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Beers of the world.
Sapporo's new Two-Liter Mini-Keg
The availability of an all-aluminum two-liter mini-keg of Sapporo Draft has been announced by Sapporo U.S.A. According to the importer, the new packaging will provide longer shelf life and serve to keep the beer cool if it is removed from refrigeration.
"The two-liter mini-keg fills a unique niche in our U.S. product line," says Yoshi Mochida, president of Sapporo U.S.A. "We anticipate the combination of the unusual packaging and clean, crisp taste of our cold-filtered product will attract a new wave of Sapporo Draft consumers and further increase Sapporo's share of the imported beer market in the U. S. "
Sapporo points out that several brewers market four to five-liter "party kegs" but says there are few products filling the mini-keg niche. The company reports that it spent a full year transforming its plastic mini-keg design into an all-aluminum design that is 100-percent recyclable. "Sapporo is demonstrating its concern for the environment without sacrificing the taste of Sapporo cold-filtered draft," Mochida said.
The two-liter mini-keg will be available in nationwide grocery stores, and the company is recommending that retailers price the package at the same level as the Sapporo Draft six-pack. The mini-keg will be supported by in-store point-of-purchase displays coupled with print and broadcast advertising.
Organic ale from Scotland
An organic ale brewed in Scotland by the Caledonian Brewing Co. will be introduced in the U.S. this summer by the Thames America Trading Co. The ale, named Golden Promise, is brewed in Edinburgh, Scotland, using traditional methods.
Caledonian uses one of the few remaining deep-bed infusion mash tuns in the U.K. The mash is then channeled into large open copper vessels that are fired by direct flame. The beer is then filtered and cask conditioned for 60 days.
According to Thames America, for a beer to be certified as organic, all ingredients must be grown in soils that have been free of pesticides and insecticides for at least three years. The hops used in Golden Promise are grown in Kent, England, and the barley in Scotland's Border country.
The Caledonian Brewing Co. won the first three places in the Cask beer of the Year Award in 1991, and the brewery has been in operation since 1869.
Draught Stout in a can
In what the Guinness Brewing Co. calls, with only slight hyperbole, the "ultimate marriage of art and science," the brewers have worked to produce the taste of Draught Guinness in a canned product. According to the company, the challenge lay in duplicating, in a can, the break-out of mixed gas (nitrogen and carbon dioxide) which causes a surge of bubbles and forms Guinness' characteristic creamy head.
Guinness reports that the creation of a patented "in-can" system took more than five years of research and development. The company invented a plastic "widget," which is fitted to the inside of the can. When the can is filled with stout (which contains dissolved nitrogen and carbon dioxide) some of the beer is forced into the widget through a pin-sized hole. The liquid nitrogen in the beer evaporates into nitrogen gas, increasing the pressure in the can, and in the widget. After the can is opened, the pressure is released. The only escape for the beer in the widget is through the pin-sized hole, and the result is a "geyser" of small bubbles. This geyser causes agitation in the pouring beer, and the result is good head formation.
"Guinness has created a unique patented process to provide consumers with an unparalleled drinking experience," said Declan Maguire, group marketing director at Guinness Import Co. "The Pub Draught Guinness experience is an interactive experience that allows true beer aficionados to sculpt their own pint of beer."
Pub Draught Guinness was first marketed in the U.K. in the late 80s. The product has now made its way to the U.S. and is currently available in several test markets, including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Chicago and San Francisco. Guinness reports that a national U.S. launch is planned for later in the year.
An Italian specialty
The John Labatt Brewing Co. of Canada now holds a controlling interest in the Moretti Brewery, of Udine, Italy. Labatt's U.S.A. has taken advantage of this relatioNship to offer two of Moretti's beers in the U.S. market.
In addition to the flagship brew, Moretti, Labatt's is importing La Rossa, one of the Italian brewery's specialty brews. La Rossa is an all-malt beer, brewed to an original gravity of 1072, with an alcohol content of six percent by weight.
As inferred by the name, La Rossa is a deep red color in the glass, and the beer critic Michael Jackson has praised its "rich aroma and palate."
According to Labatt's U.S.A., La Rossa is marketed to upscale Italian restaurants as a companion brand to Moretti. "It's a darker beer," says Michael Mitaro, director of marketing for Labatt's specialty import division, "and if a restaurant wants to have an upscale Italian beer, La Rossa is ideal. It's a niche product, but for an elegant restaurant it's a nice label to have available. "
Wheat Beers from Munich
Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau, and its U.S. importer, Chrissa Imports, Ltd., of Brisbane, CA, have announced the introduction of a line of top-fermented wheat beers to the U.S. market. The line includes Hefe-Weisse, a bottle-conditioned Bavarian wheat beer; the Dunkel Hefe-Weisse, a dark version of the brew; and Kristall-klar, a lighter wheat beer. The brands will be marketed in 17-oz bottles.
Wheat beer is a traditional summertime brew in Germany, and some American markets, notably Portland, OR, have embraced the style. "In Europe they've seen the emergence of wheat beer drinkers," says Brian Owen, president of importer Spaten West, "and we're starting to see that here as well. "
In other news, Spaten has announced new packaging for the entire Spaten line. The new bottles will feature gold lettering and a larger logo. "It's a much cleaner look," Owen comments. " The redesign will help the brand stand out better on store shelves. "
"The ultimate consumer product"
"Molson Breweries U.S.A. has introduced Molson Special Dry into the U.S. market. Initially the brew will be available in California, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado and Washington, with expansions planned into Minnesota, Illinois and Texas.
"Molson Special Dry is the result of our efforts to develop products which meet the changing needs of today's beer drinkers," says Jim Mullahy, vice president for marketing. "In that sense, Molson Special Dry could be called, |the ultimate consumer product'."
According to Mullahy, extensive consumer research was employed in the development of the brand. "Consumers told us they wanted the prestige and full-flavored taste of an imported beer," he says, "and drinkability too. Younger, trend-setting consumers told us they prefer to drink beer from long-neck bottles and they like colorful painted labels more than traditional paper labels."
According to Peter Reaske, director of brand management, Molson Special Dry was introduced in Canada two years ago. Citing a 70 percent share of the Toronto dry beer market, Reaske says the brand launch was one of Molson's most successful.
The brand will be supported by Molson's well-known radio campaign. "The |Molson Couple' campaign has been adapted for Molson Special Dry and will be used on a market-to-market basis to ensure a successful introduction," Reaske says.
Antarctica Lager from Brazil
A premium beer from Brazil will now be offered in the U.S., according to Cap Beverage Co., of Wheaton, MD. The company is importing Antarctica, which Cap reports has been the "premium quality beer of Brazil for more than a century." Cap says that 27 Brazilian breweries produce Antarctica, which is reportedly the best selling beer on the South American continent.
"Antarctica beer is created by brew-masters in the European tradition," says Cap president J. Wilson Antunes, "and they take the greatest care in the selection of the malt hops and other ingredients. They scrupulously follow Antarctica's demanding brewing standards, brought from Germany many generations ago.
"Antarctica has thus become the preferred beer of Brazil," Antunes continues, "and is now the choice of knowledgeable beer drinkers in North America as well."
Antunes reports that Cap is currently seeking wholesalers for the product. "Brazil's favorite beer is looking to favor a few U.S. distributors who need no favors," he said.
St. Pauli & Double Diamond change
The Hiram Walker group and Barton Inc. announced in June that they would combine their beer importing business with Associated Beverage Importers. Associated will transfer its brands - St. Pauli Girl and Double Diamond, together with related operating assets - to Barton.
High-Visibility Asahi advertising
Asahi has launched high-visibility advertising campaigns for its New York and Los Angeles markets. According to the company, the promotional efforts are designed to cut through the clutter of other advertising.
Billboards feature product photography of Asahi's two beers, Super Dry and Draft Z, superimposed on an ocean of golden beer and white foam. The Asahi logo appears in the middle, with the tagline: "The Rewards of Innovations."
Asahi says it chose this slogan because it reflects the brewer's philosophy that "Making beer isn't enough. You have to invent it." The brewer cites Asahi Super Dry and Draft Z as brands that reflect this philosophy.
In New York City, the campaign appears on bus-mounted billboards on the Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue transit routes. In Los Angeles, the campaign is on billboards throughout the city, including high-profile locations like Mann's Chinese Theatre and Century Boulevard near LAX.
"Finding a perfect blend of visuals, type and the clients logo was tricky," says Bonnie Stoll, art director for the billboards, "but I think we did a good job in keeping with the essence of the beer. "
The billboards in L.A. supplement an already visible Asahi presence in the city - the large neon Asahi sign atop a building in the La Brea district. According to Asahi, this is the largest neon sign of its kind in California and its illuminated logo can be seen at night for miles.
Canadian draft amber beer
Labatt's U.S.A. of Darien, CT, is marketing a draft amber beer in select U.S. markets. The beer, called Duffy's Draught, is brewed in Canada and is intended to satisfy rising consumer demand for specialty beers.
According to Labatt's, consumer response to the brand has been favorable. The beer is described as a "rich amber brew" with a mild taste and clean finish.
Duffy's is offered in a standard U.S. 15.5-gallon keg, instead of the typical 13.2-gallon import keg. The brand is supported with a rough-hewn "tree" tap and on-premise materials.
Summer promotions for Corona
A variety of summer promotions have been announced by Barton Beers of Chicago, IL, for the Corona brand. Barton handles the importation of Corona in 25 western states.
For the seventh consecutive year, Corona Extra will sponsor a concert tour by Jimmy Buffett, "the king of the parrotheads and the captain of tropical rock." The 31-city, 51-date "Recession Recess" tour kicked off in Richmond, VA, on May 2 1, and continues through September 4th, with a final performance in Los Angeles.
"We've had a very rewarding relationship with Jimmy over the years," says Timm Amundson, Corona brand manager for Barton. "We think Corona is the perfect compliment to the warm breezes and relaxed rhythms of a Buffet show. Jimmy's long history in the music business has resulted in an appreciative and faithful audience."
Barton is also orchestrating one of the largest retail promotions in the Corona brands' history this summer. The importer is offering consumers the opportunity to win a $10,000 vacation in the "Create Your Own Mexico" Sweepstakes.
Barton will offer one grand prize winner a custom-designed trip to Mexico with a value of $10,000. Five first-prize winners will be awarded a $2,500 "Create your own Mexico vacation" vacation and 500 second-place winners will receive "Create your own Mexico" party kits.
According to Barton, the "create your own Mexico" sweepstakes was designed to maximize sales during the summer selling period and to reinforce the new Corona/Corona Light radio campaign with the same theme. Consumers can enter the contest by filling out entry forms found at in-store displays. The displays will feature a six-foot Corona "Palapa" pole topper display, and will be complimented by case cards and neck hangers. Barton notes that the "Palapa" display is patterned aster the palapa canopy common to the beaches of Mexico.
New package for Ichiban
Kirin US.A. and Martlet Importing have introduced a 12-oz. package for Kirin Ichiban. According to the importers, the new package has been introduced as a result of rapid sales growth of the 21.4-oz. bottle in Japanese restaurant accounts.
Initially, the 12-oz. bottle will be available in New York, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. The beer will be offered in six-packs of 12-oz. bottles and cases in on- and off-premise accounts.
