AT&T-BellSouth Merger to Affect Ad Spend

AT&T’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth has short- and long-term repercussions for ad spending in the telecom category (now the fourth-largest in the U.S. at nearly $6 billion), writes AdAge (via MarketingVox). In the short term, Cingular Wireless would likely be renamed AT&T Wireless, and the merged company would have to rebrand in BellSouth markets. SBC, which acquired AT&T and then assumed that venerable brand, is in the midst of a $1 billion rebranding campaign and will now be merging three brands into one.

IPTV Offers Choice, Control, Personalization for Viewers

Despite the increasing popularity of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), 46 percent of the 6,000 consumers surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. did not understand the term IPTV, in a recent poll commissioned by consultancy Accenture, writes Net Imperative.

American Eagle Hires Former Amazon Marketing Exec

Former Amazon.com executive, Kathy Savitt, joins American Eagle Outfitters Inc. as chief marketing officer and executive vice president, responsible for brand and marketing strategies for the American Eagle brand and website AE.com, writes Internet Retailer.
Savitt worked as the vice president of strategic communications, content and initiatives at Amazon.com.

‘NY Post’ Negotiates Boston Distribution

A column yesterday by Steve Bailey in The Boston Globe revealed that News Corp.’s tabloid The New York Post is considering teaming up with the Globe to print and distribute between 30,000 and 40,000 copies of the Post in Boston, writes Editor & Publisher. A spokesperson from the Globe confirmed the two papers are “in negotiations.”

Wendy’s In Line for PPM Data

Wendy’s announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement for Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) audience measurement service when it begins commercial deployment in the U.S. radio marketplace. But the agreement does not commit Arbitron to a specific timetable for deployment of the PPM system and Arbitron has not yet determined when and in which markets it will deploy the system to measure local market radio audiences.

“Since Arbitron is the only company that has completed all the necessary testing and has gone through an MRC audit,” said Shannon Pedersen, manager, media buying, Wendy’s International, “it’s the only electronic option that can deliver the ratings credibility that the radio industry needs today.”

Commercial Time Down 8.8% in February

Radio commercial time in February declined by 8.8 percent, Radio Airtime Monitor reports (via Radio Ink). Radio revenue-per-minute increased by more than four to six percent, a slower rate of increase than in past months. RAM points to slow advertiser demand against the Olympics and close-of-the-month price discounting as the cause of the decline.

Microsoft: 70 Percent of Casual Games Players are Women

Frag dolls

During the Women in Games International conference, held recently in San Francisco, Lisa Sikora, of the Casual Games division at Microsoft, reported that 70 percent of their players are women, writes Wired News. The Entertainment Software Association found that 44 percent of online gamers are female, who spend 57 percent of their total playtime on casual games.

A popular discussion at the show was how to encourage women to play video games. One side argued for casual games like Bejewled and Tetris that offer brain-twisting challenges in a short time period. The other side defended action games and team-based shooters.

‘Flat’ Upfront Predicted for this Fall

With the slow economy, high advertising costs, and new-media alternatives, network sales reps may experience a reprise of this season’s ad market come fall, writes Broadcasting & Cable. While major advertisers finalize their budgets and networks figure out what pilots to commission, Executive VP Tim Spengler of Initiative Media speaks for a number of buyers, stating: “Upfront spending overall is anticipated to be basically flat.”

CBS Boss Thanked Stern for ‘Record Ad Revenue’

Moonves

Following last week’s announcement of CBS’s lawsuit against shock jock Howard Stern concerning Stern’s new Sirius Satellite Radio show, CBS Chair Les Moonves appeared on one of Stern’s last CBS shows and thanked him for the record advertising revenue the network sold, writes Drudge Report.

Honda Billboards Direct Drivers to Radio Frequency

A billboard for Honda Element in 16 major markets around the country asks, “What does a Honda Element and a platypus have in common?” Drivers are asked to tune to a specific radio frequency to hear a commercial and discover the answer, the Detroit News reports.