Advertising Age - Latest News

Why News Corp. and Murdoch Won't Quit Google

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:13:09 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Pulling media sites out of Google search results is a bold idea, but there are many reasons to think it's not the future of the web. And if it's not the future of media companies as a whole, it's probably not even the future of News Corp.

Does the Industry Need Big Digital Agencies Anymore?

kpatel@adage.com(Kunur Patel) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. dumped Digitas, Tribal DDB and Agency.com for a trio of smaller, production-centric digital shops last week, it did more than deal a setback to three global interactive agency networks. It raised the question of whether big digital agencies are being outflanked by leaner, faster, more-creative shops.

Colombia Uses Ads to Persuade Rebels to Turn Themselves In

lwentz@adage.com(Laurel Wentz) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Not a lot of ad campaigns target armed guerrillas who live in the jungle. But it's an established strategy in Colombia.

P&G, Walmart, Unilever, General Mills Are Major Marketers on a Mission

jneff@adage.com(Jack Neff) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- If you haven't touched and improved more lives more completely lately, you probably wouldn't last long as a Procter & Gamble Co. marketer.

First Network, Then Cable, Now There's 'Social TV'

bsteinberg@adage.com(Brian Steinberg) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Using new social-media tools, TV producers are trying to build up their old-media offerings and beef up their audiences for advertisers.

Are U.K. Shops Losing Their Touch in the Digital World?

ehall@adage.com(Emma Hall) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

LONDON (AdAge.com) -- The London ad scene, which has long produced groundbreaking TV commercials that are the envy of New York creatives, is suffering through an identity crisis.

Publicis Merges PR Operations Into One Unit Under MS&L Banner

mbush@adage.com(Michael Bush) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) --Maurice Levy is combining all of Publicis's public affairs, financial communications, events and specialized firms into one network in the hopes of shaking up the world order and creating a new global player under the MS&L Group banner

Detroit Industry Faces Future Without BBDO

jhalliday@adage.com(Jean Halliday) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

With the loss of Chrysler's business, the 485 employees of BBDO's Detroit office will be plunged into the cratered local economy in two months.

What Life Is Like for Titles After They Leave Print

nives@adage.com(Nat Ives) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A small but growing group of publishers are navigating lives after what once seemed like death: the end of their long-running print editions.

Church-State Wall Should Protect Integrity, Not Block Innovation

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The fabled church-state wall, constructed to guard editorial integrity, somewhere along the way instead became a barrier to innovation.

How Microsoft's Verizon Deal Got Hijacked

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- It was a huge coup: Search underdog Microsoft was teaming up with the largest mobile carrier to try to create some momentum in the next great digital battlefield of mobile. So why, then, is rival Google all over Droid, the object of Verizon's $100 million holiday blitz?

Last Decade a Tumultuous One for Chrysler and BBDO

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Last week's announcement that BBDO would shutter its Motor City office dealt a devastating blow to the nearly 500 employees that for years serviced Chrysler's marketing needs, and also signaled the end of a decades-long, storied marriage between the carmaker and BBDO. Here we'll take you through the highs and lows over the past 10 years of one of adland's most-watched relationships: BBDO and Chrysler.

Recruiters Say Hiring Is Coming Back to Life, Slowly

nzmuda@adage.com(Natalie Zmuda) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Ad Age interviewed nearly two dozen recruiters to compile a picture of what the market looks like today. While some areas are proving hotter than others, hiring is bouncing back, albeit slowly, across most categories and experience levels. A number of recruiting firms report that even though the fourth quarter is a typically slow time of year, they are actively involved in multiple searches.

Brita's Marketing Flows From Grassroots Effort

jneff@adage.com(Jack Neff) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- In an interview with Advertising Age, Suzanne Sengelmann, VP-marketing for specialty products for Brita, discussed how offering a greener alternative to bottled water moved from being a PR program to a product to the focus of Brita marketing.

America's Hottest Brands

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Consumer spending may have gone cold in 2009, but that didn't stop these marketers from turning up the temperature. Here Ad Age chooses the upstarts and established brands that are setting the pace for innovation -- and getting results -- right now.

Digital Shop Barbarian Group Denies Sale to Cheil Worldwide

nparish@adage.com(Nick Parish) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:27:45 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Barbarian Group, the digital firm that heralded the rise of smaller, creatively focused and technology-fluent shops, is rebuffing rumors that it has been purchased by Cheil Worldwide at a rock-bottom price of $10 million.

Critics Say Social-Media Should Be Off Limits for DTC Drug Ads

adageeditor@adage.com(Rich Thomaselli) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:08:31 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Those speaking during the second and final day of the FDA's public hearings regarding the promotion of regulated products on websites and social-media sites weren't nearly as enamored of the technology as those speaking on the first day. And they weren't inclined to give the pharmaceutical industry much leeway.

