What the Stylish Garbage Can Is Wearing: Hefty in Black

• Hefty wants to cash in on evolving trash-can colors with BlackOut, a new line of black kitchen bags about as stylish as trash bags can be, that will hit stores by January. Hefty hopes they’ll bring new interest to one of the lowest-involvement categories.
• Hefty executives are among the first to admit it’s hard to get people thinking about trash bags. Private-label shares in the category stand among the highest in packaged goods at 39% for the year ended Oct. 3, according to SymphonyIRI. Hefty is No. 3, also behind Clorox Co.’s Glad, in trash bags, though Hefty’s owner Pactiv (pending sale to Reynolds Group, owner of Reynolds Wrap) is also among the leading private-label manufacturers. Overall category sales were down 5% for the year, in part because some consumers turned to using bags from the groceries or other “free” alternatives.
• Thus, sampling and couponing aimed at getting people to try the bags will be a big part of the marketing, but TV and print advertising from Campbell-Mithun, Minneapolis, will also be part of the mix. The target, based on segmentation work done by Cambridge Group, is mainly “kitchen enthusiasts,” the 40% of people who see the kitchen as the heart of their home and enjoy cooking, with ads directed toward home decor and food magazines and programming. The black bags, it seems, will make them even more enthusiastic. (www.adage.com)

Facebook Ads Provide ‘Deals’ for Local Merchants, Marketers

• Facebook has a new offer for users willing to share their locations in status updates: deals from nearby merchants or big-brand marketers such as Starbucks, Gap or McDonald’s.
• The social network announced “Deals,” an extension of its Places mobile feature, which allows users to check in at locations such as bars, coffee shops or malls. Users will be able to claim those deals by walking into a merchant and checking in on their phones or other mobile devices, giving marketers the ability to reach consumers and potentially attracting them into a given store.
• The new service combines two of the hotter trends in local marketing: location-based check-in services such as Foursquare, and local group deals services such as Groupon or LivingSocial. “There are many changes in mobile, and there’s a revolution in the social space,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, which has 200 million mobile users. “Mobile is as big as that — when you combine mobile and social, industries can get disrupted.” (www.adage.com)

Sharp sponsors “alternative” Man United team shirt

• Fans pressure group Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) has agreed a deal with consumer and professional electronics maker Sharp, which sponsored Manchester United from 1982 to 2000, to sponsor the latest alternative team shirt.
• The group, which is campaigning to force a change of ownership of the club, said it is looking for a portfolio of alternative partners keen to align themselves with fans rather than the club’s owner, the Glazer family. The group is also lobbying official United sponsors, including Aon and Nike. (www.sportsbusiness.com)

Felt Bicycles signs deals with professional cycling teams

• American bicycle manufacturer Felt Bicycles has announced a new multi-year sponsorship of two national cycling teams in 2011.
• Under terms of the new deals, Felt will supply both the professional women’s team Peanut Butter & Co Team Twenty12 and UCI Continental team Team Exergy with bikes for the next two years.
• While bike supply deals for teams competing on the international circuit can be worth up to as much as US$3 million per year, Felt’s new sponsorship is thought to be lower, estimated to be worth US$1 million annually, US$500,000 for each team. (www.sportspromedia.com)

D.C. United secure official sponsor

• Dallas-based wellness company Eiro Research has been announced as official sponsor of Major League Soccer (MLS) team D.C. United FC.
• As part of the sponsorship agreement, Eiro Research will provide a line of nutritional supplements and skin care products to the Washington-based soccer club.
• Chris Hausman, chief executive officer of Eiro Research, said of the deal. “This sponsorship is exciting for us, it shows that the research behind our products is recognised and the power of our opportunity is real. We’re very excited to partner with the most recognisable club in professional soccer in the U.S.” (www.sportspromedia.com)

Mazda’s Miata MX-5 Still Magnetic North For Brand

• Chris Hill knows Miata. Before becoming Mazda’s group manager of marketing operations a few weeks ago, Hill was vehicle line manager for the diminutive Miata MX-5. If you look at sales numbers, Miata’s not much to look at. The car — long the best-selling two-seat roadster in America — still accounts only for a few thousand deliveries per year. But when it comes to Mazda’s brand equity, the sports car is a talisman.
• The company developed the “Zoom-Zoom” mantra as a way to extend the little car’s equity to the rest of the brand. Even ads for the MPV minivan in the early millennium had a “soul of a sports car” message with ads showing the Miata as a kind of shadow of the brand’s other vehicles. Hill says that while the company doesn’t advertise the MX-5, it still informs the product design and marketing decisions for the rest of the lineup. Hill talks to Marketing Daily about the car and what it means to the brand. (www.mediapost.com)

Happy Days Are Here Again, Except For Toyota

• Tuesday was no glitch — the positive new-car and truck sales numbers rolling in for October were not limited to a handful of companies. As automakers in M.C. (Motor City), the O.C., the T.C. (Tennessee, for Nissan fans), and D.C. (VW’s not exactly in the nation’s capitol, but close) begin posting sales numbers for the prior month, it seems that everyone has something to be happy about. The only company to see sales drop was Toyota, which has been hampered by recalls, the most recent one happening smack dab in the middle of the month.  
• The company’s October sales were 145,474 units, a decrease of about 1% from the same period last year. Toyota division sales were off 2.8% with the division’s passenger car sales down 16.6% versus last October. Toyota’s luxury division, Lexus, did better — selling 21,091 vehicles last month, a 12.2% improvement over last October.
• The company was also hurt by weaker hybrid sales, as consumers look to save money and gas prices have dropped from historic highs last year. Hybrid sales are down 12% for the company.
• General Motors said sales of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles are up 13% versus the month last year. But the better comparison is going to be versus September — as last year, October sales were like a vacant room after the rummage sale of “Cash for Clunkers.” Compared to September, GM brands sold 8% more vehicles last month. Through the first 10 months of the year, according to GM, the four brands have increased 22%. (www.mediapost.com)

