Rachel Boucher

The 102-year-old Hallmark brand is a $4.1 billion business reminder that our e-society still values a meaningful message delivered in a physical form, be it a greeting card, plush toy or figurine. But like most (if not all) 21st century companies, Hallmark is busy forging a new path into the future, leveraging digital strategies to enhance the experiences consumers have with its products.

In the turf maintenance equipment world, three colors dominate the field. You’ve got green (John Deere), you’ve got red (Toro) and then you have orange—Jacobsen orange. To leave attendees of the annual Golf Industry Show in February with orange on the mind and more importantly, the Jacobsen name top of mind, the brand set out to paint the host-city of San Diego orange.

Automotive journalists travel frequently, moving from one vehicle launch event to the next. So to give a memorable experience to writers attending its mid-March media drive program for the launch of the redesigned Chevrolet Impala, General Motors introduced them to the vehicle in a location where they would immediately associate it with iconic style and design: renowned architect and avid car collector Jonathan Segal’s eighth floor penthouse apartment in San Diego.

Mountain Dew on Feb. 25 launched a 20-week mobile tour to promote its new product Kickstart, a sparkling, fruity, caffeinated beverage it hopes will become the go-to morning liquid refreshment of choice among younger male consumers looking to “kick” their day off right.

The Macallan single malt scotch whisky brand is using a series of influencer events called Raise the Macallan to survey and then recruit a select group of consumers who will then be invited to a second, more exclusive series of tasting events called The Finest Cut. The two-part program is designed to help the brand identify and then educate prospective brand fans in the hope that they will spread their preference for and knowledge of the scotch whisky among friends and family.