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This article focuses on the growing concern in the advertising business and the venture capital business over venture capitalists' inability to advise Internet companies about marketing. Internet companies are spewing out multimillion-dollar campaigns even before they get a Web site up and running on the theory that the biggest, loudest campaign will win the most customers. One reason for all the noise is it is a lot easier to get funding than it used to be. There is a lot of evidence that young dot-com companies are taking risks with their marketing dollars. They are hiring agencies and making buys even before they get funding. Media executives say business development people at Internet companies are buying print and radio advertising at prices well above the rate card--simply because they do not know how the business works.

The article reports on the partnership between advertising agency BBDO and computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard. The author states that the deal will involve more than just a lucrative account for BBDO. HP will also be involved in implementing systems to assist BBDO with their marketing operations.

The article reports that leading consumer product makers including Procter & Gamble, Del Monte, and Kimberly-Clark have joined with the supermarket chain Kroger in a mobile marketing venture. The companies will offer marketing software consumers may download for their cellular telephones which will present redeemable coupons for discounts on certain products.

The article reports that Microsoft Corp. has hired the advertising agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky to create and manage a $300 advertising campaign for its Windows series of computer software. The goal is to change Microsoft's stodgy image among computer users. The agency is known for its edgy advertising which helped change the image of well-known companies Burger King and Volkswagen.

An interview with Mike Linton, the chief marketing officer (CMO) of the internet company eBay, is presented. When asked about the challenges of advertising for eBay, he explains that the internet is still a relatively new business in 2007. He also comments on his background in the retail industry and discusses own sales and purchases on the internet auction site.

The article reports that an effort by telephone company At&T's marketing department to rebrand the Cingular cellular telephone network is a failure. The Cingular brand, which was built up to be a power brand after $4 billion in spending, was rebranded to AT&T in 2006. Experts claim that the integration of the brand is not working and has destroyed value. INSET: A history of AT&T.

This article examines the controversy around Apple Inc. and leader Steve Jobs' decision to cut the price of the iPhone by $200 shortly after introducing the product. People who stood in lines for hours and paid more just weeks earlier were alienated by the decision and the outcry was great enough for Jobs to have to offer refunds to those who paid the initial full price. Wall Street reacted and Apple's stock decreased in value.

The article discusses the decision made by mobile telephone carrier AT&T, which was formerly Cingular, that it will no longer claim that its customers experience the fewest dropped calls. An AT&T spokesman said that the choice was made to emphasize the strength of AT&T's cellular network. Cellular telephone service providers spend $5 billion annually touting the benefits of their services. Consumer Reports found that AT&T customers experienced many dropped calls.

The article talks about the inefficiency of mobile-web advertising, where marketers push out ads rather than allowing for users to search for themselves. Hewlett-Packard's worldwide media director Scott Berg discusses the importance of consumer searches in mobile marketing, stating that investing in search terms is preferable to mobile advertising because the search terms can be tracked and customized for consumer needs.

The article examines the marketing challenge for Apple Inc. and AT&T as they seek to maintain the success of the iPhone cellular telephone. The product's June, 29, 2007 introduction was a triumph, but the companies now face keeping the edge in a highly competitive, innovative, and imitative industry. The 2007 holiday shopping season will be crucial to maintaining the iPhone's momentum in the market.

The article looks at the limits of "marketing rock stars" and focuses on the experience of marketing agents Julie Roehm, Kerri Martin, Jerri DeVard and Mary Minnick. The article discusses the limits of marketing careers built on bold statements and media attention. According to the article, top marketing executives today are responsible for business outcomes such as sales and market share.

The article looks at the challenges Apple and Cingular are going to have in marketing the iPhone. The article notes that the iPhone seems like a very easy product to sell, since Apple has a good name brand and the product itself is very attractive, but consumers may not be willing to pay the high asking price. Other problems facing the iPhone are; consumers might not trust Apple in the mobile phone market, and a conflict might rise between Apple's marketing department and Cingular's.

