US Retail sales drops 1,2% in May

That is the biggest post-recession drop....



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US Retail sales drops 1,2% in May

Scented billboard

In Mooresville, NC, a billboard has been erected that, during certain periods, emits the smell of grilling steak, that according to ScentAir (the company that deisgned the solution) smells like “a blend of black pepper and kind of a charcoal grilling smell…It smells like grilled meat with a nice pepper rub on it.”

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Scented billboard

China´s first human media network

"By now, we all know that we live in a world in which word-of-mouth rules. The recommendation of a friend or family member outweighs anything a brand may have to say for itself.

As a result, marketers from around the world are racing to measure the degree in which their customers, and the market at large, is likely to recommend them. And, more importantly, what they should do to be more liked in the social media space that is called my kitchen. "

Read the full story here.o

China´s first human media network

Five Women to Watch

These Execs Share Their Thoughts on What Helped Make Them Successful and What Challenges They Face

Tara Comonte, chief operating officer-chief financial officer, Mediabrands




Lauren Hobart, CMO-sparkling brands, PepsiCo




Kathy O'Brien, VP-personal care marketing for North America, Unilever




Maureen Sullivan, senior VP-brand and marketing partnerships, AOL




Beth Waxman Arteta, group business director, JWT, New York

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Five Women to Watch

Introducing the Microsoft Tag

QR-codes have been around for a while now. Last week Microsoft launched the Microsoft Tag. Tags can do more than just open a website. They are smaller, can be read faster, you can decide how they should look and as a tagowner, you have access to data about how many times it has been used.

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Introducing the Microsoft Tag

The future of Retail!

PSFK presents Future of Retail report

View more presentations from PSFK.

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The future of Retail!

Study Reveals Shift as Social Networks become “Social Entertainment”

A recent study by Edelman, shows the evolution of internet as a source for entertainment. The study shows that the internet and social media networks have risen dramatically in importance as entertainment, and the implications are numeral.

-The fast changes makes it necessary to monitor the development constantly
-The interactivity of the media is likely to redefine the very meaning of entertainment (as social media will do to the term "beeing social")
-Another relevant question is: How can brands be more entertaining on the web as the entertainment factor will be more important than the information factor.
-The escapismfactor of the internet gaming, media intense and graphic engineered world should be taken into consideration in offline activities to make those more effective and aligned with web presence.

From Edelman and Adweek:

"
■ When asked “What sources of entertainment do you turn to most often?” 32 percent of U.S. respondents cited the Internet
■ That put it second only to TV (58 percent), with movies (28 percent), radio (17 percent) and music/CDs (14 percent) each drawing fewer votes
■ When asked whether they “consider social-networking sites to be a form of entertainment,” 58 percent said they do, vs. 36 percent saying they don’t and the rest unsure
■ Among 18-24-year-olds, 73 percent classified social networking sites as an entertainment source
■ When asked about whether a half-dozen entertainment sources “provide excellent, very good, good, fair or poor value in entertainment”, the highest excellent/very good vote (40 percent) went to “social networking sites”
■ Social networking sites were ranked ahead head of “film producers/movie studios” (37 percent), “music companies” (34 percent), “gaming companies” (32 percent), “cable television providers” (32 percent) and “satellite television providers” (31 percent) in terms of their entertainment value"

and further

"
■ Eighty-seven percent rated “my personal enjoyment of the entertainment” as extremely or somewhat important, putting it atop the hierarchy of considerations
■ Close behind were “excellent visual or sound quality of the entertainment” (86 percent), “being able to purchase the entertainment easily” (83 percent), “the hours of enjoyment the entertainment will provide” (81 percent) and “being able to access the entertainment immediately” (80 percent)
■ Perhaps surprisingly, fewer respondents valued “the number of devices with which I can access the entertainment” (65 percent), “having unrestricted ability to share or make copies of the entertainment legally” (53 percent) or “popularity of the entertainment” (50 percent).
■ Consumers are willing to trade advertising for free content: When asked which of a number of things they’d “be willing to sacrifice in order to get entertainment for free,” the highest number of votes (47 percent) went to “advertisement-free entertainment”
■ At the very bottom of the list of things people would sacrifice in order to get entertainment for free (chosen by just 13 percent) was “privacy of my personal information.”
■ Consumers continue to be willing to pay for entertainment: Four in 10 respondents said they “personally spend” more than $50 on buying entertainment in “a typical month,” including 12 percent who spend $76-100 and another 12 percent who spend more than $100."o

Study Reveals Shift as Social Networks become “Social Entertainment”