the industry.
Josh Rapperport, an investor at Innovation Endeavors, expressed enthusiasm for Parspec’s potential, stating, “Parspec is already improving the way construction interacts with its supply chain through its AI platform.” He emphasized the company’s unique ability to address entrenched problems using advanced machine learning techniques, signaling a promising future for supply chain efficiency and sustainability in the built environment.
In conclusion, Parspec’s successful fundraising round underscores the growing importance of AI-powered solutions in revolutionizing traditional industries. As the company continues to expand its footprint and refine its offerings, it is poised to play a pivotal role in reshaping the landscape of construction product procurement.


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Dell believes that this is not going to be the year for SSD, with customers preferring to go for capacity over performance when buying a new computer. Like what Seagate mentioned and according to iTnews, only a small number of customers get an SSD for their laptop.
At present, SSDs are mainly chosen by gamers and enthusiasts who want get the highest performance out of the computer. So while Dell does not offer any laptop with an SSD as standard, they do provide SSDs as an optional upgrade for its high-end XPS range including the Alienware series.
The two main problems SSDs currently face is high price and low capacity, with Dell’s cheapest SSD model priced at $551 according to iTnews, 10 times the price of HDD per Gigabyte.
Interestingly, SSD adoption reached close to 5% of the total portable PC market according to IDC figures and as anyone watching SSD prices have noticed, SSD prices have started falling, especially towards the end of 2011. So as IDC predicts, SSDs are expected to take off exponentially over the coming years as prices fall.


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2112 search results
Top 10: Supply Chain Leaders
Nominated by you and selected by us, we celebrate the top ten supply chain leaders.
Digital Supply Chain
How can IBP help strategy execution?
A recent article in Harvard Business Review entitled Why Strategy Execution Unravels - and What to do About It revealed a number of common beliefs held...
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Forrester Consulting research shows that business profit margins are struggling as supply chain disruption continues to cause chaos for pricing strategies
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Brightfield Strategies, the consultancy and data services firm, has appointed Jesse Levin as its new Chief Executive Officer. The new CEO will work to...
GEP Outlook 2021: Supply Chain & Procurement Report
GEP – a leading provider of procurement and supply chain strategy, software and services – has released its latest global industry outlook report fo...


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Consumer applications have driven the rapid take up of faster broadband services in the U.S. in the last decade as people downloaded iTunes (s aapl) songs and apps and watched streaming movies via Netflix(s nflx). But as Google and others build gigabit networks to see what can be done with them, maybe it’s time to bring businesses back into the innovation cycle.
In Chattanooga, Tenn. the creation of a gigabit network has led to the formation of an incubator that wants to attract startups to the city this summer to play around with the nation’s first gigabit network. I spoke with Jack Studer, the managing partner at Lamp Post Group, which is the incubator hosting the contest, on what kinds of applications might drive people to get a gig.
Studer explained that while consumer applications were fun, the lack of other gigabit networks around the country made it a bit difficult to justify building a startup or business that needs a gigabit connection. Even if Studer has the bandwidth to receive a massively fat 3-D holographic image of me for a video conference, I couldn’t reciprocate on my 60 Mbps cable connection (that really delivers 30 Mbps) so building a consumer 3-D holographic web conferencing business is probably a long shot. Other similarly bandwidth-intensive ideas are also out … for now.
“Startups that require a gig — well, that business plan would suck. It’s like building up a business based on teleportation. It doesn’t exist yet,” said Studer.
Where the gigabit network really shines is business productivity says Studer. He points out that he can do things between his offices in Chattanooga that are truly business-changing such as real-time and continual data backups and replication. And that’s just the beginning. Studer has ideas around connecting distributed compute nodes around the city that could essentially turn Chattanooga into a giant supercomputer.
Gigabit speed, and the fact that no applications today require such speeds, mean a variety of services that now run on the computer might run in the network instead without it affecting the end-user. That has implications for data processing and the creation of new services based on an intelligent network. Such services might even become necessary as we connect more devices to the network.
For example, if we have a smart home where our computers, CE devices and even our lighting or appliances are connected to the network, we have to think about securing all of those endpoints. The current model of having antivirus software sitting on a PC no longer makes sense, but what about putting it on the network? A fast network means one could run services such as antivirus on the network without the user noticing.
But to bring the future to life, Studer needs students, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to come to Chattanooga to play around with the network. Who’s up for the challenge?


