Agency

Nielsen Monitor-Plus announced an increase in spot radio coverage. Now measuring almost 60% of all radio advertising spending, Monitor-Plus continues to be the only national multi-media provider of brand-level detail for spot radio in the U.S.

Apparel and other retailers can expect increased traffic in the stores this Easter, thanks in-part to the holiday falling later in the year. The NRF 2006 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that 77.6 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Easter, up marginally from the previous year (75.9%). Total Easter spending is estimated to reach $12.63 billion in 2006, a significant increase from the $9.6 billion spent in 2005. This year, the average shopper expects to spend $121.72 on Easter, up from $96.51 in 2005.

Without announcement, Julio Arrieta, a Venezuelan marketer who worked in Mexico, took over the reins of the San Francisco office of The Bravo Group last Monday.

The Public Relations Coalition, an alliance of 23 industry related organizations, announced the findings of its first diversity benchmark survey today. The survey is part of the commitment made at the Coalition’s “Diversity Summit” — held last year — to increase efforts in improving diversity in the public relations and communications fields.

McDonald’s launched a national sweepstakes that will give 11 children the opportunity of a lifetime to meet and escort international soccer players during the semi final and final matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The program, which runs through April 9th, is in partnership with Univision Communications.

Beck’s and Beck’s Premier Light are set to launch an extensive multicultural advertising campaign focused on the Hispanic consumer. This is the brand’s first fully integrated advertising campaign created specifically for the Hispanic market. The campaign kicks off on March 20 with television, out of home, and radio advertising. All media will launch simultaneously and run into the fall of 2006.

Lápiz Integrated Hispanic Marketing launches a national advertising campaign for Wrigley’s Doublemint TWINS, a new mint introduced to the confectionery market in January 2006 – and not to be confused with the human forms we know as the Doublemint Twins.

Volkswagen rolled out a new creative idea for GTI 2006 model targeting bilingual Hispanics by launching an out-of-home effort in major Hispanics markets. The billboards used the phrase “Turbo-Conjones” in targeting the younger bilingual Hispanic consumers.

A risky, but attention getting bold creative tag line “Turbo-Conjones”.

As part of a strategic effort to reach the Hispanic market, Georgia-Pacific Corp. announced a new integrated marketing program designed to address the needs of the nation’s 2.5 million Spanish speaking construction professionals.

The analysis provides in-depth information about the demographics, spending patterns, and purchasing plans of Unbanked consumers. It also provides details on Unbanked local markets and Unbanked Hispanic consumers.

Despite significant gains in the past 10 years, women executives around the world still face an uphill battle in workplace equality, a new study by Accenture shows.

The study, entitled “The Anatomy of the Glass Ceiling: Barriers to Women’s Professional Advancement,” is based on a survey of 1,200 male and female executives in eight countries in North America, Europe and Asia: the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines.