News Hotline

• Acura Launches ILX With Gen Y Flavor
  by Karl Greenberg 4 minutes ago

  The Torrance, Calif., luxury sibling of Honda is launching the vehicle with a new campaign from its U.S. agency of record, rp&. The campaign, which is also its biggest digital effort to date, uses music from The Ting Tings and Nick Waterhouse. ...

• Dish Network Wins First Round In AutoHop Legal Fracas
  by Phyllis Fine 19 minutes ago

  Because it filed the first suit, Dish Network now has an advantage in the battle over whether its  AutoHop ad-skipping service is legal. Wednesday, a federal judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order preventing the broadcast networks from pursuing their claims against Dish until a hearing ...

• How Liberty Media Aims To Take Over Sirius XM
  by Phyllis Fine 19 minutes ago

  Liberty Media continues its campaign to take over Siriux XM, announcing that  it will buy more shares, convert its preferred shares into common shares, and "nominate and campaign for a slate of directors that would constitute a majority of the board," writes David Lieberman. "The plan comes as ...

• CBS: More Than Half 2013 Super Bowl Ads Sold
  by Phyllis Fine 19 minutes ago

  CBS has sold more than 50% of its ad inventory for the 2013 Super Bowl -- a figure that could jump to 80% in the next few weeks, Brian Steinberg writes, quoting John Bogusz, the network's exec VP for sports sales and marketing. Despite General Motors' announcement that ...

• 'Chicago Sun-Times': 'No Longer A Newspaper Company'
  by Phyllis Fine 19 minutes ago

  The Chicago Sun-Times appointed a new managing editor, Craig Newman, and reorganized its newsroom personnel as part of its efforts to concentrate on digital news. "We are no longer a newspaper company. We are a technology company that happens to publish a newspaper," was the quote from Sun-Times ...

• (RED) Gets Into Gaming For Good
  by Aaron Baar 23 minutes ago

  As part of the organization's (Red)Rush to Zero campaign, the group is hosting Red(Rush) Games, giving average players the chance to play against and alongside celebrities such as Kate Upton, Kris Allen and Michelle Rodriguez. ...

• NYC Beverages Prop Heats Up Ongoing Controversy
  by Karlene Lukovitz 38 minutes ago

  The sweetened-beverages ban, advocated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, will be proposed as an amendment to the Health Code at a June 12 meeting of the Board of Health. ...

• Cable Prime Time, News Nets Endure Viewer Drops
  by Wayne Friedman 92 minutes ago

  In prime time, ESPN sank 26% in overall viewership -- now averaging 1.56 million viewers; A&E Network slipped 3% to 1.2 million; HGTV lost 5% to 1.0 million; Discovery dropped 22% to 1.0 million; ABC Family was off 24%. ...

• From Free To Paid, Google Shifts Shopping Strategy
  by Sarah Mahoney 2 hours ago

  Google is taking the wraps off Google Shopping, launching a new initiative it says will make it easier for smaller retailers to connect with consumers, and easier for shoppers to find the products find they want. ...

• Chinese Search Engine Baidu Releases Google Rival Smartphone In China
  by Laurie Sullivan 2 hours ago

  Baidu introduced an Android-based smartphone. The search engine's Web site explains that the phone offers a cloud-supported operating system with voice search, word search, personalized cloud applications, and cloud transmission encryption security. To top it off, Jon Russell also tells us that Apple will add Baidu's search services ...

• A Google Penguin Story

  Attempting to digest the full influence of Google's Penguin algorithm updates, Nick Eubanks tells us from experience how to identify an over-optimized site. His site -- nickeubanks.com -- got hit with Google's Penguin update. The interesting part is that he doesn't promote it. Nor does he build links ...

• Search Rankings In Social Media Scores

  It's not who you know online, but rather what you know and how many people you can influence across social networks and blogs. Lisa Buyer tells us about getting scored, ranked and labeled across Klout, PeerIndex, Kred, and Percollate, and how companies want readers  to vote and comment ...

