Agency

Every single word matters.

Words are never neutral. Every word that does not help sell or market your product, hurts.

The recent Email Insider Summit was the best for me so far. Speakers, presentations and topics were all top-flight. Sessions and roundtable discussions covered a few strategic issues (metrics that matter) but mostly tactical topics such as preference centers, welcome emails, testing and frequency.

The biggest advertisers of 2008 came from a variety of categories, but the TOP TWENTY list was certainly driven by ads for Television and Cable TV, Automotive Sales and Service and Fast Food. This list was compiled from monitors in 77 Radio markets, 35 TV and Cable markets and 40 Newspaper markets were surveyed in the USA from Jan 1, 2008 to December 14, 2008.

Edelman celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its award-winning multicultural practice. Currently, Edelman Multicultural operates across the United States with teams in six cities – Atlanta; Chicago; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City and Washington, D.C.

Fineman PR announced the launch of Mosaico, the agency’s newly branded and growing Latino and multicultural communications practice. The branding of the agency’s three-year-old multicultural practice comes in response to growing interest in culturally relevant communications and to help mark the agency’s 20th anniversary.

Toys and consumer electronics are likely to don the lists of many shoppers this holiday season including the 46 million U.S. Hispanics with more than $900 billion to spend. But some manufacturers may not see a significant spike in purchases by Latinos due to their low levels of ad spending targeting the fastest growing minority population in the country. Spanish-language advertising in these categories dropped last year while overall Hispanic advertising increased by 4.3 percent, according to a recent study conducted by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA).

Advertising industry pioneer Premier Maldonado passed away Saturday in San Juan.

The founder of the advertising agency that still bears his name, Premier Maldonado was known for his avant garde thinking which resulted in him handling almost every major advertising and public relations account at some time over the years.

A creative visionary who was often thought to be ahead of his times, Maldonado was credited with bringing his industry into the next level in Puerto Rico.

Arbitron Inc. announced that it plans to expand the introduction of cell-phone-only sampling to 151 diary markets in Spring 2009 and to all markets (except Puerto Rico) by Fall 2009.

A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of Census Bureau data. In a year when jobs have become scarce for everyone, the proportion of working-age Latino immigrants participating in the labor force has fallen, at least through the third quarter of 2008, while the proportion of all non-Hispanics as well as of native-born Hispanics has held steady.

The Nielsen Company released a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008. The Nielsen Company delivers and integrates the most comprehensive media and marketing measurement systems in the world.

In marketing folklore, luxury brands were said to be immune to economic downturns. Their audience of u.ber-wealthy loyalists meant they remained protected during tough economic times. Furthermore, as the global economy prospered, luxury brands attracted new segments of customers who were suddenly able to afford a wealthier lifestyle. It should be no surprise then, that we saw so many luxury brands –Tiffany & Co. as an example – rush to make themselves more accessible to a broader audience over the last ten years. And it is luxury’s reliance on this extended market that now creates risk and makes them vulnerable to the downturn.

This paper offers a unique perspective on the history of branding and specifically the importance of internal branding and delivering value at key moments of truth. Using a cowboy branding analogy from the American West, Randall Rozin, Global Director of Brand Management for Dow Corning Corporation, takes the reader through a historic journey of both branding of cattle and brand building at the employee and customer levels.

With Americans lining up for deals on Black Friday and surfing the web on Cyber Monday, the holiday shopping season is officially in full swing. Consumers today have access to more information and more ways to shop than ever before – including online, via cell phone or in physical stores. According to a new study by Harris Interactive, a global leader in market research, shoppers consult an average of four resources on their path to purchase. Most consumers begin their research online, but ultimately make their purchase in a brick-and-mortar store.