News Hotline

• Giant Is Consumers' Favorite Grocery Store Brand
  by Sarah Mahoney 35 minutes ago

  While other chains may beat it on price, Giant Food is still consumers' overall favorite grocery store, according to a new ranking from Market Force Information. ...

• Facebook Resolves One Sponsored-Stories Lawsuit
  by Wendy Davis 2 hours ago

  Facebook has tentatively settled a class-action lawsuit alleging that its sponsored stories program misappropriates users' names and images, the company said in court papers filed this week. But the social networking service is still facing a separate potential lawsuit about whether the same program violates California's misappropriation ...

• Mobile Marketing Small But Growing
  by Mark Walsh 2 hours ago

  A new survey of more than 800 business executives indicates many are increasing mobile marketing budgets this year but face challenges, including a lack of resources to expand mobile efforts. More than 70% of managers expect their mobile budgets to increase in the next 12 months. ...

• Honda, IndyCar, Mario Andretti ... And You?
  by Karl Greenberg 2 hours ago

  The company is tying a campaign about its racing mojo with the upcoming Indianapolis 500 race by extending a campaign, via RPA, Honda's agency of record, that began two years ago. The effort is called the "Fastest Seat In Sports." ...

• WPP's Request To Dismiss SOX Suit Denied
  by Steve McClellan 2 hours ago

  A New York District Court judge has denied a request by WPP and its operating units Ogilvy & Mather and Neo@Ogilvy to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them for alleged wrongdoings barred by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. ...

• Tribune May Sell Print, Broadcast Properties
  by Erik Sass 2 hours ago

  As part of Tribune's ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the corporation may be setting the stage for a sale of some media properties. Given the beleaguered state of the newspaper business, the company is probably more likely to choose to divest its big-city newspapers, like the 'Los Angeles ...

• Starcom, Dish Battle Over Ad-Skipping AutoHop
  by Wayne Friedman 2 hours ago

  Starcom MediaVest Group Exchange had been negotiating with Dish Network over a significant TV addressable advertising deal. But after hearing about Dish's new feature called AutoHop -- which allows viewers to access commercial-free prime-time programming from the four major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox -- all talks ...

• Bottled Water Consumption Up 4% In 2011
  by Karlene Lukovitz 2 hours ago

  After declines during the recessionary years of 2008 and 2009, U.S. bottled water consumption had its second year of growth in 2011, according to Beverage Marketing Corporation's annual analysis of the market. ...

• BrandZ 2012 Top Global Brands: Highlights
  by Karlene Lukovitz 4 hours ago

  IBM's 15% value growth enabled it to surpass Google for the #2 spot this year. Facebook, with a 74% jump in brand value this year alone, showed the fastest rise in the value rankings (it's now at #19, with a $33.2 billion value, versus #35 last year). ...

• Nissan Altima Turning A Corner
  by Karl Greenberg 4 hours ago

  Jon Brancheau, VP marketing at Nissan's Franklin, Tenn.-based U.S. division, says the campaign, the biggest ever for the car, will talk about those technical advances, touting the car as a premium experience in an affordable package. ...

• Olympics Launches Check-in Locales On Foursquare

  As part of its broader social-marketing push around the Summer Olympic Games in London, the International Olympic Committee has launched its official Olympic badge and check-in locations on Foursquare. The spread of smartphones in the last year has led to a jump in the number of Americans using ...

• 'House Beautiful' App Enables Print-To-Pinterest Transfer

  House Beautiful will allow readers to transfer images from its print edition to Pinterest using their smartphones starting with its June issue -- the first time a magazine has enabled such interactivity. Photos from only one feature, "Kitchen of the Month," are pinnable with the new system, but ...

• New Editor Of 'New Republic' -- And Facebook Co-Founder -- Sees Viability Of Print

  Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes sees a "hunger out there for big-idea journalism" that he aims to fulfill now that he's editor in chief and publisher of The New Republic. "My goal for the publication is to be the magazine New York and D.C. and L.A. people read on ...

