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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.

The article focuses on the claim of American Honda Motor Co. that its shop, RPA, is secure on the national account. RPA has been running model-clearance advertisements featuring an animated character that knocks on the television screen. However, some advertising agencies are encouraged that new regional Honda dealer groups are looking outside RPA.

The article features TBWA Worldwide chief creative officer Lee Clow and his contributions to the advertising agency. A brief summary of Clow's career is presented. Clow and Steve Jobs have created one of the more successful partnerships in marketing history. Achievements of Clow in the field of advertising are highlighted. INSET: Clow and Jobs: A glance at marketing's dynamic duo.

The article reports that T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson has blasted his own company's media planning policy and has insisted it pull its advertisements off Fox's FX channel in response to American Family Association (AFA) criticism. The move appears to be another victory for AFA which has made a habit of going after advertisers in shows that offend its sensibilities.

The article reports on a dispute between Select Resources International (SRI) CEO and prime shareholder Catherine Bension and President Russell Wohlwerth over compensation and accounting practices that may have artificially depressed the income of the company. Though the two are currently involved in an arbitration hearing, Wohlwerth is believed to remain under contract and both partners continue to work together in their Santa Monica, California offices as the arbitration process unfolds.

The article focuses on the entry of cord-blood banks, which freeze blood from a placenta and umbilical cord to use in case of a baby's future illness, into the direct-to-consumer healthcare marketplace of the U.S. as of May 15, 2006. According to TNS Media Intelligence, the industry is upping marketing expenditures that already more than doubled since 2001 to $4.2 million in 2005. ViaCell and others are expanding their marketing into TV, the Internet and magazines, joining marketing ranks populated by maternity fashion houses and stroller manufacturers.

The article reports on the competition among advertising agencies in the U.S. on the $578 million advertising contract of discount department store Wal-Mart Stores. Wal-Mart has two main advertising agencies, Bernstein and Omnicom-owned GSD&M. Both agencies have said they will defend their position. According to Roy Spence, founder and president of GSD&M, they have 19 years of an extraordinary growth partnership with Wal-Mart. INSET: Wal-Mart in the headlines.

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 discusses the statement by Verizon Communications that cable companies are un-American for refusing to air its advertisements that criticize spiraling cable prices. The spot Verizon plotted for the Garden State aims to get residents to lobby their legislators. Verizon said two local cable giants, Comcast and Time Warner, refused to run the spot, even though the two have been running their own advertisements nonstop attacking Verizon's effort to offer New Jersey consumers a competing slate of TV entertainment. Verizon said a third cable company, Cablevision, did not respond to its advertising request.

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.

The article reports on the dismissal of William Perez as CEO of Nike Inc. in January 2006 due to a conflict that occurred between him and Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight. It offers information on the spending performance of Nike during the tenure of Perez. It also discusses some of the differences between Perez and Knight.

This article reports on the contributions of U.S. advertising executive Geoffrey frost to the improvements in the performance Motorola. He was appointed at the company in 1999. The late executive developed the Hello Moto campaign from agency Ogilvy & Mather. In addition, Frost deviate from the common practice of naming phones with numbers and letters into a system of words applied in instant messaging. INSETS: The wisdom of Geoffrey Frost;Rembering Mr. Frost.

This article reports on new models of iTunes cellular telephones being developed by Motorola as of November 2005 to replace the iTunes Rokr model. It is expected to be transferred to Motorola's red-hot Razr line. Only two months in the market, the iTunes Rokr telephone has been criticized for everything ranging from its 100-song limitation to the length of time it takes to transfer a song from the computer to the device. In its short life span, the telephone's price has declined from the original unsubsidized $250 to $149.99 on Cingular's Web site to as low as $49.99 at Amazon.com, each with a new two-year service contract. Cingular itself relegated the iTunes telephone, which it had previously touted as its hope for the holidays, to the bottom half of its Web page.

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.

This article reports on the outlook of Cingular Wireless' Chief Marketing Officer Marc Lefar on the benefits of the firm's affiliation with Apple and Motorola on the iTunes Rokr Phone. The hope is that the target consumer will use the Rokr phone to ring up monthly data charges for things other than music, such as photographs or text messaging.

Presents updates on U.S.-based advertising agency TBWA as of August 19, 2005. Return of company executive Tim Love from Tokyo, Japan; Possible partnership between the company and Procter & Gamble; Personnel changes within the company.

Announces the resignation of John Costello, chief marketing officer of Home Depot, on August 19, 2005. Personal and career background; Contributions of Costello to the advertising and marketing programs of Home Depot; Plans of Costello to invest in his own company.

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 that ad agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky in July 2005 has announced its resignation from the Gateway business before the computer-seller issued its own statement describing a more mutual parting of ways. Legacy of creative exit strategies in the ad industry; Comments from Andrew Robertson, president-CEO at BBDO Worldwide; Importance of exit strategies to agencies.

Provides information on the Effies Award ceremony which was started by Cheryl Berman, Leo Burnett USA chairman-chief creative officer with a call for a higher creative bar for the show and a complaint against TBWA/Chiat/Day chairman-chief executive officer Lee Clow for not supporting the award show. Response of Tom Carroll, vice chairman of TBWA Worldwide to the message of Berman; Number of Grand Effies awards won by TBWA; Impact of Berman's keynote speech.

Focuses on the circulation of video-enabled mobile phones in the U.S. market by the end of 2005. Conception by customers of the mobile phone as a third screen; Adoption by mobile phone carriers of strategies for entertainment offerings; Importance of creativity to mobile phone advertising.

