Agency

This is what our conference room became when Mexico was playing South Africa for the opening match of the World Cup – Lopez Negrete Communications in Houston. How is your agency celebrating the 2010 World Cup matches?

For the first time since the second quarter of 2007, a majority (51%) of CEOs of the nation’s leading private companies surveyed for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Private Company Trendsetter Barometer were optimistic about the US economy’s prospects over the next 12 months (up six points from the previous quarter and up 32 points from the same quarter in 2009). Similarly, the number of CEOs expressing pessimism fell four points from the previous quarter to 11%, a 30-point drop from the same quarter in 2009.

comScore, Inc. released a study on the state of the Internet in Latin America. The report found that Internet usage across the region has witnessed significant growth in the past year, with visitation increasing 23 percent to now represent 8 percent of the world’s total Internet audience.

MindshareWhen it comes to the World Cup 2010, Brazil is by far the favorite team of digitally savvy soccer fans around the world, according to a new study.

With the World Cup kickoff just underway, the tournament is on the mind – and broadband – of soccer fans worldwide. Using Brand Association Mapping (BAM), The Nielsen Company looked at the differences in what was driving the World Cup conversation online across seven different countries.

Nike is not an official World Cup sponsor but, thanks to some creative marketing, that doesn’t stop consumers across the globe from linking the company to the world’s largest soccer tournament. The Nielsen Company analyzed online blogs, message boards and social networking sites and found that the sports shoe and apparel giant was more frequently linked to the World Cup than any of the tournament’s official partners and sponsors.

The U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates as of July 1, 2009, for the nation, each state and the District of Columbia by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.

A new Harris Poll measures what Americans think about the United States or, more specifically, how they rate 16 elements of American life.

Large majorities of the public give high marks to science and technology, the Constitution, the quality of life and colleges and universities. Large majorities give poor marks to our political system, the economic system, public schools, the health care system and the legal system.

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) is now accepting entries for its 10th annual Multicultural Excellence Awards. The awards recognize member companies and marketers for their work in producing superior multicultural advertising and marketing campaigns.