John Sheehy was appointed Tuesday to the post of President of Global Operations, for Publicis Groupe's Starcom Mediavest Group, the agency confirmed. Sheehy joins SMG from sibling shop Leo Burnett, where he was a member of the Leo Burnett Global Leadership Council and global head of the Kellogg business. Based in Chicago, Sheehy will report directly to SMG's global CEO Laura Desmond. In addition to overseeing SMG global operations teams, Sheehy will play a key role in developing SMG's emerging markets, working closely with Thierry Jadot, who holds the dual titles of CEO Starcom France and executive vice president, Emerging …

Credit reporting service Equifax, has named Digitas lead creative and media agency-of-record for its direct-to-consumer business unit, Equifax Personal Information Solutions. The assignment, which follows a review, includes brand marketing, acquisition and CRM -- across television, digital, social, mobile – as well as planning and buying for all media. Atlanta-based direct marketing shop BKV was the incumbent. Billings were not disclosed.

Cowboys & Aliens grossed $36.4 million during its weekend debut. Now FreePlay Labs announced it chose 7-Eleven TV as the exclusive TV partner to promote its video game. The deal comes three months after entertainment company Platinum Studios licensed its Cowboys & Aliens graphic novel to FreePlay to create an interactive game for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven TV will expand from about 3,000 convenience stores to more than 6,200 locations next year.

Spanfeller Media Group (SMG), the digital media company started last year by former Forbes.com CEO Jim Spanfeller, has received $6 million in a second-round funding led by VantagePoint Capital Partners. The financing also includes participation from existing investors including SoftBank Capital and GSA Venture Partners. SMG previously raised a $2 million round. The new capital will go toward expanding the company's initial Web property, The Dail Meal, with plans to significantly increase the foodie site's editorial and business staff. Spanfeller will also launch another two vertical content sites—one later this year and one in the second half of …

Skype has hit the iPad. The new Skype for iPad app is optimized for the Apple tablet’s larger screen and includes features such as instant messaging, a display for contacts and SMS texting. It alo allows iPad 2 users to talk face-to-face with the iPad's front camera or switch to the rear camera to show what they can see. The app works across 3G and Wi-Fi networks and lets people make voice and video calls from the iPad to other Skype users on iPhones, Macs, Windows computers, and HDTVs, among other platforms. As Skype begins to create new …

Hoping to snag its share of back-to-school bucks in an uncertain spending season, Target says it is offering new interactive tools to shoppers, including customizable shopping lists, online deals and digital care packages. Back-to-college kids, for instance, can go to Target.com/collegehub and go through a checklist, with everything from bed risers to Kindles to blackboard refrigerators. After checking their items, they can then either print the list at home or pick it up a store kiosk, and share via Facebook. (The Minneapolis chain says some 65 college Facebook pages have added the list.) It is also offering digital …

Facebook has formally launched its Ads API (application protocol interface) allowing developers to build tools that help users create and manage ad campaigns on the social network. In private beta until now, the Ads API had has been used to created and optimize large campaigns too costly and complex to be handled through Facebook's self-serve system. Only about 20 companies including AdParlor, TBD Digital and iSpy Marketing have used the Ads API to date, but any developer can now apply to be part of the program. The Ads API is part of Facebook suite of marketing APIs which …

In yet another survey predicting tepid back-to-school spending, Accenture says more parents are positively dreading the annual ritual this year, and predicts that the electronics category may be hardest hit. Only 25% of parents in its survey say they plan to purchase computers, cell phones and other electronic items for kids this year, down from 36% last year. And only 18% plan to shop at electronics stores, such as Best Buy, a big drop from 24% in 2010. "The consumer has spoken and reports that they 'dread' these back-to-school shopping trips," writes Janet Hoffman, managing director of Accenture's …

Apple may have overtaken Nokia as the world's largest smartphone maker, but Android is unchallenged as the top smartphone operating system. U.K.-based research firm Canalys released findings Monday showing Android increased its market share to 48% of smartphone shipments in the second quarter. That reflects 379% growth from a year ago to 51.9 million units. With 20.3 million iPhones shipped in the quarter, Apple was a distant second with 19% share. Still, Apple's iOS platform for the first time overtook Nokia's Symbian operating system for the first time. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7smartphone platform, which …

Conde Nast said Monday it has attracted 242,000 customers for iPad editions of its titles in the firs six weeks after launching in May. The bulk of the digital sign-ups—136,000—have come from print subscribers adding the iPad app version at no extra cost. Besides new digital subscriptions, the total also includes single-copy sales. “The digital counts are increasing every day, and while this represents a small portion of our subscription circulation, we find it incredibly promising, especially given the short time we have been marketing subscriptions,” said Monica Ray, EVP, consumer marketing at Conde …