• Digital Marketing Rises In-house, But Marketers Lack Knowledge

  Some 57% of companies still treat social media and search marketing strategies separately, according to the UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report from NetBooster and Econsultancy. Responses from more than 500 advertisers and agencies collected during February and March reveal that 57% plan to increase investments in search engine optimization ...

• Media Companies Favor Stock Buybacks, Cautious About Online Investments

  Displaying a mixture of caution and disinterest in digital investments, media giants continue to put their money elsewhere, and stock buybacks in particular. Companies' cautious investment approach is a direct result of the recent financial crisis. ...

• Lionsgate Develops Broadcast Shows, Debuts Sheen's 'Anger' On FX

  A month before the Charlie Sheen-starring "Anger Management" debuts on FX, producer Lionsgate said international distribution is already garnering more than $600,000 an episode in five territories. The show will launch with 10 episodes starting June 28. If certain FX ratings thresholds are met, a trigger kicks in ...

• Chevrolet Chases The Real Football

  "This is taking the things we do in the U.S. and multiplying it by a factor of ten. If we do our job well, this partnership will give us a real positive brand lift here, in Europe, in Asia," says GM CMO Joel Ewanick, speaking to "Marketing Dai ...

• Univision To Launch AM Radio Network

  Univision will launch a national, Spanish-language AM radio network featuring local, national and international news. The new network, Univision America, will include AM stations in nine major Univision markets: Miami, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, McAllen, TX, El Paso, San Antonio, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. ...

• Mag Bag: 'Dwell,' 'New York' Join Forces For Design Festival

  New York City has all the other weeks - Fashion Week, Advertising Week, Internet Week -- so why not a design week? That seems to be the idea behind the partnership between Dwell and New York, which includes a week-long design festival celebrating New York scheduled in Octo ...

• London's Biggest Buildings Promote Brands

  London's most dominant buildings are prime ad real estate, but big ads on buildings are taboo. Plans for huge billboards on King's Reach Tower by the South Bank were rejected. The plans were to wrap the tower with four massive signs. Building owners instead use illuminations to mark ...

• 7-Eleven Finds Niche In Indonesia

  7-Eleven stores are fast becoming the new hot spots in Indonesia, filling a void in an area with few outdoor recreation spaces and limited mobility. In addition to blending convenience store offerings with inexpensive ready-made food and seating, 7-Eleven stores have turned into nighttime gathering spots with live ...

• Macy's Has A New Focus

  Macy's launched a transformation about three years ago, when management introduced the "My Macy's" localization program where the company tailors merchandise assortment in every store location. The company is focusing on Millennials with new merchandise assortments. Macy's departments are refocusing their assortment to offer fast-fashions, making shopping more ...

• Applebee's Sells 33 Locations

  Applebee's has nearly reached its goal of becoming an almost-all-franchised brand with the signing Tuesday of an asset purchase agreement to sell 33 company-owned locations, primarily in Missouri and Indiana. Applebee's parent company, DineEquity Inc., said it has signed an agreement with American Franchise Capital LLC, based in ...

• Neiman Marcus To Give Associates Smartphones

  Neiman Marcus is giving all of its 4,000 associates at its full-line stores smartphones in an effort to better serve customers, company executives said on the retailer's recent conference call with analysts. Neiman's executives also said the company plans to remodel it stores on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, ...

• Internet TV Slow To Adapt In France, UK

  Internet-connected or smart TVs may be the coming wave of new consumer equipment, but actual usage of those special TV functions may be wanting -- at least in looking at early results in two major European countries. The report blames general lack of awareness about the technology. ...

• Kevin Rose Joins Google Ventures

  Before anyone knew Mark Zuckerberg’s name, Kevin Rose was the Web’s golden boy -- and his pursuits still pique the curiosity of tech watchers everywhere. What’s the founder of Digg.com up to? Well, after joining Google in March to work on Google+ -- along with some of his ...

• Grubwithus Grubs $5M For Social Dining

  Do people want help organizing dinners with like-minded people whom they might not know in an offline setting? Betting that they do, investors -- led by GRP Partners -- are pouring another $5 million into Grubwithus. Betakit attributes the startup’s appeal among VCs to “its pioneering status in what looks ...