Kirin has created point-of-sale materials including a case card, cold box sticker and table tents to support the new packaging. Additionally, Kirin will offer customers a "Trial Offer Rebate." A $1.50 rebate will be offered to consumers who purchase a six-pack. A coupon on the case card and neck hangers will announce this rebate.
"Kirin U.S.A. has developed the 12-oz. bottle to meet the needs of its American customers and build off-premise sales," according to John Gomatos, vice president of general market sales.
Holsten German Pils
Holsten Pils, brewed by Germany's Holsten Brewery, was first exported to the United Kingdom in 1952. In the intervening years, Holsten Pils has become the top imported beer in Britain, with a 30-percent share of the market. Last year, Holsten sold 13.5 million cases of Hoisten Pils in the U.K.
Now the Holsten Import Co. of Tarrytown, NY, has brought Holsten Pils into the U.S. market. Initially, Holsten Import Co. will market the brand to the pockets of English and Irish emigres in Boston and New York.
Holsten will support the brand with a variety of point-of-sale materials, including bar towels, drip trays, T-shirts, posters, hanging signs and bottle displays.
Revamped packaging from Fischer
Fischer Beverages International, of Waltham, MA, has announced two major changes for 1992.
First, Fischer La Belle Strasbourgeoise will become Fischer La Belle with new labeling and packaging. According to Fischer International, research showed that the former design was seen as too exclusive and expensive by consumers. The company says that the new packaging has a more "mainstream" aspect, and fits more into the beer tradition.
Fischer is supporting the revamped brand with a coupon program, and reports encouraging early results - an increase of 220 percent in the first three months of 1992.
The importer has also produced new point-of-sale materials for the brand, which incorporate the Eiffel Tower with the slogan: "The Towering Taste of Beer."
Fischer is also introducing a new package for the brewery's Amber, which had previously been offered in a 22-oz. bottle. The new package will be an embossed 11.2-oz. bottle with a swing-top porcelain cap. According to Fischer Beverages International, "The self-promoting bottle seems to attract the attention of the consumer to the Amber taste, which is very well-received."
Fischer Beverages reports that it will meet its 1992 sales objective, which is a 20-percent increase. "It appears that selection of brands by the U.S. consumer is changing," a Fischer Beverages representative stated, "and that old brand habits are weakening. Fischer's new packaging and new beers are making a profit in the present trends. "
Gouden Carolus introduced in U.S.
Phoenix Imports of Ellicot City, MD, has announced the introduction of Gouden Carolus to select markets. Named for the golden coinage of the Holy Roman Emporers Charlemagne and Charles V, Gouden Carolus has been brewed at Mechelen, Belgium, since at least 1369. Chronicles at Mechelen, which at that time was the capital of the Austrian Netherlands, indicate that this strong brown ale was popular at royal fox hunts "because it fired both rider and steed with such enthusiasm for galloping that the hunt took place in the best possible atmosphere."
Even after his abdication in 1558, Charles V had this "grand beer" delivered to the Spanish monastery where he had retired, "because this daughter of the grain is superior to the blood of the grapes."
The beer is brewed by Brasserie Gouden Carolus (formerly Het Anker). Beer critic Michael Jackson has described Gouden Carolus as being "very deep copper-brown, Burgundy color, creamy in texture . . . rich and complex in palate..[with] a gentle, soothing character ... and a hint of fruitiness in the finish. A lovely after-dinner beer; or better still, a nightcap."
New Outdoor for Corona
The Gambrinus Importing Co. of San Antonio, TX, has unveiled a new advertising campaign for Corona Extra. Outdoor boards have been unveiled in the major metro markets of the company's 25-state eastern territory. The theme of the 1992 campaign, which also includes print and radio advertising and seasonal promotions, is "Satisfying More Than Thirst."
"The idea was to come up with conspicuous creative," said Ron Chrissteson, marketing director for Gambrinus. "We knew the imagery had to be good enough to get noticed, so the brand would get talked about. The campaign is a lifestyle scene that's packed with sizzle."
The Corona Extra campaign is the work of Howell Boyd Advertising of San Antonio, and features photographs shot in Cancun, Mexico.
"The imagery of exotic Mexican setting is a natural for Corona Extra," said Carlos Alvarez, president of Gambrinus. "In the economy-minded '90s, the import drinker still wants quality, but probably thinks of it in terms of extra value. Image-wise, the customer has a thirst for more than just a beer. Given the stresses and strains of everyday life," he continued, "simple, uncluttered tropical settings and lifestyle hold lots of appeal."
Gambrinus has announced an increase in sales of Modelo products for the first quarter, up over 16 percent compared with the first quarter of 1991. Gambrinus says that Corona Extra showed 14-percent growth, and Corona Light sales moved up nine percent. Sales of Coronita Extra, the seven-ounce Corona package, were reported to grow by 140 percent.
Dan Cook, Gambrinus sales manager, attributed the upswing to what he calls, "a more favorable position among distributors and retailers."
"Certainly the cumulative effect of absorbing the Federal Excise Tax increase over a year ago has helped boost sales," Cook noted. "Retailers recognized that not having a price increase in the last year was almost a favor to them. In return, distributors and retailers have executed more effective sales and promotion programs. We've earned a favorable position among our distributors because of our aggressive pricing strategy."
Welsh Beers Now Available
Felinfoel Welsh ales, advertised as the only non-pasteurized beers imported into the U.S., are imported by the Thames America Trading Co. of San Rafael, CA. Thames America reports that Felinfoel beers are filtered, not pasteurized, a procedure that the importer says can allow the full and complex flavors to be tasted unimpaired.
Thames America is currently importing three of the Felinfoel products; the Welsh Bitter, described as an ale typical of the Welsh brewing style; Welsh Ale, a full-bodied and robust ale with six-percent alcohol content by weight; and Welsh Porter, a light and smooth black porter.
Felinfoel Ale is produced at an independent family-owned brewery near Llanelli, Wales. The brewery was founded in 1878, and the present managing director represents the fifth generation of family ownership.
A Japanese beer for Americans
Kirin has introduced Cipango Lager in U.S. test markets, and reports that the beer was expressly developed to appeal to American tastes. The beer was developed after Kirin market research "discovered a void among America's young business executives who were looking for an upscale, full-bodied beer with no aftertaste."
According to Kazo Kato, president of Kirin U.S.A., "Cipango uses only the first press of the grain as part of its unique brewing process."
Kato noted that the name Cipango was chosen because it is "an early European word for Japan, chosen to reflect both its Asian origin and Western European imagery."
The brand is packaged in 12-oz. long-neck bottles with six-color gold-and silver-accented labeling. Cipango will be supported by point-of-sale pieces that use the same imagery. Initially, the brand will be test marketed in the San Diego area.
Expanded distribution for
Ginjikomi, which is Japanese for "Special Clean Malt" is Sapporo's name for its newest brand in the U.S. market. According to Sapporo, the beer is a full-bodied lager with four percent alcohol content by weight. The brewer notes that the beer is produced using a special brewing process in which the husk of the grain is removed prior to mashing. Sapporo asserts that this process can remove a measure of astringency from the beer.
Ginjikomi entered limited U.S. markets in the fall of 1991, and Sapporo has announced that it will expand distribution into 13 additional markets by early summer. Sapporo reports that the brand will be available in 21.4-oz. containers in Oregon, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Hawaii; in 16-oz. containers in upstate New York, Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. In addition, Sapporo will offer Ginjikomi in an 11.8-oz can in California and Washington state.
According to Sapporo, this is the first time that Sapporo has marketed its Japanese beer to a middle-American audience. "Sapporo has received an overwhelming response from the Japanese communities around the country," said Sapporo U.S.A. president Yoshi Mochida, "and we are now aggressively expanding into 13 new markets and targeting Sapporo's clean, crisp taste to mainstream American consumers."
Mochida says that the popularity of specialty beers in the U.S. market began because the market is diversifying, even while on a per-capita basis, it is shrinking. "People are drinking less, but are drinking higher quality products," he said. "New products that offer a unique taste can win a significant share of the imported beer market in the U.S. "
Mochida says that American consumers have been receptive to Sapporo's specialty offerings. He notes that Yebisu Stout Draft, an "ultra-premium" beer released to U.S. test markets in May 1991, is scheduled for widespread U.S. distribution in 1992.
Dentergems Belgian White Beer
Phoenix Importers of Ellicot City, MD, reports that Riva of Dentergem is one of the few Belgian brewers still producing a "white" (wheat) beer. Phoenix calls Riva's Dentergems, "an exquisite and full-flavored Wit beer that combines the aroma and flavor of a secret herb with the characteristically tart-sweet flavor of the style."
Phoenix says Dentergems is more in the full-bodied southern German wheat style than the lighter Berliner Weisse. The beer is bottle-conditioned, and thus naturally cloudy in the glass. Dentergems is available in an 11.15-oz. bottle.
Nordik Wolf changes hands
R.J. Imports of Rosemont, IL, recently announced the purchase of the Nordik Wolf Light brand from Vintners Import Co. "We will place strong sales support behind the brand," says R.J. Imports president Meyer Moussa, "in an effort to revitalize the sales of this brand and hopefully push it to the sales level that it enjoyed several years ago."
Nordik Wolf Light is brewed and bottled by the Silver Creek Brewery, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. According to R.J. Imports, the brand offers a "richer, more flavorful taste than that available in ordinary light beers."
"Schankbier" from Holsten
A new light beer has been introduced in the U.S. market by the Holsten Import Co. Holsten Light meets Reinheitsgebot standards, as it is brewed from only barley-malt, hops, yeast and water. The beer has 92 calories per 12-oz. bottle.
Canadian Gold debuts in U.S.
Canadian Gold, a cold-filtered draft produced by Canadian National Breweries of St. Catherine's, Ontario, is now available in the U.S. Canadian Gold is brewed from a blended malt of 75 percent two-row barley and 25 percent corn. According to the brewer, Yakima Cluster hops give the beer a spicy herb overlay and a dry finish..
The brewer says that Canadian Gold is a premium brand that has been developed for connoisseurs and everyday beer drinkers. The beer is bottled in clear long-neck bottles, and sold in a closed case to protect the product.
"The label very proudly says Canadian'," Bruce Charkow, president of Canadian National Breweries said. "We worked very hard to achieve that effect. We are proud to be Canadian and think that we produce some great beer. It's time that people in other countries had the opportunity to try us out, since Canadians are known for their brewing expertise. "
Poulaner reports double-digit
According to Paulaner North America, five years of double-digit growth in the western part of the U.S. has laid the foundation for an expansion into eastern markets. The importer reports that its newest distributors include United Distributors of Georgia, Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida, M.S. Walker of Massachusetts, Jaydor of New Jersey and the Brooklyn Brewery for New York State.
According to Paulaner, the largest gains in 1991, which are projected to hold true in 1992 as well, are from Paulaner Hefe-Weizen and Paulaner Thomasbrau. The importer says Paulaner Hefe-Weizen has doubled in volume sales in the past three years to become the importer's largest selling brand.
Plans for 1992 include continued state-by state expansion of Paulaner's five-brand portfolio, as well as an expansion of draught Paulaner Hefe-Weizen.
Scottish & Newcastle bullish on
Scottish & Newcastle Importers Co., based in San Francisco, continued its sponsorship of traditional British culture by featuring two of the last few remaining coopers in Britain's beer industry at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, CA.
During the event, the two coopers, who are employed full time by Theakston's Brewery in Masham, England, where Old Peculiar Ale is brewed, demonstrated their barrel-making techniques and tools to a very interested audience.
