Brand Central Station

By: Andrew Eisner, Retrevo.com’s Director of Community and Content

Everyone is talking about the mobile Internet and how more and more consumers are browsing and using lots of apps anywhere they and their mobile phones happen to be. Are cell phone owners also becoming more comfortable buying things with their phones? If not, what would make them more likely to shop with their phones? This Retrevo Pulse Study looked at consumers and mobile commerce and found many willing shoppers ready to make purchases with their phones.

Consumers Are Warming to Mobile Commerce
In February of 2010, a Retrevo Pulse studyfound almost 10% of the respondents indicating they had purchased something with their cell phones. Four months later, with a different sample, that number had doubled to 20%. The bad news is that a little less than half the respondents have never purchased anything with their phone and have no plans to do so in the future. The better news is the 27% that haven’t bought anything yet but indicate they will in the future. That leaves about 20% who purchased something through their phone.

Apps Make Shopping Easier
Apps make everything so much easier and more fun, and that includes shopping. Retrevo found that nearly 42% of those who have shopped with their phones said they have used apps to make purchases. When we looked at gender and smartphone owners we weren’t surprised to see male mobile shoppers outnumbering females and iPhone owners leading the pack.

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Application Platform Enables Brands To Create a Custom Facebook Fan Page In Minutes At Minimal Cost

June 14, 2010 – Oakland, Calif. – Today, any brand can create an engaging, robust Facebook fan page within minutes and at a cost that is less than one tank of gas, with a new, disruptive platform launched by North Social (www.northsocial.com), an offshoot of Oakland-based Incubator North Venture Partners.

The powerfully simple suite of applications for Facebook enables any brand, big or small, to run viral social media-based promotions, upload photo showcases, create a unique landing page, connect to Twitter and Yelp, link to e-commerce sites, offer coupons and sweepstakes, and more. The North Social Facebook platform launches with fifteen applications, which can all be installed with a single user account, starting at only $29/month.

“Facebook has become the most powerful way for brands to reach their audience, but not every brand has the budget or technical expertise to harness its capabilities,” said Alex Bernstein, Partner, North Venture Partners. “We’re pleased to give brands, agencies and consultants simple tools that remove all obstacles to jumping into the social media revolution.”

The easy-to-use North Social Facebook platform allows any brand with a fan page to install all fifteen custom page applications within minutes. Each application comes with a control panel which allows the features and content on the page to be quickly customized by the user. This unique content management interface enables users to create, update, and manage multi-tab promotional pages at a fraction of the cost of what web developers typically charge to create a single static page.

To see the North Social applications in action, visit their website.

About North Venture Partners
North is a brand-centric incubator that builds, launches, and accelerates the growth of innovative brands, products, and spin out companies. To learn more about North and how they identify and capture disruptive growth opportunities, visit their corporate website.

News headlines for June 15, 2010 from The Daily Dog.  (Updated throughout the day.)

(from The Daily Dog)
Adam Ritchie Brand Direction Named Global Communications Agency for Nuna
Kodak Taps Catalyst to Launch KODAK i4000 Series Scanners
Warschawski Named the “Best Small Agency to Work For” in the U.S.
Westbound Communications Wins a Silver Anvil Award
Young & Rubicam Named Agency Network of the Year by the New York Festivals

New York City (June 14, 2010) -AdMedia Partners is pleased to announce that it acted as exclusive financial advisor in two recent transactions:

Denali Marketing, a fast-growing full-service marketing agency with a focus on loyalty, merged with OLSON, an independent, privately held agency. With the addition of Denali Marketing, OLSON is now one of the top 10 independent full-service marketing agencies in the United States, delivering one of the most comprehensive integrated offerings in the country. The merged companies are forming a new specialty discipline of OLSON called OLSONdenali. In an interview with the Star Tribune, OLSON founder and Chairman John Olson said, “The combined firm expects to do $50 million in revenue this year, up from Olson’s mid 30’s in 2009.” AdMedia advised Denali in this transaction.

Prior to this transaction, AdMedia advised OLSON in its partnership with KRG Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm. This partnership assisted in the recapitalization of OLSON, critical to the management’s plans for continued growth and completion of a successful merger with Denali Marketing. AdMedia advised OLSON in this transaction.

