| November 13, 2009 | News for the advertising, media, and marcom industries |
 |  |
- Web firms lobby FDA to ease regulations on drug ads
Google, Yahoo! and a fleet of Web firms, ad agencies and drug companies all joined Thursday in urging the Food and Drug Administration to adjust existing advertising regulations, which currently make it difficult to engage in online pharmaceutical marketing. Online efforts accounted for just 3% of the $4.3 billion that drug companies spent on patient-targeted marketing last year; the problem, the companies say, is the requirements for fine print, which can't fit in online search or banner ads. Google/The Associated Press
(11/12)
      
 | Business.com's 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study —
Discover how nearly 3,000 North American businesses are actively using social media for business — the largest study of business social media use conducted to date. Get insights into company social media initiatives, current social media trends and success metrics. Download your copy now! |
| Agency News |  | |
|
- TracyLocke tapped as PureVia agency
Whole Earth Sweetener Co.'s PureVia has tapped TracyLocke as its new lead shop for creative, digital and media-buying chores. The agency has been working with PureVia on a project basis, including creating a campaign featuring volleyball player Gabrielle Reese with stevia leaves wrapped around her body. Brandweek
(11/12)
- Belvedere shifts creative to Arnell for re-branding effort
The premium vodka brand owned by LVMH is shedding its edgy "Luxury Reborn" campaign and its former agency, WPP's Berlin Cameron United, in favor of a new, more recession-friendly appeal helmed by the Omnicom-owned Arnell Group. Belvedere will likely increase spending as it seeks to "broaden the audience we're talking to," Belvedere President Charles Gibb said. Advertising Age
(11/12)
| Creative | | |
|
- Harley-Davidson bets on product placement
Harley-Davidson is hitching its brand to entertainment consulting agency Davie Brown Entertainment and gearing up for a major product-placement explosion in film, TV, music and video games. "Entertainment can sensationalize the excitement and thrill of riding to the point of moving people to check it out," said Dino Bernacchi, director of advertising, promotions and entertainment for Harley-Davidson. Adweek/Nielsen Business Media
(11/12)
| Media | | |
|
- Elle's next bold crossover venture: Make Better
After riding its involvement with "Project Runway" on Bravo to the No. 2 spot in the fashion magazine category, Elle is looking to extend its brand yet again, this time with Make Better, an initiative that will stretch from the magazine's January issue to a stand-alone Web site and a three-DVD set sponsored by Reebok. Elle, which hopes to best category-leader Vogue in total ad pages for the first time ever this year, is working with Creative Artists Agency on a variety of other brand-extending projects. Advertising Age
(11/12)
| Trends & Research | | |
|
- Indian advertisers flout ban, market liquor by proxy
 The advertising of liquor is restricted in India, so marketers are getting creative with surrogate brand extensions ranging from the Kingfisher Airline to the Royal Challengers cricket team, plus bottled water and other products named for a variety of beers and liquors. Such surrogate marketing efforts now comprise 5% of Indian ad spending; in response, the government has recently announced that such ads will be punishable by a $20,000 fine and six months in prison. Advertising Age
(11/12)
- For mobile marketers, a demographic divide
Consumer engagement with mobile marketing is growing, albeit more quickly among some demographics than others, per a new study by BIGresearch: The audience skews male (58%) and youngish (averaging 39.2 years old). According to the study, more consumers versus last year are saying they dislike mobile marketing or that they find such ads to be "an invasion of privacy." Adweek
(11/12)
| Marketer News | | |
|
- Shining up the Golden Arches with an eye on recovery
McDonald's, which plans to open 1,000 restaurants and remodel 2,300 worldwide next year, is testing technology to speed up service and continuing to try out new menu items, all with an eye on the future.
Plans to invest $2.4 billion on capital projects next year are part of the company's strategy to continue growing as the worldwide economy improves. "We expect, because of the investment we made during the downturn, that we will come out the other end in better shape," said CEO Jim Skinner. The Wall Street Journal
(11/13)
| Technology | | |
|
- Facebook advertisers can access fans' networks
Marketers on Facebook can now extend their reach beyond registered online fans by utilizing a new "Friends of Connections" feature that lets them engage with their fans' networks of contacts. As part of Facebook's effort to create comprehensive direct-response marketing opportunities, the feature will allow advertisers to offer "implied endorsements" by including references to the initial fan in ads displayed to that fan's friends. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily
(11/12)
| Association News | | |
|
-
Agency 2.5: How Agencies Are Transforming for the Future
The agency business model has been under assault for the past decade, and today's economic crisis only underscores the critical changes that agencies must make in terms of their business model, the way that they provide services, and -- most importantly -- the way that they make money.
The highly successful and in-demand 4A's workshop "Agency 2.5: How Agencies Are Transforming for the Future," coming up on Nov. 11, 2009, in Minneapolis and Nov. 19, 2009, in Cincinnati, looks at the traditional agency model and discusses what to relinquish, what to rework and what to reinvent.
Workshop leader Tim Williams, Ignition Group, will explore the emerging functions that are reframing the agency skill set, including social media, analytics, experience design and reputation management, and demonstrate with concrete, real-world examples just what model agencies should utilize to "transform" and roll out in the 21st Century.
This seminar is designed for agency professionals of all levels and in all disciplines -- including account management, account planning, creative, media, digital, public relations and other client-facing agency disciplines. Visit the 4A's Web site to learn more about reserving your spot at this popular 4A's workshop.
| SmartQuote | | |
|
 | Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people."
|
| |
| |
|
Read more at SmartBrief.com |
|
A powerful Web site for SmartBrief readers including:
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| | Recent AAAA SmartBrief Issues:
- Thursday, November 12, 2009
- Wednesday, November 11, 2009
- Tuesday, November 10, 2009
- Monday, November 09, 2009
- Friday, November 06, 2009
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Robert DiGiacomo
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2009 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
