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How LendingTree Plans to Rebrand in Tough Environment for Financial Cos.

bbulik@adage.com(Beth Snyder Bulik) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:59 EDT

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- Online lending pioneer LendingTree has weathered a tough couple of years in the mortgage and real-estate industry. But now the business, whose parent Tree.com spun off from IAC last year, is gearing up for a rebrand and a renewed marketing effort.

Inside Seth Godin's Blogging Philosophy

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:50 EDT

Let's face it. Seth Godin's blog is a wondrous thing. It's consistently No. 1 or No. 2 on the Ad Age Power 150. More important, it's pure insight. At least once a day, every day, there's a little homily on marketing, or brands, or quality, or something else that makes you say "that's right" or even "that's wrong" -- but something that's worth your time. I am hoping you can learn by observing some of what he does. So here goes: an e-mail interview with Seth Godin about blogging.

Diabetes Drug Maker Cautiously Enters Branded-Twitter Space

mmiley@adage.com(Marissa Miley) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:12 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Scrutiny of direct-to-consumer advertising from the Food and Drug Administration may be heightening, but that has not deterred one pharmaceutical company from trying something new for the industry: a branded Twitter page.

Magna Forecast: U.S. Ad Economy to Drop 14.5% This Year

mbush@adage.com(Michael Bush) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:04 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In his first forecast as the new global director of forecasting for Interpublic Group of Cos.' Magna, Brian Wieser came bearing a new methodology and some bad news.

Is Bob Lutz the Right Guy to Run GM's Marketing?

jhalliday@adage.com(Jean Halliday) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- The question being bandied about in advertising circles is whether that vast experience could work against Bob Lutz in an age in which selling cars is increasingly about amplifying peer-to-peer recommendations and data-driven direct marketing and less about the mass-market commercials that have long been the mainstay of most of GM's brands.

Pandora Set to Expand Thanks to New Royalty Ruling

ahampp@adage.com(Andrew Hampp) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:01 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Less than a year ago, the fate of Pandora, a streaming radio site that reaches 30 million registered users and attracts 4 million unique listeners a month, was in Congress' hands. But the July 7 ruling of the revised internet-radio royalty act not only reduces Pandora's fees greatly but it also gives the company the chance to focus on its attempts to become the biggest alternative to traditional radio on the web.

Social Media Allows Giants to Exploit Niche Markets

eyork@adage.com(Emily Bryson York) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The package-goods model has always been a no-brainer: Create a mass-appeal product; distribute it nationally; stoke demand with big-budget, shotgun-style advertising to spray the widest possible market; and hope sales hit the magical $100 million first-year benchmark. But that traditional model is evolving at major marketers such as General Mills.

Package-Goods Giants Lean on Agencies for Cuts

jneff@adage.com(Jack Neff) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The deepest recession in a generation is prompting package-goods marketers to pile more pressure on agencies, pushing them for ways to slash marketing-services costs.

BK Will Forgo Sex in Exchange for Cheeseburger

eyork@adage.com(Emily Bryson York) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:10 EDT

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Burger King Corp. let franchisees have it their way -- as long as they were willing to vote for corporate's way.

How Spongebob Became an $8 Billion Franchise

ahampp@adage.com(Andrew Hampp) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Beyond just TV longevity, SpongeBob SquarePants has grown into a nearly $8 billion-dollar-a-year property at retail for Nickelodeon, with more than 700 license partners worldwide, making it the most widely distributed franchise in MTV Networks history, hands -- or pants, as it were -- down.

Age of the Celeb Spokesperson Comes to an End

jmullman@adage.com(Jeremy Mullman) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- They don't make celebrity spokespeople like Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon anymore. In fact, they can't.

Shops Give Away the Shop as Recession Buster

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The government isn't the only one handing out controversial bailouts amidst the recession -- marketers can now turn to adland, too.

