Jif has unveiled two chocolate-based sandwich toppers – a Nutella-cloned chocolate hazelnut spread and a mocha cappuccino-flavored hazelnut spread. Nutritionally, the Jif options are similar to Nutella (230 calories and 14 grams of fat per 2-tablespoon serving, compared with Nutella’s 200 calories and 11 grams of fat).

Of course, Jif won’t make the same mistake Nutella did and claim that its product is in any way a healthy snack. Nutella recently settled that class-action lawsuit to the tune of $3.05 million.

So why’d it take so long before the peanut butter camp decided to invade Nutella’s turf? This is just a hunch, but we’re guessing that the shocking rise in peanut butter costs opened the door for a surge in Nutella sales and the Jif gang wanted a piece of that delicious, chocolaty pie.

MARKETING LESSON: Don’t be afraid to take a bite out of your competitor’s bottom line (but don’t wait half a century to do it).

In a nutshell, the upgrade allows brands to tell their story in a more authentic, visually compelling, and streamlined way. How much has Facebook’s timeline changed the brand/consumer engagement experience? According to one study, brands are getting 46 percent more interaction thanks to the timeline layout.

Of course, it should be noted that recent studies have shown that 81 percent of Facebook users access the network via the site’s smart phone app. This point-of-entry makes the mostly aesthetic timeline features a moot point, but the upgrade is still valuable for those who check in via non-smart phone methods.

Among the many brand benefits of the timeline layout:

• The Milestone feature – a year-by-year chronology of a company’s history – allows brands to tell their stories and highlight notable milestones. The content possibilities are endless, but many brands (Coca-Cola is a good example) have used the milestone tool to share details about the company’s founding, show off historical documents and photos, and feature new logos, products and people.
• Facebook pages have become more visual, which means posts will need to be more eye-catching in order to encourage engagement. This visual hook includes the ability to add an attention-grabbing cover photo at the top of the page.
• The new two-column structure allows brands to emphasize specific posts (like ongoing contests and promotional offers) by “pinning” them to the top left column for up to seven days.

Has your brand embraced Facebook’s timeline to its fullest potential? If so, sound off below with your thoughts on the change. And if not, leave a comment giving your reasons. Admittedly, the new design takes some getting used to, but once you’ve mastered it, both your brand and your fanbase will reap the benefits.

MARKETING LESSON: Even cutting-edge social networks make changes now and then (that’s why they’re cutting edge). It’s up to you to make sure your brand takes full advantage of those changes.

Gone are the days when peanuts, Cracker Jack, and overcooked hot dogs were your only choices of stadium fare. Today’s stadiums (and we’re only talking baseball here) provide everything from gluten-free selections to vegan soups to snack stands bearing the brands of famous local eateries. It’s a smart marketing move, too. If your team is terrible and can’t sell tickets, maybe the food can pick up the slack.

Here are five Major League highlights:

• Miami Marlins – Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos
  
  

  The Marlins’ new state-of-the-art stadium includes a farm-to-fork stand, but the team’s $14 power hitter is its grilled mahi mahi tacos (pictured above). The tacos are made with fresh grilled mahi mahi, pickled red onions, pico de gallo, shredded cabbage, and topped with cilantro vinaigrette and a chipotle aioli.

• New York Mets – The Shack-cago Dog
  
  

  A stand branded by NYC’s famous Shake Shack offers a tempting twist on an old ballpark favorite with its “Shack-cago” dog, a Vienna all-beef hot dog served on a potato bun and topped with Shake Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, pepper, and celery salt.

• Seattle Mariners – The Ichiroll
  
  

  The “Ichiroll” – an homage to the Mariners’ All-Star outfielder, Ichiro Suzuki – made waves years ago as the Major League’s first sushi option. Today, the spicy tuna roll is still a hit and a very welcome light alternative to typical artery-clogging ballpark foods.