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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley takes inspiration from a myriad of women — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Eve Ensler, Rihanna, Stevie Nicks, her sister, her “mum,” and her yoga teacher, among many others. Lucky for Huntington-Whiteley, her latest project as the first celebrity face of Moroccanoil is all about celebrating strength in women. The argan-oil-infused hair and body brand will also launch its debut multimedia advertising campaign with Huntington-Whiteley on Sept. 17.“A lot of the women I surround myself with tend to be older than me,” said Huntington-Whiteley. “I always love to be around women I can learn something from.”While the women she is surrounding herself with may not be older, they are, in fact, motivating. In the video content series — which is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard — Huntington-Whiteley and five other influential women (from an array of backgrounds ranging from education to textiles) explain how they carved their own distinct paths. The digital series, featuring six short videos, will live online on a microsite and will be leveraged across other online outlets such as Refinery 29 and New York Magazine/The Cut. All assets — including behind-the-scenes videos, photos and interviews with Huntington-Whiteley regarding her beauty inspiration — will be available across Moroccanoil’s social media platforms using the hashtag #Inspiredbywomen.“The campaign is an expression of three things: our view of women, our view of beauty and our view of what’s our purpose in life,” said David Krzypow, vice president of marketing at Moroccanoil.The print campaign will break globally in October issues of fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines, including Elle, InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar. “Inspiration is a priceless commodity,” said Dallas Howard. “My hope is that, by learning about the stories of these remarkable women, others will feel inspired and moved to action.”But the news doesn’t end there for Moroccanoil; the brand launched a range of hair products called the Smooth Collection in mid-August.“As with all of our products, the Smooth Collection was inspired by women,” said Carmen Tal, Moroccanoil’s cofounder. “The body is a very similar journey. The idea is to create products that are result-driven and are easy to use.”The Smooth Collection is made up of four stockkeeping units ranging from $28 for a shampoo to $43 for a mask and will be sold in Moroccanoil network salons. The line is said to help with styling, manageability and lasting smoothness. Tal wouldn’t discuss sales, but industry sources believe Moroccanoil’s Smooth Collection could generate $10 million to $12 million in its first year globally.On the distribution front, Moroccanoil is making a bigger push into traditional retail as well as travel retail. At the end of August, eight travel-size hair products and 14 full-size body items will launch in 117 Nordstrom doors. Nordstrom previously carried Moroccanoil hair and body in its 13 salon and spa locations and on nordstrom.com, but now it will be sold on the beauty floor. Tal added, “Barneys is already in business with us and hopefully we’ll expand with them. [Plus,] we have a few other vendors on the calendar.”Executives wouldn’t discuss financials, but industry sources estimate that Moroccanoil’s distribution in Nordstrom could generate $2 million to $3 million in its first year.In terms of travel retail, the company is hoping to satisfy that convenience and the travel requirements of the consumer. “[Travel retail] is going to be limited to the premium luxury locations,” said Krzypow, who added that Moroccanoil will launch with Heinemann in the fall with select airports and cruise ships. “[Travel retail] is almost like a teaser [for consumers]. The teaser is for them to try [the products] and go back home so that they can find which salons carry the hair line and which retailers carry the body line.”Tal added, “It’s mostly about adapting to the new expectations because the salon business is kind of limited to those who are visiting salons regularly. But there are a good number of people who are not salon visitors. Even though we want to drive them to the salon and with the body line to [department stores], it should be available as much as possible.” With about 30 hair-care sku’s, the full Moroccanoil lineup is priced between $9 for a travel-size shampoo and $74.50 for a restorative hair mask. The body collection, which is made up of 14 items, ranges from $20 for a hand cream to $52 for a body cream.
To celebrate Pride 2018, @themarcjacobs released the #GratefulNotHateful campaign, a social media initiative aimed at extending Pride beyond the parade. Inspired by Jacobs’ everyday outlook, the campaign features Jacobs along with a group of models and social media stars who are members and supporters of the LGBT community, all seen wearing @marcbeauty’s Highliner Gel Eye Crayons in colors of the rainbow. Head to our Instagram stories to see close-ups of the liner. #wwdbeauty
Virgil Abloh’s dad Nee and Don Crawley, cofounder of RSVP Gallery, were some of the hometown crew at the Chicago-born designer’s debut show for Louis Vuitton. (📸: @jdiderich ) #wwdmens #louisvuitton #virgilabloh
About last night: @marycharteris and @adwoaaboah hit up Hyde Park for the Serpentine Galleries’ annual summer party held in partnership with @chanelofficial. Head to WWD.com to see more photos. #wwdfashion
“This is Paris, my first show. I’m all about democracy. If some kid shows up, flew from New Jersey to just be around, let’s get him a seat.” — @virgilabloh tells WWD’s @jdiderich ahead of his first show for @louisvuitton men’s. (📸: @alfredo_piola ) #wwdmens #virgilabloh #louisvuitton
“Kate Spade was a true fashion icon who brought joy to the lives of women around the world, and inspired women to live life to the fullest. We are dedicated to carrying on her legacy,” said Anna Bakst, brand president and chief executive officer of @katespadeny. The Kate Spade Foundation announced that it will be donating $1 million to suicide prevention and mental health awareness in tribute to the recent death of Kate Spade. Read more on WWD.com. #wwdnews (📷: @chinseephoto)
A first look at @virgilabloh’s sneakers for @louisvuitton. Abloh spoke to WWD about his debut collection for Louis Vuitton, creating @kendalljenner’s #metgala outfit and redefining the heritage brand. Read the full story on WWD.com. #wwdfashion 📷: @alfredo_piola)
The world’s largest producer of denim @iskodenim is sharing the strategy behind its product development process. Read our full interview with ISKO’s product development manager Baris Ozden on the company’s extensive research practices, upcoming denim trends and the latest material innovations on WWD.com. #iskodenim


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TRIBE, a self-serve marketplace connecting brands with micro-influencers, announced their US launch, as well as a $7.5 Million Series A funding round with multiple investors from around the globe, including Burch Creative Capital. TRIBE’s US operations will be headquartered at One World Trade Center in Manhattan and will be overseen by the company’s CEO, Anthony Svirskis. The company has additional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Manila and London, with over 70 global employees.
“With TRIBE we’re finally seeing influencer marketing done right,” said Chris Burch, Founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital. “The US market has been waiting for a tech platform like this for years and as soon as we heard they were launching stateside, we knew we needed to be a part of it.”
Founded by Australian TV & radio host, Jules Lund, in 2015, TRIBE’s platform already boasts eye-opening numbers. With over $250,000 of branded content generated by their network per day, creating over 20,000 pieces of content per month, TRIBE has already worked with 44 of the top 100 global brands, including Unilever, L’Oreal and Marvel, among others. On the influencer side, 20 percent of the 50,000+ influencers on the TRIBE platform hail from the US, despite never having a presence in North America
“As an influencer, I created TRIBE because I saw a gap in the industry and felt the process was broken,” said Lund. “There was too much back and forth between the brand and the influencer, and influencers didn’t know when, or if, they would get paid. I knew there could be a more efficient and dynamic way for both parties to work together.”
Influencers on TRIBE are everyday citizens – mothers, college students and those looking to express their creative genius. TRIBE’s app gives these creators access to the largest brands in the world, an opportunity that wouldn’t be available otherwise. Brands benefit from the marketplace’s seamless bidding process and the sheer speed of running a campaign on TRIBE, with campaigns completed in weeks, not months. Brands upload a brief to the self-serve platform and in a matter of days can receive hundreds of pieces of beautiful, original content from creators. Once content is approved, creators will publish the content to their social channels, or alternatively, brands can license the rights to the content to use for their own marketing purposes. TRIBE’s ability to produce bespoke content on demand is quickly being embraced as a replacement to the traditional stock image library model.
Marketing Technology News: Taboola Expands Landing Page Optimization Offerings in Partnership with Landingi and Instapage
“With TRIBE, we’ve created a tech model that finally drives authenticity within the industry,” said Anthony Svirskis, CEO of TRIBE. “We believe that if influencers don’t already own a product, or are not willing to purchase it, they have no right recommending their tribe of followers should. That authenticity coupled with the content upfront model delivers campaigns faster than all others in the industry, and it has really resonated with the thousands of brands and agencies we work with.”
Marketing Technology News: Upshot.ai Achieves AWS Digital Customer Experience Competency Status