These back-to-back transactions underscore the ongoing growth opportunities for marketing services agencies, which are attracting both strategic and financial buyers, thereby creating attractive valuations for differentiated business models, demonstrated track records and strong financials.

AdMedia Partners is a leading M&A advisor that provides middle market mergers and acquisitions advisory services to digital and traditional media, marketing and information businesses. Founded in 1990 and located in New York City, our firm has completed over 175 transactions worth over $7 billion since 1999.

For more information on AdMedia Partners, look them up on the web at www.admediapartners.com.

(from Communintelligence)

When:  Thursday, June 24, 2010
Time:   2 – 3 pm EDT
Where:  Online
Cost:   $195

Webinar by David Grossman ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA and author of the new book, You Can’t Not Communicate.

Since you are always communicating – you might as well be great at it. This webinar is a unique opportunity to learn winning strategies you can use every day to differentiate yourself, elevate your leadership impact, and accelerate business results.

David Grossman will share practical insights, best practices, and proven tools to help communicators and top leaders differentiate themselves as LeaderCommunicators.

Learning topics:

• The three fundamental truisms every leader must understand
• Three myths leaders believe, and that every communicator must address head-on The most common traps leaders face The Great Eight communication basics; what great leaders do The five truths of two-way communication
• The top seven strategies for being a better listener

Register Now

Chicago (June 14, 2010)—Recent research from Mintel suggests that Hispanic women feel underrepresented in the beauty and personal care aisle. Over half of survey respondents said they would like to see more personal care products designed just for them and 64% would like more hair care products created specifically for Latinas.

“It can be a very daunting task for companies to hone in on the specific needs of their Hispanic customers,” says Leylha Ahuile, senior multicultural analyst at Mintel. “Latinas come in a variety of shades, so a wide range of products must be developed to cater to every pigment and hair type.”

Hispanic women are especially concerned with the box or bottle their favorite products come in. Eighty-one percent of Latinas surveyed report that they would like to see more personal care products with bilingual packaging. Younger Hispanic women are more inclined to express a desire for bilingual packaging than their older counterparts.

“Hispanic consumers often look at bilingual packaging as a way of being acknowledged and respected by a brand, not because they are unable to read English,” notes Leylha Ahuile. “The lack of Spanish-language packaging has the potential to make these women feel ignored by manufacturers.”

Latina women are younger than the average US female population, and 62% of the Hispanic female population has yet to enter their peak earning years (35+). As a result, Mintel believes Latina purchasing power is definitely on the rise.

Please join Leylha Ahuile for a FREE webinar on June 16 at 2 pm CDT as she presents, “Marketing to Today’s Latina.”

Register here: http://tinyurl.com/26ood6p

About Mintel
Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence. For more than 38 years, Mintel has provided insight into key worldwide trends, offering exclusive data and analysis that directly impacts client success. With offices in Chicago, New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai and Tokyo, Mintel has forged a unique reputation as a world-renowned business brand. For more information on Mintel, please visit www.mintel.com. Follow Mintel on Twitter:http://twitter.com/mintelnews

(from min)

When:  Tuesday, June 22
Where:  Online
Cost:  $329 per site

As you know, engagement isn’t just a strategy–it is a new way of maintaining and even creating brands. In this one-of-a-kind Webinar, min gathers winners of its own 2010 Most Engaged Media Brands Awards–among them Cyndi Stivers of Entertainment Weekly–to share their insights on the meaning of “engagement” and on the many ways they have successfully achieved it with their print, online and on-air audiences.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 22, at 1:30 P.M. EST, as we learn how the leading magazine brands are defining, pursuing and achieving this elusive concept of engagement during the min Webinar:
“Rules of Engagement: Secrets of the Most Engaged Media Brands.”

Take just 90 minutes out of your day to learn:

• How magazines are following their audiences into the live events and venues they care most about
• How the new channels of email, Twitter, Facebook and blogs can be used to maintain an intimate connection with audiences
• How magazines are leveraging the Internet to create focus groups and test new ideas for their editorial teams and even for their advertisers
• How media companies are defining engagement for themselves and their ad clients, and measuring success
• How bringing the audience into a publication deepens relationships with readers
• How sales teams are leveraging their brand’s user engagement with advertisers to create new experiences for the consumer
• How your Web site can be used to retain the audience you have and recruit new brand loyalists
• How emerging platforms, including mobile, out-of home, in-store presence and retail partnerships, can make your brand a constant companion for your audience

For more information and to register, go to www.minonline.com/training/webinar-Engagement.html. Don’t forget, if you register by this Friday, June 18, you will receive a $15 Starbucks Gift Card!

