News Hotline

• Nordstrom Takes Manhattan
  by Sarah Mahoney 4 hours ago

  How many $600 handbags can one city stand? That's the big question for retailer Nordstrom, which just announced it would finally open a full-line store in New York City. Experts are speculating just how well the newcomer will do when it opens its doors in 2018. ...

• JetBlue, Emirates Partner For Frequent Flyer Promo
  by Tanya Irwin 6 hours ago

  Starting July 1, members of JetBlue's customer loyalty program TrueBlue will be able to earn TrueBlue points across Emirates' network of more than 120 destinations worldwide, while Emirates' Skywards members will be able to earn Skywards Miles on JetBlue's network throughout the Americas. The partner airlines plan to ...

• Vegas' Mandalay Bay Rebuilds Website
  by Karl Greenberg Yesterday, 1:05 PM

  Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino has, for the first time in six years, done a major redesign of its gateway web site, www.mandalaybay.com. The new site, which is also now in HTML5 and can therefore be used on tablets, continues the campaign theme. ...

• Ultrabooks Bright Spot In PC Sales
  by Aaron Baar Yesterday, 12:51 PM

  According to The NPD Group, Ultrabooks accounted for 11% of Windows-based notebook computers costing more than $700 at retail during the first 5 months of 2012. Such consumer interest was a silver lining on some bad news. ...

• Ford Is Top Auto Brand For Buzz
  by Karl Greenberg Yesterday, 12:48 PM

  Ford generates the most media bang for the buck, according to General Sentiment's Impact Media Value, which measures a brand's reach, and places a value on the overall level of discussion and exposure for the brand. ...

• Citi Presenting Sponsor For 'Extra' Olympics
  by David Goetzl Jun 29, 2012, 6:43 PM

  Citi is the presenting sponsor of "Live Extra," the section on NBCOlympics.com that will offer live coverage of all Olympic events for the London Games. Live Extra" is a TV Everywhere-type service, where users must prove they pay for TV service that includes CNBC and MSNBC. ...

• Organic Growth Forecast Dips For WPP, Omnicom, IPG
  by Steve McClellan Jun 29, 2012, 5:11 PM

  Pivotal Research Group, the media and communication research company, has lowered its organic revenue growth estimates for WPP, Omnicom and Interpublic Group for both the soon-to-end second quarter and full-year 2012. Organic revenue growth is considered a key performance indicator across the advertising industry. ...

• White Sox, Outdoor Channel Teams For Promotions
  by David Goetzl Jun 29, 2012, 5:06 PM

  The Outdoor Channel took a swing Friday with a promotion giving baseball fans premium outdoor real estate. Fans spent the night on the Chicago White Sox home field as the channel sought to raise awareness about its availability in Chicago. ...

• Untangle Mobile Metrics To Track Campaigns
  by Mark Walsh Jun 29, 2012, 4:27 PM

  In the absence of standardized metrics, a new Forrester report outlines strategies for piecing together different data sources to effectively track mobile campaigns. The goal is for marketers to see what levels of reach and engagement they're achieving across different mobile ad formats. ...

• 'History-Sniffing' Lawsuit Against Interclick Withdrawn
  by Wendy Davis Jun 29, 2012, 4:19 PM

  A consumer who sued Yahoo's Interclick ad network for allegedly using "history-sniffing" technology withdrew her lawsuit this week. In at least some cases, Interclick reportedly used the technology without the publishers' knowledge. ...

• Former Posterscope USA Execs Plead Guilty

  The criminal trial of former Posterscope USA executives Todd Hansen and James Buckley won't be going forward. Both men, who initially pled not guilty and were set to go to trial next month, have changed their pleas to guilty, the U.S. District Court in Manhattan has confirmed. ...

• Univision Just Surpasses Net Rivals

  Early results on Thursday show Univision scored a rare summer victory over the English-language broadcast networks -- among both 18-49 and 18-34 viewers. ...

• App Marketing Costs Dip As Downloads Rise

  The cost to acquire app users fell in May, even as the number of downloads increased nearly 14%, according to the latest data from Fiksu. ...

• Scan Code Saver's QR Code Mobile Marketing Tool

  Scan Code Saver, an Orange County-based advertising and marketing agency, Tuesday launched a mobile marketing business opportunity utilizing QR codes. Businesses can join a local network and advertise their specific QR codes within the network. Local users on-the-go can then scan the QR codes and instantly see offers ...

• USC Study Shows Relationship Between Listeners and Radio Personalities

  The University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism yesterday released a study that confirmed that "listeners feel they have a genuine relationship with their favorite radio personalities." The study was underwritten by Katz Radio Group and provides numerous valuable insights into radio station advertising sales. ...

• Video Must Complement TV, Digital Brand Vet Says

  According to Bonin Bough, VP of global media and consumer engagement for Kraft Foods, the digital media execs inside brands that are having the most success right now realize that they must take advantage of the huge channel that TV is by evolving and integrating it with other ...