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For decades, consumers strolled the aisles of the fresh bakery department, savoring the ability to make their own choices from bountiful displays of loose, unpackaged product. As Americans sought more convenience, the need for packaging tipped the scales in a different direction. Now the COVID-19 crisis has rapidly accelerated consumer demand for fresh packaged bakery.
In 2020, operators and retailers reached new heights to protect shoppers during the pandemic – from meticulously wiping down surfaces and placing tables 6 feet apart to making hand sanitizers easily accessible, encouraging electronic payments, and utilizing disposable utensils and menus. But even those measures might not be enough for consumers in 2021.
In December, global, family-owned Rich Products asked consumers about their preferences for products in self-service bakery cases. More than half (55%) of consumers said they prefer to see all fresh-baked goods and donuts packaged.
So, what does this mean for the future of fresh, self-serve food? How do operators communicate that their products are safe, while continuing to be fresh and delicious?
Rich’s has a few ideas for retailers and operators:
Purposeful packaging: 66% of shoppers say it’s very important to see the items through packaging. 52% are also looking for packaging that adds shelf-life as a quality cue.
Shelf space: Increase appeal and signal freshness, keeping assortments well-stocked and rotated. On shelf claims like “fresh” and “baked today” resonate even when products are pre-packaged.
Inspire impulse: Consider cross-merchandising bakery items with relevant categories like deli to prompt purchase. Secondary placement in high-traffic areas like produce also increases purchase and drives basket size.
Jen VanDewater, vice president, health, authenticity and strategic insights at Rich Products, shares her thoughts about this consumer demand trend for increased food safety, and offers tips for how retailers and operators can prepare and respond.
“The pandemic has accelerated consumers’ focus on health and safety. We have been tracking consumer sentiment and gathering consumer preferences around food safety – 55% of consumers are looking for fresh bakery to be packaged,” she explains. “This tells us safety remains a part of consumers’ considerations when making choices in the bakery.”
The pandemic has amplified the need to look at packaging solutions, VanDewater said. So, now packaging is an area of investment and strong involvement.
Looking at the surging demand for impactful solutions, research from Rich Products reveals that 66% of consumers want purposeful packaging – where you can see the product.
“Being able to see the product is very important,” VanDewater explains. “In addition, functional, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is increasing in demand in bakery because consumers are concerned about waste. And finally, keeping a full bakery case is a signal of freshness.”
Another important piece of the puzzle is the need to focus on fun and interaction.
Consumers are seeking solutions to share, like Do It Yourself (DIY) kits. VanDewater says there are two categories where consumers are exhibiting the most interest: pizza and take-and-bake breads and rolls.
- 25% of consumers responded they would be interested in purchasing a pizza kit in the next 3-6 months.
- 21% of consumers reported interest in take and bake breads.
“It is very important to focus on safety and provide packaging solutions that deliver on the experience,” she says. “It is important to focus on smaller celebrations. And being transparent is very important.”
Transparency means clean and prominent signage in the bakery -- explaining bakery practices and on-package messages like “fresh baked today.”
And there is a vitally important online component to this movement.
Retailers are engaging with customers before they arrive in the store, so it is critical to engage with consumers through online platforms, VanDewater says.
“Looking ahead, we can expect permanent shifts in consumer behaviors because of the pandemic. COVID-19 has certainly accelerated a shift in behavior for online shopping,” she adds. “There is an opportunity for instore bakeries to position products to meet this demand – in messaging, for example. Talk about the flavor and the quality of ingredients in your online communications. Retailers who have invested in online platforms and solutions to make fresh bakery available online are seeing positive results with today’s consumers.”
Positioning bakery for the future is vital to continued success, understanding there will be some level of permanent change.
“This is a time of analysis and reflection to really understand the shifts in consumer demand and how it impacts the business models of the future,” VanDewater explains. “We will need to continue tracking and understanding consumer expectations as it relates to the balance between price, value and convenience, along with health and safety, as pandemic uncertainty continues.”
For retail bakeries, the challenge is straightforward. How do you recuperate lost business when more Americans are confined to their homes or hesitant to venture out because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
For Stephanie Hart, owner of Brown Sugar Bakery in Chicago, her strategy is clear.
“I’m a doer. I’m doing what I can to build back our community,” she says. “We are going to survive. Our work doesn’t stop. I’m looking for a silver lining all the time. If you think different thoughts, you get different results.”
Hart shared her insights in a recent interview with a local Chicago station, The Jam. She opened Brown Sugar Bakery in 2004 and from there she has developed a client base that appreciates the love they taste in her cakes. This Greater Grand Crossing bakery’s tagline is “life is sweet,” and it delivers on the promise with cheesecakes, cupcakes, cobblers, cookies, pies and more. Specialty sweets include sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, and bread pudding. Nearly 20 whole cake flavors are available, including German chocolate, red velvet, carrot and turtle.
In particular, Hart is dedicated to baking products that African Americans love, striving to connect patrons to longtime traditions.
One of Hart’s good friends produced “The SOUL Food Monologues,” which is designed to uncover and promote the powerful food and justice stories of everyday people working for change. Hart wants to bring that to Chicago.
“I’m very proud of baking cakes,” she continues. “For our customers, we connect a childhood memory for them. This is an amazing time. Once you start awakening awareness, you can make change.”
Working closely with Dawn Foods has helped her business evolve and prosper, Hart says. She is preparing to start a private label cake business, featuring decadent 2-pound cakes.
“I’m excited about the future of being a food entrepreneur,” she says, adding she recently added a new project taking over the local Cupid Candy Factory business. “I’m proud to continue the Cupid Candy Factory legacy, and we will have new products. I want to get over there and create more jobs with what I do. I want to reach out in new ways, and the potential of internet sales is vast.”
Grebe’s Bakery, Milwaukee, Wis., sells ample supplies of 14-ounce boxes of Grebe’s Cruller Bites, a signature item, as well as premium packaged donuts in a variety of flavors to retail accounts including local three-store grocer Metcalfe Market and Speedway convenience stores.
“This pandemic is accelerating what already was going to happen,” said Colton Grebe, vice president of Grebe’s Bakery. “We offer fresh quality donuts in great packaging.”
Tim Metcalfe, president and co-owner of fourth-generation, family-owned grocer Metcalfe’s Market in Madison, Wis.
The challenge is how to prepare.
“For everybody in food distribution, this has been unprecedented,” said Metcalfe. “We have best sellers, but fringe items are out of stock. We have 3,500 local items. I have local eggs, local meat, local bakery. Supporting local is really beneficial for us.”
Metcalfe’s Market is a three-store gourmet grocer in Wisconsin with a fourth, small location nestled in the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis. The company specializes in fresh baked breads and pastries from 25 local bakeries, more than 500 varieties of artisan cheeses, Boar's Head deli meats, and a large variety of local and organic produce.
“Right from the beginning, we knew there would be a constant level of change in our organization. We’re used to change, but not such rapid change,” Metcalfe said. “We knew that even when we get out of this, there will be a question of what is the grocery business going to be like.”
Metcalfe said company officers monitored the situation closely from the start, tracking global news developments in China, Italy and elsewhere. First and foremost, they determined protection of workers and protection of customers are paramount.
Other steps included hiring an infectious disease consultant (dealing with questions like how to maintain a social distancing plan) and using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and manage in-store customer traffic.
“We have installed a mat in two stores that counts people coming in. We are implementing a new thermal imaging system that counts people coming in and out,” Metcalfe said, “so we never have queuing in checkout lines.”
Metcalfe recognizes that e-commerce had not been “overly adopted, but that’s going to be a huge change. People have gone there, and I think it’s going to stay that way.”
The idea for individually wrapped donuts came about thanks to the Baker Boy team doing some good old-fashioned customer outreach. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Baker Boy began asking its many distributor partners and longtime K-12 school and healthcare customers what they saw as an immediate need in the face of the pandemic. The overwhelming majority of those said they needed more touchpoint-free foodservice solutions.
In response to this market demand, Baker Boy launched a line of seven individually wrapped donuts in September.
“We have seen immediate success with the school, healthcare and convenience store markets, as well as with independent grocers who lack the labor or facilities to decorate donuts for bakery cases,” said Dustin Monke, marketing manager for Dickinson, N.D.-based Baker Boy.
In addition, Baker Boy launched The Donut Hole thaw-and-serve fully finished donut line in October 2019. It quickly became one of their hottest new product launches ever. Baker Boy now offers 15 fully finished donuts, including three flavors of its award-winning Magic Ring Filled Donuts, which are iced and sprinkled ring donuts with filling in every bite.
The individually wrapped donuts also fall under The Donut Hole brand.
“With The Donut Hole line, we try to offer something for everyone,” Monke said. “We have iced and glazed donuts, yeast-raised and cake donuts, and everything from old favorites to new innovations such as the Glazed Apple Filled Fritter.”
The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have influenced the way donuts are packaged and merchandised more than the types of donuts that stores are selling. “We all know supermarket bakery case sales dropped severely at the onset of COVID-19. But sales appear to be steadily rebounding, and the donuts being offered at store level appear unchanged from the pre-COVID days,” he said.
The marketing slogan for The Donut Hole thaw-and-serve line has been “No Preparation. No Worries.” These donuts provide exactly that: a solution for operators who want to be in the donut business but lack either the labor or the preparation capabilities at the store level.
Originally marketed as a solution for convenience stores, Baker Boy has seen this line be embraced by independent grocery chains, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as stores looked for touchpoint-free options for bakery cases and bakery tabletop displays.
The donuts arrive in easy-to-manage 30-count cases. Each case has five six-count trays with available branding and nutritional information.
“We have learned customers merchandise these in a variety of ways, but they’re primarily sold as singles inside bakery cases or by the half-dozen inside of the provided trays,” Monke said.
“Our customers are still demanding new and innovative ideas,” he said. “While we are going through a strange period of time where some consumers want normalcy and others demand items be free any from human contact, we are doing our best to offer both options to our customers. The key to getting consumers back over to the donut case and into donut shops is by offering them something they can’t get anywhere else. That’s why Baker Boy’s technical experts and our research and development teams will continue to develop more flavors of Magic Ring Donuts and inventive ways to decorate and merchandise donuts.”