"We are proud to help the Renaissance Faire showcase the traditional barrel-making craft," explains Ken Vermes, Scottish & Newcastle Importer's western regional manager. "Scottish & Newcastle has long advocated tradition and quality and there are no finer examples of this than the centuries-old crafts of ale-making and coopering."
With its exporting roots founded with the age of the clipper ships during the 1840s, other Scottish & Newcastle products continued to make inroads in the U.S. during the 1991.
Found in more and more American taverns and pubs, Newcastle Brown Ale continued to make friends in the New World during the past year. A distinctly Northern English ale with a tangy, hearty taste and nutty aroma, Newcastle Brown is sometimes called "the dog" in Britain because, based on legend, walking the dog was often a man's excuse to head to the local pub for a Newcastle.
Another brand that continues to expand for Scottish & Newcastle is McEwan's Export, which possesses a honey-amber color and a creamy head. The brand is currently available at draught accounts and in 12-oz. bottles in selected markets.
Touted as the |only draught British lager available in the United States," McEwan's Lager, also brewed in Scotland, is a creamy smooth premium that Scottish & Newcastle hopes will become as popular in the U.S. as Ireland's Harp Lager.
Bitburger Pils continues growth
Imported to the U.S. since the fall of 1990 by East Coast Importing Co., Bitburger Pils is now available in 12-oz. bottles, half-liter cans, 16.9-oz. bottles, as well as kegs.
According to the importer, Bitburger plans to introduce Bitburger Light and Bitburger Drive, a non-alcohol brew, by the end of the summer.
All Bitburger brands are distributed by East Coast importing throughout New England, New York and New Jersey.
Additionally, later this fall, East Coast Importing will begin importing St. Andrews Ale, a seasonal Scottish brew. According to the importer, this brew is "one of a series that represents Scotland's continuing drive to provide Scottish real ale drinkers with beers of distinctive taste and unique quality."
Ringnes soles alive in U.S.
Just as the Vikings celebrated their landing on the North American continent with ale they brought with them from Norway, Ringnes Special Jubilee Ale continued that tradition in 1991 with increasing distribution at on-premise accounts in several U.S. markets.
Additionally, Ringnes Brewery's flagship brand, Ringnes Export, continues to receive support as the "Official beer" of the Norwegian Pavilion at Disney's Epcot Center. Because that initial exposure was so positive, Ringnes now sells draft barrels of the brand throughout Florida.
On the marketing front, Ringnes plans to take advantage of the fact that Norway will host the World Cycling Championships in 1993, and the Winter Olympics in 1994. Accordingly, the brewer has begun planning promotions on the distribution, retail and consumer level to further boost Ringnes sales.
"New Look" for Whitbread &
The Royal Class Import-Export Co., a subsidiary of the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. of Cincinnati, OH, has announced new packaging for two of their brands - Whitbread Ale and Mackeson Triple Stout.
According to the importer, Whitbread Ale's body and neck label have been redesigned. The traditional colors of blue and cream, highlighted by gold, are still used, but the signature of Whitbread founder Samuel Whitbread has been added.
Mackeson Stout was also provided with larger, brighter graphics, the company reports. Metallic silver replaces gray on the labels, and a new logo " Original and Genuine " has been added.
Despite a decline in overall German imports during 1991, St. Killian Importing Co. reports a sales increase for their Julius Echter Weissbeer. "We estimate that Julius Echter is the leader in this segment," reports Harry Hague, St. Killian's president. "Our sales for 1991 reflected an eight percent increase over 1990.
"This is significant for two reasons," Hague says. "First the German import market showed a decrease, and second, we experienced supply problems." According to Hague, the brewery has been hard-pressed to meet demands for beer since unification.
Fermented Cider on the rise.
According to the Thames America Trading Co., the popularity of English fermented cider is on the rise in the United States. The cider, which is a mainstay beverage in English pubs, was a popular tipple in pre-Prohibition America. As Thames America points out, for most of the 300 years before Prohibition, fermented cider was one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the U.S. Since Prohibition, however, the term cider has become synonymous with apple juice.
Thames America is currently importing Dry Blackthorn, the leading English cider, which is produced in England by Taunton Cider. According to Thames, Dry Blackthorn provides consumers with an alternative between the heaviness of beer and the high alcohol content of wine. The company describes the cider as golden in color and lightly carbonated, with 98 calories per serving and no additives or preservatives.
Thames has developed a recipe book to serve as a promotional tool for the cider. The booklet describes numerous mixed drinks that use cider as a base, including the "Snakebite," a mixture of premium lager and cider.
China Light sees new management
PMI Co., the importer of China Light, announced the company came under new management in June. According to PMI, China Light, which is produced in Canton, China, has "enjoyed overwhelming success since its inception as its sophisticated taste, lightness and bold appeal will soon make it the most popular beer import from mainland China.
PMI also noted the brand is targeted at the "sophisticated" beer drinker looking for a beer "that appeals to a European taste consumer and the light beer customer. "
Tecate, Wisdom sales up through
Wisdom Import Sales Co. reports that it is in the midst of recovering from the industry-wide sales slump by notching a 11.2-percent sales increase through the end of May, when compared to the same figures of a year ago.
"It's a strong sales increase for our company during the first five months of '92, and an encouraging sign about the recovery of sales growth in the imported beer industry," noted Manuel Ramos, Wisdom's vice president of sales, while describing company-wide performance. "Orders for all of the Wisdom brands continue to show strength for the summer months, and we're optimistic that 1992 overall is going to be an excellent year for our company and products."
According to Ramos. Wisdom's sales gains were spearheaded by the growth of Tecate beer, which saw a sales increase of 14.2 percent during the period.
"Tecate sales in '92 have been strengthened by good promotions, very successful Cinco de Mayo activities and displays, and a new consumer advertising campaign with Tecate's two party Aztecs," Ramos says.
Carlsberg, Elephant Malt Liquor
According to Anheuser-Busch, Inc., importer of Carlsberg, the brand experienced nearly 20-percent growth through April, as compared to the same period in 1991. In 1991, A-B continues, Carlsberg saw a 7.2-percent rise.
"We are very pleased with Carlsberg's recent performance." notes Brian Porter. Carlsberg's senior brand manager. "Despite the decline in the import category this past year, Carlsberg has maintained solid momentum, unlike many of its competitors."
A-B reports that the Carlsberg family will be supported by a busy promotional calendar in 1992.
Retailers and consumers can also continue to take part in Elephant Malt Liquor's "Save the Elephants" programs, whereby a portion of the brand's sales are donated to Wildlife Conservation International.
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|Publication:||Modern Brewery Age|
|Date:||Jul 13, 1992|
|Previous Article:||Fort Worth distributor wins service competition.|
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At the ANA meeting, data privacy, transparency, WTF agencies take center stage
This week, thousands of marketing executives are spending four days in Orlando for Association of National Advertising’s Masters of Marketing. Beyond playing golf and listening to performances by Train and Kelly Clarkson, this year’s conference includes presentations from big brands like Bank of America, Unilever and Procter & Gamble.
Key topics expected this year include the effects of General Data Protection Regulation and other data privacy measures, the never-ending battle around brand safety combined with the resurgence of brand purpose, the changing retail landscape with the rise of direct-to-consumer brands and the many threats facing agencies, attendees said.
GDPR and other regulations are just getting started
The industry is many months out of GDPR going into effect, but marketers are still wrapping their head around the impact. Doug Wood, partner at Reed Smith LLP, will be presenting on the concerns around GDPR as well as regulatory investigations. Wood’s law firm is the ANA’s outside council who also has been in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigation on illegal media buying practices. At a private event prior to the official start of the conference, ANA’s leadership said that they are taking this FBI investigation extremely seriously, an attendee said.
“People are wondering what progress has been made with ad transparency since the call a year ago to clean it up. We’ve gotten viewability as a standard, but people are still wondering who they are reaching across different media and how can they work with the walled gardens to safely share that data,” said Victor Wong, CEO of Thunder Experience Cloud.
Balancing risk-taking with brand safety
Anne Bologna, chief engagement officer of digital marketing agency iCrossing, said she expects to hear about the importance of brand purpose. Nike’s splash with Colin Kaepernick is sure to get praised as the perfect example of brand purpose that many marketers admire and yet admit they can’t necessarily mimic.
Progressive CMO Jeff Charney is presenting on what he dubs the “most feared four-letter word,” also known as “risk.” That notion includes concern on whether to advertise on particular platforms, notably YouTube, and whether to participate in devise political conversations.
Rise of Amazon and direct-to-consumer brands
While Amazon is on everyone’s minds as the newest advertising giant, competitor site eBay is taking the main stage this year. Suzy Deering, CMO of eBay Americas, will present chat about the rise of direct-to-consumers brands and the investments it has made in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Amid the rise of Amazon, eBay has been a charm offensive to small businesses. Investment banker-cum-industry-cutup Terrence Kawaja will also talk DTC.
Threats to agencies
These days, ANA’s conference features sponsorships from platforms — like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter — and not the big holding companies. Yet much of the discussion isn’t worrying about the end of Facebook or television but rather the challenges facing agencies including in-housing and consultancies. “We’ll hear CMOs talk about how they’re reconfiguring their internal, agency and partner teams to deliver modern, nimble solutions that perform,” Bologna said.
Deloitte Digital is having a big presence this year. Not only is the consultancy sponsoring the conference, but its chief marketing officer Alicia Hatch will be giving her own presentation on the main stage and participating on a CMO-filled panel moderated by Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of Procter & Gamble. Meanwhile, Verizon’s presentation will focus on building 140, its in-house agency.
Brand, agency execs speak out on Google’s latest cookie-killing plan and cookieless identifier challenges
During the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, brand and agency executives weighed in on the present and future of the third-party cookie and cookieless identifiers.
Gaming industry execs chime in on changing consumer habits and the the rise of AI in Q1 2023
The gaming industry's ascendance was checked in the first quarter of 2023, as brands and consumers decreased their spending in the sector in anticipation of a mounting recession.
Inside NHL’s content strategy ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals
The NHL is offering live and on demand content on YouTube and across social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
SponsoredHow enterprise-grade CDPs are enhancing data processes and improving customer experiences
Produced in partnership with Marketecture The following article highlights an interview between Martin Kihn, Salesforce’s senior vice president of Marketing Cloud, and Ari Paparo, founder and CEO of Marketecture Media. Register to watch more of the discussion and learn how brands are making the most of enterprise-grade CDP technologies. As brands expand across channels and […]
Five years in, the GDPR has had a double-edged impact on the ad market
When it launched in 2018 the GDPR was hailed as a privacy superhero of sorts. It set the rules for how companies handle personal data, making sure they couldn’t just grab it without someone’s permission.
‘We need an ad exchange for identity’: Overheard at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit
Brand and agency executives discussed the state of cookieless identifiers, ad tech firms attempting to become one-stop shops and the extent to which ads should and shouldn’t be personalized.

