DR. SCHOLL’S has tackled one of woman’s biggest modern day dilemmas: cute or comfortable? It’s no secret that most fashionable shoes aren’t suitable for wearing all day … whether it’s a on business trip or a girl’s night out, we want to look our best but struggle with achy feet at the expense of our high heeled kicks.

A few weeks ago, “Merck Consumer Care announced the launch of DR. SCHOLL’S® FOR HER Fast Flats™, a stylish and practical solution for women who need a break from their uncomfortable shoes.

Fast Flats™ are compact and foldable shoes that fit discreetly in a purse and come with a wristlet for easy storage and portability. This spare pair is perfect for nights out, weddings, traveling through airports and other times when a long trek in heels won’t cut it. Women can even wear Fast Flats™ during their commute, and then slip in to their fashionable shoes just in time to hit the office.”

According to Jay Morgan, vice president of Research and Development for DR. SCHOLL’S®, “While women love their stylish shoes, many feel they have to sacrifice comfort to wear them for an entire day or night. We know that’s not the case, and we wanted to give women a great solution for their feet. Fast Flats™ are fashionable and affordable, enabling women to be prepared for the many scenarios they face throughout the day without having to worry about shoe discomfort.”

As a woman who has spent countless hours in uncomfortable shoes at the sake of fashion, and as someone who has been naming new products for over a decade, I can appreciate both the uniqueness of this new offering, and the simpleness of the name. DR. SCHOLL’S could have taken a variety of directions when naming this new product, but they chose to be descriptive, and emphasize the ease of use and quick-change nature that women prefer. Fast Flats is set up to be a category definer (as illustrated by the current surge in knock-offs). The messaging of the name makes it easy to for the customer to understand the product and the benefit. Alliteration lends to memorability, and the two syllable name construction adds easy recall.

I’m excited to try my own pair. What do you think? Ready for a quick change?

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Times Square boasted a new store recently and the streets have been abuzz over the sweet addition. Promoters call it Pop-Tarts World and the 3200 square foot space contains an hourly light show, a café offering over 30 snacks and desserts including Pop-Tarts Sushi a as well as an interactive create-your-own-variety-pack vending machine. Though the 3200 square foot store has a lot to offer Pop-Tart fans, renting a space on Times Square is really more about brand marketing than it is about sales. “Our long-term hope is to strengthen the bonding between the brand and the consumer, and that has great benefits for the brand,” Senior Director at the Pop-Tarts brand, Etienne Patout, told the Wall Street Journal in a recent article. Averaging $1000 per square foot, Times Square presence comes at a cost but a 50-foot store front and a six-story billboard in view of 26 million annual visitors a year delivers priceless visibility.

Contributed by: Allison Jobes

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Be honest – have you ever bought a product solely because of its name or packaging?

*whispers* I have.

The bottle’s appearance sucked me in, the matte hot pink and matte yellow bottles at the end of a sea of glossy blue and purple cans. I moved in closer, seeing the name EOS emblazoned across the top. Instant adoration! I love the name because Eos is the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn, often signifying a new beginning. Double bonus verbal branding: they’ve made it an acronym apropos to their product line, the “Evolution of Smooth.” So, even if you didn’t know that Eos was the goddess of the dawn, they are telling you this is a new beginning, an innovation in shaving, a new era of smooth legs!

Thankfully, I have ended up loving the product, too. Vanilla Bliss, indeed.

Will I now buy their lotion, lip balm (smooth stick or smooth sphere) and other flavors of shave cream?

*shouts* Yes!

Maybe it’s not the smartest way to shop, but EOS sold me in five seconds flat. I wasn’t even looking to buy shaving cream that fateful day in Target.

I wasn’t even in the aisle.

We all know Labor Day, April Fool’s Day, Groundhog Day and Earth Day. These holidays are nationally known and often make headlines. In our lifetime, we’ve all probably celebrated one or all of these (one way or another). There are federal, national, religious, secular and lastly, weird and unusually named holidays. If you’re taking entries, how do I get my holidays on the list? How do I make it official? I guess my first step is to research if any of my days are already taken.

Not surprisingly, I found that there is a “day” for nearly every day of the year. Some days have multiple celebrations. Most of the strangely named and unusual celebrations are not officially recorded by presidential proclamation or congressional records. Go figure. I did find a few I could get on board with: Book Lovers Day, Eat Outside Day & Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Some I would not be a supporter of: National Chocolate Covered Insect Day & No Pants Day which is celebrated on the 1st Friday in May, thankfully not at AW. When polled, a few associates came up with celebrations they’d like to add to the list. Continue Reading »