• Google Reverses Course On "Paid Inclusion"

  The was a time when Google rejected “paid inclusion.” Raising potential concerns for publishers and online searchers, however, the company appears to have embraced the pay-to-play business model. As examples, Marketing Land points to Google Hotel Finder and Google Flight Search, both of which debuted last year. “On ...

• Music Festivals Solid Venue For Brand Marketing

  New research from Havas concludes that sponsor awareness and recall among music festival fans is "high," which might surprise, some given the widely held perception that many fans, imbibing in alcoholic beverages and various other substances at such events barely remember any experience. ...

• Groupon Buys Tablet-Based POS Service

  Groupon is trying to make good on its CEO's promise to build an operating system for mobile commerce among local merchants with its purchase of point-of-sale technology Breadcrumb. ...

• Women More Likely To 'Cheat' Financially

  Gender makes a difference when it comes to financial "infidelity," according to a poll by CreditCards.com. When it comes to hiding savings, about 72% of women said they'd hidden savings compared to just 26% of men. ...

• Not-So-Mad Women: IPG Execs Mark AWNY's 100th By Asserting Female Prerogative

  Celebrating their 100th anniversary, Advertising Women of New York teamed up with Interpublic Group for a women's leadership panel Tuesday in New York. The event featured IPG execs Jacki Kelley (UM CEO), Debra Coughlin (Draftfcb CMO), Lynn Fantom (CEO, ID Media) and Yin Woon Rani (UM North America ...

• Magazine Print Readership Declines, Digital Grows

  Consumer magazines' print readership declined over the last year, but the losses were partly offset by growth in digital readership, according to GfK MRI. When print and digital editions are considered together, the figure sank 2.6% from just under 1.25 billion to just under 1.22 billion. ...

• Charter CEO: Rebranding May Not Be Right

  Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge said the cable operator should explore a reflagging of its consumer brand, although he isn't sure whether a change is needed or if the ROI would pay off. ...

• 'Men's Health' Hosts Cooking School

  Don't expect cover shots of chiseled abs to be replaced by close-ups of pork loin in demi glace, but 'Men's Health' is striking out in a healthy foodie direction with the first Men's Health Cooking School, scheduled to take place at New York's International Culinary Center. ...

• Adobe Gives New Meaning To Search Advertising, Makes Online Ads Searchable

  Adobe developed a method through HTML5 that allows brands to build advertising content that Google can index in search results. The Edge tools, an alternative to Flash, allow companies to build animation into their Web site or online ads. Will Google and Bing reject the idea? ...

• Jeep Hits The Deck For USA Hoops

  Jeep is using the sponsorship to tout its limited-edition version of the Wrangler, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Altitude, with an integrated effort featuring 2012 Team USA hopeful Chris Paul of the L.A. Clippers, who was a USA Basketball team member in 2008. ...

• CBS Will Hold Out For Higher Upfront Pricing

  CBS says the upfront ad process is still in its early stages. But should the network not get what it believes is "premium pricing," it will wait. "It's still too early for business to break," says Joe Ianniello, executive vp and chief financial officer for CBS Corp, in ...

• Online Ad Companies Revise Privacy Practices After BBB Inquiry

  Several online ad companies have tweaked their practices in response to inquiries from the Better Business Bureau, the organization said on Wednesday. ...

• Meeker Promises There Is Money In Mobile

  Facebook's initial public offering cast a harsh light on its failure so far to monetize its immense mobile audience of 500 million worldwide. But it's hardly the only company struggling to figure out how to make money off a rapidly growing mobile user base as more and more ...

• Forbes.com Pioneers 'Sink Or Swim' Journalism

  Since 2010, Forbes.com has been pioneering a  "new publishing model grounded in some of the fundamental principles of the Web," with a group of almost 1,000 entrepreneurial journalists each responsible for developing, writing, and promoting his or her own blog, writes Jeff Sonderman. While "contributors are left to ...

• What's Driving CBS' Success?

  What makes CBS "a crown jewel of the media industry," providing "very high returns to its stockholders"? The analysts at Trefis break it down into four key trends, from the "improving advertising environment" to "content licensing and retransmission fee push," to name two. ...