The article discusses Microsoft Corp.'s launching of a marketing blitz for its upcoming Zune music player that pushes the social side of music. Zune, which offers users the ability to share their music wirelessly with others, doesn't officially hit the market until the week of November 12th in 2006, but already many of the online and offline creative marketing executions, videos, concepts and footage under the tagline "Welcome to the social" have made their way onto the web.

This article examines why production companies in Hollywood are upending their advertising spending. As more dollars flow from traditional media to web, video on demand and wireless platforms, News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox has thrown its $1 billion media business up for grabs as it consolidates most of its worldwide account at a single global agency. Lions Gate Entertainment, one of the few remaining independents, is searching for a new shop for its $130 million account after working with Palisades Media Group for seven years. And MGM, trying to make a comeback, hired Palisades for its $90 million account in March only to abruptly switch to RPA this summer, according to executives familiar with the matter.

Reports on the plan of AT&T Corp. to rename its Cingular Wireless PLC business. Reason behind the name change of the business; Disadvantages associated with the name change; Marketing cost that would be incurred to explain the name change.

The article reports on the outcome of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association Wireless 2006 conference in April 2006. Marketers were chided for exercising caution in embracing the nascent mobile-phone-advertising market. This is bigger than Oprah! exhorted Will Hodgman, CEO of mobile measurement firm M:Metrics, in a presentation sponsored by the Mobile Marketing Association.

The article focuses on the outstanding business performance of ZenithOptimedia, a global media network, in 2005. It states the success of ZenithOptimedia to win the global media business of Nestle and the worldwide media billings of L'Oreal. A description of the factors that made ZenithOptimedia more attractive to marketers, is presented. It offers information on the growth posted by the international media shop.

This article reports on the 2006 Madison + Vine conference of Advertising Age. It presents a portion of a speech delivered by John Stratton, Verizon Wireless vice-president-chief marketing officer, at the conference. It discusses the challenges faced by marketers. Steven J. Heyer, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said marketing dollars are being wasted for those who do not have a clear vision of their brands.

This article reports that U.S. marketers from various industries are conveying energy conservation and efficiency messages in their marketing campaigns, in response to public sentiment on the soaring gas prices. Conservation was once almost the exclusive domain of oil companies and utility companies and fuel efficiency that of automobiles, but both are now coming into play for other advertisers such as lawnmower companies. And as winter approaches and the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts the price of residential natural gas used for heating will skyrocket more than 42% in 2005, marketing experts say people in the U.S. are ready to listen. Energy-saving messages are also coming from unexpected places. Grasshopper Mowers, in a brochure from independent Associated Advertising, is pitching the fact that its diesel engine is more efficient than gasoline engines, resulting in a savings of $3,000 per 1,000 hours of use. In California, the world's third-largest solar-energy market, after Japan and Germany, Sharp Electronics Corp. is touting its solar systems in print and radio and highlighting a multiyear deal with the San Francisco Giants inked in the summer of 2005 to power club offices adjacent to SBC Park.

Reports on the marketing budget of Sprint Nextel as of August 8, 2005. Value of the merger of Sprint and Nextel; Advertising agencies handling the account of Sprint Nextel; Remarks from Sprint Nextel's chief marketing officer Mark Schweitzer on the marketing spending of the company.

Reports on the possibility of a decline in the U.S. marketing business due to mergers in the telecommunications industry in 2005. Companies that have reached merger agreements; Decline in telecommunication media spending; Competition facing Baby Bells.

Discusses the marketing strategy of Cingular Wireless following its merger with Verizon in October 2004. Initiatives to gain and retain wireless communication customers; Changes in the logo and tag line of Cingular; Features of the advertising campaign launched by the firm. INSET: MANAGING THE MERGER.

Deals with a credit card launched by Kmart Holding Corp. in the U.S. in 2004. Aim of the credit card; Importance of the credit card to the company; Marketing efforts that will be initiated by the company for the credit card; Lawsuit filed against Capital One by Kmart.