Unveils the restructuring plan of advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day for its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices in California in 2005. Rationale underlying the restructuring plan; Changes included in the restructuring plan; Performance of the company in the advertising industry.

Explains the cable and telecommunication companies in the U.S. are battling for dominance in the market for telephone, TV and Internet services. Services offered by Verizon Communications and SBC; Services offered by Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner; Forecast on the broadband communication market in the U.S.

Reports on the problems facing mobile-media-marketing companies in using mobile phones as an advertising medium in 2005. Experimentation done by Julie Roehm, director for marketing communications of Chrysler Group, with text messaging; Movie promotions through ringtones and wallpapers; Comparison between the return rates of mobile entertainment and customer retention programs.

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.

Focuses on the efforts of information technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP) CEO Carly Fiorina in unifying its marketing strategy. Comments on Fiorina's approach towards marketing; Possible changes in the HP marketing strategy with Fiorina's ouster; Opposition encountered by Fiorina from Walter Hewlett, the son of HP co-founder William Hewlett.

Provides information on a strategy used by online-search consultancy Agencyfinder.com in selecting candidates for advertising accounts proposals. Reaction of several advertising companies on the strategy; Views of Charles Meyst, chairman and CEO of Agencyfinder.com, on the strategy; Benefits of online agency-search consultants to advertising agencies.

Provides information on the need for SBC CEO Ed Whitacre to retain the AT&T name upon completion of its acquisition. Reason behind the need to retain the name; Difference between AT&T and SBC among business consumers; Reaction of Whitacre on retaining the AT&T name.

Reports on the failure of San Francisco, California to realize its promise as an emerging national player in the advertising industry. Number of advertising agencies operating in San Francisco in 2000; Number of advertising agencies that closed shops or relocated from San Francisco since 2000; Factors that hinder the emergence of San Francisco as a national player in advertising; Number of advertising agencies that can be supported by San Francisco.

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.

Discusses executive succession at Deutsch as of December 2004. Decision of CEO and part-time celebrity Donny Deutsch to pull back and let other people step up; Suggestion of executives to choose Linda Sawyer, chief operating officer of the company; Details of a perceived leadership gap in the company; Move of Revlon and Mitsubishi to put their accounts held by Deutsch into review.

Reports on the negotiations of advertisers for the sponsorship of the reality television show "The Apprentice 3." Opinion of Peter Sterling, senior vice president of media at McDonald's, on the increase in integration fees for the sponsorship; Ratings of the show's second season compared to the first outing; Reason for the willingness of advertisers to sponsor the show.

Focuses on the marketing strategies done by Motorola on its Razr mobile telephone. Views of Geoff Kehoe, company senior director of brand communication, on the product; Sales promotions for the product; Marketing spending of the company for the first seven months of 2004.

Reveals the impact of the evolution of telecommunications in the U.S. on the marketing research business. Behavior of consumers on their use of telecommunications technology; Decrease in survey response rates; Estimate number of people in the country that have abandoned the use of landline telephones.

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.

Presents information on a recommendation to wireless-service providers to increase consumers' awareness of content services. Projection on the growth in global mobile content revenue; Plan of Verizon Wireless to launch content offerings; Customer spending on entertainment and information services.

Reports on the appointment of Karen C. Francis, a former package goods and automotive executive, as the chairman and chief executive officer of Publicis & Hal Riney. Educational and career background; Remarks from Kirk Souder, president and executive creative director of the advertising agency, on Francis; Background on the advertising accounts being handled by the agency.

Reports on the marketing strategy used by Cingular Wireless. Competition with Verizon Wireless; Forecast on the performance of Cingular in the wireless marketplace; Confusion regarding the AT&T Wireless name which merged with Cingular and AT&T Corp.

Reports on the amount spent by political candidates in their advertising campaign initiatives in the U.S. in 2004. Views of Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, on the election advertisement spending; Increase in the spending; Factors that contributed to the increase.

Deals with the launch of Clorox Co.'s new Glad ForceFlex Trash Bag. Description of the Trash Bag; Importance of the product to the success of the company; Amount of money spent by U.S. people on garbage and loan and leaf bags.

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.

Focuses on the negative reaction of advertising agency executives and industry experts to the decision of Subaru of America and Kia Motors America to select advertising agency AAR Partners. Value of the advertising contract awarded to the agency; Justification of the move issued by a Kia spokesman; Similarities of the automobile brands.

Comments on the 1984 presidential campaigns of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Influence of election campaigns on the business growth of political advertising agencies; Plans initiated for the Madison Avenue campaign; Budget spent for the creation of advertising spots.

Focuses on an office to be opened by Wieden & Kennedy in Shanghai, China to work on the advertising account of Nike. Appointment of Richard Hsu to corporate development of Wieden Shanghai; Amount spent by Nike on advertising in China in 2003.

Reports on the decision of Sharp Corp. to transfer its advertising account from Dentsu's Oasis unit to Dentsu shop Colby & Partners in Manhattan, New York. Global market share of Sharp in the sales of liquid crystal display televisions (LCD TV) in 2003; Growth of the wholesale market value for LCD TV in the U.S. in 2004; Plan of the company to boost marketing for its solar cell categories.

Reports on a contract awarded to advertising agency BBDO West by the California Lottery Commission. Terms of the deal; Reason behind the selection of BBDO; Other agencies that vied for the contract.

Presents an update on the telecommunication industry in the U.S., as of March 2004. Number of subscribers added to Verizon since November 2003; Comparison between the churn rate of T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless; Reason for the increase in the subscriber bases of carriers.