Q&As

When the most novel idea in the Incentive Show’s exhibit hall involves mucking out a horse stable, there’s trouble – big trouble – in premium land.

While it’s true that most of the show’s offerings aren’t geared toward direct marketers, in years past there were always a few items that could capture a DMers’ fancy. Not so this year. The hot trend on the exhibit hall floor was actually an echo of something that crashed and burned nearly five years ago.

Starbucks Corp. is redefining the casting couch. The mega coffee-maker has gone from staking a claim in the music business to dabbling in movies to announcing a partnership last week with the William Morris Agency to put an emphasis on identifying music, film and book projects that it can promote and distribute from its stores. The effort is a bid to enhance the overall entertainment experience for its millions of dedicated coffee drinkers.

Crown Royal will put a consumer’s name into the official title of a NASCAR race next year, in a contest that marks the first time the name of a major professional sporting event will be awarded to a consumer, Crown Royal said.

Volkswagen of America has hired product integration agency Creative Entertainment Services (CES) to develop brand building platforms in film and television properties. The car dealer plans to broaden its entertainment marketing capacity.

Mazda North American Operations is out with a new sweepstakes that drives consumers to an online globe to search for the hidden location of on of its cars and a chance to win a vehicle.

News America Marketing has formed an Entertainment & Specialty Marketing division led by studio veteran Steve Ross.

VH1 is paying homage to everything metal—music that is—this month with a month-long marketing campaign to promote a network TV event dedicated to the rock genre.

A New Hampshire federal district court has ordered former self-proclaimed spam king Sanford Wallace to pay more than $4 million he allegedly obtained by downloading spyware onto consumers

Fidelity Investments has been awarded the 2006 Best Overall Entertainment Marketing Award (EMMA) by PROMO for work developed with Arnold Worldwide to support music programs in public schools. Now in its eighth year, the EMMA program recognizes the best entertainment marketing campaigns of the past year in 10 categories.

Lunchmeat marketer Land O’Frost heats up its summer promotion calendar with a slate of tie-ins.