Brits spend millions online on Christmas Day

While many of us were languishing in front of the television, digesting the excesses of a Christmas dinner, many in Britain were logged on and doing some Christmas Day shopping, reports IMRG. >>

Research

Small-business owners favor referrals over mass marketing

While the vast majority of small-business owners are concerned about the current economy, this isn't putting over a quarter of them off spending on more advertising in the coming year, according to a report from Ad-ology Research. >>

Blogs & Content

OPA: Ads are more influential on premium content sites

Don't expect your randomly placed ad to have a huge impact on sales conversions. According to a new report from the Online Publishers Association the effectiveness scores for ads placed on premium content sites were significantly higher than ads placed randomly around the Internet. >>

Research

Report: Television, Print lead kids online

Forget about word-of-mouth recommendations. Kids aren't going to their favorite online haunts because a friend told them to; they are going online because of television and print ads. New research from Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) found that nearly 50% of kids are influenced to visit an online site because of an offline ad. >>

Mobile Marketing

Microsoft, Verizon partner for mobile search

Verizon Wireless has struck a deal with Microsoft for mobile search; according to the deal Microsoft will be the default mobile search provider for Verizon phones. The deal will help Microsoft as they battle search giant Google for a bigger piece of the mobile search pie. >>

Research

Geriatrics gear up with gadgets

A new joint study from the Consumer Electronics Association and TNS Compete discovered that age is no barrier when it comes to tweeting, searching and texting. >>

Mobile Marketing

Brand marketers embrace mobile apps

Brand marketers are embracing the brave new mobile world and plunging consumers into branded environments that are far more interactive and viral than bland WAP banners and location-based text ads. >>

Blogs & Content

Will Yangaroo's US patent give content distributors more control?

It very well could. Yangaroo's 'Content Distribution System and Method' patent (United States Patent Application #10/431,854) has been allowed by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent is said to give content distributors the ability to select who can view their content. >>

Mobile Marketing

Forecast: Mobile broadband to triple by 2013

The latest forecast from Parks Associates suggests that US mobile broadband subscribers will more than triple by 2013; growth from 46 million in 2008 to more than 140 million subscribers in 2013. In the same time period researchers suggest that the sale of Smartphones will increase to more than 60 million. >>

Email Marketing

How to craft a great welcome message

Despite the abundance of email marketing best practices, some email marketers are still falling short in customer expectations - especially with the welcome letter. Here are a few tips to create a great welcome letter and make that welcome letter mesh with later communications to enhance brandability. >>