(4/5/09)

BlackBerry To Introduce Apps

Research in Motion is making the ever-more-popular apps available to BlackBerry users.

The application store, which is called BlackBerry App World, has been introduced to the public.

BlackBerry has traditionally been a phone for very business-minded people, but recently the phone has been marketed to the general consumer audience. The introduction of the app store is supposed to help with that.

One drawback of the BlackBerry apps is that they will start at $2.99, which is significantly more expensive than Apple's 99 cent apps.

For the full story, go to BlackBerry.

Google to Offer "Tweet" Ads

The search engine Google has begun offering advertisers units that show their last five "tweets" or status updates.

The first company to take advantage of this new system is Intuit, the maker of the TurboTax program.

Intuit plans to use these Twitter ads as a way to soft sell their product to consumers by simply letting them know that they exist and can answer their questions.

Seth Greenberg, the director of marketing at Intuit, said that they are looking at these ads as more of a "conversational vehicle." Colleen Gatlin, a TurboTax spokeswoman says she looks at them as "enablers," meaning they can connect the people who have questions to those who are able to answer them.

For the full story, go to Google.

Denny's New Promotion

Denny's will be running a new promotion where if a customer brings in a friend and orders a Grand Slam, their friend can get a free Grand Slamwich.

The freebie will take place April 8 between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. and is being marketed to customers as a "random act of kindness."

Ads for the promotion will air during the NCAA basketball championship.

The amount Denny's spent on measured media in 2008 increased 13% from what they spent in 2007, rising from $63 million to $71 million.

For the full story, go to Grand Slamwich.

(4/4/09)

Chicago Office of JWT Closing

After struggling to maintain old clients and attract new ones, JWT, Chicago is planning to close its doors.

The agency had a hard loss in 2007 when its biggest client, Kraft Foods, withdrew its account and put it up for grabs to competitors.

The Chicago office has been in competition with its New York City headquarters for many years.

JWT has had a rich history in Chicago. It was founded in 1891 by Charles E. Raymond and thrived from the beginning with clients such as Ford, Cream of Wheat and Aunt Jemima. The agency is famous for coming up with the Oscar Mayer jingle and Kellogg's Rice Krispies' "Snap, Crackle and Pop."

For the full story, go to JWT, Chicago.

P&G To Change Advertising

Procter & Gamble recently settled a lawsuit with Georgia-Pacific Corp., the maker of Brawny paper towels.

Georgia-Pacific claimed that P&G's new Bounty paper towels are not 25% thicker as advertised.

As a result of the lawsuit, P&G will discontinue all advertising that bears the claim that the new Bounty towels are 25% thicker.

Georgia-Pacific will not receive any compensation and P&G does not have to admit to any wrongdoing.

For the full story, go to Bounty.

E.R. Ends Well

On Thursday, NBC's long-running medical drama 'E.R.' ended its run with strong ratings.

The show, which ended after 15 seasons, aired a one-hour retrospective before the two-hour finale. The retrospective pulled in a 3.5/10 rating and share and the finale had a 6.0/16.

This led NBC to the top spot of the ratings for Thursday.

However, the show's series finale ratings are nothing compared to those of other NBC cornerstones, such as 'Friends,' 'Cheers,' and 'Seinfeld.'

For the full story, go to E.R.