A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.

Adweek, December 22, 2011
To reach consumers most likely to mention a brand like Walmart on social media, marketers might have luck targeting TV shows with less than lofty themes. The latest research by BlueFin Labs, MIT's social TV analytics firm, revealed some of this year's most buzzed about TV programs and provided insight into the types of shows and audiences that would generate the most relevant chatter around a particular brand. Read the Adweek article


Read More >
Originally published on the Newspaper Canada website, we thought these 20 fast and fascinating facts about newspapers are well worth repeating. For example, did you know almost 40% of all Internet traffic is going to newspaper websites?¹


Read More >
With more than three-quarters of the population online, close to half of all Canadians on social networks, and the majority of users boasting at least ten years on the Web, all signs point to 'yes'. According to a new report by eMarketer the annual growth of Internet users in Canada is only expected to be about 2 per cent between now and 2015. What this means, in essence, is that the Internet is firmly embedded in our culture and in our lives.

Read More >
A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.


Adweek, December 19, 2011
Google+ gives the gift of new features and updates, just in time for the holiday season. Since launching brand and business pages last month, Google has been listening to feedback from users and will be rolling out three of the most highly requested features over the next few days. Some of these much awaited features include a multimanager support feature, a new notification flow and a display to show the number of users who have +1-ed or shared content. Read the Adweek article

Read More >
Meet Jennifer MacMillan, The Globe's Communities Editor who works with readers and journalists to foster interaction. She has also worked as a reporter and online news editor at The Globe.
We sat down with Jennifer to find out how she creates, nurtures and develops relationships with readers through Facebook and other social media platforms.


Read More >
A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.


Adweek, December 8, 2011
In an effort to bridge the gap between the awareness of Twitter and the level of engagement on the social networking platform, Twitter executives unveiled a new version of the company's website and mobile apps. The redesign now divides Twitter into four organized sections based on the type of user activity, and also offers separate brand pages, free of charge. Read the Adweek article

Read More >
There exists an old stereotype about the holiday shopper: she (or he) is busy, stressed, and ornery to the extreme. That doesn’t make things easy for retailers. Misplace an online order in April and you might be able to appease the customer with a discount on a future purchase. Do it in December and it's going to take a lot more to put you back in good standing with your clientele.

Read More >
After years of die-hard fans piecing together the plot from bits and pieces carefully architected by cunning gamesmasters, maybe the Alternate Reality Game's seminal epoch has passed.

This isn't easy to say. At Contagious HQ we've been a fan of experiences that properly create tension around a story by involving fans in a side story for a long time--back to I Love Bees, in 2004, right around when we launched.

Read More >
Few stuffed turkeys were consumed in Canada during the US Thanksgiving weekend, but that doesn't mean we let the occasion slide by unnoticed. For with the holiday came two most American cherished traditions: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.


Read More >
My father-in-law is in the midst of upgrading his physiotherapy office. It isn't new exercise equipment he's purchasing, though, but iPads, and he’s not alone in adopting the nascent technology.

Read More >
On Friday, November 25, the CMA hosted its 41st annual Awards Gala, the largest marketing awards event in Canada. The goal of the CMA Awards is to recognize Canada's top marketers for excellence in marketing, whatever the discipline, whatever the sector. Entries are judged equally on strategy, creativity and results.

Read More >
Newspapers have long been criticized for being slow to adopt social media. They weren't the first publishers to integrate social networking tools into their sites. But that was then. Now, newspapers are easily among the most social publishers on the Web. Here are the top five reasons why, and what your brand can learn by following their lead.


Read More >