Art & Commerce: 3rd Time's a Trend†

Adweek, November 5, 2007 — Spotting trends is big business. Spotting trends when they're right on the cusp is bigger business still. The trick is to be first to market when there's a big enough market to matter. Hitting this moving target gets harder every year as consumer needs evolve at an ever-accelerating pace and the technological tools for spreading trends makes them ever more contagious.

To Sharpen Nike's Edge, CEO Taps 'Influencers'†

House Built by Athletes Hires a Tattoo Artist; Mr. Parker and the Twins

Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2007 — Nike's iconic co-founder Philip H. Knight built the company by sealing endorsement deals with sports heroes such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. But under current Chief Executive Mark Parker, Nike is also depending on lesser-known figures — like a Los Angeles tattoo artist known as Mister Cartoon.

ANA Confab Seeks To Define, Illuminate Integration

MediaPost Publications, June 15, 2007 — BREAKING DOWN SILOS WITHIN AN agency's communications disciplines means nothing if marketers don't understand that "consumers are driving the bus, and none of us anticipated how fast it has changed," Bill Gray, co-CEO of Ogilvy, told a roomful of them Thursday. "You have to think like friend and foe," Gray said at the ANA's Masters of Integrated Marketing event in New York. "It's 5D tic tac toe with the lights out."

Google to Show Daily List of Hot Topics

Associated Press, May 22, 2007 — Google Inc. is going to start sharing more insights about what's on its users' minds by showing a daily list of the 100 hottest topics on its Internet-leading search engine. The new rankings will be unveiled late Monday in an upgrade of Google's "trends" service. The breakdown will consist of the fastest-rising search requests on any given day.

Internet Captures Half of Spare Time

Broadband users make online time a priority

eMarketer, May 15, 2007 — Broadband users spend almost half their spare time in a typical weekday online, according to Media-Screen's "Netpop|Play" report. A copy of the study provided to eMarketer stated that the average broadband user spent an hour and 40 minutes of her typical weekday spare time online.

Teens and Young Adults Spread the Word

Want to promote something? Enlist a Millennial.

eMarketer, May 15, 2007 — Call them Gen Y or Millennials or just "people ages 13-24." Whatever the name, this group spreads the word quickly on things it likes and enjoys user-generated content, according to the "State of the Media Democracy" report commissioned by Deloitte & Touche and conducted by Harrison Group.

BBDO: Successful Brands Become Hard Habit For Consumers To Break

MediaPost Publications, May 14, 2007 — A NEW STUDY BY OMNICOM'S BBDO Worldwide suggests that injecting your brands into the rituals that define people is critical to making them an immutable part of consumer shopping lists. BBDO's study, with the gothic title "The Ritual Masters," defines rituals as actions that "move people emotionally from one place to another." It deems brands that are embedded in rituals "Fortress Brands" because once ensconced in peoples' ritual lives--brushing teeth, buying a beer, or shaving, for example--people are unlikely to remove them.

Brands Must Adapt to Shifting Media Habits of Users

Marketing Charts, May 14, 2007 — Broadband users now spend 48% (about one hour and 40 minutes) of their spare time online during a typical weekday, and some 54% (54 minutes) of that online time is spent accessing activities related to entertainment and communication, according to a new report, titled “Netpop | Play,” by research firm Media-Screen.

Is Crucial Daypart Finally Past Its Prime?†

Megabillion TV Jackpot Is Evolving Into Big Events (Sports, 'Idol') Vs. Time-Shifted on Demand (Everything Else)

Advertising Age, May 10, 2007 — Prime time used to be "appointment television" time. Problem is that these days many viewers, especially the younger generation, are skipping their appointments. Sure, Fox continues to break records with "American Idol," logging 70 million votes for its contestants in mid-April. And no network would consign the Super Bowl or Academy Awards, the top two live TV events, to any other daypart.

Besides Television How is Content Viewed

KenRadio, May 8, 2007 — According to a new study by E-Poll, which focused on the viewing of video content, showed the youth are leading the way, with 26% of males 13-34 frequent viewers of video on devices other than a TV. Teens are by far the most prevalent users of mobile video devices such as iPods and cell phones. The proliferation of user-generated content and expanding viewing platforms makes for a dizzying array of viewing choices. The study of consumers 13+, to see what they are doing with this freedom to choose, found that among those that view video content away from the TV the desktop computer had 75% of the group.