Deals with the global campaign of Kyocera Wireless Corp. in 2004. Market share of Kyocera; Results of a consumer research conducted by Kyocera; Scope of the rebranding process employed by Kyocera.

The article discusses the retail strategy, design, public relations and advertisements of Apple Computer. The genius of Apple is that its brand has come to embody a lifestyle. In a tech business where two or three giants have become global dominators, still-the-underdog Apple resonates with consumers across generations and international boundaries. Apple is also striking a chord with music industry executives, potentially giving the troubled business a new lease on life, with its iTunes software that creates a new model for making money from downloadable songs. From a seemingly innate understanding of how to woo users with design, through a stand-out retail strategy to its ability to reach people with grassroots marketing techniques, Apple has proved itself a great marketer. It has achieved incredible levels of brand loyalty and created an army of evangelist users not because of its great advertising-though certainly its print and television work was among the best in 2003-but because it focuses, in everything it does, on the consumer. At the moment, Apple has sold more than a reported 17 million songs through its iTunes Music Store, although each 99-cent sale drops merely a dime into the kitty, almost a loss leader intended to build a new generation of Apple enthusiasts and to induce sales of the more profitable iPod.

This article focuses on an advertising campaign launched by electronics retailer Best Buy to promote its customer loyalty program. The retailer's multifaceted Reward Zone program breaks with a TV spot plugging a $25,000-a-day giveaway for 35 days through August 23, 2003. In an unusual move, most customers will be required to pay $9.99 to join the program, while some current 375,000 "best customers" receive automatic enrollment. In addition to awarding points for purchases, Reward Zone also will include "soft benefits," such as a chance to critique new music releases or attend movie sneak previews. "We are trying to create things customers cannot get elsewhere," said Barry Judge, vice president consumer brand marketing at Best Buy. Kevin Taylor, president, Alliance Data Systems' Frequency Marketing, Cincinnati, Ohio, which created the program and handles print, said some customers pay to join the program. Mr. Taylor said most of Best Buy's electronics retailing competitors already have loyalty programs or are developing them. But few match the Best Buy effort, which offers a $5 gift certificate for every $125 purchase or a 4% rebate. The certificate must be spent on an item of $10 or more.

This article reports on the launch of a viral-marketing effort of brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. in July 2003. The spoof spots, to be updated twice a month, appear as a feature on the Budweiser.com Web site and are billed as advertisements "that did not make the cut, but our hearts are too big to not give them a chance anyway." The first rejected spot, from Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, done in cartoon like line drawings, tells the story of "El Generoso," a wrestler whose technique is to confuse opponents by treating them nicely. Although the jokey, child-like sketches are more like the kind of cartoons normally aimed at kids and teenagers, only Web visitors listing a birthdate indicating they are over 21 are admitted to the site. Viral marketing has become a popular and potent force for marketers to distribute both spoof advertisements like the Bud spots and real advertisements that are banned by the networks or, in the case of some countries, regulators. Viral marketing can also be used to skirt legal obstacles. In Great Britain, Havas' WCRS reportedly was unable to get permission from Honda to do a spoof of the "Cog" chain-reaction spot for its phone directory service, so the agency used a viral e-mail campaign instead. Other breweries are experimenting with Web-based efforts. Heineken USA recently initiated a campaign involving fake Web-site headlines and breaks a spot spoofing beer commercials.

This article reports on the decision of Sears, Roebuck & Co. to realign its $1.5 billion in marketing expenditures to rely less on promotional events. According to CEO Alan Lacey, there are a number of changes that are taking place in the advertising initiatives of the company. Other changes in execution will be seen in work in May 2003 for appliances and for the entire Sears store by the end of the year. However, the shift in strategy will go beyond creative. The company has, over the last couple of years, avoided enormous number of unprofitable promotional events and marketing media to basically get itself re-based to a marketing spend that basically did generate profitable revenue. A company spokesman said details of the changes are not available to the public. However, the executive familiar with the situation said Janine Bousquette, Sears' executive vice president and chief customer and marketing officer, held a meeting of about 100 executives involved in the massive marketing operation of the company. At the meeting, she discussed significantly reducing the numbers of sales and other promotional events in the calendar of the company, replacing them with more seasonally driven promotions.