domain: news


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The cinema release of “Glass Onion: a Knives Out Mystery” will include a release across the United Kingdom and much of Europe through Vue International and Cineworld Cinemas. The exclusive one-week “sneak” release of the film ahead of its streaming premiere was previously confirmed for the United States with the participation of AMC, Cineworld-owned Regal and Cinemark. Now a UK release has also been confirmed for two of the three biggest chains, with discussions ongoing for additional European territories.
Tickets for the release are already on sale and being promoted by Vue and Cineworld, while AMC-owned Odeon also lists the film but has not started selling tickets. The film is the closing night title for the 66th BFI London Film Festival. All three chains had previously refused to screen Netflix films on account of a short theatrical release window, leaving smaller chains such as Everyman and Curzon as the biggest outlet for titles from streamers such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Sky. Tim Richards, head of Vue and also Chair of the BFI, has indicated that similar deals and arrangements could be announced soon with Apple and Amazon Prime Video.
Discussions are said to be underway for Vue to release the film in its cinemas in Italy (The Space) and Germany (CinemaxX), though no mention of Vue’s cinemas in The Netherlands or elsewhere. Similarly there is no word on where Cineworld might show “Glass Onion,” apart from UK and US. Odeon has also not announced any European-wide plans. Everyman is selling tickets for the movie in the UK, but there is no listing (yet) from Curzon. With Netflix having stated that it will release the much-anticipated sequel in 600 cinemas around the world, there is a fear that smaller cinemas will be left out, though this has been denied in private conversations with people familiar with the discussions between Netflix and cinemas.


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Gannett restructuring will result in 1% staff reduction
Gannett, owner of USA TODAY and 109 local news properties, will undergo a corporate restructuring that will result in the elimination of "less than 1%" of employees.
Citing "difficult headwinds" related to print advertising as troublesome for the company, President and CEO Robert Dickey announced the plans Wednesday.
The reductions at Gannett could result in about 210 jobs lost across the company, including at its headquarters in McLean, Va. Cuts were to begin Wednesday and are expected to be completed by Sept. 15, Dickey said. "No one on the Gannett management team takes these decisions lightly," he said.
At the end of last year, Gannett employed about 17,100 in the U.S., where it also owns online marketing firm ReachLocal. It also has about 3,900 employees outside the U.S., including about 3,200 at United Kingdom subsidiary Newsquest.
The company recently began a brand refresh for the USA TODAY NETWORK and Gannett's digital marketing offerings. That strategy, Dickey said, "is designed to focus on growing the two key aspects of our business: our content in journalism for consumers and our marketing services for our business partners."
Management opted for the restructuring as part of its constant evaluation of "the business and the investments we need to make to be an industry leader," he said. "As I said before, transformation is not easy. We must continually look at our organizational structure and make smart investments."
The challenges Gannett is facing are shared by many of its news media peers. Falling print advertising is the main culprit in the decline in newspaper industry revenue to $29.6 billion in 2016 from $33.3 billion in 2012, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The consulting firm forecasts another 4% decline this year to $28.3 billion.
Gannett, which also instituted company-wide job cuts of about 2% in October 2016, has not been alone in doing so. In May, The New York Times offered newsroom buyouts to reduce the number of editors. Then in June, Time Inc. reduced its global staff by 300 employees in its own restructuring, and Verizon-owned Oath announced staff reductions of 15% after it merged Yahoo with its AOL media properties.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.


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City-based startup Little Eye Labs has found a big buyer in Facebook. The company is into building performance analysis and monitoring tools for mobile app developers. This is the first Indian acquisition for Facebook.
Earlier, Little Eye Labs had pitched itself for a buyout to Twitter, but was offered a better deal by Facebook. Industry insiders say Facebook paid the company about $10-15 million for the deal.
When contacted, Kumar Rangarajan of Little Eye Labs declined to comment on the development.
However, in a blog, Rangarajan wrote: “Today, we’re very excited to announce that Facebook is acquiring our company. With this acquisition, Little Eye Labs will join forces with Facebook to take its mobile development to the next level! This is Facebook’s first acquisition of an Indian company, and we are happy to become part of such an incredible team.”
While a Facebook spokesperson termed the deal exciting. “I’m excited to announce that we’re acquiring Little Eye Labs, a company that produces world-class technology to help developers build more efficient products with Android. This is an opportunity to welcome some of the industry’s most talented engineers to our team in Menlo Park, California,” said a spokesperson from Facebook.
Founded in May 2012 by four Bangalore-based techies, Kumar Rangarajan, Satyam Kandula, Lakshman Kakkirala, Giridhar Murthy, who worked with Apple, IBM, HP and Yahoo; Little Eye Labs builds tools for mobile apps developers.
Experts say the move could be a small step to look at the Indian market. “While from Facebook’s perspective, it could be a small step to look at India market for acquisition, it’s a giant step from an Indian start-up ecosystem’s perspective. We expect to see more and more SV companies eyeing the Indian start-ups going forward,” said Praveen Bhadada, director, market expansion, Zinnov.
He added,“This acquisition fits in very well to the overall mobile strategy of Facebook and will give access to a good talent pool from India along with a technology that could help track and improve the performance of Facebook Apps. This is certainly one of the few firms from Silicon Valley to acquire an Indian startup.”
The number of technology start-ups forming every year in India has quadrupled since 2006 and a number of VCs, angels, incubators and accelerators are now active in India. This acquisition will certainly provide necessary boost to the already growing ecosystem, say experts.
In 2013, there were 100 merger and acquisition deals across the India’s information technology industry. Of this, 31 whose value was announced were worth $1,906 million (Rs 11,807 crore), according to research firm Venture Intelligence.


