Chicago city council members have agreed to rooftop and door-side ads on city taxicabs, writes Ad Jab. Currently, some 2,175 of the 6,900 Chicago cabs have applied to carry the ads. Among the advertisers making taxi buys in Chicago are Allstate, Hilton, Washington Mutual, Blue Man Group, the Chicago Food Depository, Miller beer, Snickers, Comcast and Verizon, according to Chicago-based Cascio Communications, one of two agencies selling the space.
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Anti-media activists will join consumer groups today to register their collective opposition to the proposed $67 billion AT&T BellSouth reunion, just meeting the FCC deadline for submitting comments on the suggested merger that could speed AT&T into the TV industry, writes Broadcasting & Cable. By June 6, the groups said they would announce “new activities and strategies” to stop the deal.
Last month, it was reported that AT&T is spending $4.6 billion on efforts to provide TV over broadband in up to 20 U.S. markets by the end of the year, reaching some 19 million homes across more than 40 markets by the end of 2008
In an effort to get HD Radio receivers factory-installed in more Japanese automobiles, HD Radio developer iBiquity has partnered with Sanyo Trading, a Japanese international trade and sales representative company experienced in representing European and other U.S. companies to Japanese automakers, Radio Ink writes.
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Joining the likes of AOL, American Express Open and Yahoo Search Marketing, internet services company WSI Internet Consulting & Education has teamed up with email marketing services provider Constant Contact’s Business Partner Program, in a move to provide WSI customers the ability to create, design and manage email marketing campaigns, writes DM News.
Joining a growing trend among companies to launch product-labeling initiatives that help consumers identify healthful foods and beverages that are free of trans-fat and low in sugar and sodium, Unilever unveiled its “Choices” program, in which its products display a logo that indicates that it is healthful, writes Brandweek.
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Ogden Publications has finalized a deal with Lens Publishing Co. and chair/CEO Nina Rothschild Utne to acquire alternative bimonthly Utne, whose July/August issue will be published by Ogden, writes MediaWeek.
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For radio execs debating the future of electronic audience measurement, a new survey from Edison Media Research and PPM proponent Arbitron of 1,000 Americans over the age of 12 found that if cell phones were “super-purposed” to measure radio listening, an idea proposed by Media Audit/Ipsos, the service would systematically omit large demos and dayparts, writes MediaWeek. The switch would require retraining of consumer cell phone usage and “could significantly influence the very behavior that the phones attempt to measure,” the study concluded.
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Conde Nast announced yesterday that its new business title would be called Conde Nast Portfolio, writes MediaWeek. The magazine will debut its May 2007 issue and accompanying website, cnportfolio.com, on April 24, 2007.
Entering into a deal with marketer Infront Sports & Media, the BBC has announced that it would simultaneously stream all of its live televised coverage of the 2006 World Cup over broadband for free, writes Media Life. Along with the live online coverage, users can view bonuses like minute-by-minute commentary written by BBC journalists, World Cup on-demand highlights packages and an hourly desktop sports alerts.
In a review of creative duties on its account worth between $150 million and $200 million, Progressive has distributed requests for proposals to nine agencies, excluding incumbent Doner, sources said, writes Adweek.
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Live video footage from Bruce Springsteen’s summer tour will stream on AOL Music, which will offer one song per concert, selected by Springsteen, with new songs going live the morning following each of the tour’s 18 stops, writes MediaPost. Pre-roll and other ads will come from AOL Music’s advertisers at large, as no online sponsor has signed on just yet.
According to a new report from Ipsos Insight called “More Evolution Than Revolution: Most Consumers Ambivalent About Emerging Digital Video Choices,” one in seven consumers would accept ads embedded in free downloads of TV shows, writes MediaPost. However, while consumers are beginning to embrace digital media, they’re not ready to give up traditional media like TV, said Todd Board, svp for technology and communications at Ipsos Insight.
