Philips Electronics has divided its global media chores between MPG and the incumbent, Carat. MPG was awarded duties for the client's "Consumer Lifestyle" division in North and South America and Southern Europe. Carat retained chores for that elsewhere and also retained duties for the companies Lighting and Healthcare units globally. The company is expected to issue a release today, per sources.

Big brewer Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, and other brands, selected Starcom to assist it with its internal media planning and research capabilities. Effective immediately, Starcom will help the brewer's in house media unit Busch Media Group, with research and planning duties for all the company's beer brands across national, local and digital media, the client said. It's the first time in recent memory that A-B has relied on outside help for media chores. And the brewer will continue to handle buying chores itself. "Starcom impressed us with their planning and research capabilities, investment in media planning tools and …

While worries about the economy didn’t keep shoppers out of stores in October, it did slow their spending. Monthly results for the nation’s largest retailers were generally positive, but more subdued than many expected. At Target, for example, same-store sales rose 3.3% for the month, and at Macy’s, they gained just 2.2%, the smallest year-over-year growth rate in recent months, as warmer-than-usual weather early in the month slowed coat sales, and snowy weather in the final weekend kept shoppers home.   Kantar Retail reports that same-store sales came in 3.9% higher in October, weaker than the 5.7% same-store sales gain …

ExxonMobil has awarded Interpublic Group's Universal McCann media duties on its $100 million-plus global assignment, sources report.

CBS is turning to Facebook and Twitter and its own stars to highlight November sweeps programming. TV's No. 1 network will kick off "CBS Social Sweep Week" on Nov. 5, featuring talent from its primetime shows and sports broadcasts on its social networking outlets on the same day each show airs. Each morning, fans can log on to CBS's Twitter or Facebook accounts, or CBS.com for a special message revealing which stars will be taking over their show's social media accounts. Throughout the day, people will be able to view pictures, videos, exclusive content and status updates posted by stars. …

BuzzLogic has changed its name to Twelvefold Media following the rollout of its Spectrum real-time ad platform last month. The company said the new name "signifies a substantial increase in size, degree or amount" and centers on Spectrum, which targets display ads at the page level based on topic, audience and social activity. "BuzzLogic was a name that reflected more of who we were years ago, which created misunderstanding in the marketplace," said Twelvefold CEO Dave Hills, in a statement. "With the launch of Spectrum, we felt it was time for a fresh start, and began looking for a name …

Smartphone penetration in the U.S. is creeping towards the halfway mark as 2011 comes to a close. According to new data from Nielsen, 43% of all U.S. mobile users. A majority of people 44 and under now own a smartphone, and nearly two-thirds (62%) of those aged 25-34 have one. After younger adults, the fastest growing group of smartphone users are those 55-64. Smartphone penetration among this older group is only 30%, but it jumped 5 percent this quarter, according to Nielsen. Around 40% of 12-17 year-old teens and 40% of 45-54 year-olds reported owning a smartphone, as opposed to …

Electronic Arts has enlisted some high-octane talent (in the form of A-list director Michael Bay) to create advertising for its Need for Speed: The Run racing gaming coming out this holiday season.

Madison Avenue's newest-and-and-most-improved title, Curator of Pop Culture, is so last year. The hot new title, according to Y&R New York, is Creative Culturalist.

Along with its Livestand iPad app, Yahoo Wednesday unveiled a flurry of other new mobile and Internet products including an iPad version of Yahoo Mail that lets people viewing unread emails from their contacts as well as personalized news, weather, and Trending Now videos. The Web portal also released an iPad version of IntoNow interactive TV app and Yahoo Weather for Android devices.  In addition, Yahoo added a trio of social features to Yahoo News. One enables people to have small group conversations about the day’s news. Notifications will inform people of activity on Yahoo! that interests them. …