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 …

Nestle USA's Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, which says it created the Rocky Road flavor in 1929 to "give folks something to smile about despite their financial woes," is back at it 80 years later. To help promote its latest new "Slow Churned" flavor, the brand is running a "Taste of Recovery" essay contest, with a grand prize of $100,000. Entrants were asked to describe why they need the money, and how they would spend it to pursue their dreams. The "Slow Churned" line is marketed under the Dreyer's brand name in the western U.S. and Edy's in …

JetAmerica, the latest venture from Skybus founder John Weikle, plans to launch July 13 with promotional fares as low as $9 one way. Typical normal fares will begin at $69. Cities served via Boeing 737s will include Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Lansing, Mich.; and Melbourne-Vero Beach, Fla. Miami Air International, a charter carrier, will provide and operate the aircraft for JetAmerica. Skybus, which offered some seats for as low as $10, operated for less than a year until grounded by financial difficulties in April 2008. Weikle had left the company the …

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"), …

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.

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 …

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.