• Fox Loses Round One Of Fight Against Aereo

  A U.S. District Court Judge dismissed an unfair competition suit brought by Fox against Aereo, the Barry Diller-backed service that has been streaming local TV content online to New York City users since March. That still leaves a copyright infringement claim by the major broadcast networks against Aereo, ...

• TV Trend Watch: Supernatural, Sitcoms Big For Prime Time

  "The Dark And The Wacky Share Space On The Schedule." That's how a New York Times headline writer aims to categorize the 21 new broadcast TV shows set for prime time, as well as midseason replacements, shown at the upfronts last week. "On one hand, shows with apocalyptic ...

• Google's Motorola Deal Could Up Ad Inventory

  Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility plays into the company's GoMo mobile strategy. Already a force in mobile computing biz, the company's largest purchase to date gives it a treasure trove of about 17,000 patents to defend. Some advertisers, however, have registered concerns. ...

• MEC Debuts Analytics Tool To Optimize Media Sales

  MEC North America is rolling out a new ROI analytics tool, dubbed Crossmedia, that compares and optimizes the sales effectiveness of media plans across all paid, owned and earned media channels. The shop is telling clients they can expect to average 5% to 15% efficiency gains across their ...

• FCC Hints Cable Carriage Payments Could Lessen

  Speaking at the national cable convention on Tuesday in Boston, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered cable operators some hope that carriage payments to broadcasters could go down, citing the rise in blackouts and an FCC examination of shared services agreements. But he gave no indication that the process ...

• Will Consumers Wear Computers?

  There’s no telling whether consumers will take to face computers, but that can’t stop gadget makers from pushing such devices. “The rise of Internet-connected smartphones and advances in ‘heads-up’ displays are accelerating the development of all sorts of wearable augmented-reality devices,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Such gadgets ...

• Start-up Pushes CAPTCHA Killer

  CAPTCHAs, it seems, were specifically designed to discourage Web users from doing whatever they were trying to do -- post a comment, buy something, etc. -- before a CAPTCHA got in their way. Yes, “the CAPTCHA test … where you have to type in the word that you ...

• How Motorola Will Make Over Google

  On word that Google has finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Web watchers are taking a fresh look at the deal, what it means for Google, and the future of mobile. Confirming many a suspicion, Dennis Woodside, the newly appointed head of Motorola Mobility, says Google plans to ...

• How To Diversify Traffic Sources

  Multiple sources of traffic to a Web site make it healthy. For starters, it means bringing down the percetage of traffic coming from Google's search engine. It's called diversifying, similar to a stock portfolio. It's best if Google comprises between 40% and 60% or less of the site's ...

• Landing Page Optimization's Link To Paid Search

  Cassandra Caswell-Stirling serves up a list of all the ways that marketers should use a landing page to improve paid-search campaigns. On that list marketers will find restructuring, ad copy testing and optimization techniques. She tells us that if campaigns or ad groups have a strong click-through rate ...

• Lead Generation Tied To Social Media

  Social media can become part of a lead-generation strategy for B2B marketers. David Kirkpatrick tells us about six social media tactics from seven experts. Each provides insights and ideas into making the most of media placements, ranging from combining social media with content marketing to taking advantage of ...

• Facebook Must Open Data Streams

  Google continues to wait for Facebook to share data between the two company's services, according to Jon Russell. He tells us that Google Co-founder Larry Page used the words "still waiting" to describe the scenario. Speaking with talk show host Charlie Rose, Page explained that opening the flow ...

• NAB Sues FCC Over Political Ad Reporting

  The National Association of Broadcasters wants to stop the Federal Communications Commission's proposed rules around political advertising disclosure -- and it is taking the regulatory group to court. The proposal would require TV stations to reveal political ad rates. ...

• MundoFox Expands Reach To Majority Of Hispanic Markets

  MundoFox, the Hispanic-targeted network set to launch in August, has added a presence in Chicago and says it expects to add affiliates in New York and Houston soon. The network, with Spanish-language versions of U.S. programming, such as NatGeo Kids, the UFC and original programs, is a joint ...

