Burger King, Jeep Get Hacked on Twitter by Erik Sass

Twitter has a bit of a security problem, judging by two hack attacks on accounts maintained by big brands on the microblogging site. Yesterday Burger King was the unwilling recipient of a makeover that made it appear the fast food chain had been sold to rival McDonald's; today someone pulled a similar trick on Jeep, making it appear the carmaker had been unceremoniously merged with Cadillac." ...Read the whole story

  • Facebook Builds Search-Related Patent Portfolio by Laurie Sullivan

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently granted Facebook a patent for incorporating variable values into textual content. In addition to comments in text, it also includes video, articles, images, music files and locations. ...Read the whole story

  • Social Media Buzz Doesn't Rocket TV Numbers by Wayne Friedman

    New TV shows' social media metrics still aren't witnessing comparably strong initial traditional TV viewership. The best social-ranking new show, ABC's "Zero Hour," is now at a 6.1 "involvement score." Two CW shows came next: "The Carrie Diaries" and "Cult." ...Read the whole story

  • Internet Key Influence On Purchases by Mark Walsh

    The Internet plays an important role in influencing new product purchases, especially in categories like consumer electronics and appliances. A global survey found that people were most likely to make a purchase based on searching the Web, at 67%. ...Read the whole story

  • technology GE Social Campaign A Shout-Out For Inventions by Karl Greenberg

    Paul Marcum, GE's director of global digital marketing and programming, tells Marketing Daily that this kind of campaign is a no-brainer, since GE was founded by a certain obscure inventor named Thomas Edison, whose name is known only to people in Edison, N.J. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Ford Puts Social At Center Of Fiesta Movement Program by Karl Greenberg

    "Fiesta Movement: A Social Remix" will feature 100 "agents" with a big online following. They will be an ethnically diverse group of "vibrant voices and talented storytellers" chosen both for their digital popularity and for having personalities and lifestyles aligning with the Fiesta zeitgeist. ...Read the whole story

  • research Social Interactions Affect Brand Perception by Aaron Baar

    "Hardly any companies are doing equally well on social marketing and social servicing," Jacqueline Anderson, director of social media and text analytics at J.D. Power, tells Marketing Daily. The discrepancy, she says, has a negative impact on brand perception. ...Read the whole story

Hilton, 'Onion' Create Humorous, Effective Campaign by Harvey Chipkin

Whenever the GEICO "gecko" comes on, I quickly mute the TV or leap across the room to turn off the radio. I find that creature incredibly annoying and wouldn't buy insurance from that company even if I could save 100% in one minute. And that demonstrates the potential pitfalls of using humor in marketing. When it's well executed and, well, funny it can be richly rewarding. When it's not, well... ...More