Euro Named Agency of Record for Flagship Heineken Brands

jmullman@adage.com(Jeremy Mullman) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:34 EDT

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Heineken USA has named Euro RSCG, New York, its agency of record for its flagship lager brands.

TracyLocke Brings in Gier as Adviser

rparekh@adage.com(Rupal Parekh) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Longtime food and beverage marketer Randy Gier has made the leap to the agency side. He has been hired by Omnicom Group's TracyLocke to serve in a newly created role as adviser to the office of the CEO.

Tiny Startup Challenges ITunes With Ad Campaign

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- Microsoft's not the only marketer whose advertising has Apple in its crosshairs. A tiny upstart named DoubleTwist is gunning for Apple's iTunes has started going after the brand.

Razorfish Suitors May Have to Offer More Than Dollars

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- There are a lot of players talking to Microsoft about Razorfish, among them Publicis, Dentsu, WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic and AKQA's private-equity investor, General Atlantic. But to best the field, the winning suitor will likely have to fork over more than money to the agency's owner, which is looking for "strategic assets," such as a commitment to buy its advertising offerings or use its technologies.

Facebook Turns Focus Group With Splenda Product-Sampling App

nzmuda@adage.com(Natalie Zmuda) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Marketers looking to launch a new food product might peddle freebies at grocery stores, embrace street sampling or organize focus groups. Splenda instead turned to Facebook.

Riding on 'Mad Men's' Stylish Coat Tails

ahampp@adage.com(Andrew Hampp) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:25 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Since its season two finale in October 2008, AMC's "Mad Men" has achieved some significant cultural milestones, from star Jon Hamm's hosting of "Saturday Night Live" to a "Simpsons" parody to its key role in the resurgence of 1960s chic. It's no surprise, then, that marketers are lining up to associate themselves with the "Mad Men" franchise in advance of the show's third season.

Your Phone as Computer Mouse for an Interactive World

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:00 EDT

As branded apps go the way of the microsite, this emerging mobile technology of augmented reality will open new doors for marketers.

Can Early Hype Benefit New TV Shows Come Fall?

bsteinberg@adage.com(Brian Steinberg) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:14 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Can you interest a TV viewer in a new fall show when he or she is wholly immersed in the activities of early summer -- or, more removed still, enjoying older programs in the late spring? TV networks are trying to determine whether promoting new shows earlier can bring them bigger audiences come September and October.

Scripted Comedy Central Series to Feature Live Commercials

ahampp@adage.com(Andrew Hampp) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:05 EDT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Collectively, comedians Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter have written for and starred in enough canceled sketch shows for Comedy Central ("Stella," "Viva Variety") and sibling MTV ("The State") to know what keeps a show on the air these days. That's why advertisers will be playing a key role in the Michaels' latest Comedy Central venture, "Michael & Michael Have Issues," premiering July 15.

Morgan Sees Opportunity in Pressure to Recover

rchang@adage.com(Rita Chang) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00 EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- Bill Morgan is under great pressure these days. As senior VP-corporate marketing for Sprint Nextel, he heads marketing for the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier that, since 2005, has been mired in technical and customer-service problems. In an interview with Ad Age, Mr. Morgan defends Sprint's progress.

Clients, Let Agencies Be Part of the Hiring Process

editor@adage.com(Brian Brooker) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:22 EDT

Attract and retain customers. That's what advertising agencies get paid to do. But since the economy took a tumble, everything changed. Today, clients should be asking more of their agencies. The key to getting more output is letting your ad agency play a bigger role in all aspects of the organization that impact the customer experience. Let's start with your employees.

TIE Recruits Ad Pros for Projects in Developing Countries

ehall@adage.com(Emma Hall) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:39 EDT

Philippa White, founder of The International Exchange, believes the most effective way to help others is to apply the skills you use every day to a community that needs it. Fed up with apologizing for her career in the advertising industry, in 2006 she started setting up TIE, which works with ad agencies to send ad professionals into developing countries to work in situations where they can make a difference.