American Airlines Effort Aimed At Hispanics

• American Airlines has launched a new national ad campaign aimed at U.S. Hispanic travelers.
• The new campaign, titled “Aprendi” (”I learned”) recognizes that while Hispanics continue to travel to their home countries, increasingly they also travel to expand their horizons and experience new places. The ads show a “more fulfilled life” for U.S. Hispanics who travel, with creative focusing on the emotional benefit of traveling and how Hispanics can enrich their lives through travel.
• The campaign, created by American’s U.S. Hispanic advertising agency Zubi Advertising, targets Hispanic consumers with print, online, radio and TV in New York, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami.
• Because buying power is projected to be $1.4 trillion by 2013 and approximately 41% of U.S. Hispanics live in American Airlines hub cities, the campaign aims to demonstrate that the airline understands the travel aspirations of U.S. Hispanic customers who desire enriching experiences while traveling worldwide. The campaign emphasizes how the airline can meet customers’ travel needs, whatever they may be. (www.mediapost.com)

Beautiful Brands debuts ‘build-your-own pizza’ concept

• Beautiful Brands International, parent of Camille’s Sidewalk Café, has partnered with a Tulsa, Okla., couple to open a new concept called Top That! Pizza.
• Top That! Pizza, which was developed with Jeff and Lori Walderich, enables customers to create their own pizza much like a sandwich shop and have it served within five minutes.
• Top That! offers three crusts and nine sauces, including Italian red, basil pesto, creamy nada vodka, barbecue, Thai peanut, sweet roma red, and angry Alfredo. Toppings include 20 fresh vegetables, 10 meats and seven cheeses, including Asiago, feta, Gorgonzola, provolone, feta, Parmesan, sharp cheddar and Pecorino Romano.  (www.nrn.com)

Cheerios Provides Children’s Books Inside Specially Marked Boxes

• Cheerios®, through its Spoonfuls of Stories® program, is inviting families to start their day with a nutritious breakfast and a brand new book. As part of its ongoing commitment to nurturing the whole child and connecting families by fostering a shared love of reading, Cheerios will once again provide more than six million children’s books, written in both English and Spanish, free inside Cheerios boxes beginning November 3.
• Cheerios is also announcing the findings of its national survey that asked moms of children ages two to six about the role reading plays in their daily lives. The survey found that although today’s moms are prioritizing reading—67% read to their child at least once a day—nearly two-thirds (61%) say “busy schedules” prevent them from spending more time reading.
• The study also showed that while in middle income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children. According to the Cheerios survey, however, roughly four in ten moms do not think there is a drastic disparity between middle and lower-income neighborhoods in the U.S. when it comes to children’s access to books. In an effort to combat this issue, Cheerios will also make a $300,000 donation to First Book, an award-winning national nonprofit that helps get books into the hands of children from low-income families. (www.popsop.com)

Skyy Spirits Launches “Women & Whiskies” Community

• In increasing numbers, women are finding and sharing their favorite single malts, blends, bourbons and rye, but all too often, they are ignored by whisk(e)y companies. Skyy Spirits has recognized the trend and responded by launching “Skyy Spirits Women & Whiskies,” an interactive community managed by women for women who love the alluring spirit.  
• Women & Whiskies is supported by the extensive Skyy Spirits portfolio of world-class whiskies. The program launched last month with a sold-out event in New York’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood. Professional, sophisticated women gathered to sample different whiskies from Scotland, the U.S. and Japan, find out the differences among the regions and sip delicious whisk(e)y cocktails. (www.popsop.com)

The IKEA Soft Toy Campaign Supports Global Educational Programs

• IKEA is contributing to the children’s education in poor regions by locking off a beneficiary toy sales initiative, rolling out from November 1 to December 24. The company will donate 1 euro to UNICEF and Save the Children to support previously launched educational programs for kids as well as start new ones in disadvantaged areas all around the world.
• The money raised during the initiative will help improve facilities conditions of schools, will be spent towards training the teaching staff and strengthening the right to education for minority children. In general, next year IKEA’s partners will be supporting children’s schooling in 22 countries with over $13 million planned to collect during the campaign, which is now running in the retailer’s stores. IKEA also celebrates the 21th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child by providing additional donations to the program—it is going to add 1 dollar per each children’s IKEA products and ’soft toy kids meal’ purchased from December 18–24. (www.popsop.com)

P&G’s Sebastian Professional Partners with “Burlesque”

• Procter & Gamble Salon Professional, a division of The Procter & Gamble announces Sebastian Professional’s collaboration with Sony Pictures’ “Burlesque,” the highly-anticipated musical film starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, in the U.S. theatres November 24. Already a Hollywood movie set staple, Sebastian Professional Re-Shaper hairspray steps past the curtain and into the spotlight as the Official Hairspray of “Burlesque.”
• In the film, Re-Shaper shines on-stage alongside some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. It was also on-set as the working hairspray used to shape the fearless styles that transformed the actors into their characters, truly defining what hair artistry is.
• To support Re-Shaper’s starring moment in the film Sebastian Professional will launch a limited-edition gift set, a national sweepstakes, in-salon promotions, print advertisements, retail displays and a sponsorship of the A-list Hollywood premiere. (www.popsop.com)