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MANILA - Exclusive 7-Eleven licensor in the country Philippine Seven Corp said Thursday it reduced its target new branch opening this year and offered a refund to franchisees that haven't started construction works due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At least 200 new stores will be opened this year, from its original target of 400. Businesses who were supposed to open 7-Eleven branches were given the choice to refund their investments, president and CEO Jose Victor Paterno said in a virtual press conference.
Franchise opening would be "case to case" basis for now, he said.
"We’ve offered a refund to any franchisee who has not broken ground on its store, if you want your money back, just tell us because we don’t believe it’s a good time to be opening stores but again its up to you," Paterno said.
"If you want to open your store, you are going to have to justify to us why it will do well. It’s a first time, obviously, turning away franchisees," he added.
Some 30 percent of its stores closed in March but at least 95 percent are now "fully operational" after Metro Manila and other areas emerged from the 11-week lockdown, Paterno said.
Demand for essentials and larger sized items has increased, however, people have less money to spend, Paterno said. Average purchase remains 50 percent lower compared to pre-pandemic levels, he said.
Although there is no number yet as to the stores that could potentially close this year, the company said the landlord's long-term commitment was part of the decision making.
"We sent that letter and it was sent in the spirit of transparency but also to serve as fair warning, "look we’re really struggling"…and we said "part of the consideration for which stores can survive would be which landlord is fairer in his views in terms of prioritizing the long term survival," Paterno said.
Paterno said they also launched a Pandemic Support Program in June worth P711 million as credit line for franchisees.
The company is also developing its CLIQQ digital ecosystem as revenues to e-wallets and bills payments increase due to the shift in consumer behavior, it said.
“We have moved past survival mode, and are harnessing the momentum that began in April to serve the very changed needs of our customers in a very changed environment at ever increasing speeds,” Paterno said.
Philippine Seven has 2,864 stores in the Philippines as of December 2019.


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GoBear Vietnam, a metasearch engine for insurance and financial products, has three new products, home loans, home equity loans and car loans.
Gobear Vietnam launches three new products. — VNS Photo
Users can now instantly compare all home loan, home equity loan and car loan products in Viet Nam by visiting www.gobear.com/vn, selecting “Vay” and selecing “Vay mua nha”, “Vay tieu dung the chap”, or “Vay mua xe”.
They can compare and then click on “Dang ky ngay” to apply for the chosen product.
Bao Nguyen, country director of GoBear Vietnam, said: “GoBear Vietnam will continue to add new financial products for comparison to help our users make better informed financial decisions in the most convenient manner possible.
“In the next few months, we also look forward to launching new life insurance comparison products for Viet Nam.”
Since it came to Viet Nam in December 2016, www.gobear.com/vn has had over seven million hits.
The other products it compares are credit cards, personal loans, travel insurance products, fixed deposits and bank accounts. — VNS


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Luckin Coffee (OTCMKTS: LKNCY) is now listed on the over-the-counter markets with the warning “This company has posted limited financial disclosure through the OTC Disclosure & News Service or is late in their filing obligations with the SEC.”
More information can be found on the Luckin Coffee company website.
Luckin Coffee considers itself to be the pioneer of a technology-driven new retail model to provide coffee, juices, lunch boxes, and light meals. Through their mobile app and presence on other third-party platforms, they offer customers a 100% cashier-less environment. Their store network includes pick-up stores, relax stores, and delivery kitchens. They use AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze the huge volume of data they generate from our operations. Luckin Coffee was founded in 2017 and is based in Xiamen, China. The stock is an ADR.
In January of this year, Lukin Coffee was one of the hottest names out there. It reached a high of $51.38. At that time it was considered China’s answer to Starbucks. China, with a current population of 1.39 billion people, is a huge market for growth and expansion. On April 7 the Nasdaq halted trading of LK. Trading did not resume until May 21. On May 26 LK dropped to a low $1.33. Since hitting bottom, shares rallied to $6.79. They have since meandered down to the $4 range as of today (6/16/20). The reason for the fall from grace was that in 2019 the chief operating officer fabricated sales by an amount of about $310 million (about 40% of LK’s annual sales).
LK received a notice from NASDAQ on May 15 said the company will be delisted due to “public interest concerns as raised by the fabricated transactions disclosed by the Company” and “past failure to publicly disclose material information, citing a business model through which the previously disclosed fabricated transactions were executed”. LK has filed an appeal to a NASDAQ hearings panel in order to remain on the stock exchange until the outcome of the appeal.
On June 24, 2020, the LK notified the Listing Qualifications Staff at NASDAQ that the Company decided to withdraw its request for a hearing and not seek to stay on the NASDAQ. As a result, NASDAQ notified LK that the Company’s shares will be suspended at the open of business on June 29, 2020.
Why Luckin Coffee Is a Bad Investment
• LK has been delisted from the NASDAQ effective June 29, 2020. Shares could trade on the over-the-counter markets, most likely with a big drop in price or the company could go bankrupt.
• With a fraudulent past, will investors believe financial statements and guidance again? Even though the perpetrators and enablers of the scam were fired or resigned, LK would have a challenge regaining investor’s and analyst’s trust.
• There are, and may be more, law suits against the company.
Why Luckin Coffee May Be a Good Investment
I am sure some people would leave this blank, but there is the possibility of LK surviving.
• LK claims it has over 4,500 locations in China. In 2019 Starbucks had 4123 stores open in China. They are keeping up with the competition in the number of outlets.
• There is the possibility they will be purchased by a larger company.
• LK started the cleanup of it company by terminating its chief executive and chief operating officer.
• LK has hired the investment banking company, Houlihan Lokey, which specializes in working with distressed companies.


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Falling Prices Hit Charoen Pokphand18 October 2012
THAILAND - Charoen Pokphand Food (CPF's) net profit for quarter three (Q3) 2012 is B2.7bn, a decrease of 32 per cent Quarter on Quarter (QoQ) and 46 per cent Year on Year (YoY).
Despite a small increase in sales in Q3, there has been a decrease in profits due to falling meat prices on the domestic and international markets. The average price of broilers and farm-gate pigs in Q3 2012 has declined by 4.7 per cent and 6.7 per cent QoQ respectively, reports
Gross margin in Q3 2012 also fell from Q2 due to an increase in the price of raw materials. Accordingly, CPF's gross profit margin has descended to 13.3 per cent from 13.6 per cent in Q2 2012.
This decline is also expected to be seen in Q4, with the overall 2012 financial year profits expected to be down. However, business is expected to recover in 2013.
ThePigSite News Desk


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NFS News Archive Free2Work
This week, over 20 specialists in the anti-human trafficking movement gathered at the United Nations to share trends and good practices to address the global issue of human trafficking. President and Co-Founder of Not For Sale, David Batstone, was present among these specialists as Not For Sale has recently released Apparel Industry Trends, the most comprehensive look at any sector’s corporate responsibility to date.
Earlier this week, President Obama announced several initiatives involving businesses’ supply chains that will strengthen his zero-tolerance policy of human trafficking in the United States. Not For Sale has been a key player in presenting corporations with new supply chain standards and working them through the transformative process.
Do you believe that companies should be socially responsible? Would you be willing to pay somewhat more for a product produced by a company committed to offering decent working conditions? Would you be willing to forsake your favorite brand in favor of a brand that actively works to address the issues of forced labor and child labor? Many people would probably instantly and spontaneously answer yes to these questions. However, if you are among those answering yes, consider how often you in practice haven chosen to buy a more expensive product because it is a product produced by a company committed to social responsibility. How often have you in reality chosen to buy a less familiar brand in order to support a company actively fighting the crimes of involuntary labor and under aged labor?
“Today more than ever, society has come to recognize that the anthropogenic destruction of our planet’s sustainable biodiversity negatively impacts humankind, placing human life at risk. The cause-and effect relationship that exists between environmental collapse and the subsequent risk to our existence can no longer be ignored.” – Romina Picollotti, Linking Human Rights and the Environment
Academic Activism aspires to create justice holistically by empowering individuals to use their education as their advocacy. This is exemplified by the work of Not For Sale Australia and the University of Technology Sydney who are featuring two unique avenues of academic engagement: the Sydney Supply Chain Academy and the Free2Work Research Fellowship.
Let’s make that passion into a lifestyle. Let’s change our culture. Let’s start with changing the way we buy things. Let’s make it a norm to be more conscious of purchases. Refuse to buy products that slaves have made. As a consumer, you have the ultimate power over companies.
New legislation requires all companies in California to report on their efforts to eliminate slavery in their supply chains. The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657) requires that all companies, retailers, and manufacturers with annual sales of $100 million or more must address and publicly disclose the extent to which their verification, auditing, certification, internal accountability, and training activities impact human trafficking.
In this week’s Bloomberg Businessweek, journalist Ben Skinner exposed unjust labor practices within seafood production. Skinner flags a well-known New Zealand-based seafood company, United Fisheries, which was purchasing and processing fish from vessels that paid their crew members an average of one dollar an hour. In some instances, workers were denied payment and were even threatened with fines if they tried to escape the ship.
Not For Sale launched the new Free2Work.org website today, the powerful consumer information platform that increases transparency in supply chains worldwide.


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FDA ‘added sugars’ label proposal opposed
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin beekeepers and maple syrup producers are fighting a U.S. Food and Drug Administration nutrition labeling proposal designed to educate consumers about added sugars.
Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the FDA has received more than 3,000 comments on its proposal, most of which are from honey and maple syrup producers. They argue that a label with the words “added sugars” is confusing and misleading, because nothing is being added.
The FDA says that it’s looking forward to “working with stakeholders to devise a sensible solution.” The federal agency says it acknowledges that the feedback from producers indicates that their proposal “does not provide the clarity that the FDA intended.”
A report National Agricultural Statistics Service report says Wisconsin ranks fourth in maple syrup production and 12th in honey production.
Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org
COPYRIGHT 2023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.


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When you think of app developers, you naturally think of Gwyneth Paltrow. Or not. Either way the Academy Award winning actress will serve as a mentor to contestants in Apple’s “Planet of the Apps,” a reality-competition series designed to showcase the iTunes App Store that is set to bow in 2017, reports Variety.
In addition, tech investor Gary Vaynerchuk and musician-entrepreneur will.iam (who was previously attached to the project) will serve as advisers., the article adds.
“Developing and launching a business based on your own original idea can be exhilarating, but intimidating,” Paltrow said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity to be part of a series that lets us use our experiences to help app developers break through and create viable businesses that will impact peoples’ lives.”
In March Apple announced that it was working with musician and actor Will.I.Am, one of the members of The Black Eyed Peas and a long-time Apple fan, on a new show that will spotlight the app economy. Will.I.Am will be working with two TV veterans, Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, to get the project off the ground. The show was described by Apple content senior VP Eddy Cue as “perfectly tailored for Apple.”
According to the Cupertino, California-based company, Planet of the Apps isn’t just a show, it’s a launch pad and accelerator for exceptional developers. Those accepted will have a chance to receive:
- Mentorship: Hands-on guidance from some of the world’s best experts in tech and entertainment.
- Funding: Those who make it to the final round will meet with top-tier VCs investing up to $10 million over the course of the season.
- Marketing and Promotion: Featured placement in the App Store at the end of the show. Also, the potential to reach millions of viewers around the world on Apple platforms.


