»
A federal jury has awarded about $14 million to three small billboard companies that claim Viacom Outdoor cheated them out of premium billboard sites, the Associated Press reports (via The Miami Herald). Viacom and its CEO Wally Kelly and SVP Harold Gustin have been found liable for federal racketeering violations.
Kansas City-based Craig Outdoor Advertising Inc. and Midwest Outdoor Media LLC, as well as Patriot Outdoors LLC of Connecticut, claimed that, historically, railroads have leased their right of way to billboard companies on a first-come, first-served basis. In 2000, Viacom Inc. bought Outdoor Systems Inc. and Transportation Displays Inc., which were serving as agents for the railroads to review billboard company applications.
The plaintiffs charged that Viacom Outdoor used its position with the railroads to encourage small billboard companies to investigate and develop potential sites but would cherry-pick the best for itself.
Marketers have unleashed their holiday promotions earlier than ever this year, with many hitting the stores well before Thanksgiving. But Sirius XM isn’t launching most of its 24-hour holiday music channels until turkey day or later.
The newly merged company…
October advertising revenue plunged for The New York Times Co. and McClatchy, despite some growth in online ad revenue.
The New York Times saw ad revenue plummet 17.2%; online ad revenue increased 5.3%, writes MediaPost. Classifieds have fallen 27.3% year to…
The switch to digital television arrives in less than three months, and to remind consumers of the transition, the National Association of Broadcasters is running a campaign across PumpTop TV’s network of screens at gas stations.
The spot began airing…
Through the first half of the year, automakers have slimmed their ad spending by 10% to $6.1 billion, according to Nielsen Monitor Plus.
General Motors slipped 6% to $1.2 billion, while Ford Motor cut ad spend by 22% to $954…
Getting real-time, 24/7 online access to company news and reaching responsive and efficient PR representatives still rate high on journalists’ wish-lists, but reporters are increasingly sourcing stories from new forms of media as well, according to research from Bulldog Reporter and TEKgroup…
Some 20% of top brand marketers continue to send additional emails to consumers, even after they confirm requests from those consumers to “unsubscribe” from an email marketing list, according to a research study from Return Path, MarketingCharts writes.
Though the study,…
