US Spending on paid social network advertising is forecast to reach $1.3 billion in 2010, a 7.1% increase from the estimate of $1.2 billion for 2009末but a decline of 4 percentage points as a share of worldwide spending, according to research from eMarketer. more

The hottest trend in brand marketing right now is the very thing that has fueled traditional advertising's ongoing evolution: Brands are bypassing traditional media outlets in favor of creating their own private media platforms. That's right, brands are becoming the media. more

There's no question that online video is fast becoming a favorite of Internet users around the world. But the hit-or-miss nature of viral video, the brand quality considerations of user-generated content, and the general disdain for television commercials online have left marketers wondering, "How do I make video work for ... more

Though US online advertising is forecast to decline 4.6% in 2009末the first drop since 2002末the recovering economy, combined with basic structural changes in how marketers and the public use media, will lead to growth in early 2010, according to eMarketer. more

According to research from SEMPO, more than 64 million US wireless subscribers surfed the mobile Internet in May 2009—almost twice as many as in the previous year. That accounts for more than 20% of the total US population, 28% of US wireless subscribers, and more than 40% of desktop Internet ... more

Finally, a barcode-scanning app that works like a charm. For a mere $1.99 at the App Store, RedLaser, an application developed by Occipital, turns any iPhone into a functional barcode scanner. All you have to do is open the app and snap a still picture of a product's barcode. Once ... more

Traffic to retail sites surged in November as Americans began their online holiday shopping, according to comScore. Motivated by free shipping, price cuts, and discounts, consumers drove high traffic volume to online coupon and incentive sites as shoppers scoured the Web for money-saving opportunities. more

US adults spent an average of 13 hours a week online in 2009, off slightly from last year, when average weekly online use was 14 hours, according to a poll by Harris Interactive. However, usage varies greatly: 20% of adult Internet users are online for only two hours or less ... more

Sir John Hegarty, the man behind the Levi's jeans and Lynx deodorant ads, once claimed, "Music is 50% of an ad's success." Yet even today very few metrics are regularly applied within the planning and creative processes to measure the value of music and sound to a brand's marketing. more

The television industry will close out 2009—a year dominated by shifting advertising budgets and a poor economy—with lower-than-expected revenues of $15.6 billion, a 22.4% decline from 2008, according to BIA/Kelsey. more

As the decade draws to a close, only 27% of Americans have positive things to say about the past 10 years and 50% say they have generally negative feelings about them, according to Pew Research. The Internet, email, and cell phones, however, are viewed by many consumers as a ... more

In a recent post at the Retail Email blog, Chad White highlights a host of interesting takeaways from this month's Winter Email Insider Summit. Among them are some hot email marketing tactics you may want to consider implementing, such as these: Give email credit where credit is due. "By withholding emails and monitoring sales," ... more

Awareness for Google's Android operating system is gaining momentum in the US as 17% of consumers in the market for a smartphone say they plan to buy an Android-supported device in the next three months, compared with 20% who plan to buy an iPhone, according to a study from comScore. more

US consumers who own electronic book readers are more likely than other adults to be well-educated and have high incomes, according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI). They are also far more likely to be heavy mobile Internet users. more

As a B2B company, you may never air a 15-second message on NPR. But distilling your company description to its essence is a powerful goal. It will force you to jettison the jargon and superlatives. And your message will resonate all the more with prospects. more

Major search engines now have their own image-search functions that provide image-search listings in regular Web-search results, writes Pandia Search Engine News in a recent article. And although searchers may have different reasons for using image-search engines, all of those searchers may be potential customers, subscribers, or readers. So, if ... more

"I know I have said it a million times in speeches, articles and in person," writes Dylan Boyd at The Email Wars blog, "but telling someone 'thanks' is one of the best things that you can ever do for your email campaigns." He was particularly impressed by the follow-up he received ... more

You wouldn't add random people to your email list without their permission—you know better than that—but perhaps you're willing to take liberties with the email addresses of prominent bloggers like Chris Brogan. After all, you might reason, if he likes what he sees, he might forgive the spam you sent—and share the ... more

The smartphone market will climb to 37% of global handset sales in 2014, expanding from 16% of market share in 2009 to 37% in 2014, with emerging markets driving the growth, according to Pyramid Research. more

The consumption of media among the Chinese末and the influence that media exerts on Chinese purchasing behavior末is significantly different from what it is for American consumers, according to ProsperChina.com and BIGresearch. Chinese consumers are also educated about Western brands and tend to be selective in their purchases. more

Small business owners are planning to engage customers in new ways in 2010, according to an Ad-ology Research study: 28% say they will spend at least the same or more on online video, an increase of 75% over last year's plans; 25% say they will commit more resources to social ... more

"[T]here is altogether too much guessing and not enough proving in email marketing," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fox blog. "With inboxes overflowing, subscriber fatigue growing and competition from social networks increasing, it's no longer enough to broadcast out your best guess as to what ... more

Consumers are asking for three features when they buy their next cell phone, including better connectivity, better audio, and simplicity, according to a survey by In-Stat. more

When McDonald's launched its specialty coffees earlier this year, its banner ads inviting consumers to "McCafé Your Day" were all over the Web. Great branding, but does such online advertising send customers to local establishments? The short answer: When combined with search, it does! According to Christa Hoyland, editor of QSR Web, Google research ... more

If there's anything Second Life has taught us, it's that people like having a place to come back to—a virtual hideaway where you're always well-coiffed and surrounded by friends, and everybody knows your (avatar's) name. Well, here's some good news for mobile marketers: virtual living just got a whole lot ... more