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Microsoft has greatly improved security and privacy in Internet Explorer 10, offering the revamped app as the default browser in Windows 8 and as an optional download for Windows 7 users.
A study performed by NSS Labs shows that all these privacy updates are paying off, with Internet Explorer 10 offering much more advanced tools as compared to its main rivals, including here Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple’s very own Safari.
The study notes that Internet Explorer 10 is the only one major browser currently on the market that allows users to choose from various tracking protection lists, thus giving them the power to enhance privacy while browsing the web.
“Internet Explorer has a unique privacy feature called ‘Tracking Protection.’ Not to be confused with Do Not Track, the option is easier to find, and it allows users to select one or more tracking protection lists (TPSs) that have been created by Microsoft or by third-party vendors, such as Albine,” the study reads.
“In theory, users can create their own TPLs; however, these lists are challenging to implement and involve obscure documentation, making the creation almost impossible for users.”
As far as Do Not Track is concerned, NSS Labs notes that the new feature isn’t really effective right now and some websites might still collect data without users’ consent.
And still, NSS Labs admits that “if proposed legislation prevails and requires honest compliance with the Do Not Track header, IE10 users will be far better protected by default than will the users of any other current browser.”Internet Explorer 11, the next version of its browser that’s said to be even safer and faster than its predecessors. A preview version is already available in Windows 8.1, while Windows 7 users are allowed to download a developer build specifically designed for testing purposes.


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Elkhart Police investigating use of stolen debit and credit cards
ELKHART, Ind. -- Elkhart Police have released surveillance photos of a person suspected of using stolen credit and debit cards.
The victim reported the theft of his wallet, containing his credit and debit cards, on August 5.
The cards were used at several locations throughout Elkhart.
Detectives obtained surveillance photos of a possible suspect.
If you have any information about the man's identity, please contact Detective Hauser at 574-389-4797.


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Treasury has slashed by half, the Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) on domestic foreign currency transfers from 4 percent to 2 percent in an attempt to encourage usage of electronic transfers on foreign currency and lessen the demand for hard cash.
In May this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa increased the IMTT on domestic foreign currency transfers from 2 percent to 4 percent as part of measures to dissuade the market from using foreign currency while promoting use of local currency at the time.
Presenting the 2023 National Budget this afternoon, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Prof Mthuli Ncube said Treasury had noticed that some entities now preferred to settle transactions in cash instead of electronic transfers.
“It has, however, been observed that some entities are now preferring to settle transactions in cash instead of electronic transfers. In order to promote use of the banking system, I propose to align the IMTT on foreign currency transactions to local currency transactions at a rate of 2%,”
“This measure takes effect from 1 January 2023. 595. In addition, Government will consider reviewing other measures to strengthen the foreign currency system, including the 20% surrender requirement for domestic foreign currency transactions.”
The move is expected to bring relief to business players who have been pushing for a downward review which they viewed as a double taxation given that most transactions are now carried out in the USD currency.
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe earlier this year said the 4 percent tax was putting pressure on hard cash which was already scarce.
Meanwhile the 2023 National Budget has been set at ZW$ 4.5 trillion which will be against revenue projection of ZW$ 3.9 trillion. A budget deficit of ZW$ 585.5 billion is expected to be financed through borrowing.
“How are we going to meet this financing gap? We are going to issue bonds on the VFEX, utilize external loans, issue Treasury Bills in the local market and also drawdowns from the SDRs,” said the Finance Minister.
The economy is expected to grow by 3.8 percent next year underpinned by mining, agriculture, tourism and the exchange rate stability. However, this growth rate will be 0.2 percent slower than that of the current year which is projected to close at 4 percent despite being cut from its initial 4.6 percent target.
Primary Education and Health sectors received the largest chuck of the allocations of ZW$ 631.3 billion and ZW$ 473.8 billion, respectively.
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Pizza lovers are blasting a Brooklyn food festival that apparently wasn't what it was sliced up to be. Fans who trekked to a "shady parking lot" for the New York City Pizza Festival on Saturday say they paid up to $75 for tickets, only to receive slices that were limp and cold, Gothamist reports. Some got no pizza at all. Now, the state Attorney General is looking into what one annoyed attendee calls a "rotten scam," per WNBC. Connell Burke, who, per PIX11, forked out $150 for two VIP tickets, tells NBC it was "like the people from Fyre Festival decided to throw a pizza party." Billed as a "day long celebration of the dough, cheese, tasty sauces and delicious toppings," per NPR, it was anything but, say attendees who dished on the festival's Facebook page. One attendee writes that he found three small tents serving up slices "smaller than my palm."
Another attendee gripes, "All we got was warm red wine that tasted like a--!" Instagram posts show a grim scene, with a long entry line snaking along a chain-link fence. The similarly hyped New York City Burger Festival was set at the same time and place, NPR notes, also noticeably absent of burgers. Pizza fest organizers apologized later on Saturday, citing "an incredible amount of delays" in delivering pies. "Give us our money back," one woman fumes on Facebook. The same organizer, Ishmael Osekre, was behind the botched Africa Food Festival last year, per Gothamist. Angry participants demanding refunds formed their own Facebook page, and AG Eric Schneiderman's office invited them to share their stories. "We are concerned about the online complaints that we've seen," a rep tells PIX11. (Read more pizza stories.)


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Tim Coco is on a mission. He's mad about the consolidation of ownership in radio and television. And he's a successful PR and marketing exec with clients in energy, finance and construction.
He's living out his "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, can't beat 'em, join 'em" moment by offering a radio station on the web.
Coco, founder of Coco+Co, a Boston-based corporate communication firm, started in radio in 1978 at WHAV-AM in Haverhill. Twenty-six years later, he's resurrected the call letters in the form of WHAV.net, a streaming audio site originating from the firm's Haverhill facility.
In a way, Coco's frustration over high advertising rates and fewer choices among traditional media outlets was the itch he's now scratching.
"Our philosophy is the goal should be to communicate a message to clients, to prospects, and it shouldn't matter what the medium is. The question is how best to reach the audience. And most ad agencies don't own their own media outlets."
A press release reads:
"The station was developed by Coco+ Co's advanced web development team to achieve two objectives: deliver an alternative to the standard fare of corporate radio and demonstrate improvements in streaming audio technology."
Coco reports that the whole thing runs off a retired Mac G4.
"We just said, 'Let's just do it and have some fun at the same time.' We're using a Mac system. We took an old G4 from our production system (Coco+Co offers website design services) and instead of putting it in the closet, we said 'Let's see what it can do.' "
The Mac runs the automatic disc jockey software MegaSeg, and feeds the stream, via a program called Rogue Ameba, to Live365, the Internet radio streaming site.
Coco's press release explains his angst.
"Consolidation of the broadcast media in recent years has failed to serve the public interest," it reads. "With the passage by Congress of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, more than half of the nation's 12,000 radio stations were sold - primarily to the large conglomerates. The results have been reduced program choice, decreased diversity of voices, higher advertising costs, lost jobs and other harmful effects."
There's no money in his Internet broadcasting venture yet, and there's not likely to be soon.
"I think for practical purposes the money will be in demonstrating the technology. It's ancillary to our core function."
Coco says his company first started putting audio on websites in 1996 via his customer content division.
Coco has one foot in the past and one in the present. A look at the WHAV.net website shows the hand of someone in love with radio nostalgia and the medium itself. And that of someone who's using the web as a bully pulpit as well as a marketing platform.
"It is a small protest in a way," Coco says. "Our clients are facing very, very high media costs. TV and radio have gone through the roof. Here's an outlet that, were it ever to take off, maybe we'd get lower rates," he says, but by then the conviction has drained from his voice.
Hey S&M types (calm down, Michael Powell - that's sales and marketing): Here's some encouraging news (which you can find on Page 19 in this week's Close-up Report):
"We are advising our clients to move forward with plans to add sales staff, increase marketing budgets and hire business development professionals to expand channel relationships. We are also working with companies that plan to expand via selective acquisitions, focusing on targets that bring key customers or leadership in an industry vertical."
That's contributor Mike MacKeen, managing director of Revolution Partners LLC, a technology investment banking boutique firm. Let's mark today as the day the bulls were let out of the pen.


