ZenithOptimedia revised its 2013 global ad spending forecast Monday, predicting that expenditures will climb 3.9% to $518 billion. That's down slightly from the 4.1% gain it initially forecast last December for the year. The shop reiterated that spending would pick up a bit in the following two years climbing 5% and 5.6% in 2014 and 2015 respectively. For the U.S., ZO left its ad spending forecast unchanged for this year, reiterating that it expects a gain of 3.5% for the year to a little more than $166 billion. The U.S. will also see modestly higher growth in the following two …

After 87 years on Madison Avenue, one of the agency's that has come to represent it -- WPP's Y&R -- is leaving the famed New York City street to discover a new neighborhood: Columbus Circle. "This is a historic day," says David Sable, Global CEO of Y&R. "But Madison Avenue is a state of mind, not a state of place. Today, the Northeast corner of 40th street and Madison Avenue is Young & Rubicam Way. And the 285 Marquee is coming with us and will adorn the caf in our new space. Since 1926, we have been definers of the …

Just as advertisers and agencies -- and television networks -- are starting to formulate budgets and projections for this year's upfront marketplace, an influential Wall Street analyst has updated his outlook for 2013, calling for relatively tepid growth in the overall advertising economy. "We expect advertising to grow by 1.2% again during 2013, improving towards a 3.2% growth rate during 2014," the analyst, Pivotal Research Group's Brian Wieser, writes in an equity research report sent to investors and the media this morning.

Moving to further bolster its mobile capabilities, Facebook has agreed to acquire Parse, a startup that helps companies build mobile applications across different platforms. The social network purchased the two-year-old startup in deal worth $85 million, according to TechCrunch, which first reported the deal. In a blog post about the deal Thursday, Doug Purdy, Facebook’s director of product management said it would help developers to rapidly build apps spanning devices and operating systems such as iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Mobile ad firm Medialets on Thursday announced the appointment of ex-comScore executive Lynn Bolger as its head of agency relations. In the newly created position, Bolger is charged with building a team to work closely with the agencies and holding companies that use Medialets’ ad-serving and rich media tools for mobile campaigns. Prior to joining the company, she served as EVP, advertising solutions at comScore. During her tenure at the Web tracking firm she is credited with helping drive sales of syndicated and custom measurement tools allowing agencies to integrate digital planning into the traditional agency process. …

  Mobile app analytics and advertising firm Flurry on Thursday named Prashant Fuloria as the company’s chief product officer. Joining from the Mayfield Fund, Fuloria has previously held senior product development roles at Facebook and Google.     At Facebook, he led the product team for Facebook ads as well as commerce offerings such as Facebook Credits. And while at Google,  he managed the company’s products for the Asia-Pacific region, led its global billing and payments efforts, and …

For its “Draft Show Live” kicking off tomorrow in connection with the 2013 NFL draft, CBS is prepping a full second-screen experience including social and interactive elements along with extensive news and commentary.   Sponsored by Cadillac, CBSSports.com’s draft coverage will offer two ways to follow the action. One set of analysts will provide insights and opinions about the draft, including pick-by-pick announcement and trade updates, while a second team will monitor social buzz from Twitter and Facebook, as well as instant polls and direct interaction with fans.     On the mobile side, the …

NBC will launched an ambitious 12-day, 24 hours reality show this fall -- "The Million Second Quiz" which will be seen in traditional TV network airwaves and digital platforms. The nearly two week end-to-end show (1,000,000 seconds long) will air live in primetime from a very big hourglass in Manhattan where contestants -- the reigning champions -- will live. Other contestants will look to unseat them and take their place. TV viewers will be able to play along at home in real time and sync to the live primetime broadcast via traditional TV and digital TV platforms. The ultimate winner …

Mediabrands agency BPN has been awarded media planning and buying duties for Hillshire Brands after a review, according to sources. The client spent around $100 million on ads in 2012. The incumbent was Publicis Groupe's Spark Communications, part the Starcom MediaVest Group.The scope of work includes planning and buying across traditional and digital media.

In a blow to Grooveshark, a New York appellate court ruled on Tuesday that Web sites aren't immune from liability when users upload music recorded prior to 1972.