• by John Gaffney , May 13, 2003

Turnover Talk: Yesterday the Nextel account turnover became complete as MindShare picked up the media planning and buying part. This followed Nextel's shift in its substantial dollars over to TBWA\Chiat\Day from Mullen. The MediaAnalysisPlus barometer, which tracks account turnover, recently showed April was among the most active months ever. "Based on the volume of auditing and other work we're experiencing, we don't expect a slowdown in media account changes soon," said Jim Surmanek, CEO of MediaAnalysisPlus. Why do clients have such happy feet? I think research has a lot to do with it. Agencies are promising that they can measure expenditures and measure media like TV and print in new ways. I think the Internet has a lot to do with it, too. Agencies that are presenting the Internet in its rightful place as a sales and branding dynamo are winning accounts. Competition is fierce right now. Money plays a big part as well, but knowledge can be more powerful.

Research Tools: I guess it would be easy to look at yesterday's Magazine Publishers of America release as a slam-dunk. I mean, the MPA set out to prove that magazine publishing works. And, guess what? It works. And it works with automotive clients that usually heavy up beyond reproach with TV ads. I like what the MPA released yesterday. As with any research that is done with a reputable firm with reputable goals, it is a tool in the kit for planners and buyers. It is not the tool in the kit.

At The Buzzer: Beginning this week, radio stations around the world will be able to download the Naked News' "Athena The Greek." She is the fun-spirited Sports Commentator sometimes referred to as the 'Andy Rooney of Sports'. The free one-minute sound byte is a weekday feature of the popular web version of Naked News that boasts over six million visitors on the Internet a month.