• Guvera Becomes Capitalist Tool, Uses Brand Dollars To Revolutionize Online Music by Joe Mandese

    Free, ad-supported, licensed music streaming and download service Guvera Entertainment has unveiled My Soundtrack, a new Facebook app enabling brands to "boost their social marketing efforts" by promoting a personalized playlist directly on their Facebook page. Sound like Spotify? It's not. ...Read the whole story

  • Joe Jaffe Launches Evol8tion, Focuses On Matching Brands With Startups by Joe Mandese

    Digital agency impresario Joe Jaffe continues to adapt, and the latest step in his evolution is, well, Evol8tion, the alliterative name of a new shop focusing on matching "early stage startups" with "blue chip brands" -- something many of Madison Avenue's biggest agencies also seem to be focused on these days. ...Read the whole story

  • Digital Shift To Spark Media M&A In 2012 by Mark Walsh

    Emerging digital companies in the entertainment and media industry will spur M&A activity in 2012, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. In particular, the firm pointed to companies in categories including over-the-top interactive TV, online social games and digital lockers as ripe for M&A transactions. ...Read the whole story

  • Study: Consumers View Social Marketing As Invasive by Mark Walsh

    Marketers often tout social media as a channel that allows them to reach consumers with messages seamlessly tailored to their interests and social interactions. But nearly two-thirds (64%) of people say they "hate" when a company targets them through their social networking profile, and 58% agree that social media marketing is invasive, per a new study. ...Read the whole story

  • search Google Secures Billions In Online Ads by Laurie Sullivan

    The majority of Google's 2011 revenue -- 96% -- came from online advertising, according to WordStream founder and chief technology officer Larry Kim. The No. 1 market generating revenue in Google's world points to finance and insurance at $4.0 billion, followed by retail and general merchandise at $2.8 billion, and travel and tourism at $2.4 billion. ...Read the whole story

  • Customer Experience Better At Tech-Focused Brands Vs. Trad Media by Gavin O'Malley

    Among 160 brands, Amazon was the only technology company to rank as "excellent" in Forrester's latest customer experience index. U.S. customers are becoming harder to please. Indeed, the percentage of brands in the excellent category dropped from 6% last year to just 3% this year -- continuing a steady downward trend from 2008 to 2012. ...Read the whole story

  • Anthem Blue Cross Uses Consumers In Live Streaming Video Ads by Laurie Sullivan

    Social takes on a new meaning when it comes to display ads from Anthem Blue Cross of California. The WellPoint healthcare program launched an interactive campaign that adds live video feed of the person viewing the ad. ...Read the whole story

  • Agency Execs Launch Social TV Platform, Say 'TV Dinner' Will Give Some Byte To Viewing by Joe Mandese

    With the goal of transforming the way people watch, interact with, and perhaps most importantly, share the way they experience television, the founders of New York-based digital agency Circ.us are spinning off a new "social TV" platform, dubbed TV Dinner, that will enable viewers to experience their favorite shows as if they were "live events" that can be shared with friends or other random viewers. ...Read the whole story

  • C-Suite Upbeat About Organic Growth, Ad Spend by Gavin O'Malley

    Sixty-five percent of media, information, marketing services and technology executives anticipate organic growth to be a key business driver in 2012, JEGI and Econsultancy report. While still high, the number is down from 82% last year. Most C-suite execs cite a lack of talent and expertise in emerging fields as key barriers to growth. ...Read the whole story

  • RIM Shops For New CMO by Mark Walsh

    As part of its announced management overhaul, BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion plans to hire a new chief marketing officer to help regain momentum in the smartphone market. The company is in the process of recruiting a new CMO and emphasized RIM needs to be more "marketing driven." ...Read the whole story

  • OwnerIQ Acquires DiJiPop by Laurie Sullivan

    OwnerIQ, which targets ads in part based on what consumers already own, has quietly acquired DiJiPop in an all-stock deal to support retailers through paid product placement and display ads. ...Read the whole story

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