I hope you’ll be able to attend. If you have any questions or need further information, contact Steve Goldstein, min’s Group Editorial Director directly.

(from Bulldog Reporter)

When:  Thursday, June 17
Where:  Teleconference
Cost:  $99 per registrant

No one needs to tell you that the economy is picking up speed again—with consumers opening up their wallets as they haven’t done in several years. The upshot is that this coming holiday season promises to be a boon … if you can get your product or service in front of product review and gift guide editors now. After all, the early bird gets the media hit when it comes to gift guides—and many outlets are doing their seasonal planning right now. It’s the same for summer wedding gift guides, Valentine’s Day gift guides, Mother’s and Father’s Day gift guides,graduation gift guides and so on.

So what are the new consumer triggers that drive Americans to buy now? What are the new editorial hot buttons that gatekeepers at the nation’s top gift guides require when it comes to products and goods they’ll cover? And how can you get your product or service out in front of them before the competition does? To learn the answers and win a spot for your gift when and where it counts most, join Bulldog Reporter’s PR University for a behind the scenes look at thesecrets of scoring valuable coverage in the nation’s top gift guides—from the very editorial gatekeepers who decide what runs and what doesn’t. They’ll outline what they’re looking for now, this year’s hottest items, the latest consumer buying behaviors and trends—and how public relations can position items for optimal product placement in front of millions of shoppers this promising turnaround year.

What You Will Learn

• The New Consumer Mindset: What cautious consumers and the value-seeking public want now in holiday gifts and products—and from the products coverage they trust
• 2010 & 2011 Editorial Hot Buttons: The gadgets, goods, gear andtop shopping trends editors will be covering this holiday season as the economy gathers steam—and how to emphasize these pegs in your media outreach
• How top holiday gift guides differ in scope and mission—and how to use these insights to get products reviewed in today’s changing media environment
• Early-Bird Techniques: Best ways to pitch embargoed products, negotiate exclusive first looks and manage beta runs months in advance
• Pitching product blogs and websites: How online gift guides differ from their print counterparts—and how to provide multimedia toboost your digital footprint
• Cost-Cutting Tips: Easy ways to get product in the right editor’s hands without wasting time and money on blanket campaigns
• Packaging, pitches and press kits that grabs editors’ attentionevery time
• New Product Protocols: What journalists can (and can’t) receive and how they prefer to receive mailed items and seasonal gifts
• How JPEGs, graphics and four-color artwork can help you edge out the competition for valuable editorial real estate
• Why freelancers could be your back door to coverage … and how to use them as allies when pitching seasonal products to top editors
• How smaller concerns can earn more holiday coverage than corporate giants with deeper pockets (and resources)
• Social Media Update: How these media outlets use social media to source and seek product to cover—plus how you can use tools like Twitter to build relationships with them and even pitch items for them cover
• Advanced Media Relations: How the best PR pros have gained the ear—and trust—of these editorial gatekeepers—and how you can do the same

This seminar is offered as part of Bulldog Reporter’s PR University.  Register Now to make sure you have a spot!

News headlines for June 4, 2010 from World Trade Magazine, mediabistro.com and The Daily Dog. (Updated throughout the day.)

(from World Trade Magazine)

Europe Debt Crisis Crimping U.S. Exports
EU to Offer Free Trade to Palestinians
Germany’s Green Tax Angers Airlines
Russia Seeks Closer Trade Ties With Germany

(from mediabistro.com)

Getting It Wrong: The FTC And Policies for the Future of Journalism (The Media Business)
Shift to Charging for Online News Inevitable, Dow Jones Chief Says (The Japan Times)
New York Times to Expand DealBook Blog (WSJ)
For The Washington Post, Anonymous Sources Remain a Problem (WaPo)
Once Just a Site With Funny Cat Pictures, Now a Web Empire (NYT)

(from The Daily Dog)

Tylenol Maker’s Image Problems, Stemming from Massive Recall, Get Worse…
London Mayor Steps Up in Defense of BP …
McDonald’s Does the Right Thing By Recalling Toxic “Shrek” Drinking Glasses, But No One Seems to Know …

“Free Speech” can be a tricky thing … especially for journalists. And Helen Thomas, the esteemed columnust for Hearst Newspapers and long-time fixture in the White House Press Room found out today that saying what’s on her mind – even if it’s her right to do so – can come with a price.

