Internet companies are turning to traditional promotional techniques in an attempt to get users to visit their sites and try their search engines over those of their competitors. Companies like Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, and others are in a fierce battle as search capabilities become an increasingly important element of many companies' marketing efforts. Most of the activity is from companies trying to make inroads on Google's healthy 49 percent share of all Internet searches, which, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, is up from 43 percent a year before. During the same period, Yahoo's and Microsoft's share of the search market declined to …

The winter Olympics may have its share of thrills and spills, but as far as marketers looking for the next big celebrity endorser are concerned, the event is a big yawn. Advertisers went into the games hoping to find superstars to represent their brands, but so far none have emerged. "Over all, there's a sense of blah," says Nova Lanktree, the executive vice president for marketing at CSMG Sports, a Skokie, Ill.-based marketing company. With four days left, no American has won multiple gold medals, and the athletes that were heavily hyped have largely failed to live up to expectations. …

Grolsch, the Dutch beer in the green bottle with the fancy and fun swing-top bottle cap, just gained a significant amount of marketing muscle. Beginning in January of next year, the beer will be distributed in the U.S. by Anheuser-Busch, the big daddy of American brewers, which has a network of about 600 distributors. "For Grolsch, this is an American dream come true," said Ab Pasman, CEO of Royal Grolsch. "I can only call it a breakthrough. This alliance confirms our international growth strategy, which is based on the conviction that there is most certainly a place in the …

Electrical outlets might not seem the ideal location for an out-of-home advertising campaign, but don't tell that to J.J. Morgan Chase. A commercial-banking unit of the financial services marketer has placed 90, two-foot-long stickers containing its name and various slogans on outlets at Indianapolis International Airport, hoping to catch the attention of business travelers plugging in their laptops while waiting for flights. The effort is yet another example of marketers trying to capture the attention of consumers in a fragmented media marketplace where traditional advertising methods are becoming outmoded. "We are trying to focus on alternative media to help us …

Stung by harsh criticism and a negative public perception, a leading pharmaceutical marketer is turning its entire sales force into goodwill ambassadors in a massive, grassroots public relations effort to improve its image. The effort is being undertaken by GlaxoSmithKline, a $35 billion pharmaceutical giant that has decided to forgo a traditional corporate branding image in favor of this new approach. The initiative is the brainchild of Michael Pucci, the company's vice president-external advocacy. "What we're leveraging here is asking our employees to talk to people, even if they just start with their family members," he said. Armed with salient …

Macy's announced two top executive changes, including the appointment of a new CMO. Anne MacDonald, a former marketing chief at Citibank's Global Consumer Group, is the new CMO and president of Macy's corporate marketing division, a unit of Federated Department Stores Inc. She replaces Peter Sachse, who was named to the newly created position of chairman and CEO of macys.com. Previously in her career, MacDonald also served as vice president for brand management at PepsiCo's Pizza Hut division. Sachse will now be responsible for the Macy's brand's online business and reinforce the integration of the Macy's stores and online site. …

Giant retailer Wal-Mart is adding marketing muscle to its operation in an effort to boost sales, broaden its customer base, and more effectively compete with rival Target. The effort is largely the work of the company's chief marketing officer, John Fleming, a former Target executive, who was named to his post last spring. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the company will add 60 people to its 200-person marketing staff this year, a 30 percent increase. The expanded marketing department is part of the retailer's broader effort to upgrade the quality of its merchandise and image in an effort to get customers …

Major marketers are turning to Spanish language "event" television programming to increase awareness of their brands in the Hispanic community. The show attracting advertisers is a music awards program called "Premio Lo Nuestro a la Música Latina" that is one of the most-watched programs among Hispanic audiences, attracting 6.3 million viewers last year. The show will be broadcast tomorrow evening on the Univision network, and advertisers planning to run commercials during the show include Wendy's International and PepsiCo. "We've got some ground to make up in awareness and relevance with the Hispanic consumer," said Ian B. Rowden, executive vice president …

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that Honda Motor Co. is developing a low-cost hybrid car that is a version of a current model popular overseas but not yet available in the U.S. The newspaper said the model would cost about $12,000 and could be launched globally in April 2007. The new car would be a version of the Honda Fit, a subcompact that is the carmaker's best-selling model in Japan and is scheduled for a U.S. launch soon. A spokesman denied Honda had made any decision on whether to hybridise the Fit, but added it had the technological wherewithal to …

After years spent consolidating their business with a single ad agency, a growing number of marketers are now shifting gears and spreading their creative assignments among a number of shops. The list includes blue-chip advertisers like Walt Disney Parts & Resorts, Motorola, Macy's, Sony Electronics, and PepsiCo. These clients appear to prefer choice and a bit of interagency competition to the relative ease of one-stop shopping. "Why would an advertiser look to be putting all its eggs in one basket?" said Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers. "A diversity in agency relationships might be a better approach." …