Ford tries to think like truck customers

Controls pickup market but faces new challenge

In a room that smells of musty waders, surrounded by camouflage hunting jackets and power tools, a small group of men are plotting strategy -- not for catching the big one or bagging a 12-point buck, but to defend Ford Motor Co.'s leadership of the domestic pickup truck market.

"Can you smell it?" Ben Poore asks. "There's a purpose to that."

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The San Francisco Chronicle Launches Podcast for Filipinos

In the first move of its kind by a major U.S. newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle this week announced the launch of Pinoy Pod, a weekly podcast of news, interviews and cultural stories about Filipinos. “This is unexplored terrain for us,” says Pinoy Pod producer Ben Pimentel.

“We’re trying out a different medium, a new voice. This is a new way to tell stories that aren’t being covered.”Broadcast in English, Tagalog and other Philippine languages, Pinoy Pod covers arts, culture, entertainment, business, politics and social issues for Filipinos here and abroad.

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World Cup stars for sale to top advertising agencies

Why Ronaldinho is dancing in BavariaIn Brazil, banks and bubble gum have a mutual interest, the soccer star Ronaldinho.

The gum brand Bubbaloo and the Brazilian subsidiary of the Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano have hired Ronaldinho to star in their advertising.

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Google Set To Launch Video AdvertisingNitin

Nitin Gupta, a Yankee Group analyst, pointed out that there are many companies involved in video-based advertising, such as Brightcove and Lightningcast. So it was only a matter of time before Google joined them, he said.

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On Monday, Google announced plans to add video capabilities to its hugely popular AdSense advertising network. The TV-like ads will run up to two minutes long on Web sites that belong to the company's ad program. Google's own Web pages will remain free of the video advertising.

"A certain segment of advertisers have told us that they want richer and more engaging messaging capability," said Gokul Rajaram, product management director of Google's AdSense program.

Initially, the video spots will be available only to advertisers in the U.S., Canada, and Japan.

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Comcast to Have CBS Shows 'On Demand'

Comcast Corp., CBS Corp. and General Motors Corp. are testing a new concept in video on demand: prime time TV shows free for digital cable subscribers.

Starting Monday, cable viewers in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit will be able to watch "Survivor Finale" and "Survivor Reunion" at no charge because GM will be the sole sponsor. The shows will appear on video on demand a day after they air over broadcast TV, and run until Aug. 31.

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Cola wars simmer in India

NEW DHELI - With the sweltering April-July summer months now under way in India, the country's version of the global cola wars, featuring perennial combatants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, is heating up fast. With health consciousness on the rise, the health-drinks business has picked up as well, with several players, including the aforementioned cola giants, wading into the fray.

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CBS leaps into online television

AD-SUPPORTED `INNERTUBE' WILL SHOW ORIGINAL PROGRAMS, RERUNS

CBS took a major step forward in online television Thursday by launching ``innertube,'' an advertising-supported broadband entertainment channel that will include original programming and repeats of network shows.

While all of the networks have tested the water on alternative ways of delivering content -- online, iPod downloads, video on demand -- the CBS venture marks the first attempt to establish a Web-based channel. The network has already had some recent success with video on revamped versions of cbsnews.

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Microsoft hopes for online advertising advantage

No one can quite agree on whether Microsoft Corp. held its first online advertising summit in a conference room or a cafeteria, but what everyone does remember is how little attention was paid to the field just seven years ago.

This year, Redmond-based Microsoft is expecting 700 people at its annual MSN Strategic Account Summit, which comes as even the most skeptical advertisers are realizing the potential -- some might say necessity -- of hawking their goods online.

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Wal-Mart to review advertising accounts

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is putting its advertising accounts under review as it seeks to attract more affluent customers.

Wal-Mart has notified its two main agencies, Omni-com Group's GSD&M of Austin, Texas, and Bern-stein-Rein Advertising in Kansas City, Mo., as well as three smaller agencies, it is re-evaluating its strategy and might make changes, spokeswoman Gail Lavielle said Thursday in an interview. The accounts are worth $578 million, according to Advertising Age.