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Almost a decade ago, IBM, the company that championed the personal computer as we know it, sold their PC division to Lenovo. It was fairly shocking at the time as IBM made some of the best corporate portables on the market but they felt it was better for them to focus on corporate software and service solutions rather than hardware. Now HP is looking to make a similar move with its . When Lenovo took over the IBM personal computer division, it continued to produce some quality computers and became more adventurous in their designs. But is the same going to hold true for HP’s new computer company?
PC Market Woes
As those in the PC industry have been all to aware of, computer sales have been sliding badly for the past several years. Explanations have varied as to the cause of the slide but most point to the development of tablets, increasing use of smartphones and just the fact that computer performance has outpaced the software such that consumers don’t feel the need to buy new computers. Regardless of what the cause may have been, the profits and growth is certainly outside of the traditional PC and printer business. This is why Apple has been so successful as it transitioned from its PC business to the iPod and now the iPhone and iPad.
While HP has continued to have a large percentage of the PC business, it has not done well outside of the traditional PC markets. It attempted to produce a tablet with the WebOS that it purchased from Palm but when that didn’t succeed. Tt eventually dropped out and sold the operating system to LG. It also never really was involved heavily with the smartphone market even though it purchase Palm that had the early Treo smartphones.
Failed Attempt to Sell
Speculation on the split has also focused on the apparent but without any luck. It would have been extremely unlikely that another company would have purchased HP’s PC and printing business though. About the only candidates that would have been able to do that is Lenovo or Dell. Lenovo already has a market dominant position and Dell recently privatized to focus on rebuilding their business without market scrutiny.
Selling the business off would have been devastating for consumers. Already we have seen a number of smaller companies either leave the market or be absorbed by larger ones. This can be seen by the fewer number of options in the retail market when it comes to laptops and desktops available for purchase. The reduction in options means that consumers end up being hurt through lack of innovation and certainly pricing. Just look at how the computers that you find tend to fall into either budget or gaming categories. There is little middle ground support by manufacturers now.
So What About Consumers?
Even though HP is not going to be the same company, the fact that the HP brand will continue for personal computers and printers is a huge benefit to consumers. As mentioned before, it being sold off would have hurt consumer options greatly. There is still going to be affects in the market though as the newly formed company will be forced to show growth, something that is going to be hard with the existing consumer technology markets.
In the short terms, I expect the new HP Inc. to be focused on improving margins to help bolster its perception in the market. This means that there will probably be fewer options in terms of computers company from the company. Instead, they will try to standardize on a few designs to try and help reduce their costs.
The problem is that while capital markets focus on short term returns, the ultimate success of the company is going to have to be on the long term. With the emphasis on tablet and smartphones, HP is going to have to try and enter this market segment again. Eventually, they are going to try and put out new tablet and smartphones but it is not going to take the risks it did with WebOS. Instead, it will likely look to Android and Windows to make up for this. We can already see this with their low cost Windows laptop and tablets recently announced for this holiday season.
So, be glad that HP didn’t end up selling off their computing division but if the newly formed company fails to innovate or grow, consumers are going to face the same situation as if HP had sold off the division instead of making it a new company.


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Feds seize Android app marketplaces Applanet, AppBucket in piracy sting
Federal investigators have seized three Android software storefronts, alleging the sites illegally distributed copies of copyrighted mobile applications and games.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other domestic and international law enforcement agencies coordinated the piracy sting, executing seizure orders against three sites: Applanet, AppBucket and SnappzMarket. Their respective domain names are now in federal government custody; site visitors are now greeted by a seizure banner warning consumers that willful copyright infringement is a federal crime carrying penalties of five years in prison and $250,000 fines for first-time offenders.
"Criminal copyright laws apply to apps for cell phones and tablets, just as they do to other software, music and writings," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia. "These laws protect and encourage the hard work and ingenuity of software developers entering this growing and important part of our economy. We will continue to seize and shut down websites that market pirated apps, and to pursue those responsible for criminal charges if appropriate." The DOJ adds the seizures are the first involving mobile app storefronts.
Investigators said FBI agents downloaded thousands of pirated apps from the three stores during the course of the probe. In most cases, the servers storing the apps were hosted in countries outside the U.S., with international law enforcement partners helping obtain or seize evidence contained on those servers. Nine additional search warrants were executed in six different districts across the U.S. as part of the operation.
Android Police reports Applanet was the best known of the three stores, promoting a catalog of 15,000 Android apps and amassing more than 88,000 Facebook fans and 21,000 Twitter followers. SnappzMarket and AppBucket were considerably smaller, with 16,400 Facebook friends and 492 Facebook fans respectively, although SnappzMarket advertised access to more than 50,000 Android apps.
Piracy has plagued the Android platform since Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) first launched the open-source operating system in the autumn of 2008. According to a 2011 Yankee Group report, 27 percent of Android developers contend piracy is a huge problem, and another 26 percent believe it is somewhat of a problem--moreover, about a third of developers say piracy has cost them more than $10,000 in revenue.
Last month, startup Madfinger Games relaunched its Android title Dead Trigger as a free download, transitioning away from premium pricing as a result of Google Play storefront piracy. The firm explained the switch to the free install model in a Facebook post, writing "The main reason: piracy rate on Android devices, that was unbelievably high. At first we intend to make this game available for as many people as possible--that's why it was for as little as a buck… However, even for one buck, the piracy rate is soooo giant, that we finally decided to provide Dead Trigger for free."
Google unveiled Android 4.1 (a.k.a. Jelly Bean) earlier this summer. The operating system update promises new encryption capabilities designed to reduce piracy risks alongside a host of additional improvements and new features.
Skyrocketing piracy rates cause Madfinger Games to relaunch Dead Trigger as a free app
Is Google too lax on Android Market app piracy?
Apple, Google get aggressive on app store cleanup
Android Market: 37% of published apps are later removed
How should developers react to copycat apps?


text: 02/08/22 Henricksen Announces Acquisition of Synergy Business Environments Alignment strengthens Henricksen’s national presence, providing expanded product offerings and unparalleled client experience Itasca, IL — February 8, 2022 — Henricksen, a full-service contract furniture dealership specializing in office, healthcare, education, government, senior living, and hospitality spaces, announces the acquisition of Synergy Business Environments. The acquisition will combine the companies’ strengths, product and industry knowledge, and commitment to client service to expand Henricksen’s presence. As of February 8, 2022, Synergy Business Environments will officially change its name to Synergy, A Henricksen Company. “At a time when clients and manufacturers across industries are adjusting to new trends and expectations, we are very excited to bring Synergy Business Environments into the Henricksen community,” said Russell Frees, Henricksen’s President and CEO. “Our new partnership will deliver a heightened value and enhanced experience to our collective clients while creating a dynamic culture in which our employees can grow and thrive.” Synergy Business Environments is a full-service contract furniture and architectural solutions company with offices in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The company has a long track record of providing high-quality products and services tailored to every client’s unique needs, culture, and goals. As work styles and environments have changed since COVID-19, the acquisition will offer clients the latest research and expertise as consumers navigate the ongoing pandemic. “Henricksen has a great reputation within the architecture and design industry, and I have always admired the company’s plans for long-term strategic growth and expansion,” said Michael Moore, CEO of Synergy Business Environments. “We’re excited to build on Henricksen’s heritage while advancing our legacy in support of our clients.” Moore added, “I’m energized by the new opportunities this partnership gives our Synergy employees.” Synergy Business Environments and Henricksen share key manufacturer partnerships, including HNI, OFS, Enwork, and Humanscale. With the acquisition, Synergy, A Henricksen Company will gain access to all of Henricksen’s product offerings, providing clients in Tennessee with a broader and more diverse portfolio. Now that the companies are aligned, they can present more cost-effective, creative, and customized solutions for their clients. Additionally, the acquisition will allow Henricksen to offer a comprehensive range of architectural products, including Mecho Shade Systems and Frasch Acoustical Solutions. “Henricksen and Synergy have been our trusted dealer partners for years, and we know firsthand how much they focus on their customers,” said HNI Corporation Chairman, President, and CEO Jeffrey Lorenger. “I’m so happy that Henricksen is bringing Synergy on board to scale their business and serve even more clients and influencers.” With six decades of exceptional customer service, Henricksen has built a reputation for creativity, industry knowledge, and innovative product solutions. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Henricksen has grown to become a leading contract furniture dealership in size and scale, annual sales, and capabilities. Henricksen has over 300 manufacturer partnerships, offering various products from systems furniture, casegoods, seating, lounge, and conference furnishings to architectural solutions including modular walls, flooring, lighting, sound masking, and technology equipment. Henricksen welcomes the Synergy team. Michael Moore will serve as the General Manager of Synergy, A Henricksen Company. The team is committed to a smooth transition ensuring a seamless experience for clients and employees.


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Facebook wants to expand its hardware offerings with its smartwatches. He reports information Citing the beginning. The watch is meant to offer message exchange through Facebook as well as fitness and health functions. Smartwatches must have their own cellular connection, so no paired smartphone is required.
Facebook may also bypass data security measures by considering Apple’s tracking opt-in and tracking options, such as Google for Android. The latter operating system is said to be the basis of the first Facebook smartwatch, Cap notice experience. Since Facebook is working on its own operating system for hardware, future versions of the watch may be equipped with it.
Facebook’s hardware family is growing
Its own smartwatch will be the next phase of Facebook’s hardware program, following virtual reality headsets from Oculus and Portal Mini and Portal Smart smart devices. In addition, Facebook has been testing glasses of augmented reality since autumn as part of the Aria project. It is not intended to be a commercial product at the moment.
With planned smartwatches, Facebook messages must be sent and received. In addition, the smartwatch harvests health data from the wearer and measures their fitness activities. In addition, competition with networked fitness devices such as peloton fitness bikes and Facebook friends is possible.
Google Android or future Facebook OS
Facebook’s first smartwatch is said to be based on Android. It is not yet known whether the smartwatch uses Google’s “ware OS” or its own derivative. Facebook is reportedly working on its operating system for its devices. Future versions of the smartwatch could then use it.
Smartwatch development should be well advanced already and the introduction is planned for 2022. Facebook can move the device anyway or cancel it altogether. The data company did not comment on the report when asked by the website.
Internet fan. Alcohol expert. Beer ninja. Organizer. Certified tv specialist. Explorer. Social media nerd.


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The Ministry of Finance extended the deadline for payment of the registration fees until January 15, giving it a 15-day respite for those who failed to arrange payment on time.
A similar extension, until Wednesday 15 January, was also given for plates – the official term is ‘voluntary vehicle immobilization’ – for those who want to avoid the end of 2020.
As the Finance Ministry has made clear, no further extension will be given.
The announcement of the Ministry of Finance
It must be made clear to everyone that no further extension will be given. After this deadline, any payment will be considered overdue and will be subject to a fine.
source – aftodioikisi.gr


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3-D printers typically produce hard plastic objects, but researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have proven that it is possible to 3D print touchable soft and silky hair, fibers, and bristles using a technique they are referring to as “furbrication”. Using a common, low-cost , FDM (Fused Deposit Modeling) printer, the researchers have produced hair-like strands, fibers and bristles. The 3D printed hair was displayed publicly for the first time at the Engadget Live event in Brooklyn, New York.
For now, the process of producing plastic hair is time consuming as it involves producing one fiber strand at a time . It takes about 20-25 minutes to generate hair on 10 square millimeters. But it requires no special hardware, just a set of parameters that can be added to a 3-D print job. The resulting hair can be cut, curled , or braided. Dense, close-cropped strands can form a brush.
The researchers used a common material, polylactide, or PLA, for their project but they are planning to use more sophisticated materials, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, might make it possible to create hair with magnetic or other properties.
This technique could provide new applications to 3D printing such as manufacturing complete devices, make flexible joints, or even improve how electronics and wiring are produced.


