Top Story

• CPG brands take the plunge into mobile advertising
  Two-thirds of consumer packaged goods advertisers are planning an increase in mobile ad purchases over the next year, according to an Advertiser Perceptions survey. Just 2% of CPG brands said they planned to curb mobile spending. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (3/7)     

Trendwatch

• Marketers shut out as Facebook updates newsfeed
  Facebook surprised marketers Thursday by effectively shutting them out of the social network's new content-specific feeds, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying it hadn't yet been decided how to handle advertising on the feeds. Targeting brand jingles to the Music feed or image-based ads to the Photos feed would "definitely [be] a great opportunity for advertisers" says Performics global CEO Daina Middleton. "I don't know why they're not making that available right now." Adweek (3/7)     

• Cisco, Intel tackle multi-screen advertising, separately
  Cisco Systems and Intel are independently from one another working on technologies intended to update broadcast advertising for the multi-screen era. Intel is developing tools to allow brands to coordinate advertising and images across multiple screens, while Cisco is focusing on ad models for Web-connected, context-aware TVs. MediaPost Communications/MediaDailyNews (3/7)     

• How to create standout online video advertising
  Too many online video marketers are still winging it, since the industry is too young for a consensus about best practices to have formed, writes Tessa Wegert. Still, there are some strategies that have proved highly effective, such as running user-created video contests or seeking virality by creating a funny clip with a surprising ending. ClickZ (3/7)     

Getting the Word Out

• MMA, industry groups release new mobile-advertising guidelines
  The Mobile Marketing Association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Media Rating Council have jointly released new guidelines for in-application mobile advertising. The MMA has also released guidelines meant to improve return on investment on mobile coupon ads. "The goal of the standard is to try to link up the upper funnel advertising and media buying with the lower funnel performance marketing activity and really demonstrate and show that they are one and the same," says Michael Becker, the MMA's North American managing director. BtoB Magazine (3/7), MobileCommerceDaily.com (3/8)     

Developer Update

• Responsive-website tool Foundation gets a mobile-first update
  ZURB has updated its Foundation framework, a responsive website development tool, with a ground-up, mobile-first rewrite. "Foundation offers a set of HTML and CSS building blocks you can use to quickly develop basic site structure and design -- layouts, typography, forms and other common design elements are all available," explains Scott Gilbertson. Webmonkey (3/7)     

Design Corner

• Free fonts help designers spice up their websites
  Designers always need new fonts, writes Gisele Muller, so she's rounded up nine recently released and free-to-use Web fonts. "We know designers need as much resources as they can get to keep their designs fresh and beautiful," she explains. WebDesignLedger.com (3/7)     

Small Businesses & Entrepreneurs

• Small businesses plan to invest in digital in 2013
  Nearly a quarter of small businesses in the U.S. plan to invest in improving their corporate website this year, and a fifth will put resources toward improving their SEO, according to an Ad-ology Research study. Nearly 70% of small businesses run their own websites, the study indicated. eMarketer (3/7)     

On Leadership

Top five news stories from SmartBrief on Leadership this week. Want more leadership news?

• 10 steps that CEOs can take to create leaders (SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership)

• Why bosses should keep on talking (Knowledge@Wharton)

• How to build the world's best shopping mall (The Miami Herald (free registration))

• Don't be your own worst enemy, say female execs (CNNMoney/Fortune)

• The deal's off, Groupon tells CEO (Bloomberg Businessweek)

SmartQuote

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it." --George Weinberg, American psychologist, writer and activist