The cost of acquiring a loyal app user continued to climb in August, hitting a record high of $1.90, according to the latest data from app marketing platform Fiksu. That level was up from $1.80 the prior month and $1.50 in June. Fiksu attributed the spiraling cost to two main factors: big brands spending ever-growing amounts to market their apps on Facebook and elsewhere, and marketers getting a jump on holiday planning. “Many are applying their Q3 budgets to test different mobile marketing strategies before the big rush in Q4 when costs will likely rise further, as seen in …

Google will host its first YouTube Music Awards with performances by artists Eminem, Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire on Nov. 3, in New York that will start a chain of musical events in Seoul, Moscow, London and Brazil.

Facebook on Monday said its Graph Search tool will now include posts, status updates, photo captions, check-in and comments. That’s in addition to being able to search for people, photos, places and interests on Facebook through the revamped search service the social network announced in January and rolled out widely to English speakers in July. The latest expansion means people can search for updates about topics of interest, posts about a city, place or from a certain time, and posts you might want to see again (“My posts from 2012”). As an example of a search for an interest-related …

The world's largest pasta brand, Barilla, is trying to do damage control after its chairman infuriated many by expressing his sentiments about gays.

McDonald's has announced that it will no longer offer soda with it its kids' Happy Meals.

Online auto research and shopping site Autobytel has invested $2.5 million in cash to back AutoWeb, Inc.'s pay-per-click (PPC), auction-driven automotive advertising marketplace, which is scheduled to go live in early 2014. Autobytel has an option to invest an additional $2.5 million as AutoWeb grows.

Social media is central to the LA Galaxy's partnership with SoCal Honda "Pass it Forward" is a Facebook app on the LA Galaxy Facebook page in which invited to enter to win prizes by joining the "team" of one of the four charities. Participating charities include America Scores LA, County of Los Angeles Public Library, LA Food Bank, and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles - each chosen by four featured LA Galaxy players. The app launched on Thursday, the 26th.