Free Republic

Over the past year, we’ve seen pet-friendly staycations, all-you-can-eat staycations, and sexy staycations, but a McDonald’s-themed staycation might be just what we need to get through the rest of phase three (however long that might be). As part of its McDonald’s Night-In campaign, the fast food chain is teaming up with Klook to launch its first-ever McDelivery x Klook ‘Happiest Night-In’ Staycation at Oakwood Premier AMTD Singapore. More from AsiaOne Read the condensed version of this story, and other top stories with NewsLite. Where to stay Located in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD), Oakwood Premier AMTD Singapore...

Three stories about apolitical businesses and charities, like the many others before them, portend a scary future for using social media platforms to market one's cause or business.Three stories about apolitical businesses and charities, like the many others before them, portend a scary future for using social media platforms to market one's cause or business. The second story is even worse. It involves an incredible charity called the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC), whose mission is to provide support for children who have been sexually or physically abused, neglected, or assaulted. What was ECCAC’S social media crime?Facebook categorizes ECCAC...

I pulled this from a friend n Thailand Facebook page. Marketing is fast. ′′ Selling insurance. Allergic to COVID vaccine. In this life, I don't know that. When will I get an injection?" News from The Standard says... ′′ Plc. Bangkok Insurance has launched 'Covid-19 Insurance is allergic to COVID-19', with the main coverage of medical care from COVID-19 vaccine allergies. Console in case of treatment in Naphawa Coma Hospital, including coverage. Death from accident with premiums divided into 3 plans starting at 99 baht, 489 baht and 859 baht ′′

Navistar Direct Marketing, a Maryland-based firm, announced it has fired an employee who was seen wearing his work badge inside the Capitol as a member of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the building Wednesday. The unnamed employee — who was wearing a "Trump" hat and holding a flag — was spotted wearing the badge around his neck, and the logo on it was subsequently identified as belonging to Navistar Direct Marketing (NDM). On Thursday morning, the county announced the employee's termination. "Navistar Direct Marketing was made aware that a man wearing a Navistar company badge was seen inside the U.S....

President Obama's re-election team has already been lauded for its mastery of data and organziation, but a feature in today's The New York Times looks at another secret, and more subtle, weapon: Behavioral science. Reporter Benedict Carey talks to some of the members of the campaign's "COBS" team, an informal group of unpaid advisors who shared their knowledge on the latest academic research and theories on how to influence the public's knowledge behavior. Publicly, the group—which it gave itself the name of "consortium of behavioral scientists"—where just friendly volunteers offering advice. None of the social scientists and psychologists who took...

Once again Greta Thunberg has demonstrated her PR genius. She just met a researcher from neighboring Norway for a conversation on the border between their two countries. And Greta didn’t waste any time posting the pictures of their meeting on Twitter and Instagram. In one of the photos, the two are seen greeting each other by touching their right feet together over the Morokulien border crossing – without physically entering the other’s country. According to Thunberg, she was interviewing the climate and environmental scientist Per Espen Stoknes for an upcoming BBC documentary series. However, because she was not allowed to...

The more bizarre, the better, apparently -- a fashion collab between KFC and Crocs is a rousing success ... KFC says its fried chicken-scented shoes are already sold out!!! Someone had the bright idea to pair the famous foam clog company with the fried chicken icon to make limited-edition kicks -- and they flew off (virtual) shelves Tuesday, selling out in less than 90 minutes. The bucket clogs went for $60 a pair, with $3 from each sale going toward the KFC Foundation's employee scholarship fund. The Crocs look like a bucket of the Colonel's original and -- most shockingly...

Hello FR, Some of you may know through my posts of our total loss of our Spring Fair season. It is looking like our Summer season will now be a bust. Now instead of crying about it, while mowing down one of our pastures, (because our tractor broke and we can't afford for Randy to come and take care of the fields), I had an idea. The idea would incorporate multi-media to create a virtual store at the Fair. Now I have no money, but I do have an existing website that still needs to be brought up to snuff....

It’s not quite the same as finding out that the most recognizable face of your company has been arrested for pedophilia, but Dunkin’ Donuts has to be rethinking its marketing strategy after spokesman Snoop Dogg spent the last 48 hours threatening CBS news anchor Gayle King and calling for the release of convicted sex offender Bill Cosby. In January – one month after Dunkin’ Donuts’ CMO resigned to pursue “the next opportunity” – the coffee chain launched a national ad campaign featuring Snoop Dogg. Now, less than a month later, it has to make a decision about whether to suspend...

If you have ever owned a smartphone, shopped online, bought an airline ticket or used a credit card, you are being secretly scored in ways that can impact your wallet. The scorers are businesses we buy products and services from every day. They are called Customer Lifetime Value or CLV scores. All sorts of retailers and businesses use them to judge our value as consumers... most businesses will not tell you what your score is. “It’s not your right as a consumer right now,” Thomas said. “Nobody has legislated that it’s your right to see it and to have input...