Whether you agree with Ms. Thomas’ opinion that Jews in Isreal should “get the hell out of Palestine” or not, what’s important to note here is that controversial opinions like these carry both implied and real consequences when they’re utterred in a public forum and captured for re-broadcast via YouTube, CNN, FOX and scores of other news and non-news venues.

The firestorm resulting from Ms. Thomas’ comments and weak-kneed apology are understandably political and, in many cases, incindeary bombs of their own. But it’s the reaction from her agent and both the White House Correspondents Association and Hearst Corporation that really left no choices for Ms. Thomas other than immediate retirement.

On Sunday, Ms. Thomas’ agent, Nine Speakers, Inc. dropped her and her writing partner, Craig Crawford (who co-authored “Listen Up, Mr. President” with Thomas) annoucned he would no longer work with her.

The respect Ms. Thomas earned over fifty years of working the White House didn’t provide enough cover for the 89 year-old journalist’s bombshell with her peers, either. The WH Correspondents Association announced a special meeting on Thursday which, in all likelihood, would have resulted in Ms. Thomas’ demotion from the front row in the WH Briefing Room – a seat she has occupied for decades.

The entire kerfuffle put Hearst in a position where it could do almost nothing to help. The immediate retirement is, in all likelihood, the best way to extinguish the problem before it becomes a longer-term problem for Ms. Thomas and Hearst.

So, what’s the problem?
Ms. Thomas’ opinions, no matter how outrageous, are certainly protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. But the nature of the comments, and the way they were delivered, cast a shadow on the credibility and “assumed” relative objectivity of her analysis as an opinion columnist and member of the White House press corps. Certainly the standards of objectivity are relaxed for a columnist – but as the ONLY columnist with a seat in the White House briefing room, Ms. Thomas had a higher standard to meet.

Ironically, it’s a standard that she set as a leading member of the press corps for the past five decades.

Political backlash aside, there was really nothing else Hearst could do but accelerate Ms. Thomas’ retirement and hope that this will all blow over leaving nothing but charming memories of an “institution” of the White House beat.

Welcome to the regular world, Helen. Your First Amendment rights are still protected – but now you’ll get paid for your opinion at the same rate the rest of us do. Zip.

What do you think is next for Helen Thomas?

News headlines for June 4, 2010 from The Daily Dog and mediabistro.com. (Updated throughout the day.)

(from The Daily Dog)
Apple Expected to Announce Next-Gen iPhone Today …
As Clean-Up Costs Mount, BP Assures Public It is a “Responsible Company” …
Goldman Staffers Want Firm to Create a Consumer-Focused Retail Bank …

(from mediabistro.com)
New York Times Won’t Sue Wall Street Journal After All (NY Observer)
Vivek Shah Buys Ziff Davis Media (Folio:)
Changing The Course At Newsweek (NYT)
Bernie Madoff: Pleasantries From Prison (Village Voice / Runnin’ Scared)
The End Of ‘The World’, As Its Journalists Know It, Is Nigh (The Independent)
Yahoo And HuffPo Talk Collaboration (TechCrunch)
Top Five 1st Qtr. Group Pubs: Time Inc. Is ‘In Style’ (minOnline)
Other Voices: What Exactly Is a Blog? (NYT)
The Future Of News: Not So Bleak, Not So Rosy (PBS / MediaShift Idea Lab)
Nielsen Owners Seek $1.75B In IPO (Folio:)
It’s Easy Being Green: Introducing Country Living‘s House Of The Year (FishbowlNY)
Catherine Mathis Writes a Letter To The Times (NY Observer)
The Impact Of Ads (Monday Note)
Ten Questions With @BPGlobalPR (AdAge)
British Newspaper Times & Citizen Has Given Up on Writing Headlines Entirely (Gawker)

In a recent post on B2B Magazine’s web site, Stephen Brill, L. Gordon Crovitz and Leo Hindery announced the launch of Journalism Online, a company designed to help newspapers, magazines and other media get paid for content distributed online.

And publishers of every print media could use the help.  Magazine revenue dropped nearly 25% this past quarter. Newspaper and other medias are down big, too.

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