Global warming is definitely on my mind. My body, too: Temperatures in New York, the home base for Media magazine, have hovered at or above the 100-degree mark during the week I'm writing this.

Today's consumers expect advertising and marketing programs to give a little to a good cause. Aging boomers appreciate it, emerging tweens expect it, and everyone in between admires it. Cause marketing campaigns can transform consumer packaged goods manufacturers (Ben & Jerry's), beauty brands (Avon), and purveyors of coffee (Starbucks) from capitalist behemoths into community-friendly businesses. Although skeptics may question a business's true intentions and smear a goodwill effort as a public relations ploy, companies use cause marketing to make real progress on a vast spectrum of issues. By aligning themselves with charitable partners, these companies also join …

The results of the association of national advertisers' third annual survey on marketing accountability reveal that marketers are slowly making progress in a crucial area: their accountability for the results of their spending. More marketers report they can measure ROI, and a growing percentage of them believe they can accurately forecast the sales impact of a budget cut. These are encouraging signs.

under the sun," but we who think of ourselves as revolutionaries of any sort delude ourselves into believing we are all about the "new." Like most absolute statements, neither is entirely correct. The Internet, and its ability to empower individuals with total control of their media and communications experiences, is profoundly new. At the same time, it never ceases to amaze me that some of the coolest innovations are, at their essence, simply taking existing needs and behaviors and rendering them faster, cheaper, more efficient, more beautiful, or more convenient than before.

What's the one thing all Americans have in common? Difference. Everywhere you look in America today, you see a kaleidoscope of difference and diversity. Media must adapt to reflect this rapid and pervasive evolution in everything from lifestyle choices to racial makeup to pop culture.

Engagement's the thing wherein I'll catch the attention of the consumer! So goes the current thinking. Forget all that push stuff ? we can't break through. There's too much clutter, too many channels, too many brands, and 30-second spots don't work anymore anyway. Everyone either gets up for snacks during commercials or screens them out with TiVo. I'll use the Web instead, and then consumers will seek me out and bathe in my brand to their hearts' content.

As every bride-to-be knows, weddings take a lot of planning. From big issues like the date and location to smaller but no less crucial elements like deciding between cake flavors and wedding favors, every detail is worked out in advance to ensure that the day is one to remember for all the right reasons. But one element that can make or break the big day is the weather. A summer wedding in San Francisco might sound idyllic, but what about the fog that rolls in each August without fail? At The Weather Channel and weather.com, we focus …

To the right side of the foyer, flat-panel HDTV monitors flash with images piped in via DirecTV, Comcast Cable, Dish Network, Slingbox, and MSN TV. On the left, a decidedly less mesmerizing shelf displays a collection of clunky cameras and garage door opener-sized mobile phones. This is how visitors are welcomed to the IPG Emerging Media Lab, a sprawling, loft-like space in an otherwise nondescript office tower in Los Angeles' Mid-Wilshire district.

Angelina Jolie's visits to refugee camps in Africa, Oprah and Harry Connick Jr.'s efforts to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, and Bono's rallying cries on behalf of global poverty and the AIDS epidemic stand out among A-list celebrity do-gooder initiatives. Celebrities bring cachet and visibility to cause campaigns like no other marketing tool. But, experts say, they must be sincere.

A cause marketing effort can entail anything from a one-time donation of cash and services to an ongoing partnership. It can effectively tie a brand to a cause forever. It can make doing good a sustainable enterprise.