The article focuses on marketing campaigns launched by two Major League Baseball teams which aim at drawing fans by thrashing the New York Yankees, the 26-time World Series champions. The original Oakland Athletics ad was junked and the Toronto Blue Jays commercial was dropped because they desecrate the New York Yankees' logo. Both the Oakland Athletics and Blue Jays have a business problem with low attendance at games.

Reports that Phil Marineau, president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co. blames advertising for the disappointing introduction of its TypeOne jeans. Description of the product; Data on sales and spending on measured advertising; Deal with Wal-Mart Stores for the Signature line of jeans.

This article deals with an entertainment-marketing review of Omnicom Group and Creative Artists Agency conducted by Hewlett-Packard Co. in December 2002. Hewlett-Packard has narrowed its search to the marketing communications company Omnicon and talent shop Creative Artists Agency. Omnicom is said to be marshaling various entertainment-marketing resources that have been assembled under its Diversified Agency Services arm, including event-marketing specialist GMR Marketing and Hollywood, California-based shops Aaron Walton Entertainment and Davie-Brown Entertainment. While Hewlett-Packard traditionally has not been a major player in entertainment marketing, the company is looking to carve a niche as a consumer-lifestyle brand. Its products, including computers, digital cameras, printers and hand-held devices, could lend themselves to product-integration alliances with movies and television programs.

This article reports on the plan of Yahoo! to launch a consumer advertising campaign as it plots an ambitious drive to offer high-speed Internet service, coupled with a host of add-on subscription services it hopes will make the company less reliant on advertising. Final tweaks of the campaign--which will include multiple TV executions, with a barrage of outdoor, online, print and radio advertisements also likely--were ongoing in September 2002. A Yahoo! spokeswoman declined to comment on the company's advertising and marketing plans. The campaign, created by Havas' Black Rocket Euro RSCG in San Francisco, California, retains the whimsical "Do you Yahoo!?" tagline and will feature spots that hype a handful of the company's flagship services including Yahoo! Mail, Personals and online job searching via HotJobs. Yahoo! this year has attempted to build a cache of premium pay services to help diversify its revenue base and reduce dependence on advertising. Yahoo! is notoriously conservative in its media spending. Even in 1999 during the heady dot-com frenzy, the company spent just $27.9 million in measured media in the U.S. In 2000, U.S. spending spiked to $43.8 million.

The article reports on restructuring plans of Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2002 after the completion of its merger with Compaq Computer Corp. Key issues discussed include the separation of the company into four divisions and the possibility of each division being responsible for its own marketing initiatives. INSET: BATTLING FOR A BRAND.

The article focuses on some of the factors that characterize integrated marketing. Most industry experts agree that integration must be customer-driven and that the goal of acquiring and retaining consumers should dictate execution, whether it means using few or many channels. Experts also claim that integrated marketing does not always save clients money, and some even argue that it might even cost more to consolidate with one shop. INSET: INTEGRATION: THE IDEAL FOR MARKETERS?.

The article reports that U.S. department stores have launched aggressive marketing promotion efforts for the 2001 Christmas season but retail sales on the days after Thanksgiving have been disappointing. Discount stores such as Wal-Mart Stores and Target Corp. and Kohl's were able to attract customers. However, specialty stores, such as the Gap and others found in traditional malls had difficulties.

This article describes the multicultural marketing efforts of U.S. corporations. Advertisers are using work from multicultural advertising agencies appearing in general-market mass media. Ford Motor Co. intends to reach Hispanic American and African American consumers through mainstream as well as targeted media.

