Girl Scouts Look to Rebrand

'Land of Enchantment' isn't doing the trick, say state officials

(NEWSER) - New Mexico has plenty to offer, but people just don't know much about it, say locals after watching tourism plummet almost 10% over the past three years. Now, the state is running a $2.5 million PR campaign to change people's perceptions of the state. "People think New Mexico is all hoity-toity, high-end—or, for the real out-there people, there's Roswell," says a Santa Fe boutique owner. But officials would prefer to project an image of "adventure steeped in culture," the new state tourism boss tells the Wall Street Journal . More»

What's up with the total lack of words?

(NEWSER) - The new Starbucks logo is here: Is it a disaster of Gap logo proportions ? Not quite, but critics are still a bit baffled:

• Why did they remove “those pesky words that say Starbucks Coffee?" wonders Meg Marco on the Consumerist . “Coffee, we assume, was the primary problem. Why? Because Starbucks is a fast food joint.”
• Maybe that’s true—but more importantly, Starbucks doesn’t want to be seen as a chain, Alissa Walker reminds us on Good . The company went so far as to open stores with completely different names that masquerade as independent coffee shops, after all. But will consumers really forget the name—“and all the baggage that comes along with it”—even though that green siren is so well-known?

Louisiana chefs and gov't hatch plan to market invasive fish

(NEWSER) - If the idea of biting into Asian carp, the invasive species wreaking havoc from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi Delta, sounds unappetizing, one Louisiana chef would like to sell you on delicious “silverfin.” For those not in the know, that’s Asian carp. The rebranding is part of a concerted marketing effort to solve the rampaging carp problem by making them into tasty meals. They could be on retail shelves in weeks. More»

Higher costs force Scouts to shrink cookies, boxes to keep prices steady

(NEWSER) - The stingy economy has forced the Girl Scouts to downsize their boxes of cookies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Soaring prices of flour, oil and cocoa have forced them to sell smaller Samoas and thinner boxes of Thin Mints to avoid hiking prices. Shrunken household budgets are expected to hurt this year's cookie sales. But the Scouts are trying to make the economy work for them by urging consumers to buy extra boxes to donate to food banks. More»