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HA NOI (VNS)— Those who produce or trade substandard animal and poultry products will be subject to a fine up to VND200 million (US$9,600).
This will be a rule if a draft decree currently being mapped out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is approved.
Agricultural officials hope that the increased fines – up to 10 times higher than the previous levels – will deter farmers and traders from committing acts that harm public health.
Currently, animal health inspectors met many obstacles in detecting violations, said Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy director of MARD's Animal Health Department.
For example, she said, most violations related to illegal animal products often occur after working hours.
The draft document outlines higher fines for several violations within the sector.
For those who pump water or other substances into animals within 24 hours of slaughter to earn higher profits would be fined VND5-6 million ($230-280).
Experts also said that while the livestock sector had seen steady growth of 7-8 per cent per year, it also faced a number of risks, such as ineffective breed management, which could decrease biological diversity.
However, in a meeting aimed at gathering feedback on the decree, representatives expressed concern about the new levels of punishment.
Director of the Hoa Binh Animal Health Department Nguyen Thanh Ha said that a fine on people who allowed their dogs to wander should be directed at all animal owners, since all creatures should be kept in cages.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of MARD's Livestock Production Department Nguyen Xuan Duong said some localities thought that the fine of VND50 million ($2,380) was too high. They proposed varying the fine depending on severity, suggesting it range from VND10-50 million ($470-2,380).
Some representatives believed that food vendors should not be fined for selling substandard goods supplied by factories, but Duong replied that vendors should take responsibility for the quality of their products.
Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Viet Nam Feed Association, proposed that regarding the first punishment for both enterprises and manufacturers, their violations should be announced in the media.
"Under the draft decree, the first punishment is a warning, but a fine of a few dozen dong is too low to frighten an enterprise. A firm is only scared by the idea of losing its trademark," he said.
Lich also wondered whether the vaccine manufacturer or the animal health department was responsible for compensating breeders if an animal died after being vaccinated. — VNS


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Here’s a good primer on how Apple’s(s aapl) initial product design and conception works.
Apple Insider has a great account of former iPhone marketing manager Bob Borchers talking to students at an unnamed California school recently. He explains how his former boss, Steve Jobs, originally approached the iPhone team with the challenge of building a device that to date has sold 183 million units in less than five years.
“His [charge] was simple. He wanted to create the first phone that people would fall in love with. That’s what he told us.”
“Now if you’re an engineer, like I am by training, you’re like ‘what the heck does that mean?’,” he said. “But he was right. The idea was, he wanted to create something that was so instrumental and integrated in peoples’ lives that you’d rather leave your wallet at home than your iPhone.” Borchers noted that Apple’s success largely stemmed from focusing on only a handful of fundamental concepts: break the rules but do so in an exceptionally well manner, pay attention to detail and make people “think differently” about the relationship they have with their device, especially given that smartphones already existed in the market.
Notice the lack of numbers or spec goals right from the start. Later in the talk, Borchers says the overall goals Jobs laid out for the nascent device were to “be a revolutionary mobile phone, the best iPod to date, and also let users carry ‘the internet in their pocket.'” He also didn’t mention downloadable apps, GPS, video or photos. Instead, when breaking into a market in which the company had no prior presence, Jobs started with the concept of an emotional connection with the product and an attitude not to imitate or mimic, but to think beyond, what any other company was presently making.
This is useful for thinking about how Apple will approach future markets too.
You can watch the videos, which have much more about Apple’s unconventional relationship with AT&T, obsession with product packaging and more, here.


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Just a few weeks ago, former Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak was hired by Penske Automotive to head sales and marketing for its Smart USA operations. Now Lajdziak will take over the entire operation as the new president of Smart USA, replacing Dave Schembri, who held the post since its inception.
Penske Automotive Gr...
- Sam Abuelsamid
- Jan 5, 2010
- Jeremy Korzeniewski
- Aug 1, 2008
Looks like the decision by Penske Automotive to be the Official U.S. Distributor for the smart brand of cars was... uh, smart. According to reports, smart new car sales are one particular bright spot for the company, which saw sales from other outlets drop somewhat. Used cars also did rather well for the company's range of dealerships across America. Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske says, "With the rise in gas prices, we saw a rapid shift in consumer demand to more fuel efficient ve
- 2018 Honda Accord is sleeker, more efficient
- Mercedes X-Class pickup truck revealed
- Find and compare 2017 Models


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As year-end draws near, many businesses will be not only be generating their fourth quarter financial statements, but also looking back on the entire year’s financials. And what a year it’s been.
It’s been a year like no other. The sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in March forced every business owner — ready or not — to execute his or her disaster response plan.
Most salespeople would tell you that there are few better feelings in life than closing a deal. This is because guiding a customer through the sales process and coming out the other side with dollars committed isn’t a matter of blind luck.
In Notice 2020-71, the IRS recently announced per diem rates that can be used to substantiate the amount of business expenses incurred for travel away from home on or after October 1, 2020.
To say that most small to midsize businesses have at least considered taking out a loan this year would probably be an understatement.
Wouldn’t it be great if your employees worked as if they owned the company? An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) could make this a reality.
Many businesses now offer, as part of their health care benefits, various types of accounts that reimburse employees for medical expenses on a tax-advantaged basis.
When the COVID-19 crisis exploded in March, among the many concerns was the state of the nation’s supply chains. Business owners are no strangers to such worry.
A widely circulated article about the COVID-19 pandemic, written by author Tomas Pueyo in March, described efforts to cope with the crisis as “the hammer and the dance.” The hammer was the abrupt shutdown of most businesses and institutions; the dance is the slow reopening of them — figuratively