• 7-Eleven Brimming With Expansion Plans

  7-Eleven Inc. is on track to have a record growth year with plans on the drawing board to add more units than it did in 2011. Last year It had 4,600 stores worldwide. Approximately 600 additional stores were built, acquired or transitioned from another business to the 7-Eleven ...

• Jeep Wrangler Faces A Recall

  The risk of fire is forcing Jeep to recall nearly 87,000 Wranglers in the U.S., Canada and other parts of the world. About 68,000 of those were sold in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The government has received reports of 14 fires ...

• Brazil Busy Online

  ComScore's Ad Metrix service showed that 190.5 billion display ads were delivered to Brazil's Internet population during the first quarter of 2012. Dafiti.com.br and Netshoes.com.br ranked as the top display advertisers in March 2012 with each delivering upwards of 2 billion impressions. ComScore, which introduced its Ad Metrix ...

• MillerCoors Voyages Beyond Strictly Beers

  MillerCoors is adding coconuts, apples and a new amber lager created by the company's brewers during their downtime to expand brews beyond hops, partly to vie against craft beers. The new drinks, launching this summer, include Coco Breve, a coconut water-infused clear malt beverage targeting women; Redd's Apple ...

• Scion Takes New Direction

  Toyota launched Scion as a brand for people who had no interest in a Toyota car, in other words Millennials. Now the brand is maturing, and therefore expanding its vehicle lineup. The brand that launched with the boxy xB and the then-tiny xA is moving its advertising more ...

• Skechers Joins False Claims Gallery

  Skechers agreed last week to settle a federal investigation into the health claims it made about its toning shoes. At the jump is Watchdog's list of other brands that have been caught in their own skein of deception. The Federal Trade Commission and authorities in several states, including ...

• Verve Adds NBC Stations, Hearst Newspapers, Digital First and Hoak

  Verve Wireless has added scores of new TV and newspaper properties to its network of mobile sites, including NBC Owned Television Stations, Hearst newspapers and Hoak Media TV stations. ...

• Adobe PrimeTime Bridges Gap From TV To Online Video

  Adobe today will release a series of advancements for Project Primetime that supports TV ad content across connected devices. The new offering, Primetime Simulcast, allows media companies to simultaneously broadcast traditional channels online with dynamically inserted ads across devices. ...

• Spotlight Goes 360, Cuts Deal With SMGx For Clients To Use Digital Targeting, Accountability

  Industry-wide initiatives like Canoe Ventures may have floundered, but at least one major cable TV operator is muscling ahead with enhanced TV advertising buys that offer digital targeting, measurability and even interactivity. Comcast Spotlight, the spot and local cable TV advertising sales division of Comcast Corp., this morning ...

• Barneys New York Revamps Web Site

  The new Barneys New York Web site allows customers to share their favorite items across multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, The Fancy, and Pinterest. The luxury specialty retailer is highlighting the favorite items of several celebrities, including fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. ...

• 'GMA' Gets Afternoon Spinoff

  With the recent success of "Good Morning America," ABC is launching a p.m. spinoff as a summer experiment. The hour-long "Good Afternoon America" is scheduled for a nine-week run starting July 9. ...

• Carrier IQ Loses Preliminary Round In Privacy Lawsuit

  A judge has ruled that software developer Carrier IQ must face claims that it violated California's relatively stringent privacy laws by allegedly logging keystrokes on mobile devices. ...

• Hispanic Sports Fans Rising, Sports Advertising Up

  It's not just soccer. From NASCAR to the NFL Draft, growth in Hispanic sports viewership is climbing significantly. At the same time, sports advertising as a whole continues its steady jump, according to Nielsen. ...

• Clear Channel Airports Flies New Mobile App

  Clear Channel Airports has partnered with SapientNitro to launch a new version of its "FlySmart" mobile travel app. Its new features include customized content from participating airports, flight push notifications and detailed information from Bing Maps to help travelers navigate restaurant as well as retail, terminal, gates and ...

