Media

With everyone jumping on the social media bandwagon, Facebook contests are the hottest thing since Facebook itself and the average consumer gets exposed to plenty of contests and giveaways when they log on to check out their friend updates. Major brands have been quick to embrace Facebook as another potential facet to engage with their customers. Yet a majority of these brands remain faceless.

Americans have dramatically integrated social networking tools into their lives. Euro RSCG Worldwide, one of the world’s leading advertising and marketing agency networks, conducted a study on how people use the ever-changing options in social and online media available today. According to the study, their world is expanding and narrowing at the same time because of social media’s hyperlocalization quotient. And “cyberdisinhibition” — being more willing to behave online in ways they wouldn’t in person — has both emboldened users and led them to inappropriate behavior.

Just as the season of Major League Baseball comes to a close, ESPN Deportes launches its coverage of winter baseball from the Dominican Republic with a new marketing campaign. Tagged, “Durante el invierno el béisbol viaja al Caribe,” (During winter, baseball travels to the Caribbean), the campaign trails baseball as it travels south with ESPN Deportes as the winter baseball season returns yet again to the network. The campaign features animated spots highlighted by a winter baseball themed ‘flight to the island’ and baseball terminology, identifying that the ultimate destination for winter baseball coverage can be found only on ESPN Deportes.

The USTA and TIA have announced that tennis participation in the United States topped 30 million players for the first time in more than two decades.

The number of households with cell phones increased from 36 percent to 71 percent between 1998 and 2005, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This corresponded with a decrease in households with telephone landlines, particularly households headed by young adults.

A report published by The Hispanic Institute and Mobile Future highlights the opportunities presented by mobile broadband access for the nation’s 48 million Hispanics. As policymakers contemplate the future of broadband and wireless, the paper concludes that successful innovation policies must consider the needs and preferences of diverse Americans, including in particular the rapidly growing Hispanic community in the United States. Available for download here.