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Jack in the Box has made preschoolers’ crayon-scrawled blacklists by removing toys from its kids’ meals last week. A company spokesman said the decision originated not from outside pressure, but for economic reasons. He said the chain’s marketing efforts target frequent adult customers rather than children, and that the company found toys weren’t drawing parents with kids to the restaurants.
Nation’s Restaurant News reports the chain followed the lead of other fast food joints by offering sliced apples and dipping sauce as a kids’ meal alternative to fries.
Says the Jack in the Box spokesman:
“Rather than promote a toy, we’ve focused on the quality of products in our kids’ meals like a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough, grilled or crispy chicken strips, or a hamburger.”
Jack in the Box posted signs at restaurants informing parents of the no-toy policy. The chain also decluttered its menu, dropping items including the steak teriyaki bowl, the mini sirloin burgers, the chorizo burrito and pita snacks.
Do you think the change will be permanent? If not, how long will it be until Jack in the Box starts offering plastic junk with its kids’ meals once again?


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Netflix and Chills, the streaming giant’s curated collection of horror content, is getting a new host with the Mistress of the Dark herself. Elvira is giving a weekly recommendation each Sunday, according to The Hashtag Show.
As you can see in the trailer above, released today, the queen of screen screams takes on a “Dr.” persona, extolling the supposed virtues of watching scary movies as a means to relieve anxiety.
“Heart-pounding thrillers can combat stress because they’re designed to elicit a shock response,” she explains. “This releases hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine, resulting in a mood boost.”
The trailer comes hot off Cassandra Peterson’s coming out last month amid the release of her memoir. The horror hostess’ 19-year relationship with her partner Teresa “T” Wierson was met with delight across the horror community, making her appearance on Netflix this month a welcome follow-up for fans.
Netflix isn’t the only streaming service to feature the former content related to the Elvira’s Movie Macabre host either, with platforms such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, and Shout! TV hosting some of the classic B horror movies she helped make famous. Though Netflix doesn’t have any of those aforementioned B movies on their own platform, we’re happy to see Elvira make an appearance on the streaming service anyway.
Some of the spooky titles coming in October as part of the Netflix and Chills lineup include Scaredy Cats, premiering today; There’s Someone Inside Your House, available on Oct. 5; and Night Teeth, streaming on Oct. 20. You can check out the entire line up right here.


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Chick-fil-A Temporarily Closes Dining Room Seating Due To Coronavirus
Chick-Fil-A announced on Sunday that they will be closing their dining rooms in all their restaurants due to coronavirus concerns, according to WIVB.
Some of the locations might only drive-thru service, while others might be able to offer take-out or delivery services.
The goal is to limit person-to-person contact in the coming weeks with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more at WIVB.
Here are more articles you might enjoy:


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It’s the fall, and with it comes the end-of-the-year rush of big games. And as Microsoft and Sony ramp up their years-long fight for your attention, they’re spending a ton of bucks, too, accounting for 60 percent of October’s ad spend.
GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than seven million smart TVs, to bring you a monthly report on how gaming brands are spending. The results below are for the top five gaming industry brands in October, ranked by estimated national TV ad spend.
The gaming industry upped TV ad budgets again in October, to a whopping estimated $102.3 million from $61.4 million in September. Once again PlayStation took the lead, while Xbox bulked up its budgets and newcomer Ubisoft joined the ranks. In total, 36 brands ran 149 spots over 24,300 times, generating 4.8 billion TV impressions.
PlayStation led the way with an estimated spend of $33.3 million on 19 spots that aired over 4,500 times and received 1.2 billion ad impressions. “FIFA 18: El Tornado,” featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and James Harden, was the ad with the biggest spend — an estimated $5.7 million. The brand prioritized budget to networks including ESPN, Fox, and Adult Swim, and programming such as NFL football, college football, and NBA basketball.
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Xbox greatly increased its spend this month, up from September’s $7.1 million to $29.8 million. The brand aired 10 spots over 3,600 times, generating 1.1 billion TV ad impressions. The Xbox spot with the biggest budget (est. $10.2 million) was “Feel True Power,” with music from Kanye West. Once again the company went after a sports-loving crowd, with budget prioritized toward NFL football, college football, and the 2017 World Series. The top networks that Xbox spent on included Fox, ESPN, and NBC.
Nintendo maintained its third-place ranking with an estimated spend of $10.9 million on 24 commercials that ran over 4,000 times and racked up 603.9 million impressions. Its highest-spend ad was “Super Mario Odyssey: Jump Up, Super Star!,” with an estimated outlay of $2.3 million. The top networks that Nintendo spent on included Nick, Comedy Central, and Adult Swim, while SpongeBob SquarePants, South Park, and The Voice were some of the shows with the most spend.
Fourth place went to Ubisoft, which had $6 million in estimated spend for eight spots that ran nearly 800 times, racking up 230.7 million TV ad impressions. The commercial with the biggest spend (est. $2.9 million) was the South Park-themed “Superhero Secret Identities.” Ubisoft prioritized spend across ESPN, CBS, and Comedy Central, and, in terms of specific programming, NFL football, episodes of South Park (as you’d expect), and college football.
Bethesda Softworks took fifth place with an estimated spend of $5.5 million for three spots with over 3,300 airings, which resulted in 567.2 million impressions. The bulk of its budget (est. $4.4 million) went to “Havoc,” advertising Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Among the networks that Bethesda spent heavily on: AMC, Comedy Central, and FX; among the specific programming: The Walking Dead, the 2017 World Series, and South Park.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Discover our Briefings.


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Philipp Plein may not be the first designer to bring clothes to the metaverse. But, he is the first designer to have a brand new line, made exclusively in Decentraland by humanoids, less than a month after his $1.4M virtual estate acquisition. As a leading crypto advocate, Plein was also the first fashion designer to accept crypto payments last year.
Today, Plein is taking another giant leap, launching Plein Sport in partnership with Portion, the NFT auction house, and Antoni Tudisco, creative director and 3D digital artist, are collaborating to bring his vision to life: No models, no catwalks, just humanoid robots taking you into Decentraland for an exclusive look at the Plein Plaza – a prime district covering 65 Decentraland parcels. We are now starting to see why these major brands are investing millions into the metaverse, including Portion’s own $1.2M digital estate acquisition.
This launch will feature rare, high-end drops on NFT Auction House, Portion, and digital wearables designed by Antoni Tudisco, as well as exclusive experiences and rewards for early collectors. The sneakers will be available also for purchase in the physical world later this year.
This collaboration will offer:
- Monthly sneaker drops, with the first drop taking place on Portion on February 24th
- Digital wearables in Decentraland
- And the auction for the Monster Gang collection will take place on Portion on March 3rd
Portion, a 21st-century blockchain-based auction house and collector’s community for rare high-end physical and digital art items, partners with fashion icon Phillip Plein to unveil the world’s first collection created exclusively in the Metaverse at Milan Fashion Week.
On the heels of his $1.4M USD acquisition of Decentraland’s Plein Plaza, a prime district covering 65 Decentraland parcels, the fashion entrepreneur extends his collaboration with Portion by unveiling the first phase of the development of the Plein Plaza, a 120-meter high virtual skyscraper. The first establishment in the building will be the Philipp Plein founded Museum of NFT Arts (MONA), designed as an open forum for the development of digital art aimed at encouraging and showcasing young NFT artists.
The inauguration includes a guided tour of Plein’s immersive art world in the Metaverse together with an exhibition of a series of unreleased NFTs designed by the 2022 established art duo “Crypto Kings” a pseudonym for the collaboration between Philipp Plein and world-renowned NFT artist Antoni Tudisco.
To inaugurate the initiative, a state-of-the-art humanoid robot called Romeo 0.1 (the first-ever built and one of only three currently existing) will kick off Plein Sport’s first show and introduce the newest Metaverse-native Plein Sport sneakers collection. The launch will feature rare, high-end drops on Portion’s NFT Auction House, digital wearables designed by the Crypto Kings, as well as exclusive experiences and rewards for early collectors. This first collection drop features a combination of physical and digital items and will take place on Portion on February 24th at 12pm PST, 3pm EST, and 9pm CET.
The vernissage will be combined with a digital buy-as-you-see event in which each early collector can buy a combination of a unique NFT paired with physical sneakers. Purchasers can later choose to keep the NFT or “burn” it into digitally wearable shoes that can be sported by their Metaverse avatars in Decentraland. All the above in a truly innovative and osmotic intertwining of physical and digital fashion.
This venture into the Metaverse falls in line with Phillip Plein’s continued dedication to fashion innovation. In 2021, the company became the first major fashion group to open up to cryptocurrencies, accepting more than 20 different coin types at both its physical stores and online platform. In the same year, the company’s e-commerce system generated a record turnover of 100 million euros. The last digital fashion shows of the Maison have marked a further milestone in its exploration of new technologies. The first luxury brand to work with Antoni Tudisco, Philipp Plein has used these digital fashion shows to project its brand in a new, fantastic virtual world populated by glossy and racy creatures.
“The Metaverse is allowing us to digitally reproduce the most precise and minute subtleties, which is a crucial part of respecting the design’s uniqueness,” says Philipp Plein. “Just like the way we represent the tiger in 3D, the attention to detail is something we can achieve seamlessly by properly utilizing the new virtual world to our advantage.”
“People are continuously doubting the metaverse and all that can be accomplished in the digital world,” says Jason Rosenstein, CEO of Portion. “Just two years ago we thought the market cap of NFTs would be floating around $2B, and now experts are saying by 2025 it will hover around $80B. Soon enough, people will think of the metaverse and all these experiences the same way we think about email and social media.”
“I have watched NFTs become just as valuable as traditional art,” says Antoni Tudisco, creative director and 3D visual artist. “I am excited to help Plein Plaza become a reality and see how many other fashion brands quickly follow Philipp’s lead.”
Viewers can tune into the metaverse show on February 24th at plein.com.
More on Plein Sport’s Metaverse native line and platform:
The launch is a result of a consistent and material investment in research and development that the Plein Group has made for many years in order to be at the forefront of digital innovation in the luxury industry. This involved the creation of a specialized digital department in Lugano which employs 25 out of the 700 employees of the Philipp Plein Group and which is dedicated to developing, implementing, and testing the most advanced software and engineering solutions applied to fashion and retail. The Plein Sport project represents the peak of this process of brand digitalization that has been consistently pursued by the Philipp Plein Group for many years. In the vision of Mr. Plein, Plein Sport is truly the brand of the future in which the physical and digital experience are combined and blended into an inseparable aggregate with the aim to create the most advanced tech brand in the luxury industry.
Plein’s e-commerce system, relative to the size of the Philipp Plein business, is one of the best performing directly developed and operated platforms in the luxury industry. In 2021, it generated a record turnover of 100 million euros. The last digital fashion shows of the Maison have marked a further milestone in its exploration of new technologies.


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Lately, many companies are being confronted with social media campaigns that call them out for advertising on conservative websites, one of the most notable currently is the far-right site Breitbart.
Breitbart is a controversial website that is notorious for what its critics call ‘fake’ news with allegations of a white, nationalist racist slant. In opposition, movements like #NoAdsforHate and Sleeping Giants (Twitter user @slpng_giants) have emerged. These viral campaigns use social media channels, particularly Twitter, to encourage companies to “stop funding hate” by blocking or removing their advertising from Breitbart News Network. They encourage users to go to Breitbart.com, take a screenshot of a company’s ad next to Breitbart content and tweet the screenshot tagging the company, to encourage companies and organizations to block their advertising.
Social media movements are highly visible and influential. These campaigns have reached countless users and have had tangible consequences. This movement, in particular, has been extremely effective with many players gaining notoriety beyond social and into mainstream media.
Some brands chose to ignore and some chose to respond the movement; both actions have been met with differing reactions. Take a look at what has happened to Kellogg’s. Companies are entitled to choose where they advertise and the public has a right to speak out and seek to influence those choices. So there’s clearly no “right” way for a brand to react to this movement. However, the Kellogg’s example demonstrates that brands and the agencies that represent them are caught in a tough place.
Whichever way you chose to react, this social media based movement provides a prime opportunity to leverage your brand’s social presence. While controversial, a conversation has been started and is open for companies to join and create a real human engagement with their audience.
When Parallel Path was confronted with and researching this issue, we found this exchange between a Twitter user and Virgin Experience…
This is a superb example of how brands can find and join existing conversations via social, even when the original exchange was negative. Let’s look at what we can learn from Virgin Experience:
- Virgin was actively monitoring their brand engagement so they were immediately aware of their mention.
- Virgin did not ignore the tweet (even though it could be construed as antagonistic), but they responded quickly.
- Most importantly, they did not let the conversation end, and instead they actively engaged and re-engaged.
When the Twitter user said “And this is why I love Virgin. Flying with you soon (again..and again).” Virgin could have dropped out but instead, they continued to ask relevant questions and gave thoughtful responses; not only increasing their social presence on Twitter but creating a personal relationship with this user.
In today’s market, brand trust is increasingly important. Social media enables your brand to be human by being authentic, developing trust and engaging with your customers. Conversations on social media are important because they allow you to build relationships. Especially if you take an interaction with the potential to turn negative and start a positive, genuine interaction, your brand gets a win!


