Viewers who checked out the Chicago CBS affiliate's broadcast of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon last fall likely weren't surprised to see a message ticker crawling across the bottom of the screen. But the content of the ticker might have given them pause. Several times during the show, the ticker ran notes of encouragement text-messaged by viewers watching the race at home. The broadcast was the first airing of Vibes Media's TextTV messaging platform. TextTV builds on the firm's Text-2-Screen application, which allows concertgoers to send messages from their cell phones to stage-side screens. "Lots of people have done …

Companies that use event sponsorships as part of their marketing and media mix now have a better way of proving their return on investment than simply counting the number of attendees. Marketing Management Analytics, Inc. (MMA), and Copernicus Marketing and Consulting Research, both Aegis Group units, recently launched the MMA/Copernicus Sponsorship Evaluation Service to help gauge the impact of sponsorship investments. The service focuses on sales-based ROI, brand equity, and customer equity. It also breaks down ROI by sponsorship component, including event exposure, supporting media, and promotions. "We can measure [media] spend, brand awareness, supportive behavior, actual …

Going up? Shoppers at two CHICAGO-AREA malls couldn't help but notice a unique elevator door ad campaign for the Zippo Multi-Purpose Lighter during the 2005 holiday season. The ads two-part ads were placed on the inside of elevator doors, with the Zippo Multi-Purpose Lighter on the left door and a flame-shaped steak on a grill on the right door. The image became a complete ad only when the doors shut. Talk about an ad that closes in on consumers. It was Blattner Brunner, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based creative shop, that came up with this innovative way to marry the Zippo …

In-store digital signage is about to get a lot more attention from data-addicted media buyers with the unveiling of a state-of-the-art, real-time measurement system created especially for in-store networks. Washington-based DS-IQ and Broadsign Inc. have integrated their technologies to create a system capable of measuring and predicting sales lift based on ads running on various retail networks.

Years ago, mail order catalogs such as L.L. Bean included removable stickers so that consumers could mark pages with gifts on their desired wish lists. Magazines soon took notice and publications such as Domino and Lucky began to include sheets of multicolored stickers for consumers to label items they'd like to buy. Domino's stickers are color-coordinated by category: purple for decorating; orange for entertaining; green for gardening; brown for renovating; and blue for gifts. Often, sticker pages are sponsored by advertisers, meaning an additional form of ad revenue for the magazine. Discover and eBay sponsored …

Scarborough Research recently found that fans of talk radio and news shows have higher levels of education and income than most of the population -- no shocker there. The study's other findings, however, could prove a salve for buyers and planners trying to lure traditionally cautious financial services brands for talk/news sponsorships. The Scarborough study found that 14 percent of respondents' households had used a full-service stockbroker during the past 12 months, while 16 percent employed a financial planner. These listeners were also 47 percent more likely than typical consumers to live in a household owning mutual funds. …

Meanwhile, back at Sony... While the iPod grabbed headlines, last year's other hot media player quietly built its base with multimedia capabilities that Steve Jobs can't quite match. Sony projected that 6 million PSPs were in U.S. gamers' hands in 2005. Recent updates to the PSP added Web-browsing and podcasting capabilities, along with RSS newsreading, all on a Wi-Fi-enabled handheld that's $50 cheaper than the video iPod. Cheaper and more versatile than Apple's hype magnet, the upgraded PSP also plays "Grand Theft Auto." A growing catalog of movies released on the PSP's Universal MiniDisc format generated some …

Advertisers have experimented with video-on-demand content for the last few years, but one of the biggest problems has been that their ads have been "baked" into programming. That meant the advertising lived within VOD-enabled shows for three to four months -- a virtual eternity in a hyper-kinetic world of fickle media consumers.

Advertising on the Web's edgiest medium can have its rewards, but be prepared -- its snark can be worse than its bite. Conventional solutions do not apply.

Josh Rabinowitz has an outrageous idea. "It won't be long," says the Grey Worldwide senior vice president, "before an original song, recorded specifically for an ad campaign, will be the No. 1 single in America. Imagine it: teenagers across the country humming a pop song that was recorded and released by a Madison Avenue agency expressly for its client. Kids will hear the tune on a TV commercial, fall in love with it, then click on the marketer's Web site to download it. And every time, they'll think of the brand associated with the song.