Car rental company Avis has awarded its media assignment to Spark Communications, the Chicago-based unit of Publicis Groupe. According to Kantar Media, the client spent approximately $50 million on ads for the first nine months of 2011, a sizeable boost from the estimated $28 million that the ad tracker said Avis spent in all of 2010. Both the media and creative portions of the account went into review late last year. WPP's MediaCom was the incumbent on the media assignment, but opted not to defend. It was not immediately clear who the other contenders were. McCann-Erickson is the creative incumbent …

Since Google TV's launch -- with partners Sony and Logitech -- some 4.8 million Google TV apps have been installed. But almost all of them 4.4 million of them come from six apps that are pre-installed on TV sets with Google TV, this according to Xyologic. The biggest -- include "Napster for Google TV" (903,000); "Pandora for Google TV" (818,000);" "CNBC Real-Time for Google TV" (750,000); "TV & Movies for Google TV" (698,000); "Photos for Google TV" (640,000); and "Twitter for Google TV" (631,000). Other downloads -- not pre-installed -- "Redux for Google TV" (76,000); CNNMoney for Google TV" (23,000); "Maps …

Former Digitas executive Jacqueline Stone has joined Spanfeller Media Group (SMG) as SVP, marketing, reporting to company founder and CEO Jim Spanfeller. In her new role, develop brand extensions, strategic partnerships and overall awareness for SMG and its websites TheDailyMeal.com and TheActiveTimes.com. Most recently, Stone served as SVP of marketing at WebMD, helpng to develop the company’s B2B and B2C revenue streams. Before that, she was VP of promotions, sponsorships and events at Digitas, forging partnerships with marketers including Samsung, Kraft and American Express. Stone's background also includes marketing positions with About.com, Belief.net, and AOL.

Verizon Wireless will allow hockey fans for the first time to stream programming from the National Hockey League through an updated app offering including live look-ins, real-time scores, team press conferences, and expert analysis. The updated Verizon edition of the NHL GameCenter Premium app will include a “Star Cam” feed, show bonus camera angles from NBC broadcasts, “Inside the Glass” analysis from national network broadcasts, in-game replays not available during live broadcasts on NBC and access to league events such as the NHL Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Weekend and Stanley Cup Final. Further, all NHL games that air on …

Google said Sunday it began releasing an update to the YouTube channel on Google TV, making it faster and easier to find content. The update is available through an app in Android Market. A new feature called Discover lets users browse YouTube channels by categories. I only wish Google would fix the bug that keeps turning off my Google TV three consecutive times before allowing it to remain on after the fourth try.

According to a Booz & Co. estimate, social commerce will grow to $30 billion globally in the next five years. But consumers still have security concerns about making purchases via social networks. More than half (55%) of social media users aren’t comfortable giving credit card information via social networks, according to a new Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Digitas. Among other highlights from the study: -People that use their mobile phones to access social media sites spend close to a full hour a day on average (50.7 minutes) doing so. That’s only a bit less than social media users …

In the final version of its guidelines for mobile ad units released today, the Mobile Marketing Association added a 15-second audio ad format for smartphones to the six standard ad types previously unveiled in December. The MMA said it added the audio unit to its Universal Mobile Ad Package v. 2.0 after hearing from the major sellers of audio advertising during the public comment period. The document defines six universal display ad sizes for feature phones and smartphones as well as offering initial guidance on tablet ad units based on usage to date. Since the market is presently …

The company will continue online and retail-based photo printing as well as desktop inkjet printing, as well as an expansion of its brand licensing.

A&E Networks has tapped video technology company FreeWheel to power advertising on the cable network’s mobile properties. FreeWheel’s Monetization Rights Management (MRM) system will provide tools that allow A&E to more closely replicate television commercial breaks in programming on mobile Web sites and apps. It will also optimize ad loads based on frequency and what ads will deliver the highest CPM for a given show and time. The MRM technology will serve advertising on short-form and full-episode content across A&E’s mobile properties including History, Lifetime and Biography, rolling out initially on iOS devices.  “With an install base of more …

The Mobile Marketing Association has released an updated version of its "Universal Mobile Ad Package," which adds "input from the industry gathered during a public comment period." The the "new, 2.0 version makes it easier to create, buy and sell mobile ads for smart phones, feature phones and tablets," the MMA stated. The update can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/vtNaqB