• Leveraging Social Media in Food Marketing

  When it comes to learning about food, nearly half of consumers use social networking sites, and 40% use Web sites, apps or blogs, according to a new study from The Hartman Group and Publicis Consultants USA. ...

• BlockBeacon Releases iPhone App For Hyper-Local Real-Time Commerce

  BlockBeacon, a communication platform that enables "hyper-local worlds of real-time commerce," has released an iPhone app that allows local business owners to post live promotions and content directly onto the BlockBeacon map. The map is easily accessible via the app by users looking for places to eat, drink, ...

• AOL Reshuffles CFO As COO

  As part of yet another restructuring effort, AOL is recasting its CFO, Artie Minson, Jr., as Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, Minson will oversee the formation and execution of three new operating units, including the AOL Membership Group, Content Brands Group and Advertising.com Group. ...

• High Court Throws Out FCC Ruling On 'Wardrobe Malfunction,' Dual Ownership

  One day after the court's major health-care decision, CBS won a broadcast victory. The Supreme Court refused to review Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl, which threw out the FCC's $500,000 fine against CBS. ...

• LinkedIn Testing Ads in iPad App

  LinkedIn has begun testing display ads in its recently introduced iPad app, marking the professional network's first step toward monetizing its rapidly growing mobile audience. LinkedIn is trialing the in-app ads with Cisco and Shell. ...

• Stock Prices Mixed After Healthcare Ruling

  Hospital stocks rose sharply Thursday after the Supreme Court ruling on healthcare reform, while some insurance company stocks fell in choppy trading as investors fretted about the costs of rules included in the law. ...

• Martin Agency Takes Top Prize In MBI Competition

  The Martin Agency/Ingenuity Media Group has won the gold prize in the Media Behavior Institute's case study competition for maximizing the USA TouchPoints research service in achieving business objectives. ...

• Marketing Content Has Short Shelf Life On Facebook

  A new study from Omnicom's OMD concludes that the average content posting by an advertiser on a Facebook page has a surprisingly low shelf life: about 18 hours. Shelf life is defined as the length of time that users provide feedback after content is posted, and for Facebook ...

• Gannett Debuts Dedicated Digital Sports Unit

  The USA Today Sports Media Group -- searching for a way to knit together sports assets at parent Gannett Co., from the flagship newspaper to TV stations to an MMA site -- has launched a dedicated digital unit. The move is in line with Gannett's emphasis on building ...

• Rockefeller Challenges Ad Industry About Online Data Collection

  Web companies should be able to collect data from Web users, even when they attempt to opt out of online tracking, Association of National Advertisers CEO and President Bob Liodice told the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday. ...

• IPG Launches Advantage International, Sports Marketing Shop

  Interpublic Group has launched a new sports marketing agency called Advantage International and has hired 20-year industry veteran Tom Haidinger to run it as president. ...

• Tablets, More Content Power Mobile Video Growth

  The explosion of smartphones and tablets combined with a wider selection of premium content have given a big boost to mobile video viewing in the last year, according to Yankee Group. Its study says the number of U.S. smartphone owners who watch video frequently (at least once a ...

• Sharing Services Need To Focus On Price, Availability

  The Zipcars of the world should dispense with the warm and fuzzy messages about the environment and popularity of their services and instead talk about price availability because that's what matters to consumers, according to new research. ...

• Blip Studios Debuts, Works Closely With Brands

  Having learned a thing or two about Web audiences and their leanings, video network Blip is getting into the production business. Blip Studios will work directly with brands, talent and independent producers to develop and co-produce original Web series. ...

• Industry Must Respond To Generational Shifts

  The rise of Millennials and the aging of Baby Boomers represent significant challenges for established food brands and traditional grocery stores, according to a new study from investment bank Jeffries and business advisory firm AlixPartners. ...

• YouTube: After Redesign, Users Watch 10 Million More Hours Of Video Per Day

  YouTube executives say the video-sharing site's redesign is paying off, as some 10 million more hours of video are watched each day than before the Google-owned site's makeover last December, the company says. ...

• Ad Industry M&A Investors Spend $32 Bil, Digital Soars

  There's no shortage of money for companies innovating in the marketing and digital advertising space. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer, Online Media & Technology, Marketing & Interactive Services and Mobile Media & Technology accounted for 79% of total merger and acquisition deals. ...

• Media Deals Climb 52% In Q1 2012, Hit $32 Bil

  Media deals quickened in the first half of 2012 -- with many mergers and acquisitions coming among smaller companies. Media investment banker The Jordan, Edmiston Group, says the number of announced that deals climbed 52% over 2011 levels, with 95% of the transactions valued at less than $100 ...

• Interbrand: Toyota Tops In Green

  It has gotten the nod as the "greenest" company in Interbrand's 2012 Best Global Green Brands report. Second place goes to Johnson & Johnson, and third to Honda. There was a time when such a ranking would be marginal news in the marketing suite, but no longer. ...