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According to reports, many UK travelers were forced to suffer through long disruptions in air travel because of an air traffic controller strike in Italy. Although the strike only lasted for four hours on September 6, it was enough time to cause hundreds of flights to be canceled, affecting thousands of people.
Although the official number of people who were affected has yet to be released, several airlines have confirmed the number of flights that they had to cancel. Ryanair said that it had to cancel at least 96 flights because of the strike. EasyJet was also affected and said that it canceled around 60 flights. Out of the 60 flights that were canceled, around 20 of them were flying into or out of the UK.
Some airlines were able to reschedule their flights to minimize the amount of disruption caused by the air traffic controller strike. Unfortunately, they were unable to completely reschedule all of the flights to avoid cancelations. Some of the British flights that Ryanair was forced to cancel included those flying from Manchester to Bologna, Liverpool to Pisa and London to Ancona.
Robin Kiely, the head of communications for Ryanair, said that the carrier is extremely sorry for any problems that were caused by the cancellations. Unfortunately, this is one of the problems that is outside of the carriers control. These disruptions were the result of an unjustified strike. Ryanair was able to contact all of the customers who were affected by the strikes via mobile phone and email.


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JPMorgan Chase has acquired WePay for a deal worth around $220 million. The acquisition means online payment could become the preferred mode of payment and could take over cash transactions all over the world sooner than expected.
According to USA TODAY, the move is unprecedented for JPMorgan. CEO Matt Kane of Chase Merchant Services said WePay can speed up payments so business can make sales faster. WePay has been the software of choice of crowdfunding website GoFundMe, online accounting firm FreshBooks and online marketer Constant Contact.
WePay started in 2008 and offered credit card processing, fraud risk protection, regulatory compliance and customer support, on top of giving online merchants a platform to settle payments. It was able to raise $74.15 million from investors such as FTV Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Ignition Partners, August Capital and Philip Purcell.
Meanwhile, WePay CEO and founder, Bill Clerico, says the reach and distribution of JPMorgan will help the company in the long run. In recent months, payment company acquisitions have been trending. Vantiv bought Worldpay for $10.4 billion while PayPal is reportedly eyeing to buy Square, Stripe or Adyen in the coming months.
In other countries such as China, Alipay app is the preferred choice aside from cash. Alipay does not require transaction fees and sellers are using it down to doughnut peddlers on the street. In 2014, Alipay recorded 300 million users in China alone.
On the other hand, Stripes has entered a deal with digital payment providers Alipay and WeChat Pay in July. This is to provide a platform for businesses all over the world to accept payments from Chinese consumers worth hundreds of millions. Stripe is hoping it can get a bigger share in the lucrative Chinese market with this move. Alipay is the payment service used by Alibaba Group Holding, which has over 520 million users. Meanwhile, WeChat Pay has more than 600 million users from Tencent Holdings.
“If we can help a business double their sales, then it doubles our revenue from that business,” Stripe founders John and Patrick Collison claim.
In India, there is also an ongoing movement toward a cashless society. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented a demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, which were widely circulated and used at that time. Modi added that the real goal is to become a cashless society in the future. “We can gradually move from a less-cash society to a cashless society,” he added.
This plan aims to curb underground market activities, corruption, and tax evasion. Now, people in India are forced to adapt to newer technologies such as opening bank accounts. This may be pedestrian to others, but people in India are not used to this before.
Credit Suisse suggests that 90 percent of consumer purchases in India are cash transactions. With more and more people in other parts of the world, especially in heavily populated countries like China and India, it is no wonder that American banks have a growing interest in acquiring fin-tech companies such as Alipay and WePay.
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As my colleague Rob Wile reported Tuesday, Stifel Nicolaus analyst James Albertine j ust upgraded Tesla to a buy rating from hold and bumped his price target to $400 a share.
Elon Musk's electric car startup has major momentum. There's no debate about that. Everyone wishes they'd bought at $20.
Albertine recently checked out Tesla's Fremont, Calif. factory, and the experience seems to be driving his bullishness. In his note to accompany the upgrade, he runs through a litany of business challenges facing Tesla, then concludes that although "[t]here are no fewer than a half-a-dozen other key concerns we share with industry purists, the reality is, these issues simply do not matter with respect to TSLA's stock." [emphasis added]
The bottom line is that while he hasn't forgotten about all the risks Tesla is up against, he's not going to worry about them seriously for a few more years.
But the story here is obvious: Tesla has now completed the transformation that began with its 2010 IPO. It was a car company. Now it's a stock, first and foremost. "TSLA sentiment is like a freight train, in our view, benefiting from a well manicured growth story that has caught the eye of a much broader investor base relative to most auto stocks," Albertine writes.
There's a crucial logic at work here. Right now, Tesla needs to be a stock, first and foremost. Wearing down any residual resistance on Wall Street to the company's "growth story" is critical for Musk & Co, as they prepare to take Tesla to the next level, rolling out the Model X SUV next year and the Model 3 mass-market electric car by 2017. Not to mention building one or more massive battery factories.
The Tesla story is a sexy story. Investors want to be a part of it.
The larger auto industry is a different story. With U.S. sales above a 16 million new-vehicle pace for 2014, good old gas-powered cars are doing better than fine. The recovery from the dark days of 2009 is complete. Relatively stable gas prices are bringing Americans back to trucks and SUVs — a boon for the carmakers, who can make higher profits on these models.
Meanwhile, the startup electric vehicle market has collapsed, as essentially everyone except Tesla has fallen off the map. This compelled Musk to take the unprecedented step of releasing Tesla's patents, in an effort to revive the startup EV scene and prevent Tesla from being in a market of one.
The major automakers have relegated electric cars to niche/experimental status. Sales of the Nissan Leaf have been weak. Chevy's Volt sales have been weaker. Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne argues that the electric version of the Fiat 500 isn't worth buying.
It isn't that there's Tesla — and everybody else.
It's that there's Tesla — and nobody else.
Albertine writes that Tesla "will eventually face stiffer competition from traditional OEMs," but that's a big "eventually." Tesla is already facing competition from traditional automakers on price, as customers decide buy high-five and six-figures luxury vehicles that run on gas rather than taking the plunge on the only car that Tesla is currently selling, the Model S sedan.
As for the stocks of traditional automakers, such as General Motors and Ford, the conversation is happening on different planets. GM stock is down 15% year-to-date. Ford is up about 14%.
But Tesla is up over 80%. That's not a car-company return — that's a tech company return.
Obviously, Tesla is in the car business. But it isn't in the same car business as all the other carmakers. Tesla has been so successfully disruptive that its theoretical competition has surrendered. The GMs and Toyotas of the word are now going to see what happens with Tesla and then make decisions about whether to more aggressively enter the business that Tesla is in.
Until then, Tesla — and its investors, and anyone who's following the company's story — can enjoy the ride.
Get the latest Tesla stock price here.


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It's an effort to save on waste
BT has announced that it will be charging customers who keep their Wi-Fi router or set-top box beyond the end of their contract. The company explains that the decision was made in an attempt to reduce waste and improve its refurbishment program; it currently estimates that around one million devices will be rescued from landfill as a result.
Customers will receive a penalty fee if the router or set-top box isn’t returned after their contract expires. The fee amount varies depending on the product in question: wireless routers like the BT Home Hub or Smart Hub will incur a £43-50 charge (depending on the model), whilst set-top boxes like the BT YouView box will cost between £60-£115 in late fees.
BT explains that customers who wish to keep their router or set-top box beyond the end of their contract will need to pay the above fees. These new fees will eventually also apply to BT subsidiaries EE and Plusnet, BT told the BBC.
The broadband provider will send out a padded envelope that can be used to return old BT devices, including those that are not affected by the new fees – BT urges its customers to return any old BT routers or TV boxes, regardless of age.
Alternatively, you can also visit any BT or EE store on the high street and drop your disused hardware off there. BT says that the devices it receives will be recycled or refurbished.
This is really only a small step upward from a legal perspective: the BT broadband terms and agreements already state that the firm owns any devices it sends to customers for the duration of their contract and beyond.
One small bonus is that as a result of the imposed fee, new BT broadband contracts will no longer include an upfront payment for the router or box – although the price of the contracts themselves is unlikely to change.
Other broadband providers operate a similar policy: Virgin Media, for example, charges customers anywhere from £50-£100 (model dependent) for devices that aren’t returned once a contract expires.