Lessons Learned From the Ad Age/Creativity Idea Conference

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The fourth-annual Advertising Age/Creativity Idea Conference drew nearly 275 attendees listening to a colorful lineup of speakers ranging from a rap star to successful restaurateur to senior curator at the world-famous Museum of Modern Art. Here are 10 practical takeaways from their inspiring journeys into the business of creativity.

Strength in Numbers: 'CSI' Crossover Trilogy Raises Ratings

jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:01:39 -0500

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Most of the focus on the new-season ratings race comes down to new shows. But with the majority of the prime-time grid undergirded by veteran series, it's often how they perform that's more decisive.

How Can George Lopez Deliver the Funny? By Being Himself

ldobrow@adage.com(Larry Dobrow) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:17:31 -0500

"Lopez Tonight" has potential. This isn't to damn it with faint praise so much as to express my hope that, in a few weeks' time, the host will stop kowtowing to the masses and revert to the persona that made him famous. There's a distinctive late-night comedy show in here somewhere.

Instead of Tweeting About Twitter, Why Not Tweet About Your Smartphone?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:11:10 -0500

In case you've had your fill of people using Twitter to tweet their thoughts about Twitter itself, how about people using their smartphones to tweet about ... their smartphones? This week's Trendrr chart tracks Twitter buzz surrounding the iPhone, Blackberry, the Palm Pre, Google's Android operating system and Verizon's Droid.

Marketing Needs a CMO

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:23:20 -0500

Here we stand, on the verge of economic recovery, with brands having nowhere to go but up. Marketing should be leading us through growth, but it's not. And we all have a role to play.

Has Procurement Gone Too Far?

hlevins@adage.com(Hoag Levins) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:48:10 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- No other subject has become as much of a hot button in the ad industry as procurement. Marketers' ROI mania and growing use of procurement officers to purchase marketing services has pushed down agencies' operating margins. But has it gone too far? Speaking at the ANA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Ad Age editor Jonah Bloom questions whether the process has lost a sense of balance and is ignoring the crucial need of agencies to invest in the services, technology and talent required to promote brands in this fragmented age.

JCPenney Hires Patricia Romero to Lead Multicultural Marketing

lwentz@adage.com(Laurel Wentz) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:31:10 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Patricia Romero, former head of multicultural marketing at Hyundai Motor America, will be JCPenney's new director of multicultural marketing starting Nov. 16.

Bevy of Shops Get Credit for 'Modern Warfare 2' Rollout

bbulik@adage.com(Beth Snyder Bulik) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:27:43 -0500

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- As "Modern Warfare 2" quickly summits the sales charts, a handful of other shops not named TBWA/Chiat/Day are stepping up to take their due credit.

Taylor Swift Boosts CMA Awards, 'Saturday Night Live'

jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:48:32 -0500

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Tough times may have given birth to the blues, but it's country music that many turn to during an economic downturn. And this Great Recession seems to be repeating the refrain: Arbitron reports that in the most recently completed season country radio was once again radio's top format, with 12.7% of all listening. And it spanned generations -- leading among adults 18-24, 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 -- and gender, with a 53/47 female/male listening ratio.So there was probably no better time for the fresh face, and ferocious talent, of Taylor Swift.

PhRMA Proposes FDA-Approved Logo for Marketing in Social Media

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:21:46 -0500

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- PhRMA is advocating for a universal safety symbol -- either the FDA logo itself or an FDA-approved symbol -- to indicate that a Twitter or Facebook mention links to a page that contains the pharmaceutical company's FDA-mandated risk information.

10 Digital Media Companies Hearst Could Buy Tomorrow

ecarlson@businessinsider.com(Erin Carlson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:23:53 -0500

Hearst is sitting on a billion dollar war chest and it's hired a new CFO -- Mitchell Scherzer, former chief of JPMorgan's U.S. media investment banking arm -- to spend it. Mitchell's mission is to expand Hearst's reach into digital media. The Business Insider came up with 10 companies to consider.

BK Franchisees Sue Over Dollar Double-Cheeseburger Promo

eyork@adage.com(Emily Bryson York) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:58:02 -0500

Marketers in India Evade Alcohol Ad Ban by Promoting Surrogate Products

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:15:24 -0500

It has never been easy for liquor companies to advertise in India, and so the country's local brands have been taking the surrogate advertising route to make their names visible. Numerous brand extensions -- CDs, mineral water, achievement awards, even an airline and a cricket team -- flaunt the names of liquor brands and companies.