This article reports that U.S. fast food restaurants, package goods makers, retailers, and television networks are boosting their marketing efforts for the Halloween selling season. Marketers are encouraging children to push parents back into normal shopping mode in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The article reports that retail companies in the United States are launching back-to-school marketing schemes in an effort to attract student consumers. According to the National Retail Federation, typical spending per college-bound student is at $500 a year. The Educational Testing Service also estimates that college enrollment will increase by 19 per cent in the country.

The article reports on the plans of Nike to publish the self-promotional magazine "Much Respect" in the United States in 2001. Key issues discussed include the key features and content of the periodical, spending earmarked for the publishing of the magazine and distribution figures for the magazine. INSET: Nike checks alternatives, by Alice Z. Cuneo.

The article focuses on measurement and planning tools to gauge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. It is an advantage for agencies to have the ability to measure advertisers' return on investment. McCann-Erickson Worldwide has introduced the Brand Optimization Map and Fusion 2.0 program which focuses on seven universal marketing drivers that link all integrated communications plans.

Discusses the position of chief marketing officer in retail stores. How technology allows for a more intimate understanding of the consumer; Discussion of several retailers which have chief marketing officers, including Circuit City and Kmart Corp.; Profile of Brent Willis, chief marketing officer of Kmart Corp.

The article focuses on the use of electronic commerce during the 2000 holiday shopping season in the United States. It cites the emerging trends regarding discounts and advertising spending. Marketing strategies include advertising in places where physical stores are not available and informing consumers about shopping online.

The article reports that the E& J. Gallo Winery is soliciting advertising agencies to handle various accounts as of October, 2000. The 91-year-old founder of the company, Ernest Gallo handles marketing strategy for Gallo citing how they periodically evaluate agencies for potential product assignments. Among advertising agencies believed to have been contacted by Gallo include, the New York-based Deutsch and the Portland, Oregon-based Wieden & Kennedy.

The article discusses the expectations of Internet sales which is expected to slow for the 2000 holiday season. The "Loeb Retail Letter," which describes promotion strategies of businesses was discussed. Wall Street has expressed concerns about Internet-based companies. Amazon.com has developed a fall campaign from agency FCB Worldwide.

Reports that a choice of an advertising agency is imminent for the Toys `R' Us Web site. Toy Store's hope that the ad agency will integrate its retail and online businesses; Strong forecast for toy sales in Christmas 2000 and how the toy store hopes to capitalize; Licensing deals that have succeeded and the prospect of further alliances; Lessons learned from Christmas 1999.

Discusses the effect of financially strapped Internet companies on Internet portals. How portals such as America Online, Yahoo!, and EarthLink are attempting to establish relationships with traditional advertising agencies in order to build ad revenue; Expectation of some online players that traditional and interactive ad agencies will eventually merge; How portals will review their deals with Internet companies.

Discusses creative tension between two advertising agencies working on Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser beer ad campaign. How the agencies, DDB Worldwide and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners are both looking for more assignments from Anheuser-Busch; How each of the agencies have overlapped elements from their own ads onto those of their rival; Advantage of working for Anheuser-Busch.

The article reports on the employment of DDB Worldwide advertising agency by J.C. Penney Co. in an effort to evolve the retailer's marketing image. J.C. Penney Co.'s web site was among the most visited on the Web. J.C. Penney Co.'s online sales rose seven times higher than 1998's performance. J.C. Penney Co. spent 372 million dollars on measured media in 1999.

This article highlights the marketing efforts of Levi Strauss & Co. which aims to boost sales in 2000. The company is launching two new product lines and advertisements for the fall season to market its product to young consumers. Print advertising will support its Lot 53 clothing line while TV spots will focus on Levi's Engineered jeans. In the U.S., the Engineered collection will be featured in specialty stores, supported with print advertisements in alternative lifestyle and fashion books. The new advertising approach is being complemented by an effort to build closer relationships with the company's retail customers.

Reports on online grocers' store and online marketing campaigns in 2000. Albertson's launch of a television campaign in Seattle and Portland, Oregon; Webvan Group's branding campaign via Publicis & Hal Riney; Other online grocers' plan to tap the mainstream media.