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PM Modi is a transformative leader – Minister Ravi Shankar during Digidhan Mela
Mangaluru: The Ministry of Electronics and information Technology organised the 30th “Digidhan Mela”, an awareness camp for promoting and publicising various methods of digital payments at the City Town Hall, here on January 25.
The programme began with the state Anthem, ADC Kumar welcomed the gathering. The Digidhan Exhibition was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ramesh Jigajinagi. The Programme was inaugurated by the Union Minister holding Law and Justice and Ministry of Information Technology Ravishankar Prasad by lighting the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries on the dais.
Addressing the gathering Minister Ramesh Jigajinagi said, “I am pleased to inaugurate the Digidhan Mela in Mangaluru and today is a historic day in Mangaluru. The aim of our Prime Minister Modi is to eliminate corruption and make this country cashless. It is the duty of every citizen to co-operate with the government to make “digidhan” successful. Without the support of the people, it is not possible to make this country digital.”
MP Nalin Kumar also spoke on the occasion. Lucky winners of the cashless payment system were awarded cash prizes. Five entrepreneurs from 5 villages who have helped the rural people in cashless payment were felicitated.
Minister Ravishankar Prasad speaking on the occasion said, “It is so promising to see the enthusiasm of the people to embark on a digital path. Digidhan Mela is a very important initiative undertaken by the government of India to provide training on the digital payment system to the citizens as well as merchants. From the day we have started till today we have trained 1,98,36,751 people on the digital payment methods and 6,32,915 merchants have been enabled digitally. Certainly, more and more people will adopt to digital payments and embrace the hassle-free, safe and secure payment mode”.
He further said, “I am very happy to see the excitement among the young students, that is what the new India is about. Mangaluru Digidhan Mela is the 30th Mela and today is the 30th Lucky draw, we are giving Rs 1,000 award every day to 15,000 customers who are making payments through UPI, RuPay, and Aadhar card payment. Till date, we have given Rs 60 crore plus to 5 lakh customers and about 99,000 shop keepers. When we are having this function in Mangaluru this lucky draw is being done for the people of the entire Country because India is one, from Mangaluru to Muzaffarnagar and from Karnataka to Kashmir we are one. India is having a population of 125 crores with 8 crores mobile phones in the last two years. We have got 10 crore Aadhar cards in India which will increase in the coming year. We are becoming a digitally empowered society and facebook has the biggest segment in India after America. India is emerging as a biggest digital economy because PM Modi is a transformative leader and he wants to transform India and to make India a technologically empowered country. To make India the country of hope and honest country.”
He also stressed that the programmes make in India, digital India, skill India, stand up India, smart cities, Swacch Bharat are all designed to make India a supremely confident digitally empowered honest country in the world. After the demonetization the backbone of terrorism is broken, even the backbone of Naxalism is also broken. The hawala trade, supari killing etc is down. A big achievement of demonetization is the human trafficking for sex slavery which has also reduced. The middlemen and agents used to bring girls from Bangladesh and push them into the sex trade in India.”
The Kambala committee submitted a memorandum to Minister Ravishankar Prasad to lift the ban on Kambala.
Former minister Abhaychandra Jain, MLA Moideen Bava, DC Dr Jagadeesha, ZP CEO Dr Ravi, President ZP Meenakshi Shantigodu, Ganesh Karnik, deputy Mayor Sumitra Kariya and others were also present. Manohar Prasad compered the programme.


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Microsoft's Xbox One is said to be made available for purchase from brick-and-mortar retail stores, starting next month.
Until now, the popular gaming console was exclusively available on Amazon India e-commerce site. But, it looks like the year-long exclusive deal between Microsoft and Amazon is coming to an end which is why Microsoft is taking this step.
However, it is worth noting that the console will be sold exclusively at Microsoft stores as of now.
It is also being said that the console is already doing a few trial runs at select Microsoft stores.
Adding more on this, Microsoft seems to have not approached other retail stores such as Reliance Digital, Landmark and Croma due to large amounts of unsold inventory of Xbox 360.
To recall, the Xbox One was launched back in September 2014 in India and was exclusively available on Amazon while prices for the latest generation console started at Rs 39,990. Ever since then, the price have been dropped and a new Assassin's Creed bundle of the Xbox One is now available for Rs 34,990.


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A two-and-a-half year-old study has come back to the fore which argues men’s unwillingness to let go of the traditional view of what’s “masculine” is responsible for eco-unfriendly lifestyles.
The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, says “men tend to be more concerned than women with gender-identity maintenance, [and] this green-feminine stereotype may motivate men to avoid green behaviors in order to preserve a macho image.”
Aaron Brough of Utah State University and his fellow researchers refer to this phenomenon as the “Green-Feminine Stereotype.” If this stereotype cannot be altered, “it has the potential to greatly damage our environment permanently.”
Forbes’ Carolyn Milton recently interviewed Brough and points out that in one of the researchers’ experiments, men and women were asked to remember a time “when they did something good or bad for the environment.” Those who remembered a “good” moment rated it as more “feminine” than a “bad” moment.
The researchers note this wasn’t merely because subjects were concerned with how they were perceived by others; subjects’ self-evaluations showed that eco-friendly behaviors were considered “feminine.”
Another experiment took the idea further and applied the concept of the “Green-Feminine Stereotype” to product and brand selection. Male participants were exposed to one of two Walmart gift cards—one that used more comically feminine design elements like pink and floral selected to threaten stereotypes or another gift card that was designed to not threaten stereotypes. The men were then asked to make a series of choices between green and non-green products to purchase. Men who were shown the “gender threat” gift card chose more non-green products than men shown the other gift card. That means that when men felt associated with femininity, they asserted their masculinity by making non-sustainable choices. …
[Now] seems like a perfect time to rebrand eco-friendly’s association with femininity as a positive thing. And men’s affiliation with positive environmental steps as a human-affirming truth that shifts us from negative and segregated gender identities into our roles as humans on this planet.
Other research shows men “experience greater psychological damage or face harsher consequences” when they’re viewed as exhibiting “female” attributes. Wall Street and academia are addressing this via discussions and “bias trainings,” but these stereotypes haven’t yet filtered through society at large and are “greatly affecting our shared environment for the worse.”
Says Brough: “We need to overcome our unhealthy judgments […] and live a sustainable lifestyle without caring what other people think.”
IMAGE: Sarioz / Shutterstock.com