News Hotline

• Nissan Is Back In Black (Spandex)
  by Karl Greenberg 7 hours ago

  Nissan is back for the second year as automotive sponsor of the Amgen Tour of California. It's the U.S. version of the Tour de France, but you likely haven't heard of it unless you follow bicycle racing as closely as Europeans do. Nissan hopes to pique our interest ...

• Garfinkel Talks Classic Ads, Timeless Strategy
  by Karl Greenberg 7 hours ago

  Lee Garfinkel, who had been chief creative officer at Euro RSCG for a little over a year, has been doing automobile ads in one form or another since the 1970s. He worked on Subaru before the suckers mooned. He was at Mercedes-Benz when Mercedes was trying to get ...

• Skechers To Pay $40 Million To Settle FTC Claims Complaint
  by Karlene Lukovitz 7 hours ago

  Skechers USA, Inc. has agreed to pay $40 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company deceived consumers by making unsubstantiated claims in its advertising that its Shape-ups footgear would help people lose weight and strengthen and tone their buttocks, leg and abdominal muscles. ...

• Macy's Unfurls Brazilian Campaign
  by Sarah Mahoney 7 hours ago

  Macy's is taking the wraps off its "Brasil: A Magical Journey" with an advertising and digital extravaganza, including augmented-reality shopping apps and a fund-raising effort that will benefit the Amazon rainforests. ...

• Schwinn Celebrates Lifetime Of Riding
  by Aaron Baar 7 hours ago

  Two years after moving away from a broadcast-based marketing plan, Schwinn is looking to reach consumers through the Internet. Schwinn has struck deals with media outlets such as SocialVibe.com (where it has created a custom bike finder) and content sponsorship on USMagazine.com ("Ride into Summer") and Buzzfeed.com (including ...

• Centro Teams With Krux To Protect Publisher Data
  by Erik Sass 10 hours ago

  Centro, which operates an exchange selling online inventory from newspapers and other local sites, has partnered with Krux to launch an ad exchange for premium publishers that shields their audience data from third parties who may be looking to reach the audience through different channels, driving down the ...

• Criminal Trial For Posterscope Execs Set For July
  by Steve McClellan Yesterday, 5:23 PM

  New York District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff has ordered the criminal trial (by jury) of former Posterscope USA executives Todd Hansen and James Buckley to begin on July 9, according to court papers. The pair were arrested last fall and formally indicted in February on fraud and ...

• Google Changes Search, Moves Closer To Becoming Artificial Intelligence Engine
  by Laurie Sullivan Yesterday, 5:11 PM

  Google began rolling out a feature that gives searchers in the United States the potential to access more relevant and in-depth responses to answers without leaving the page. The concept is built on something the company calls "knowledge graph," which ties together words to create relationships. ...

• Socialcam Beefs Up Privacy Features
  by Wendy Davis Yesterday, 3:30 PM

  As with other social apps on Facebook, Socialcam spreads news about the videos people watch to their social networking friends. Socialcam revised its program so that it no longer automatically resumes sharing users' information with friends. Socialcam will keep sharing turned off until users affirmatively reactivate the feat ...

• Turner Sees Cable Nets As 'Video Destinations,' Continues 'Cougar'
  by Steve McClellan Yesterday, 3:19 PM

  Don't think of TBS and TNT as TV networks -- think of them as "video destinations." And for the first time, those destinations will provide original programming all year round, Turner Entertainment executives announced. Two new sitcoms, the workplace comedy "Men at Work" and the "Cheers"-like comedy "Sullivan ...

• New Data Links TV, Video Data To Aid Cross-Platform Marketing

  TV advertising and measurement technologies have begun to better link television and video data, as online marketers begin to understand the importance and benefits of multichannel marketing. The report analyzes embracing TV audience data as a viable "audience intelligence source." ...

• 'L.A. Times' Folding Sunday Magazine

  The Los Angeles Times will cease publication of LA, its Sunday magazine, after the June 3 issue. The pub had a monthly schedule, though until 2009 it came out weekly. However, the paper "is developing a quarterly publication focusing on luxury, fashion and style," writes Alana Semuels. That ...

