Consumer Reports' Investigates the Truth
Behind Labels that Imply "Made in the USA"

Whether motivated by patriotism or recent health and safety alerts regarding goods made abroad, consumers may look to find domestic-made goods, but finding a product’s homeland on the label isn’t always easy, says Consumer Reports.

Attracting the News Media to Your Business

As a business owner, sometimes you have to act as your own public relations agent to gain brand exposure and clients. To send a news release or press release to the news media is a way to receive coverage and put your company's name in the spotlight.

CNN Launches iReport.com for People
to Upload, Share and Discuss News

CNN Worldwide announced the beta launch of iReport.com, its first uncensored, unfiltered, unedited, user-generated community Web site. Scheduled for a full-scale launch in March, iReport.com provides users with an open forum and a set of tools and applications to upload, share and discuss news with each other.

Spanish-Language Ad Spend
Increases 2.3 Percent in First Half

Total ad spending in Spanish-language media for the first half of 2007 reached $2.87 billion, up 2.3% over the same period last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Target Audience – One of the Four P’s

Do you know who your target audience is? If you don’t know, you are not maximizing your advertising and/or marketing efforts. A marketing strategy blends the elements of the marketing mix, also known as the four P’s (product, price, placement, promotion).

Hispanic News Media and Press Releases

If you own a business company or you are a public relations practitioner, there are several things you should know before sending a press release to the Hispanic news media. News editors, producers and reporters see press releases (alson known as news releases) as information. But information contained in press releases should be of interest to their audiences.

The Online Advertising Playbook

Many Internet advertising campaigns are based on hunches and guesswork, because there has not been a standard resource that marketers could turn to for research-backed, trustworthy advice. The Advertising Research Foundation's Online Advertising Playbook is the new benchmark for best practices. It relies on data, not guesswork, to explain what's working and not working on the Internet, and answers all the most vital questions advertisers have about online advertising.

News Releases in the Information Age

For many years, PR practitioners have been writing and disseminating news releases in order to encourage the news media to publish or air a story about their company or clients. Internet has changed that. You no longer have to wait until news organizations decide to publish or air some news about your company or clients. Now you can place your news release in the hands of end users directly, whithout intermediaries.

Google to Acquire DoubleClick

Google Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick Inc., a global leader in digital marketing technology and services, for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. The acquisition will combine DoubleClick's expertise in ad management technology for media buyers and sellers with Google's leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.

Advertisers Leading Ad Agencies into New Media

Internet radio and TV, online newspapers and magazines, and the so-called consumer-generated media, CGM, such as blogs, have opened a new way for advertisers and ad agencies to advertise products and services. However, are well known full service advertising agencies ready to use this new media?

DoubleClick’s Research Demonstrates
the Benefits of Online Video Advertising

DoubleClick Inc., a well known provider of digital marketing technology and services, announced the results of its recent research of online video ad placements, illustrating that video is a highly effective format for online advertising.

US Online Advertising Rises 35%

Advertising spending for the full year 2006 rose 4.6% over the same period last year due to gains across major media, according to preliminary figures released today by Nielsen.

TNS Media Intelligence Forecasts 2.6 Percent Increase
in U.S. Advertising Spending for 2007

$5.5 Billion in Hispanic-Targeted Ad Spend by 2010

As the largest and fastest-growing minority market in the U.S., the Hispanic demo is drawing attention from all types and classes of advertisers. The rise in population and purchasing power has made the Hispanic TV and radio audience a highly desirable market for networks, TV and radio station owners, content owners and investors, according to Kagan’s Economics of Hispanic TV and Radio in the U.S. .

Advertising on Hispanic Websites
More Than Triples Since 2002

Major advertisers expect to spend $132 million in online advertising targeted to U.S. Hispanics this year, up 32 percent from last year according to the 2006 media markets report in the December issue of Hispanic Business magazine.

