Top Story

• Media shops report low cancellation rate
  Most marketers are expected to meet or even increase their May upfront commitments, quelling anxieties on the part of media buyers and network sales executives of a major decline in ad spending in the fourth quarter. John Swift, EVP-managing partner of activation at media shop PHD, said, "Fourth-quarter ad spending on broadcast television is looking like it is going to be no different than in past years, despite the economy, and I'm surprised by that." Mediaweek (9/8)

Agency News

• Report: Google prefers to take indie route with its agency partners
  Google, which uses agencies on a project basis to help launch new tools and products, reportedly prefers "nimble creative shops" that are not owned by holding companies and that are willing to work on a per-project arrangement. "Their style and the way their scope of things change constantly would never work in an agency under a big conglomerate," said one agency executive of working with the online giant. Neither Google nor any agency spokespeople commented for this story. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (9/8)

Creative

• Microsoft ad has critics buzzing
  A new Microsoft ad by Crispin Porter + Bogusky featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates elicited some confusion from bloggers and ad critics wondering about the purpose behind the ad, which shows the two men walking around a shopping mall and makes no mention of any specific Microsoft product. But Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla said the reaction was "exactly what we were trying to achieve, which was to drive buzz." The Wall Street Journal (free content) (9/8)

• New campaign touts magazines' selling power
  The Magazine Publishers of America is launching an aggressive new campaign that shows consumers overcome by the persuasiveness of magazine advertising. One spot shows a woman surrounded by pints of gourmet ice cream to reinforce the campaign's theme, "Under the influence of magazines." NYTimes.com (9/7)

• New Mazda spots to have "Monday Night" debut
  The first of a slate of new spots by Doner, Southfield, Mich., for the Mazda 6 is set to air on the regular-season "Monday Night Football" game tonight. Mazda North America director of marketing Mike Nakashima said: "Historically, the marketing tonality has been 'fun to drive,' which is still at the core of our brand. Now we're adding more rational, pragmatic reasons to buy." Adweek (9/8)

Media

• Can Twitter help your brand?
  Microblogging service Twitter, used by members to alert friends to small, random happenings and short musings via 140-character bursts, also can provide marketers with a look of how their brands are being discussed. JetBlue, General Motors, Comcast, Dell and Whole Foods Market are some of the companies who track Twitter mentions (called "tweets") using Twitter's internal search function. Bloomberg Businessweek (9/6)

Trends & Research

• Survey: CMOs boosting digital outlay at expense of traditional ads
  Nearly two in three CMOs have boosted their interactive-digital marketing spending in the past 12 months, compared with six in 10 who have cut their traditional outlays, according to the first quarterly Epsilon CMO Survey. "The results show that because of the economy, companies are really trying to identify the consumers that are very active in communicating with each other through social computing, blogging or podcasting," said Epsilon CMO Steve Cone. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (9/8)

Marketer News

• Unexpected brands are strutting Fashion Week's catwalks
  OfficeMax, BlackBerry and Google are among a somewhat surprising crop of marketers sponsoring New York's Fashion Week as a means of getting their names in front of both the financial institutions backing the designers and the stylists and media in attendance. "People are looking to sponsorships that are experiential, not just putting your name on an ad or program," said Fern Mallis, SVP at IMG Fashion, which organizes the event. "There's a lot of opportunity to leverage the event." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (9/5)

• GM revving up centralized global search initiative
  General Motors is working on a consolidated search plan for 42 countries, with Google as its primary search partner. Publicis Groupe's SMG Search is handling regional buying for the plan, which calls for using other search engines, including Yahoo! and Baidu, in countries where they perform better than Google, according to this article. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (9/8)

Technology

• Google: The next 10 years
  As Google turns 10, technology gurus, advertising leaders and even the company's own Marissa Mayer weigh in on what the company needs to do to maintain its success over the next decade. Los Angeles Times/Technology blog (9/8)

• ANA opposes Google-Yahoo! search tie-up
  The Association of National Advertisers has sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department formally opposing a planned deal for Google to sell search advertising on Yahoo! sites. The group is concerned that the revenue-sharing deal between the leading Web firms could raise the price marketers pay for search advertising. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (9/8)

Association News

• RETIREMENT PLAN MYTH: "Only financial institutions are able to administer 401(k) plans."
  There are other vendors who can administer 410(k) plans. However, the more important issue may be the relationship of the administrator with the investment manager. How are sales loads and broker commissions affecting your plan's net expenses? While many financial institutions offer retirement plan programs, your retirement plan needs may be better served through AAAA Benefits which operates independently. With our program, our independent investment advisor guides us with the selection of the mutual funds offered by the retirement fund program. Not only are our funds diversified in investment style but they are diversified among different mutual fund companies as well. For more information or a review of your current Retirement Plan, please contact Tom Kennedy at tkennedy@aaaabenefits.com, or Elyse Congdon at econgdon@aaaabenefits.com.

• 4A's Professional Development Seminar: Winning New Business by Perfecting Your Pitch
  In a 90-minute pitch, prospects will often ask you to define your agency's unique characteristics, explain your strategy for their brand, present creative, talk media, and still leave enough time for a Q&A. This upcoming AAAA workshop, Sept. 16 in Philadelphia, is designed to help you squeeze every last bit of "juice" out of that time.

  This new business seminar is definitely not a beginner course on the ABC's of pitching; it's an in-depth-often critical-look at what experienced staff should be doing differently to help his/her agency win more accounts. You'll learn how to break your agency of its bad, ineffective habits and make sure your agency takes home the prize.

  Learn more and register online today at the AAAA Web site.

  

• AAAA Webinar: Introduction to Ad-ID
  ISCI -- the AAAA/ANA manual advertising asset coding system in place since 1969 -- has been withdrawn from the marketplace, and replaced with Ad-ID. Ad-ID is now the only advertising asset coding system authorized and supported by the AAAA and ANA.

  Join Ad-ID's Harold Geller, Managing Director, and Lindsay Garvey, Customer Service Representative, from the comfort of your own computer on Sept. 10, 2008, to hear more and ask questions about the transition.

  Learn more and register online.

  Download A Real-Time Demonstration of Ad-ID

  

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by 4A's SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• 20 questions about ad, marketing trends (NYTimes.com)

• Carat staffers get preview of reorg via e-mail error (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• State Farm "flabbergasted" by LPGA English-language policy (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• Michael Phelps now swimming in A-list waters (USA TODAY)

• Facebook knows you all too well ... or does it? (The Washington Post)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

SmartQuote

If I called a strategic planning meeting, there would be dead silence, then people would fall out of their chairs laughing." --Oprah Winfrey, entertainment executive