• Listen To This Print Ad For 'Great Times'

  In Brazil, Budweiser and its agency, Agência Africa São Paulo, have placed a magazine ad they claim as a first – the page doubles as a vinyl record playable on any turntable (remember them?). Adweek’s Tim Nudd, however, notes that such “wishful thinking” banks on people “not actually ...

• Low Mag Sub Rates: 'Game Of Charades'

  "When a subscriber reacts to a give-away sub price offer, how much real interest can that subscriber have in the editorial product?" asks Steve Blacker. He compares the actual subscription fees for different magazines, such as Conde Nast's (generally higher-priced than other publishing company's) New Yorker at $69.99 ...

• Rush's Celebrity Power Still Hot In Forbes' Rankings

  Look who’s moved up on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list: Rush Limbaugh, to #19, from #23 a year earlier, despite the ongoing advertiser boycott of his radio show.   Jeff Bercovici offers two explanations.  First, the Celebrity 100 covers a one-year period ending this past April 30 and, since ...

• Ask.com Answers Call Of Seattle Residents

  Granting three wishes of Seattle residents this summer could pay off in clicks and searches on Ask.com's question and answer site. The "You Asked, We Answered" campaign polled residents in and around Seattle, asking them to vote on the one thing they most want to change about the ...

• IAB Debuts Digital Sales Certification Program

  The digital advertising world now has its answer to the legal profession's bar exam and Wall Street's Series 7 certification, courtesy of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The trade group will offer an official certification for digital media sales executives starting next month. ...

• YouToo's Facebook App Uploads Video For TV Watchers

  Blurring the lines between old and new media, Youtoo just debuted a Facebook app that encourages users to upload videos for TV consumption. Formerly AmericanLife TV Network, Youtoo TV can now be seen in 177 domestic cable markets; social-media platform Youtoo.com has been around since late 2011. ...

• Wasting Money On AdWords?

  Jeff Lerner gives us three common and easy-to-solve AdWords issues that could cost marketers time and money. He lists the problems, explains why this happens, and serves up the solutions. Here's one example of a problem and why it happens. Problem: Broad matched keywords yield low conversion rates and phrase/exact ...

• Google To Create Portfolio Of Devices

  Google could give mobile device makers early access to its next Android version to reassure partners that the Motorola Mobility deal won't leave them out. The Wall Street Journal reports that expanding into direct sales marks a bid to gain more control of key features and apps that ...

• Localeze Localizes Savvi Network

  Localeze, which provides online business information, said it will support online listings for savings network Savvi. Localeze business name, address and phone number (NAP) information will augment Savvi’s information from retailers, restaurants and other companies to give consumers access to merchant contact and location information. ...

• How To Gamify Search Ads

  M2 reserach predicts that gamification, the concept of using game design elements in non-game applications, will reach 2.8 billion in direct spending by 2016. Peep Laja tells us how to gamify online ads, but what about integrating it into paid-search ads? Laja describes how gamification works and how ...

• Mobile Phone Sales Fall, Samsung Tops Nokia

  Sales of mobile phones to end users declined in the first quarter for the first time in three years as a result of slowing demand in the Asia-Pacific region. Total worldwide sales reached 419.1 million units -- a 2% drop from the first quarter of 2011, according to ...

• Flipboard Keeps Edge With Audio

  Fighting for its title as a top tablet application, Flipboard debuted several new features, this week, including audio. Regarding multimedia-enabling capability, BBC News notes: “The move makes it the first mobile reader of its kind to do so.” Other social reading apps, including Google Currents, Pulse and CNN-owned Zite feature audio ...

• How Yahoo Flubbed Flickr

  Making a bad week worse for Yahoo, Gizmodo just published a 5,000-plus-word “exclusive” on how the Web giant managed to muck up its most promising property. “Until three years ago, of course Flickr was the best photo sharing service in the world,” Gizmodo reminds us. Fast forward to today, however, ...