Translating Hispanic Marketing
into Shareholder Value

With shareholders demanding higher and better returns, companies are examining all facets of their strategy to see what delivers. A new study released by Santiago Solutions Group (SSG), found that companies might want to take a harder look at their Hispanic marketing strategy to see how it translates into bottom-line profitability.

Padma Media & Marketing, a New Full-Service Agency

Veteran PR practitioner, Ana Lydia Ochoa, officially launched padma media & marketing (PMM)--a full-service consumer, fashion, beauty & entertainment-communications agency dedicated to reaching urban consumers, with a specialized emphasis in creating targeted programs and initiatives for bilingual U.S. Hispanic consumers.

Should You Pay for PPC on Individual Websites?

There are a lot of companies that are running their own pay per click program on their website, not wanting to go with Google Adsense, Yahoo Overture, or MSN Adcenter. There are many reasons why they might be doing this.

Survey: One in 10 Watching TV Online

A new survey said about one in 10 U.S. online consumers now watches television broadcasts online, mostly for convenience and to avoid commercials.

Favorite Latin TV Shows, Telenovelas & Reality
Content Now Available on iTunes Latino

Apple, Telemundo, and mun2 announced that popular Spanish-language
television programming from Telemundo and bilingual programs from its
popular Latino youth network, mun2 are now available for purchase and
download on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com).

Movie Piracy Costs Significant Losses in
American Jobs, Earnings, Taxes and Output

Movie piracy hurts more than just Hollywood pocket books. Groundbreaking research released by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is the first to measure piracy’s cost to the overall economy. The findings are astonishing...:

Internet Advertising Revenues Continue
to Accelarate at an Unprecedented Rate

First Six Months of '06 hit $7.9 Billion and Q2 Exceeds $4 Billion

During the MIXX Conference and Expo, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released Internet Advertising Revenues covering Q2 and the first six months of 2006. Internet advertising revenues (U.S.) for the first six months of 2006 were approximately $7.9 billion, a new record and a 37% increase over the first half of 2005.

Tips to Advertisers...

Procter & Gamble became the largest advertiser in the U.S. in 2005, spending $4.61 billion compared with the $4.35 billion of second-place General Motors - the first time the $4 billion mark has been surpassed - writes AdAge (via MarketingVOX), citing its "100 Leading National Advertisers" report. Together, P&G and GM accounted for nearly 9 percent of the top 100 national advertisers' total 2005 U.S. ad spend of $101.31 billion, which is up 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to the report.

FTC Warns Advertisers and
Media That Ads May Be Deceptive

The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to 166 advertisers and 77 media outlets warning them that their advertisements targeting Hispanics are potentially deceptive. The ads were spotted during a one-day surf of Spanish-language newspaper, magazine, Internet, radio, and television advertisements by 60 partners around the United States and Latin America, coordinated by the FTC.

Hispanic Marketing and Advertising Explosion

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) announced the results of its survey assessing trends and influential factors in US Hispanic advertising over the past decade. More than 90 percent of respondents indicated that they anticipate corporate ad spending targeting the fastest growing segment of the US -- Latinos -- to increase in 2007 and more than 30 percent are predicting budget growth of more than 10 percent.

Home Healthcare Through Television

A new innovation in communication technology that moves healthcare from the hospital to the home is now available in the U.S. The system developed by Philips, called Motiva, uses secure broadband technology to connect patients from their home television sets to their care providers daily.

FTC Joins Foreign Partners in Recommending
International Efforts to Combat Spam

The FTC has joined its foreign partners in calling for stepped up cross-border law enforcement cooperation and increased public/private sector cooperation to combat spam. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued recommendations in this area today. The OECD is an international forum of 30 countries, including the United States, established to promote economic growth, trade, and development.

Companies Must Re-Think How They Value Customers

Companies looking to cut back on training and investment in Customer Service Call Centers will face serious financial consequences. A groundbreaking research study, recently undertaken by Ernan Roman Direct Marketing, has uncovered startling new insights into the world of customer service.