• Colorado Rockies – Rocky Mountain Oysters
  
  

  The great thing about today’s ballparks is that they offer a taste of the local cuisine. In this case, you can cheer on the home team while enjoying a steaming basket of Rocky Mountain Oysters. (That’s bull testicles to you and me.) Coloradans apparently love the dish, which has been compared to calamari or oysters. One brave member of the Pavone team has sampled this treat, and claims that it’s “a great example of how anything breaded and deep fried can taste good.”

• San Francisco Giants – Gilroy Garlic Fries
  
  

  Another upgrade on a classic option, Gilroy garlic fries are the park’s signature food item. This tray of fries is smothered in a mixture of garlic (fresh from Gilroy, just outside San Francisco and the garlic capital of the world), olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Breath mint not included.

MARKETING LESSON: Even sports fans need more than sports to keep them coming back. Also, never underestimate the power of a great menu.

With a little help from Pavone, Turkey Hill Dairy did exactly that.

The Lancaster County-based ice cream and iced tea maker signed a big-league contract to become the official ice cream of the world’s most popular sports team, the New York Yankees. Together, we turned that opportunity into a home run.

In the Big Apple, we highlighted Turkey Hill’s pair of Yankees flavors with a 30-second TV spot (seen in the case study above), among other promotional methods. It was a swing for the fences, but it worked, as the flavor experienced a 30% jump in pint sales over the previous season.

To be fair, we should admit that we weren’t exactly a sports marketing rookie when we stepped up to the plate in New York. Pavone has plenty of pro sports sponsorship experience, including (with Turkey Hill alone), assisting with sponsorships with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the NFL, we’ve worked with the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here’s how Turkey Hill’s VP of Marketing, Tom Wright, summed up the collaborative effort: “(We) hit one way out of the park with this campaign, which isn’t always easy to do when you’re playing in New York.”

MARKETING LESSON: When it comes to marketing your brand’s sports sponsorships, you have to think outside the Jumbotron ad.

We’re not sure if this packaging upgrade was brought on by an uprising among beer drinkers demanding a smoother pour, but it’s a good example what happens when a company isn’t afraid to make a few changes to a tried-and-true design (and reap a few marketing benefits along the way).

MARKETING LESSON: When it comes to package design, small changes can make a big difference, especially if you promote those changes with a multi-million dollar media blitz.

According to the latest Pizza Power Report, there are approximately 65,000 pizza restaurants in the United States, which combine for over $36 billion dollars in sales per year.

Regardless of whether you’re a national powerhouse like Pizza Hut or a local mom and pop shop, that’s a lot of competition. If you’re a brand in a similarly crowded category, it’s also why it’s critically important to stay one step ahead of the competition when it comes to social media marketing.

Ramon De Leon, a managing partner of seven Chicago-area Domino’s stores, knows that. It’s a knowledge he happily shares in the short video above. De Leon pioneered the use of social media even before social media existed. In 1998, his store used AOL Instant Messenger to communicate with customers. Soon after, he began snapping pictures of pizzas as they were being made and sending the photos to customers before their pizza arrived.

The Internet and smart phones have radically changed the way consumers shop and radically decreased our patience when it comes to daily annoyances like store hours, delivery times, and having to travel a quarter of a mile to rent a movie.

Not lost in this high-tech transition, however, are vending machines. The aforementioned movie rental can now be conducted through big red (or blue) machines. For decades, Japan has established itself as the high-tech gadget capital of the world. Not coincidentally, they’ve also carved out a niche for themselves when it comes to the ability to buy just about anything from a vending machine.

The trend is catching on in our country, too. And as vending technology becomes more sophisticated, so too have the products that can be purchased. Everything from iPods, shoes, umbrellas, and freshly butchered meats can be had with the push of a button.

Even traditional vending-style products like soft drinks are receiving new-and-improved delivery methods.

