As we hit the stores or search online to finish up our holiday shopping during these last hectic days before Christmas, it strikes me how significantly brand drives many of the purchase decisions (and gift requests!) that all of us make during the holiday shopping season as well as throughout the year.  According to data collected on global trade by Version 2.0 client Panjiva, Mattel’s Barbie is once again the top holiday import to the United States.  Panjiva’s CEO Josh Green speculates that retailers are focusing on classic toys such as Barbie, Lego and Hot Wheels rather ... (Read Full Article)

  The feud that has erupted on social media between Alec Baldwin and American Airlines has already claimed some victims – namely, Baldwin’s Twitter account, which he has decommissioned after a series of rants in response to being removed from an American Airlines flight for refusing to turn off his iPad before take-off.   Not among the victims, apparently, is American Airlines’ sense of pride and righteousness: the company issued a public statement via Facebook to set the record straight, in which is cited FAA regulations that required Baldwin to turn off his electronic devices (he didn’t – apparently he was too ... (Read Full Article)

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE --> --> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} --> New York Times reporter Adam Bryant's new book, "The Corner Office," offers up words of wisdom curated from more than 70 interviews with successful CEOs from Bryant's weekly Sunday New York Times column ... (Read Full Article)

  Planning for SXSW 2012 is already well underway and voting is now open to select this year’s sessions. We’re excited to share Version 2.0’s proposed session, “PR and Social Media -- A Love Story,” exploring how PR and social media can and should coexist and collaborate to build brand value and establish and engage communities.   If you like the idea and want to see it on stage in March (and we hope you do!), then please vote for us. The process is simple: ·         Create an account if you don’t already have one; you can do that ... (Read Full Article)