Sex in Advertising pt. 10…”Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch: Pioneers or Perverts?”

Pushing the envelope seems to be the main objective in advertising today. Although using shocking, and sometimes explicit material to draw attention is not a new fad, it has however become a rising trend upon multiple advertising agencies today. With each year, ad campaigns have become continuously more risqué, each jumping upon the sexual campaigning [...]

Sex in Advertising pt 9: Does it Sell?

We’re surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention. Everywhere we look, we find ourselves inevitably drawn to images of scantily clad attractive men and women that are supposed to somehow inspire us to purchase products they endorse. Sure, this attention-getting strategy is popular. But, is it effective? (read more)

Radio Revival?

In the iTunes era, there’s no question that digital music reigns supreme. In the coming years, who knows? Even the most astute industry experts can’t predict what medium or business model will dominate, but that hasn’t stopped bloggers from combing through a recent spate of audio-related announcements to discern the next big trends. (read more)

U.S. newspaper circulation falls again

U.S. newspapers continued to lose subscribers in recent months as readers increasingly turned to online news sources and price increases scared off cost-conscious consumers. The average weekday circulation of the nearly 400 daily papers that reported sales slid 10.6% to 30.4 million from April to September compared with the same six-month period in 2008, the [...]

Insights Into Holiday Spending in Stores and on Web Sites

Findings in a new study from Burst Media outline four insights into spending trends by consumers this holiday season. Insight #1: Spending Trends Slightly Downward One third (32.7%) of respondents expect to spend less on gifts and entertaining this holiday season compared to 2008, and almost the same number (30.1%) expect to spend about the [...]

Kohl’s Steps Up Marketing for Anticipated Brutal Holiday Season

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Kohl’s is ramping up its radio, digital media and direct-mail marketing programs this year, as it looks to compete in what is expected to be another rough holiday for retailers. (read more)

Flat is the New Up

Despite increased optimism about the economy, the social media landscape indicates that we are in a similar place to where we were this time last year when it comes to spending; buzz about Christmas and holiday shopping is down 3% year-over-year. This activity is in line with other research at Nielsen relative toretail expectations and [...]

Faux Frugality: Are Consumers Really Any Different?

While much has been made of America’s newfound thriftiness, a new study suggests that shoppers are less focused on price than most marketers think. (read more)

Black Friday: How Much Will It Matter?

In some ways, there’s something comforting about the way retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, that make-or-break kickoff to the holiday season. Stores like Target are already shoving aisles of Christmas items in between the Halloween costumes. And advertising circulars are already being leaked to deal-finding websites, creating a buzz retailers count on to [...]

Look Before You Leap at Change

Change is hard to deal with. Just thinking of the word can conjure visceral reactions and the expectation of difficulties, resistance, anger, betrayal, shock and misfortune. But hesitating before you implement a change isn’t necessarily bad. When problems occur in business, the most adaptable entrepreneurs jump at the opportunity to make a change. Occasionally, though, they leap [...]