By S. A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative in Nashville, Tennessee,

Roughly 86% of respondents in a survey conducted by Locomotion Creative in Nashville say they expect social media to impact the way companies do business and generate sales. Additionally, 64% believe their competitors are probably incorporating social media into their strategic plans.
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by Sarah Crawley-Boevey, Brand Republic.

Mobile marketing is set to take off as major brands look to invest in the platform over the next five years, according to an independent survey commissioned by O2.

The survey shows brands will have increased their spend on mobile marketing by 150% come 2013 and do not anticipate any impact on budgets as a result of the economic downturn.

The survey, which was carried out by Vanson Bourne in May this year and included marketing and IT directors at 100 leading brands, also found that the personalised nature of mobile marketing campaigns means they generate a higher response rate than traditional advertising.

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by Rich Sutcliffe, Media Week

Join Media Week editor Steve Barrett and news editor Tristan O’Carroll as they discuss the effect of the financial crisis on media with Google’s Mark Howe, ZenithOptimedia’s Steve King, the IPA’s Moray MacLennan and other leading names from the industry.

Click here to go to the download link.

Interesting article relating to the use of communication and digital technology used to support the race for the presidential election written by Andrew Mernin, The Journal and Herb Kim, Codeworks, the North East’s Centre for Digital Excellence.

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Pizza Hut’s plan to temporarily change the name of some of its restaurants to Pasta Hut has been roundly condemned by branding experts.

The switch, announced by Pizza Hut this week, is intended to flag up its revamped pasta menu, supported by an ad campaign created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. It is likely, however, that the Pizza Hut name will be reinstated at the 30 outlets after the year-long drive.

by Gemma Charles, Marketing, Brand Republic.

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Back in the 1950s, the advertising agency JWT had a client, Kraft, that wanted to sell more processed cheese. But rather than create an ad campaign that told people that cheese tastes great, or is good for them, JWT invented the cheeseburger.

By Michael Nutley, editor-in-chief of NMA (Original Article)

At least, that’s the story. And there are other examples of this kind of agency thinking; JWT again, tasked with selling more high quality flour, invented the Mr Kipling brand and sold the flour in the form of cakes.

Sometime between then and now, the advertising industry changed. It went from being the preserve of generalists who solved their clients’ business problems, to specialists who made ads. But in the digital sector at least, that’s changing.

This was one of the key themes that emerged as I was working on the introduction to NMA’s Top 100 Interactive Agencies guide, published on 27.09.07. Agency heads across the spectrum of creative and media talked about clients asking for a different kind of work.

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