• 'Women's Health' Launches Advertiser Contest On Pinterest

  On Friday Rodale's Women's Health magazine is launching a "Sparkling Summer" contest in which readers compete by creating Pinterest boards with images from Forevermark Diamonds. This may be the first-ever campaign in which a magazine works with an advertiser on Pinterest, where "followers and fans often react negatively ...

• Fox Spanish-Language Channel To Debut With Evening Newscast

  News Corp.'s new Spanish-language channel, Mundo Fox, is launching Aug. 13 with "a single news show, a [half-hour] evening news program anchored by Rolando Nichols of KWHY Los Angeles, a MundoFox affiliate," writes Alex Wesprin. Mundo Fox has affiliates in 40 markets so far, and 'is expected ...

• The Globetrotters Get Big China Sponsorship

  The deal, in which Mengniu will back a series of Globetrotter tours in the country, is the largest in the franchise's history. And it may well culminate in the Harlem Globetrotter's first-ever Chinese player as the team is doing its draft this month. ...

• Google+ Local Rolls With Zagat Recommendations, Reviews

  Google provided free recommendations and reviews from Zagat on Wednesday, serving up content on Google+ in a feature the tech company calls Local. After paying millions for the site and the content in September, the tech company will finally link social with maps and search features. ...

• OMG's Annalect Names Nielsen Vet Meyer To U.S. Director, Research

  Annalect Group, the data and analytics division of Omnicom Media Group, has named Nielsen veteran Jonathan "Jed" Meyer to the new position of U.S. director of research. Omnicom Media Group recently merged the OMD research operation into Annalect, and it will be overseen by Meyer. ...

• Walmart Bashes Struggling Best Buy In Ads

  The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has unleashed print and radio advertising making sure consumers know their local Best Buy is closing, and inciting them to head on over to Walmart for good deals in electronics. ...

• Disney's Iger On TV Ad Upfront: Too Early To Tell

  TV's upfront marketplace is underway -- but mum's the word, at least according to one senior media executive. Speaking at the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, wouldn't say much -- other than reiterating that for its ...

• Top Marketers: Digital Integration Still A Struggle

  Just 9% of 200 global marketers surveyed by the CMO Council report that their companies have a highly evolved, integrated marketing model with a clear, proven evolution path. More than a third report that tactical or "point" solutions are "randomly embraced." ...

• Platform Notwithstanding, Gaming Top Consumer Activity

  According to new research from PwC U.S., people spend more time playing games on the various devices than they do watching TV or movies on them. The disparity was particularly wide when it came to gaming consoles. ...

• iPhone Users Biggest Data Consumers

  iPhone users are the data hogs of the smartphone world. On average, they account for 80% of the top 10% of heaviest data users, according to a new study by U.K.-based technology research firm Analysys Mason. iPhone owners are three times more likely to be in the top ...

• Salesforce.com Expected To Buy Buddy Media, Ups Social Marketing Muscle

  Amid broad consolidation in the social marketing space, Salesforce.com is reportedly closing in on Facebook specialist Buddy Media. Buddy Media and SalesForce.com have already agreed to terms --- which value Buddy at more than $800 million. The would-be deal comes just a week after Oracle agreed to buy ...

• 5 Tips For AdWords Auction Insights

  Know the competition, enhance branded campaigns, and avoid overpaying Google and under-bidding others. These are a few of the five tips Sam Owen explains to help marketers get started using the Auction Insights tool. He takes us through each tip, and provides a few screen shots to explain ...

• Are We Ready For A Google Computer Entirely On The Internet?

  The Chrome operating system got a revamp, and David Pierce tells us why the forthcoming version finally feels more like an OS. He takes us through the release of the Chromebook and Chromebox, to tell us about features in the Chrome OS version, codename Aura, which support both ...

• Sorrell's WPP Pay Package Under Fire

  Is Sir Martin Sorrell worth the big raise he received in 2011? The influential shareholder advisory firm ISS says the WPP CEO's 60% pay hike was unjustified in a report it issued this week. The report puts the issue of executive compensation front and center at WPP's upcoming ...