Hoping to snag the attention of concertgoers in Cleveland this summer, the Columbus, Ohio, convention and visitors bureau has placed 2-foot by 2-foot pavement decals in the neighboring city, reports The Columbus Dispatch. The “Experience Columbus” branded decals mark Columbus’ latest guerilla-marketing tactic in its first summer ad campaign for special or seasonal events.
ActionView International Inc and its subsidiary, ActionView Far East Limited, announced an agreement to supply multiple-scrolling billboards to selected shopping malls managed by The Link Management Ltd., Hong Kong’s largest property management company responsible for 180 retail malls and car park facilities that reach 40 percent of Hong Kong’s estimated 7.2 million population.
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With over three-fourths of people in the U.S. subscribing to a mobile phone service, cell phone companies hope that by marketing to more specific audiences they will gain new customers, writes The New York Times. Hispanics are the main target market being sought by mobile companies, as the industry spent nearly $140 million last year on advertising to attract these consumers, more than they spent on any other cultural group.
Redcats USA has renewed its partnership with Quebecor World in a multiyear contract to produce and handle printing, logistics services, mail list processing and pre-media solutions for the Lane Bryant and Jessica London catalogs, writes DM News.
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Excelsior Radio Networks is taking over day-to-day control of Calif.-based Westwood One’s eight 24/7 music formats, according to a multi-year deal announced Tuesday, Radio Ink writes. Beginning August 1, Excelsior’s Global Media division of Dial Communications will assume responsibility for affiliate programming and sales of the Westwood One formats, while the company will gain full responsibility for the formats, including advertising sales, January 1, 2007.
In response to an ongoing FCC inquiry about whether certain XM Satellite Radio receivers exceed the agency’s allowed emission limits, the satellite radio company has suspended shipment of its Delphi XM SKYFi2 and Audiovox Xpress receivers and is considering the suspension of the Roady XT and the Sportscaster receivers, Radio Ink writes.
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Yesterday, Tribune Co. announced it would buy back 25 percent of its shares, easing the concerns of shareholders and financial analysts of the company’s sagging performance, Editor & Publisher reports. However, an underlying concern still remains that the buyback only adds to the argument that the industry’s downturn is permanent rather than a temporary slump.
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British TV is bringing back its interactive TV hit, DubPlate Drama, for a second season, this time inviting users to actually aid producers in developing the storylines and suggesting the dilemmas the characters face in the series, writes Media Life.
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It what is likely the first time News Corp.-backed MySpace has helped a marketer carry out a viral promotion, Time Warner’s HBO is using social media outlet MySpace.com to promote the return of cult series Entourage, writes AdAge. As part of its “My Entourage” competition, HBO is encouraging young adults to form their own online group of friends on MySpace and will handsomely reward the biggest group of friends with the most compelling profile page.
NBC made the most of Katie Couric’s last appearance on the Today morning show, with buyers reporting that the network charged $110,000 for a 30-second spot that cost media buyers $50,000 if they bought spots for the show at last year’s upfront, writes AdAge.
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Taking advantage of both the proliferation of hand-held devices like iPods and cell phones as well as the popularity of music videos, Propaganda Global Entertainment Marketing of Los Angeles is helping marketers place their products in music videos, Media Life reports.
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The largest advertisers in the U.S. continued to build their national ad spending share during the first quarter of 2006, with Procter & Gamble topping the charts by increasing its ad spending 13.8 percent to $793.8 million in measured media spending last quarter, according to estimates released Wednesday by TNS Media Intelligence, writes MediaPost.
The estimated $420 million spent by U.S.-based advertisers in sponsorships for the 2006 Soccer World Cup may be in vain, as a majority of Americans are reportedly unaware of the sponsors or where and when the tournament will take place, according to survey results released Tuesday by Global Market Insite, MediaPost writes.
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More than ever, a growing group of marketing executives, coined “growth champions,” at America’s largest companies are gaining institutional power and playing a bigger role in making strategic decisions, according to a new report from the Association of National Advertisers and Booz Allen Hamilton, writes MediaPost.
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While Americans begin hitting the beaches this summer, promoters are bringing cigarette-boat races to the lakes and rivers from Toronto to Las Vegas. As the sport expands, corporate sponsors ranging from Popeye’s Chicken and Hooters to beer giant Anheuser-Busch are jumping on board, branding boats and sponsoring events, writes Bonita Spring, Florida, Daily News.
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Marking the second time in three years that Lillian Vernon Corp. has changed hands, investment firm Sun Capital Partners announced yesterday its acquisition of the gifts and housewares cataloger from Direct Holdings Worldwide, which ran the cataloger since July 2003, writes Multichannel Merchant.
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