• Google Shifts Android Strategy

  As part of a larger strategy shift, Google is reportedly planning to debut five Android-supported Nexus devices by Thanksgiving. What’s more -- in what The Wall Street Journal calls “a bid to create a united front with smartphone and tablet makers to take on rivals like Apple and ...

• CBS Adds New Dramas, Ties With Fox For Critical C3 Ratings

  With the season nearly complete, CBS has moved into a virtual dead heat with Fox in the ratings that matter most to advertisers: C3 ratings among 18-49 viewers. CBS is making only a few program changes to its schedule for the fall: three new dramas and one new ...

• Couric Interviews Royal Princes For Queen's Jubilee

  Katie Couric's deal to work on projects with ABC News involves a significant "get" later this month with an exclusive interview with Prince William and his brother -- part of coverage of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. ...

• GM Slams Brakes On Facebook Advertising

  General Motors' decision to pull its advertising on Facebook comes as a blow to the social network on the eve of its initial public offering and will likely heighten skepticism about the effectiveness of advertising on the site as its business model comes under increased scrutiny. The automaker ...

• NBC Outlines Olympic Coverage

  NBCUniversal has announced how some of its Summer Olympics coverage will be divided across its properties. Notably, Bravo will be an Olympic outlet for the first time since 2004, housing the tennis competitions. ...

• Nielsen: Apps Still Going Strong

  Data released by Nielsen in connection with the AppNation conference shows the amount of time spent with apps versus the mobile Web increased to 81% from 73% a year ago. People are also dividing their attention across a wider selection of apps. ...

• Barcode Scanning Up 157% In First Quarter

  Mobile barcode scanning continued to climb at a brisk pace in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Scanbuy. Total scans through its ScanLife barcode app and third-party apps in the first three months of 2012 reached 13 million, up 157% from less than 5 million ...

• Google, MMA Relaunch 'Our Mobile Planet' Trove of Global Data

  Google has reintroduced its cool interactive data reporting tool for mobile marketers. In partnership with the MMA, IAB and Ipsos, the data set renders countless charts comparing mobile use and attitudes across 40 countries. ...

• Hispanic-Targeted HD Ads Lag General Market

  Audiences continue to own more HDTV sets, but the number of ads shot in high-definition appearing on Hispanic-targeted networks and stations lags behind the general market, according to new research. ...

• AMD Goes Jiu Jitsu On Intel

  PC chipmaker AMD's chief executive thinks the chip-making giant Sodas Suspended From School

  The Faulkton district is one of the first school districts in the country to institute a ban on sodas, according to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which ...

• In Brazil, Web Ads Boom

  ComScore Ad Metrix says online ad sales ...

• Sina's First Quarter Beats The Street

  Sina Corp's quarterly results beat Wall Street's targets thanks to a 9% increase in ad revenue, nudging shares up 10%. China's largest Internet portal and media Web site, ...

• P&G Good As Gold With London

  P&G has aligned with some 150 Olympic athletes and hopefuls worldwide encompassing brands from Tide and Bounty to Pantene and CoverGirl. But the major strategy revolves around "Thank ...

• Burger King, 7UP, Sunkist Join USA Basketball

  En route to the Summer Olympics, Burger King is now the official quick server restaurant partner and Dr Pepper Snapple Group siblings 7UP and Sunkist soda the official ...

• When Data Gathering Gets Creepy

  At MediaPost's OMMA Social conference Tuesday, panelists discussed the creepy factor: It's all about etiquette when it comes to where and how to gather data. But as John Montgomery, COO of GroupM Interaction, North America pointed out, the real problem is that people are largely ignorant about what ...

• Moto Guzzi Social Site Reaches New Riders

  Piaggio's motorcycle brand Moto Guzzi USA is moving into high gear with marketing designed both to expand awareness to riders outside the brand's fan base, and also entice non-riders to swing a leg over the bikes with the cafe-racing heritage and unique 90-degree engine angle.The 90-year old brand, ...

