Hasta La Creative!

Droga5 and publisher Hachette Australia recently bestowed upon Qantas frequent fliers an anachronistic little gift that will come in handy aboard Qantas flights when approved electronic devices must be completely turned off.

The agency's Sydney office packaged together a 10-book box set of previously published paperbacks "specifically edited to last just as long as each of Qantas's key routes." It's a fun idea, and Droga is playing the nostalgia factor to the hilt. "In this world of Kindles and iPads, it seems that the last bastion of the humble paperback novel is actually at 40,000 feet," says David Nobay, creative chairman of Droga5 Sydney. "You only need to look at the bulging shelves at any airport bookstore. Maybe it's the fact that everything seems so far removed from the real world up there."

All 10 books are by Australian authors: James Castrission, Tony Cavanaugh, Sean Fewster, Kimberley Freeman, Lian Hearn, William McInnes, Peter FitzSimons, Jack Marx, Rob Mundle and Roland Perry. The collection spans adventure, crime, women's fiction, literary, history and romance. The books are meant to correspond to the lengths of 10 popular Qantas flights (Sydney to Dubai, Melbourne to London, Perth to Singapore, etc.), with meals and other breaks factored in. Designer Paul Belford created a unique cover for each book.

"One of the greatest challenges in publishing is to remind people of the pleasure that reading brings, and that even though the online world is growing, there is still a romance in the printed page," says Fiona Hazard, publishing director of Hachette Australia. "At Hachette, we are always looking for new ways to bring stories and voices to life, so when Droga5 approached us to discuss this idea we jumped straight in. It's been great fun working with them to get this project off the ground."

What happens when you put 600 candy marketers in a room with thousands of retail buyers? A sugar-filled pitch-a-thon where no packaging detail seems too small or sales stat too regional.

“We dominate North Texas,” Mike Sanderlin said at this week’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago when asked about his cotton candy brand, called Cotton Candy A La’ Cart. His pitch? Unlike other brands, it is packaged in transparent bags so “the kids can see it.”

Like so many others, Mr. Sanderlin is looking to close deals at the three-day event, which is expected to draw some 15,000 people from across the globe. Buyers are seeking the next big thing in candy, while marketers large and small are hoping to fill orders as fast as they can. All the while, mascots like a walking Sour Patch Kid roam the exhibit hall, which is filled with enough free samples to induce a weeks-long sugar high.

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Cable networks are rebranding themselves, and pay-TV operators aren’t pleased.

At least six channels are changing their names and programming this year to attract more viewers, advertising dollars and higher subscriber fees from cable and satellite companies. News Corp.’s Speed, for instance, will become Fox Sports 1 in August. NBC Universal, which changed Versus into the NBC Sports Network last year, it now switching G4 to the Esquire Network, with upscale programs for men.

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Metro, the free newspaper owned by Daily Mail & General Trust, is backing its new online gaming platform, Metro Play, with a £1.9m national ad campaign using the tagline “More rewarding ways to Metro Play”.

Car marque Nissan has pulled its ads from Facebook after they appeared next to a page making light of violence towards women.

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Italy
Executive Creative Director: Agostino Toscana
Creative Directors: Agostino Toscana, Alessandro Orlandi, Luca Lorenzini, Luca Pannese
Art Director: Luca Pannese
Copywriter: Luca Lorenzini
Account Manager: Ilaria Lorenzetti
Digital Specialist: Stefano Caridi
Social Network specialist: Flavia Pipola
Head of Interactive Production: Silvio Coco
Web Developer: Dario Cataldi
Producer: Erica Lora-Lamia
Head of TV: Raffaella Scarpetti
Editor: Fulvio Rossetti
Social Media Partner: Ambito 5
Website development: Logicweb
Partners: Top Digital, Flipper Music, Luca Bottale, H-Films, Getty Images, Google, Akita

Walmart has hired Dan Bartlett, the head of public-relations firm Hill & Knowlton’s U.S. unit, as exec VP-corporate affairs.

Mr. Bartlett, 41, who also worked on former President George W. Bush’s presidential and Texas gubernatorial campaigns, will start in late June, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart said today in a statement. He will oversee external communications, government relations, sustainability and the Walmart Foundation, the company said.

Mr. Bartlett replaces Leslie A. Dach, a former Democratic strategist, who announced he was leaving in March. Mr. Dach had previously held senior positions in Democratic presidential campaigns and handled work for the Clinton administration. He also was vice chairman of Edelman, a global public-relations firm.

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The future of the airline industry has got to be brighter than its present, according to Marty St. George, senior VP-marketing and commercial strategy at JetBlue Airways, in the latest "#AFewGoodMinutes" interview from Allen & Gerritsen.

"It's not as bad now as it was even two years ago, but you still have legacy airlines trying to compete on who's got the nicest prison cell," Mr. St. George said. "We're in a different class than that and I think the whole industry is going to be better off if we all up our game a little bit."

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Among leading industry observers and the media, there’s widespread consensus that dramatic changes in the business landscape have made the role of CMO ever more complex. Globalization and technological advances have left organizations struggling to adapt their strategies to meet the heightened expectations of consumers. These developments have created more dynamic and potentially more profitable opportunities for companies that can infuse marketing into every facet of the enterprise.

While the challenges are widely acknowledged, solutions have proved to be in much shorter supply. Prescriptions have ranged from replacing the CMO with a chief customer officer to doing away with the CMO altogether. It’s little wonder, then, that many CMOs are struggling with the lack of concrete direction about what their role should be, let alone how to make a tangible impact on the organization.

To address these challenges, we created the CMO Program. A critical component is to instill a broader perspective among CMOs for the complexities of global opportunities. Accordingly, we have assembled a roster of instructors that include leading faculty and practitioners from Fortune 500 companies. The course, developed for future leaders of Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries, combines the latest research and insight from academia, mentoring from CMOs and CEOs, as well as hands-on problem solving to build capabilities through experiential learning.

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The book, which is set for publication next year, will detail her experiences with life-threatening illnesses.