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The cabinet announced it would be tapping reserve funds for the $10.7 billion for a variety of different measures
December 1, 2012 – A new round of stimulus, the second approved by the Japanese government was announced today. The latest package is the second in just over a month, as Yoshihiko Noda the prime minister attempts to boost the slumping economy in the run up to the elections in December. The cabinet announced it would be tapping reserve funds for the $10.7 billion for a variety of different measures. Included is the rebuilding of areas destroyed by the 2011 earthquake, aid for small businesses that are cash strapped and overall employment support.
The plan is approximately double the amount of the previous package that was announced in October, which was taken from reserves and directed at reconstruction.
The new stimulus arrives at a time when Japan is hovering on the brink of a recession, its fifth over the past 15 years, as production has been cut by manufacturers amid worsening in sales and bad profit outlooks. A drop in exports was the main contributor of the shrinkage of 0.9% in the gross domestic product for the country from July to September.
Last week, the quarterly assessment of sentiment for business was slashed by the government in the 11 regions in the country. That was the first time every region was slashed since early 2009. Sluggish consumption creating slow output was to blame.
On Friday, new economic data was released that was a bit more encouraging and showed a rise of 1.8% for industrial production during both September and October, which was unexpected. The consumer price index for the nation was not changed from last year during the same period.
Nevertheless, with additional job cuts expected for the manufacturing sector due to tepid demand from developed economies and the outlook for China being uncertain, analysts have said they expect more deflationary pressure to be applied to the Japanese economy, the third largest in the world.


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Facebook says 126 million people may have seen Russian content aimed at influencing Americans. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to weed out Russian operatives and extremist propaganda from Facebook.
But savvy marketers — people who've used Facebook's advertising platform since its inception — say that social media giant will find it hard to banish nefarious actors because its technology is designed to be wide open and simple to use.
Unlike traditional ad buying, Facebook's ad platform is self-service and automated, says Marty Weintraub, a marketing executive with the firm Aimclear. All an advertiser needs is a valid email address and a credit card. Facebook's ad targeting software does the rest.
Advertisers have flocked to it because it works. Facebook's done a great job of building "psychographic data" — not just facts about you that you offer up (like your birthday), but things you don't say and your behavior reveals anyway (like your wedding anniversary, income level, if you own a home or play tennis). And this sophisticated targeting has been critical to Facebook's success. Last year, the platform raked in nearly $27 billion in ad revenue
But several marketers say that Facebook's cutting edge technology also allows scams, fake news and foreign interference to slip through the cracks, and seamlessly go viral.
The less subtle and the more viral the content, the more users engage and the better for Facebook's bottom line. In the words of one Wall Street Journal writer, "If it's outrageous, it's contagious." While Facebook is under political pressure to clean up shop, Weintraub says, it's under far greater financial pressure to remain wide open.
"It's their revenue their dealing with, so it's not like they made a team of people from the NSA and said: lock this puppy down," Weintraub says. His firm's clients range from members of Congress promoting political campaigns to luxury brands marketing cars and handbags on Facebook.
Weintraub and his team demonstrate on his computer how to tailor an ad for a narrowly targeted audience. They start with the term "expats" — people who start their account in one country and then live in another. It's a useful way to target immigrants — say for English language classes; or for a green card scam.
By adding user characteristics that Facebook tracks — country of origin, education level, interest in U.S. citizenship — an advertiser could, within minutes, build a target audience of people who are vulnerable, desperate and most likely to fall for a headline that reads: Get a green card for $400.
The same kind of targeting was used in the Russia-linked ads, only it was to seek out disenchanted Americans — supporters of Black Lives Matter angry at police brutality, or strident opponents of illegal immigration
Facebook has made changes in response to the revelations about Russia's election interference. But they've typically been at the margins. Facebook doesn't require every advertiser to show ID; but it does zap terms here and there. If you want to reach white supremacists, you can no longer target people with an interest in the KKK and David Duke. But you can still reach a similar audience by targeting those interested in certain racial conspiracy theories. It's a game of whack-a-mole.
"The sharpest marketers in the world are going to find a way around any targeting system or redaction," Weintraub says.
Facebook says it's hiring more than 4,000 people to weed out fake accounts and violators. Still, company engineers are aggressively building new tools and enhancements that could make it far worse. Consider lookalike audiences. If an advertiser wants to target far-left extremists in California, she can just take an email list built from a rally attendance roster or from the cookies trackers of a far-left website and then feed it to the ad platform. The software does the rest, identifying more extremists without the advertiser having to say that's what she's looking for. "It's a total blind. Facebook has no idea what targeting it's providing you with," Weintraub says.
(Disclosure: Facebook pays NPR and other leading news organizations to produce live video streams that run on its site.)
This week lawyers from Facebook, Google and Twitter will speak to Congress. Weintraub worries that lawmakers will get stuck in abstract policy debates, and not dig into advertising — the core of the business. "The tools are way deeper than you folks have even scratched the surface of," he wants to tell lawmakers. "You have no idea what you're dealing with here."
Facebook plans to begin labeling ads as paid content, so it's clear to users; and the company is regularly removing extremist interests — like KKK — from the advertising bucket. A spokesperson says it's important to remember all the good that people promote through Facebook advertising — everything from disaster relief efforts to locally owned businesses.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Let's stick with the subject of Russia and the 2016 election for this week's All Tech Considered.
(SOUNDBITE OF ULRICH SCHNAUSS' "NOTHING HAPPENS IN JUNE")
KELLY: Facebook now says 126 million people may have seen Russian content aimed at influencing Americans. That comes as Facebook, along with Google and Twitter, get ready for three appearances on Capitol Hill this week. They'll have to explain how operatives linked to Russia used their platforms to spread false and divisive messages and what can be done to stop them. That's tricky, though. Take Facebook. It's designed to be open and easy to use for people with good and bad intentions. NPR's Aarti Shahani reports.
AARTI SHAHANI, BYLINE: Two billion people know Facebook through the news feed. Now let's step into a part of Facebook you've probably never seen - the advertising platform. You could call it the least exclusive club on Earth because just about anyone can use it.
MARTY WEINTRAUB: Anyone in five minutes (laughter).
SHAHANI: If I'm a Russian operative, can I do it?
WEINTRAUB: A thousand percent.
MERRY MORUD: Absolutely.
WEINTRAUB: Some people say it's easy.
SHAHANI: Marty Weintraub and Merry Morud are marketing gurus with the firm Aimclear. Members of Congress and luxury brands hire them to promote political campaigns, cars, handbags on Facebook. And the marketers point out Facebook's platform is self-service, which is a huge change from traditional media ad buys. You don't have a person talking to a person. Instead, you have a person with an email address and credit card talking to software.
MORUD: You could just have a profile and then go to facebook.com/advertising.
SHAHANI: Advertisers have flocked to it because it works. Facebook's done a great job of building psychographic data - things about you that you offer up, like your birthday, and things you don't say but your behavior shows, like your wedding anniversary, income level, if you own a home or play tennis.
Let's take the term expats - people who start their accounts in one country and then live in another. It's a useful way to target immigrants - say, for English language classes or for a green card scam. Morud shows me a drop-down list.
MORUD: OK, so we have expats from Mexico.
SHAHANI: There are so many traits to choose from.
MORUD: To layer on income, so we go to narrow audience.
SHAHANI: She keeps adding layers to build a target audience, in this case of people who are vulnerable, desperate, most likely to fall for a headline that reads, get a green card for $400. They add unemployed to the list.
WEINTRAUB: Can you add unemployed to that bucket?
MORUD: Yeah, sure.
SHAHANI: Scams, fake news, foreign interference - the marketers say all of these are made not only possible but efficient, scaleable by Facebook's cutting-edge technology. Users engage with viral content, and that's great for Facebook's bottom line. Last year, the platform raked in nearly 27 billion in ad dollars. While Facebook is under political pressure to clean up shop, Weintraub says it's under far greater financial pressure to remain wide open.
WEINTRAUB: It's their revenue they're dealing with. So it's not like they made a team of people, like, from the NSA and said, lock this puppy down.
SHAHANI: The changes the company has made are typically at the margins. Facebook doesn't require every advertiser to show ID, but it does zap terms here and there. If you want to reach white supremacists, you can no longer target people with an interest in the KKK and David Duke, but you can target those interested in certain racial conspiracy theories to reach a similar audience. It's a game of whack-a-mole.
WEINTRAUB: The sharpest marketers in the world are going to find a way around any targeting system or redaction.
SHAHANI: Facebook says it's hiring more than 4,000 people to weed out fake accounts and violators. Still, the company engineers are building new tools that could make it far worse. For example, if I want to target extremists in California, I can now take a small email list I've built, say, from a rally and feed it to the ad platform. The software gets you more extremists without you even having to say that's what you're looking for.
WEINTRAUB: It's a total blind. Facebook has no idea what targeting is providing you with.
SHAHANI: Tomorrow, lawyers from Facebook, Google and Twitter will speak to Congress. Marty Weintraub worries that lawmakers will get stuck in abstract policy debates and not dig into advertising, the core of the business.
WEINTRAUB: The tools are way deeper than you folks have even scratched the surface of. You have no idea what you're dealing with here.
SHAHANI: Facebook plans to begin labeling ads as paid content so it's clear to users. And a company spokesperson says it's important to remember all the good that people can promote through Facebook advertising, everything from disaster relief efforts to locally owned businesses. Aarti Shahani, NPR News, San Francisco.
KELLY: And we want to let you know NPR receives some financial support from Facebook to produce video content on its site. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.