• Consumers Favor Watching Video Programming On TV

  Despite the increasing number of options available to consumers, they're still watching the majority of their video programming on television sets -- a behavior that has some effect on consumers' purchase considerations. ...

• Mountain Dew In Big 'Dark Knight' Campaign

  PepsiCo's Mountain Dew is "dew-ing" it up big with a multi-pronged campaign around the upcoming summer blockbuster, "The Dark Knight Rises." The ambitious campaign reflects a natural synergy: The audience "sweet spot" for both Mountain Dew and the movie, from Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Legendary Pictures, ...

• Consumers, Stores Fret About Fuel, Finances And Feds

  Despite gains, consumers are still sweating about the economy, and growing increasingly fierce in their convictions that the government is to blame. And the nation's retailers have their own fears, with fuel costs bumping unemployment out of first place for the first time since 2009. Taken together, the ...

• GM Slams Brakes On Facebook Advertising

  General Motors' decision to pull its advertising on Facebook comes as a blow to the social network on the eve of its initial public offering and will likely heighten skepticism about the effectiveness of advertising on the site as its business model comes under increased scrutiny. ...

• U.S. Social Media Local Ads To Generate $3.1 Billion In 2016

  Social media U.S. advertising revenue will reach $9.8 billion in 2016, up from $3.8 billion in 2011, according to BIA/Kelsey's U.S. Local Media Forecast: 2011-2016. The uptick represents a compound annual growth rate of 21%, rising to $4.8 billion in 2012, $5.9 billion in 2013, $7.0 billion in ...

• Networked Insights Supplies TV Data To Magna Clients

  IPG's MagnaGlobal has struck a deal with Networked Insights to provide the agency with social media data and analysis related to TV programming. NI's analytical platform delivers recommendations on the exact TV shows a brand's audience is watching by analyzing conversations in social media across the Web. ...

• USPS Taps SpyderLynk For 2D SnapTags

  The U.S. Postal Service has approved 2D mobile barcodes from SpyderLynk, called SnapTags, for inclusion on mass mailings from direct marketers. The 2D barcodes must link to either a mobile-optimized Web page where the recipient can purchase a product or service, or to a mobile-optimized and customized Web ...

• Judge Rebuffs Search Marketers Suing Google

  A federal judge reaffirmed his earlier ruling in favor of Google in a lawsuit brought by search marketers attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against Google, stemming from its "parked domains" and "errors" programs. ...

• Tribune Media Services, Digitalsmiths Team for Video Discovery

  Tribune Media Services, which provides information about entertainment and related content to TV program guides, movie listings and other metadata-reliant applications, is partnering with Digitalsmiths, which specializes in video content discovery, to offer TMS customers new APIs that expand the range of uses for TMS metadata. ...

• How Insights Troubleshoot Paid Search

  Jeff Allen serves up three ways that marketers can use Google Insights to increase the efficiency of PPC accounts. The tips guide us through budget allocation forecasts, and solving keyword identification issues. One example looks at grocery coupons, where a decline in click volume occurs. Allen provides tips ...

• What If Facebook Created A Search Engine?

  Facebook could capture around 22% of the global search market, according to the London-based digital marketing agency Greenlight. The results, released in a survey of 500 people, revealed that only 5% would 'definitely' use a future Facebook search engine to rival Google's. That compares with 26% who said ...

• How To Protect Google Analytics Data

  If Google Analytics files become corrupt for one reason or another -- possibly someone hacking into the account -- marketers should know how to access the files. Lars Lofgren guides us through how to hack into Google Analytics files, and then how to protect them from being hacked. ...

• Twitter Partners With ESPN To Promote Sport-themed Tweets

  To take advantage of the trend for sports fans to tweet during the regular season and playoffs, Twitter partnered with ESPN to create campaigns for brands during high-traffic games, like the Super Bowl and World Series. The first partnership, dubbed GameFace, promotes the NBA Finals. The initiative will ...