With the economic downturn in full swing, nearly half (47%) of business-to-business marketers plan to increase their spending on company websites and search marketing this year, according to a joint study by MarketingProfs and Forrester Research. Some 42% plan to increase budgets for online video, rich media or podcasting; 41% for Webinars and Webcasts; 39% for e-mail; 36% for discussion forums, social networks and communities; 34% for blogs; and 31% for other Web 2.0 media. On the other hand, while 28% plan to increase spending on online display ads, a larger group -- 31% -- said they would …

More Americans trust credit card companies to provide accurate bills than they do cell phone operators, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Billing Revolution. Credit card companies were trusted more by 57% of respondents, but there was a wide discrepancy by age -- 65% for those aged 55+, and 52% for 18-34 year-olds. Some 80% of U.S. adults receive bills from both types of companies. The survey also found that 45% of cell phone owners feel it's "at least somewhat safe" to make purchases from them. Of that group, 75% would buy entertainment items, including movie/event …

Internet Retailer's latest list of the Top 500 e-commerce sites includes young women's apparel retailer Charlotte Russe at #464, with 2008 web sales of $11 million -- a 633% jump over 2007. That's the largest increase of any of the top 500. During the same period for its brick-and-mortar operations, same-store sales declined 1.5%. The online turnaround was the result of a relaunch "in perfect harmony with the growth of e-commerce," said Emilia Fabricant, president and chief merchandising officer. She added that the brand took a "very focused point of view" in targeting fashion-directed at the 16-22 …

Sales of Best Buy's private label brands -- Dynex, Insignia and Rocketfish - rose more than 40% in the fiscal year ended Feb. 28, while overall sales increased just 12%. The private labels, whose increasing popularity is attributed to low prices and innovative design, are profitable for the chain, which has substituted them for entry-level products from such brands as Westinghouse and Polaroid. Private label electronics also help differentiate Best Buy from competitors like Wal-Mart, Costco and Amazon. But the retailer "must walk a fine line in selling its own products and potentially competing with its name-brand …

Luxury accessory designer Louis Vuitton is offering its "Totally Monogram" line of tote bags ($870 to $1100) exclusively online until Monday, when it will be available in-store. The online exclusive, a first for the brand, has been promoted through a new Louis Vuitton Twitter account, directing followers to the relatively new louisvuitton.com website. Louis Vuitton had previously been sold online exclusively through eluxury.com, which is folding.

Busch Entertainment's SeaWorld last week took a group of bloggers for a ride on its new roller-coaster, the Manta. In this posting, blogger Steve Spalding provides what he terms an "enlightening look at how a large corporation is using social media effectively" and provides his case for making blogger "testimonials" part of the marketing mix. Spalding states that SeaWorld did two smart things for the blogger contingent of its press event: "They did not obsess about controlling the message and they gave us tools. They shot video, took photographs and gave us access to the type of professional …

Samsung has voluntarily recalled 160,000 of its Jitterbug cell phones, marketed largely to senior citizens thanks to such features as a prominent emergency button, because of possible failure to connect with 9-1-1 operators when out of normal service range. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Samsung and Jitterbug parent GreatCall are contacting affected consumers directly for software upgrades to correct the problem.

Nokia opened its Ovi app store to users in many countries Monday, and AT&T announced an Ovi launch in the U.S. "later this year." Judging from initial reports, Apple's iPhone doesn't have much to worry about. BetaNews, quoting a user complaining of "mostly crappy wallpapers and ringtones," called it a "rocky start," as the Ovi Team's blog apologized for "extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues for users." Other negative reviewers included PC Magazine ("The store is kind of a mess...."), TechCrunch ("a complete disaster"), …