KSS, a supplier of fuels pricing analytics, execution and optimization systems to oil and gas industries, convenience stores, grocery and big-box retailers, said Gulf Oil Limited Partnership has selected its PriceNet and Visualizer solutions. Gulf Oil, a Massachusetts-based wholesaler and distributor of petroleum products. Will use KSS’ RackPrice solutions to help manage its fuel prices [...]

In its first national marketing campaign targeting Hispanics in the U.S., Nestlé Waters North America has signed a two-year deal with Hispanic television personality Cristina Saralegui to become a spokesperson for Nestle Pure Life, mediapost.com reported. The multimillion-dollar Spanish-language campaign, "Vive Sanamente" (Live Healthy), includes 15- and 30-second television ads on Univision, TeleFutura, Galavision and [...]

Americans are drinking less alcohol and middle-aged people are consuming about one-third less alcohol than they did 50 years ago, according to research by the Boston University School of Medicine. The study, according to HealthDay reporter Steven Reinberg, shows that Americans are drinking less beer, though liquor consumption has remained steady while wine consumption has [...]

Citi Cards and ExxonMobil today announced a new rewards program for the ExxonMobil MasterCard consumer co-branded credit card program, which will offer rebates of up to 15 cents per gallon on gas purchased at Exxon and Mobil stores nationwide. Starting Aug. 29, 2008, those who open a new ExxonMobil MasterCard account by Dec. 31, 2008 [...]

Casey’s General Stores Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer William Walljasper gave an earnest interview to The Wall Street Transcript this week, touting the chain’s rural store format and conservative strategies as pivotal elements to its growth over the years. The chain has 1,450 corporate-owned stores and 14 franchise locations, though all of those [...]

Skoal smokeless tobacco is giving as many as 2,000 contributing editors the opportunity to contribute to the January 2009 issue of Playboy, which will be the magazine’s 55th anniversary issue, brandweek.com reported. The "Skoal Builds Playboy" promotion will allow fans to help put together a 12-page special section in the magazine, the Web site said. [...]

Southern California grocery leader Stater Bros. is launching an ambitious promotional program giving 3,300 customers free fuel for about a month. The Stater Bros. gas giveaway works like this: Each day from Aug. 6 to Aug. 26, the retailer chooses 165 customers to receive $200 in gas gift cards. That’s $660,000 the grocer will dole [...]

Bakery product producer Artimex LLC has acquired the Tina’s brand of baked goods, the company said. Artimex has gained exclusive rights to produce the full line of Tina’s-brand bakery goods, including a continuation of the original recipes that made the brand a success. Artimex produces a variety of frozen dough and fully baked products, with [...]

Wallace Oil Co., of Colorado’s Arkansas Valley area, is joining forces with Oklahoma-based c-store chain Tank n’ Tummy, The Pueblo Chieftan reported. The agreement will turn six Wallace Oil stores in Colorado to Tank n’ Tummy stores, either through sale or lease-purchase, the publication reported. A wholesale gasoline distributor, Wallace Oil will continue providing gasoline [...]

Police in Houston have begun enforcing new regulations requiring convenience stores to register with law enforcement, but only 158 of 2,000 c-stores in that market have registered under the new program so far, according to an Associated Press report. According to the Houston Chronicle, stores have anywhere from three months to two years to comply [...]

Dunkin’ Donuts has announced the launch of its new DDSMART menu, the brand’s first to offer better-for-you options on food and beverages. Labeled with a distinctive new logo, the new DDSMART items include new and existing Dunkin’ Donuts food and beverages that meet at least one of the following criteria: 25% fewer calories; 25% less [...]

Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer from Holland, unveiled a powerful differentiator to drive its new marketing campaign–the brewing tradition and free spirit of its birthplace, Amsterdam. Research showed that the most ownable space for Amstel Light was based on a brand equity it had all along, but just hadn’t fully leveraged, and that [...]