Out-of-home advertising is exploding in India, according to The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.). Billboard after billboard, sometimes overlapping, pitch everything from Unilever face cream to Fidelity mutual funds to Samsung televisions and the latest Bollywood blockbuster, "Shakalaka Boom Boom." As the economy booms, the billboard business is taking off, climbing more than 40% to 9.78 billion rupees ($239.9 …
Producer 776: Don Pedro Farm, La Guajira, Colombia
Treehugger points to a neat idea from Dole Organic. Organic banana consumers can learn more about the farms, and the people who work the farms where their produce was grown, by entering a three-digit code at Dole's website. One of the best things any marketer can do today is find the stories inside the brand that are waiting to be told, and then tell them in a compelling way. Dole's site lacks the kind of WOW factor …
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Mucho Dinero
Do you ever wonder why ad people show up for work everyday? Is it for the money? Or are we driven to make a contribution to the culture, however small? This L.A. Times story looks at another industry, one we need not ask such philosophical questions of. A report released Tuesday shows that Wall Street's elite are making more money than ever, with the 25 highest-paid hedge-fund managers averaging $570 million in …
MySpace Reality
The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.) is reporting on reality TV kingpin Mark Burnett's latest foray on the interwebs. MySpace.com and reality show producer Mark Burnett said today they will produce a political reality show that will appear on the social-networking site and also seek a network television slot. Dubbed "Independent," the reality series pits would-be politicians in a competition for a $1 million …
Stocking The Stream
Venture capitalist, Fred Wilson, explains his firm's latest investment and the business opportunity in internet radio. Streaming radio is very popular already. A recent comScore study reported the cumulative monthly audience of the top four online radio networks at 6.2mm US listeners. If you include all internet radio, that number is certainly well over 10mm montly listeners and could be larger than the subscriber …
Goodby Connects The Dots
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' hometown newspaper took a look at how the agency is busy transforming itself for the digital age. The story says the founders worried that their best days were behind them, but two years ago took steps to alter the agency's course. Goodby, 55, a Harvard graduate who describes himself on his office nameplate as co-founder, informal psychiatrist and father, said he had a career epiphany …
Stock Market Soars While Consumer Spending Tightens
According to Associated Press, consumer confidence is down. High gas prices, the specter of higher interest rates and faltering home sales have Americans worried. The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that sales of existing homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades. The group said that sales of existing homes fell by 8.4 percent in March, compared to February. It marked the …
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Radio By The Hour
The New York Times is reporting on an innovative move in the Dallas radio market, at a time when traditional radio is faced with increasing competition from satellite radio and iPods (which are often equipped for the car). Clear Channel Communications is trying something radically different at a commercial radio station in Texas: getting rid of the commercials. As of today, KZPS in Dallas — on the dial at 92.5 FM or …