There is a lot spoken and written about the wine industry’s inability to truly connect with more consumers about what wine is all about and why there is so much to discover if only people took the time to look. But why should they? Are they ever going to change the habits of a lifetime and not just see wine for what essentially it is. An alcoholic drink to enjoy with friends or on your own. That’s where Paul Mabray start his conversations about wine. If wine is truly going to connect with its target audience it needs to really...

Smallville actress Allison Mack will plead guilty to charges related to her involvement with a controversial self-help group described as having a secret society of “masters” and sexually subservient “slaves” within it, PEOPLE confirms. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York tells PEOPLE that Mack was scheduled to appear in court at 1130 a.m. to plead guilty. The spokesman says she is pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering. Prosecutors have accused her of recruiting sex slaves for Keith Raniere, who co-founded the controversial self-help group Nxivm and its subgroup, DOS, described as...

Here’s what’s truly alarming about the apparent success of Nike’s “woke” Kaepernick ad campaign, now emulated by Gillette. It’s not that businesses have discovered they can make money, not by appealing to all customers, but rather by taking explicit political stands that only some customers love. It’s not even that these political stands, so far, seem to be overwhelmingly “progressive.” It’s that — well, Scott Galloway of ReCode’s “Pivot” hit the sore spot when he said the key motivating factor in this trend is that “progressives are capturing the majority of the income” You might expect politicized advertising to split...

Payless, a brand known for budget-friendly shoes, opened a fake pop-up store called "Palessi" in a Los Angeles mall and invited influencers to the grand opening. The store was stocked with Payless shoes in disguise. "I would pay $400 or $500," a woman says in a TV ad, holding a pair of $19.99 sneakers. Another shopper calls the Payless shoes "elegant and sophisticated." Content by Fidelity Investments 6 habits of successful investors Successful investing habits that we've witnessed over the years—and how to make them work for you. The stunt even included a sleek website and an Instagram account.

Payless Shoesource pranked VIP shoppers into paying markups of up to 1,800 percent for the bargain retailer's shoes as part of a viral advertising campaign designed to shift consumers' perceptions of the brand. Creating a fake luxury brand — Palessi — Payless built a temporary store and filled it with fashionistas. So-called fashion influencers – essentially trendsetters that regular consumers look to for style cues — paid up to $645 for footwear that usually retails for between $19.99 and $39.99, the company said. The fashion insiders were captured remarking on the quality of the shoes' design and fabrication – before...

Many companies take the approach of designing products, services and experiences that are targeted at the majority. And occasionally if there are resources and a strong business case, they turn their attention to serving niche audiences. But there are increasingly more anecdotes that support leaning into a different approach moving forward. Design for the niche, win the masses. A few weeks ago while I was in New York, I ate at a restaurant that was entirely gluten-free. I am gluten-free for health reasons, and it was a rare treat to go to a restaurant knowing I could eat everything on...

The goal was to promote the city of Colorado Springs as "Olympic City U.S.A." But the method — erecting a big blue frame at the edge of a scenic overlook at Garden of the Gods Park — drew anger from residents. Just days after it was put up, the frame was taken down. The frame, seemingly meant to add pizzazz to park visitors' photos, sparked "sustained outrage" instead, member station KRCC reports. Its arrival last week took many residents by surprise. It was taken down on Monday, without ceremony. "It seemed like a very strange thing to put in this...

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, met with small business owners who are using the social network to grow their business in Viet Nam and internationally on the sidelines of APEC Summit 2017 in the central city of Da Nang on Thursday. “Small businesses are at the heart of our economies – and create the majority of new jobs all around the world. We recently teamed up with MorningConsult for an Economic Impact Survey to understand how small business owners are growing their companies, hiring more employees, and contributing to their communities,” Sandberg said. “In Asia and the Pacific region,...

As marijuana legalization continues across the country, weed is becoming increasingly mainstream. However, as much as the stoner stereotype has evolved into a broader label that also encompasses CEOs, educated millennials, and the Spicolis of the world, it still has a negative connotation. Industry leaders have quickly learned that destigmatizing marijuana use begins with educating the public, but Adrian Sedlin of Canndescent has figured out that, as with anything, it's really all about branding. Sedlin's luxury cannabis company offers premium flower alongside sophisticated packaging that no other company in the current market rivals. One look and I can almost guarantee...

Just after graduating from high school, Nicholas LeBerth got an ambiguous letter inviting him to an job interview. The firm was called Vector Marketing and it promised generous compensation and flexible work schedules. The job was selling kitchen knives, first to his parents. “I started mostly trying to sell to my family and ran out of them to sell to in like two weeks,” LeBerth told The Daily Beast.