Coca-Cola might be a 120-year-old brand, but that hasn’t stopped the company from staying on the cutting edge of consumer demand and technology. Not long ago, the company rewrote fountain soda history with the development of Coca-Cola Freestyle, a touchscreen soda dispenser that offers more than 100 different varieties of fizzy refreshment.

The machines, which have been installed in Burger King restaurants nationwide, feature all the usual Coke products, but are renowned for their selection of non-traditional flavors. These options include raspberry Coke, orange Diet Coke, Sprite with vanilla (or cherry, strawberry, grape and raspberry), Fanta peach, and a laundry list of flavored Dasani water and Powerade drinks.

For consumers, it’s refreshment heaven, but for brands, it’s a good example of how a bevy of choices and a cool delivery method can breathe new life into a stalled distribution channel.

When the German arm of McDonald’s decided to tap into the power of crowdsourcing with a contest that let fans submit ideas for the chain’s next menu item, they had no idea they’d receive more than 300,000 burger recipes.

Fan suggestions included an Italian-style chicken burger and a curry and chili-flavored sandwich with chorizo and jalapenos. Both will be featured on a limited basis, but the winning sandwich, after more than 5 million online votes were cast, is the “Pretzelnator” – a burger topped with American and Italian cheese, ham, lettuce, onions and mayo piled high on a pretzel bun (what is it about pretzel buns that makes any sandwich better?).

The campaign used Facebook, public relations, in-store promotions and TV and radio advertising on its way to setting a new standard for consumer interaction.

Ask 100 men and women what they want from their partner or what qualities in a significant other are most important to them, and you’ll probably get 100 different answers.

Oh sure, some answers will be more prevalent than others. We want someone with a sharp mind and a keen sense of humor. Someone who can give us good advice when we need it, but also knows how to listen. Someone who can “spice things up” with a little creativity now and then. Someone who can cook a killer ham and cheese omelet.

Those same needs aren’t much different when it comes to what clients want from their ad agency. Clients want an agency that’s creative, responsive, smart, nimble and can work within their marketing budget, just to name a few desirable qualities. It all depends upon the client, the product and the marketing challenge at hand.

It’s probably also important for an agency to be adaptive. After all, consumer behaviors can change in the blink of an eye, and an agency that isn’t willing to change its focus and expertise along with those behaviors risks being obsolete in just a few short years.

And let’s not forget about the importance of providing a steady stream of fresh, creative thinking. Ideas are the romance of any client/agency relationship. When the ideas stop flowing (or stop being exciting), the relationship fizzles faster than you can say “maybe we should see other people.”

But enough of our babbling. It’s time for us to take our own advice and listen to what you have to say. Take a few seconds to tell us what qualities YOU look for in an agency by sounding off in our poll on the right (pick up to five answers).

While you’re at it, leave a comment below. We’ll choose one comment at random to win a dozen shortbread cookies shaped like Pavone’s sweetspot. They’re sort of a like a dozen roses, only a lot tastier.

In the summer of 2005, four San Francisco women drew a circle with a 100-mile radius around their homes. The goal was simple: to buy, cook and eat only that from within that “foodshed.” And so, the locavore movement was born.

But what started with locally grown foods, has expanded to include all sorts of consumable goods and services. True locavores only wear locally made clothing, decorate their home with locally crafted furniture, and trust their hard-earned money to locally owned banks. The reasoning, just like the thought process behind eating locally, is that it bolsters their community.

In short, the locavore movement has evolved into a seismic shift in how we consume goods and services. For brands hoping to tap into this trend, demonstrating the cost-benefit of buying your local wares is critical.

And don’t think this trend is irrelevant just because your brand is a global titan. McDonald’s in Seattle (a hotbed of locavore consumption) ran a series of billboards in 2010 to promote the chain’s use of locally grown potatoes. Sure, the extremely fine print noted that “Participation and duration may vary,” but it brought locally grown goods to an audience in ways never before thought possible.