Speaking on a panel at the MPA’s tablet-focused swipe conference Tuesday, Jeanniey Mullen, CMO of Zinio said 75% to 80% of those who sign up for magazine subscriptions through the virtual newsstand hadn’t already been print customers. That’s led to the company’s to focus on organizing content by category rather than publication. “When a brand is in the digital publishing space, a lot of your brand cachet goes away,” she said, since readers online are more focused on types of content than titles. Zinio has also embraced bundling of content that goes beyond just print and digital since print subscribers …

GeekWire reports that Microsoft has terminated the employment of two employees who led marketing for Bing, its search engine: Eric Hadley, who was general manager of consumer marketing; and Sean Carver, who was director of consumer marketing in Microsoft’s Online Services Division.

Brent Lux has been appointed senior vice president/managing director of media shop Spark, a unit of Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest Group. The role is a new one at the agency. Lux will report to Chris Boothe, the new CEO at the agency, and will be responsible for overseeing strategy and product development, along with helping to drive business development for the agency. Operating out of Spark's Chicago headquarters, Lux will also serve on the Spark Managing Board. Previously Lux was managing director at OMD where he led the State Farm Insurance account. Prior to that he was vice president/group media …

A new study suggests the large screen sizes and impressive graphics will make tablets a growing force in mobile games. Specifically, Juniper Research predicts total end-user revenue from tablet games will grow to $3.1 billion by 2014, up from $491 million in 2011. In four years, tablets will account for more than a third of all mobile game revenue. ‘The tablet is the perfect device for playing mobile games – the screens are large enough for the user to see the action, no matter how big their hands are,” said Juniper analyst Charlotte Miller, in a statement. Because tablets are …

Mobile ad network Mojiva has partnered with blurbIQ to exclusively offer the company’s technology for adding game mechanics to mobile video advertising. The blurbIQ platform overlays standard streaming video ads with branded polling and trivia questions, turning video commercials into interactive “games.” "As we look for innovative ways to help deliver relevant advertising at significant scale, blurbIQ gives Mojiva’s advertisers another unique opportunity to increase engagement with their audiences that they can’t get anywhere else,” says Jack Hallahan, vice president of mobile innovations at Mojiva, in a statement. Through its gameification technology, blurbIQ can also recommend products based on users’ …

The mobile data market in the U.S. reached $18.6 billion in the fourth quarter, up 19% from a year ago and 4% from the prior quarter, according to the latest research from mobile consulting firm Chetan Sharma. For all off 2011, U.S. mobile data revenue totaled $67 million, accounting for 39% of overall wireless revenue. Chetan Sharma projects mobile data sales will grow to $80 billion in 2012. Smartphones continued to sell at a brisk pace in the quarter, making up 65% of all devices sold. U.S. carriers are deriving about 80% of contract sales from smartphones with Android …

Following up its earlier announcement Monday of record iPad sales over the weekend, Apple was more specific in a statement issued this afternoon: it sold three million new iPads between Friday and Sunday. That’s triple the estimated 1 million iPad 2s sold in its first weekend last year. The latest version of the popular Apple tablet features a sharper screen, a faster processor and $G wireless support. “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold-the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, in a statement. “Customers are loving the incredible new features …

Fandango has struck a deal with Yahoo to be the exclusive movie ticket seller for its Yahoo Movies site online and on mobile devices. The partnership gives Fandango, which provides tickets for 20,000 screens nationally, access to the site’s monthly U.S. audience of 30 million users. It follows the e-commerce company’s recent agreements with Regency Theatres and AMC Theatres, adding 3,000 screens to its network. Yahoo had previously used MovieTickets.com to power movie ticket sales. Terms of the new Fandango agreement were not disclosed, but the ticketing company said it plans to promote its new service offering through Yahoo …

Saveur is the latest magazine to leverage digital watermarking technology from Digimarc for an ad campaign on behalf of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. The upcoming April issue will feature a full-page ad containing a watermark that gives readers four different options to access promotional content for Starwood’s Sheraton, Westin, Luxury Collection and St. Regis brands in Hawaii. Using Digimarc’s Discover mobile app, a free download for iOS and Android devices, readers point their smartphone’s camera at the ad to be able to view photos, watch a video, make a direct call to for reservations, and share content via email, Facebook …

Euan Jarvie, COO MediaCom U.S. is shifting to a similar role for the agency's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the firm said. Jarvie will work with MediaCom's local market teams, making sure they have the resources and specialist skills they need to deliver on client objectives, the firm said. Jarvie joined MediaCom in 1997 to establish the UK's Edinburgh office. The operation recorded double-digit annual growth for a decade and became the largest media agency operating in Scotland, per the agency. In 2009 Jarvie was named chief client officer MediaCom US and was then promoted to COO in 2010. …