A new study reveals good news for marketers who target kids with their products and services: kids don't skip through TV commercials. The survey was conducted by Mediamark Research Inc. and included about 5,400 children, ages 6 through 11. When asked what they do when a commercial comes on TV, nearly 60 percent responded that they watch the spot. The survey also found that kids prefer listening to music on CDs rather than MP3 players, and that playing video games is their top online activity. Nearly 29 percent of boys said they played a video game, computer game or Web …

Toyota has discovered the value of the biker market. The car and truck maker announced that starting with next year's racing season, it will take on multiyear sponsorships of several top motorcycle events. The events include the American Motorcycle Association Toyota Motocross Championship (TMS) presented by FMF Racing, and the Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series. Toyota will also become the official vehicle of the Amp'd Mobil Supercross Series. "The truck market continues to be a major growth opportunity for the auto industry and trucks and motorcycle racing go hand-in-hand," Brian Smith, TMS corporate manager, truck operations, said. "The average Motocross …

Direct mail is apparently not working for marketers of financial services. Despite spending a record $13.2 billion on direct marketing last year, the industry's efforts are nonetheless experiencing steadily declining response rates, according to a new report from the Direct Marketing Association. The reason, according to experts, is clutter. They say a barrage of mailings is causing consumers to discard the offerings, often without even opening the envelope. "We're just starting to see the effects of saturation," said David Kelly, vice president of Sigma Analytics, a unit of database marketing agency Merkle. The response rate for some recent lead-generating direct …

Cell phones, rich media e-mails, product placement, branded entertainment, engagement, cutting edge design, video games, addressability, CDs, and boutique ad agencies: Marketers must become familiar with all these tools in order to compete effectively in today's incredibly diverse marketplace. In this roundup article, the case is made convincingly that the era of straight, traditional media advertising (read print and TV) is so long gone that it's hard to remember it ever existed. Smart marketers today are using a whole new toolbox filled with high-tech new ways to target their audiences.

Apparel marketers are rushing to take advantage of a new National Basketball Association rule that requires players to dress in business attire for public functions and appearances. The rule is the NBA's attempt to clean up its image after a nasty brawl in Detroit between players and fans last year left its reputation severely tarnished. Now players are prohibited from wearing everything form jeans and throw-back jerseys to sunglasses, caps and even excessive jewelry. Since then, Levi Strauss & Co.'s Dockers brand has offered to outfit all 450 NBA players with business-casual clothing from pants to shirts to shoes to …

Adman Neil French recently stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy with his caustic and insensitive remarks about women in advertising. The WPP Group creative executive said women creative directors "don't make it to the top because they don't deserve to." His comments led to his resignation, but they also sparked some industry executives to revisit the issue of women in advertising in an attempt to discern exactly where they stand in a profession long dominated by men, especially on the creative side of the business. The apparent consensus is that while women have made significant strides, they still have …

Marketers boosted their online ad spending nearly 34 percent during the third quarter of 2005, according to official online industry estimates released Monday. That gives online about three times the rate of growth of even the most dynamic of the measured traditional media, according to data from a major ad tracking firm. Advertisers invested a record $3.1 billion online during the third quarter, an increase of 33.9 percent over the third quarter of 2004, according to tracking data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The IAB is now projecting online ad spending will surpass $12 billion for the year, …

Once almost exclusively the domain of traditional grocers, the popularity and overall acceptance of private label brands is growing. A new study says mass merchandisers, super centers--including the all powerful Wal-Mart--and club stores are jumping on the private label bandwagon in a big way. The study was conducted by Information Resources Inc. and reveals that consumers are more accepting of private label products than they once were. "The image of private label has changed in consumers' minds from purely a low-price option to a set of products that offer quality and value," said Janet Eden-Harris, evp/global CMO for IRI. "As …

Marketers have already discovered the power of chick flicks, and among the more intellectual crowd there's always chick lit, each designed to appeal to women. There's also cable TV networks--like Lifetime--that cater to women, but now there's something new--a chick car. For the past year, Ford Motor Co. has been reinventing its premium Mercury label as a youthful brand and marketing the 66-year-old nameplate alongside independent films and high-end fashion venues targeted to women. Mercury has been sponsoring films for a Glamour magazine contest, makeovers during Fashion Week in New York City and a random Make Your Day giveaway of …

Online Marketers Gearing Up for "Black Monday" A certain group of marketers and retailers are gearing up for the busiest shopping day of the year, and no, it's not this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. The day is next Monday, and the retailers are all selling their products online. Research has shown that the Monday after Thanksgiving is the peak day for online transactions. It's the first day after the long holiday weekend when shoppers are back in the office at their computers. Some 77 percent of online retailers said their sales increased noticeably that day, according to a recent …