Agency

Love it or hate it

By the end of 2009, more than two-thirds of the US population—or 200 million people—will be going online.

This report examines recent immigrants in rural and small town America, through analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For many decades urban areas have been, and they remain, the destination of choice for the nation’s immigrants.

Recent evidence suggests, however, that many immigrant groups are dispersing away from traditional gateway cities. Many small towns and cities in every region of the country are contending with new challenges and opportunities brought by rapid increases in their immigrant populations.

Word of mouth, or buzz, simply refers to consumers talking about brands. It is one of the most important factors influencing consumers’ decisions to purchase products or services. New technologies like the internet have increased the speed at which buzz spreads, and the distance it travels, often in a public and trackable manner.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.

A major survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith. A majority of those who are affiliated with a religion, for instance, do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. And almost the same number believes that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion. This openness to a range of religious viewpoints is in line with the great diversity of religious affiliation, belief and practice that exists in the United States, as documented in a survey of more than 35,000 Americans that comprehensively examines the country’s religious landscape.

New research from MTV Networks (MTVN) and Harris Interactive, reveals a critical companion metric to measuring audience size, pioneering a new way for advertising brands to target the most engaged and valuable audiences. This research study finds that not all programming viewers are created equal and that the value of television advertising grows as viewers connect with marketing messages across screens.

Pizza Hut will begin a new Spanish language advertising campaign for Tuscani Pastas featuring real people captured on hidden camera who are surprised by the restaurant-quality of the new dishes.

The Federal Communications Commission is solicit comments on the relationship between the Commission’s sponsorship identification rules and increasing industry reliance on embedded advertising techniques. Due, in part, to recent technological changes that allow consumers to more readily bypass commercial content, content providers may be turning to more subtle and sophisticated means of incorporating commercial messages into traditional programming. As these techniques become increasingly prevalent, it is important that the sponsorship identification rules protect the public’s right to know who is paying to air commercials or other program matter on broadcast television and radio and cable.

According to new data released by Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI) at The Advertising Research Foundation’s Audience Measurement
conference, advertising on multiple platforms results in a significant increase in a campaign’s conversion rate – the percentage of consumers exposed to ads who actually purchase the product or service being advertised. This is in addition to an increase in the exposure and frequency of a campaign.