Chief Marketer Staff

• Coke, Gatorade, Kroger, Others to Spend $100 Million to Sponsor 50th Daytona 500

  The International Speedway Corp. is accelerating the marketing hype for next year’s 50th anniversary Daytona 500 with a growing list of sponsors.

• Nissan Marketing Head Departs

  Nissan marketing head Jan Thompson has left the company.

• ING, Honda, Top List for Brand Experience: Study

  Financial services giant ING and automaker Honda ranked at the top of the list for customer brand experience, according to a new study.

• College Sports Sponsorship Dollars Hit All-Time High

  Corporate college sports sponsorships in the U.S. will hit an all-time high of $515 million this year, according to independent research firm IEG.

• Better Work on that Subject Line: Time Exec

  (Magilla Marketing) Want to improve your e-mail campaign results? Then stop putting off working on “subject” and “from” lines until the last minute.

• Agencies

  Live from the In-Store Marketing Expo: Cabco Introduces Mi-Kart

  Cabco USA, Inc. is adding seven-inch display screens to shopping carts that will offer everything from product demonstration to promotions.

• News Brief

  COTY: and ZoomSystems are introducing next month Star Scents, a 30-square foot automated retail store concept

• Agencies

  Drinking Songs: Boru Vodka Hosts Bar Band Contest

  (Promo) Boru Vodka is embracing an American tradition in linking live music and spirits.

  The Irish brand launched in the U.S. earlier this year. Boru’s Web-based contest seeks to find the country’s “most authentic and passionate bar band.”

• Agencies

  The Good Life: Chivas Launches Online Channel

  Chivas Regal is stepping into a marketing arena that has proven quite challenging for another alcohol brand, Budweiser.

  The Scotch whisky maker recently launched a branded online channel, This is the Life, hosted by MSN.com. But Chivas is spending only a few million dollars compared to the $30 million lavished on Bud.TV.

• Agencies

  Drinking Buddies: The Impact of Vintage CRM

  My husband and I are members of two wine and spirits-related CRM programs. One has led to us making more purchases. The other hasn’t generated many additional buys – but has created a lot of good will.