• Azteca America Urges Hispanics To Vote

  Azteca America and its parent company, Grupo Salinas, are partnering with Voto Latino, a nonprofit organization devoted to raising electoral participation in the U.S. Hispanic population, on a new cross-platform campaign of public service announcements urging Hispanics to vote. ...

• ANA: Advertisers Need Brand-Specific Ratings, Not C7

  Some of the networks took advantage of upfront week to push for a new ratings currency that would include seven days of DVR playback versus the three days of playback included in the current ratings system (C3). The ANA is not as enamored of the move -- claiming ...

• In Push Toward 'Viewable Ad Impressions,' Industry Has New Tool To Measure Them

  Advertisers struggle with an inability to verify viewable ad impressions and the length of time the ad remained in view. DoubleVerify on Tuesday will release AdView to help brands monitor and track counted-as-delivered ad impressions that are not seen on publisher sites. ...

• Ogilvy's Next 'Frontier': Buys Stake In Myanmar Agency

  Calling it Asia's "newest frontier," WPP ad shop Ogilvy & Mather has agreed to acquire a stake in Today Advertising, an agency in Myanmar (also known as Burma). Until recently, the Southeast Asian country had trade sanctions imposed on it by many Western nations. ...

• Hulu To Debut 3 Original Series

  Delving deeper into original content, Hulu just unveiled three new series and seven exclusively licensed TV shows previously unavailable to U.S. audiences. Premiering throughout the summer, the half-hour shows include " Spoilers," a movie 'revue' hosted by filmmaker and geek god Kevin Smith; "Up To Speed," Richard Linklater's ...

• TVB Promotes Spot TV As Better Buy

  Just days before the 2012-2013 upfront TV ad market is set to begin, the TVB, the television stations' advertising trade group, is making a case that spot TV can be cheaper than network TV -- at least as it concerns program pricing in the scatter market. ...

• Neuromarketing: How Men's, Women's Brains Differ

  The CEO of Nielsen NeuroFocus, a Berkeley, Calif.-based neuroscience research company acquired by Nielsen last year, tells "Marketing Daily" what companies should know about gender differences in the brain. ...

• Twitter Signals Google Might Consider Most

  In a "think-out-loud Friday post, rather than a definitive guide," Chris Lake identifies a dozen social signals from Twitter that could influence search rankings on google.com. On the list marketers will find volume, context and comment, bio information, and more. He explains each, suggests their use, and provides ...

• The Search Expert Who Bought And Sold Facebook Stock

  Buying and holding a paid-search ad "is for suckers," according to Larry Kim. So when it came to Facebook's initial public offering, the WordStream founder bought into the IPO hype, and sold almost imediately. He called his broker at Morgan Stanley and placed an order for 1,000 shares ...

• Study: Small Target Means Big Success For CPG Intros

  CPG marketers looking to introduce a new product or line extension might do well to look beyond reaching the average consumer and instead target a smaller audience of heavy category or brand users. ...

• How To Track Clicks From Google Product Search

  Finding local companies selling specific products often takes people to Google's Product Search to look for the items. Amy Oliver tells marketers how to differentiate and track clicks coming from organic Google Product Search listings, as well as Product Listing Ads and Product Extensions. She tells us to ...

• Microsoft So.cl Slow To Gain Attention

  Microsoft released to the public a test social-search platform nearly a month ago, but it took time for the project to gain attention. The site offers search and social in one platform, along with the ability to watch movies and content with others logged into the site. Microsoft ...

• Upfronts Spotlight Blurring Between Trad, Digital Media

  The blurring of the line between traditional and digital media was evident everywhere last week both during the networks' upfront presentations and events held to celebrate New York City's Internet Week, according to Brian Stelter and Stuart Elliott, who provide a thorough roundup of how this theme played ...

• Cable Operators Offer Free WiFi Roaming

  Cable news: Five cable operators -- Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable -- launched the Cable WiFi network, through which "customers of one provider can seamlessly roam on hotspots from other four," writes Kevin C. Tofel. As of now this increased coverage will ...