(3/30/09)

Mars About to Launch New Candy

Mars is getting ready to launch its new candy brand, "Fling."

The low-calorie candy will be targeted at women. Its marketing includes suggestive taglines and commercials.

Several of these taglines include "It's not cheating if you don't feel guilty," "Your boyfriend doesn't need to know," and "Pleasure yourself."

"Fling's main competitor will be Hershey's chocolate Bliss candies, which are also aimed at women.

For the full story, go to Fling.

The Problem with iPhone Apps

The iPhone application trend has marketers salivating over getting their brand in the mix.

However, with the rapidly increasing numbers of applications, marketers are having a harder time getting noticed by consumers.

Studies show that only about 1% of applications have any long-term use; the rest are quickly discarded after a few weeks of use.

Bryon Morrison, the president of Ipsh, says that apps should be just a part of a broader marketing scheme.

For the full story, go to iPhone apps.

CIA Using College Students for New Ideas

As the CIA continues its advertising and marketing campaigns for new recruits, it is tapping into young, fresh talent at major universities.

The semester-long CIA Collegiate Marketing Program is currently taking place at the University of Southern California, the University of New Mexico and Michigan State University.

The program basically transforms a business class into a full-fledged ad agency.

Students are separated into groups representing the creative, research, media, PR and non-traditional departments of an agency and work closely with the client (the CIA) to produce new marketing solutions.

For the full story, go to CIA.