Top Story

• Analysis: Hashtags could help Facebook close its immediacy gap
  Some marketers say they are pleased to learn that Facebook is considering adopting hashtags. "If Facebook does adopt the hashtag, it will bring the feature to its biggest platform yet and conceivably bring more marketers than are currently on Twitter (definitely more than are on Google+ or Instagram)," writes Tim Peterson. Facebook's past de-emphasis of real-time posts has left Twitter "a far better platform for immediacy and virality," Digitas' Jordan Bitterman says. Adweek (3/15)      

Marketing Trends & Research

• Political, Olympic ads buoyed overall 2012 ad spending
  Olympic and U.S. political ads in the third quarter -- when spending rose 7% from a year before -- helped boost 2012's overall ad spend 2%, Nielsen reported. In the fourth quarter, a 1% gain in auto advertising helped keep that sector as the top spender for the year. Notable among other categories: Phone and wireless ad spending rose 28% in the final quarter. MediaPost Communications/MediaDailyNews (3/15)      

• Marketers fret over dot-com disclosure rules
  The Federal Trade Commission has updated its rules for dot-com disclosures and disclaimers, but the new guidelines leave online advertisers with plenty of work to do. Hyperlinked or pop-up disclaimers might not cut it, the FTC warns, meaning marketers will have to get creative to provide full disclosures in tweets, mobile ads and other space-constrained formats. "The FTC won't relax enforcement just because the ad is in a constrained space. Marketers will need to figure it out," said advertising lawyer Linda Goldstein. Adweek (3/17)      

Company Watch

• Vivaldi's social-currency index cites top brands
  Subway scored highest in social currency, as ranked via six weighted criteria by Vivaldi Partners. The brand "continuously manages to sell promoted deals without pushing the advertising theme too far," Vivaldi says. Google, Target and Heineken followed in the rankings, with Verizon and Dunkin' Donuts tying for fifth place. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (3/15)      

Agency News

• Indonesian shop uses "Happiness App" as modern mood ring
  XM Gravity, a WPP shop in Indonesia, is using a mobile application dubbed the "Happiness App" for internal social communications from news to moods, writes Anita Chang Beattie. Employees can plug in one of nine emotions, selectively shared at first, and when negative moods reach a certain threshold the app sends a complaint up the chain of command. "The reason we are doing this is because in a company, most of the case the person is not happy is because of their direct supervisor," says CEO Kevin Mintaraga. The app has been constructed as "white label" software that could be adopted by other agencies, Mintaraga says. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (3/15)      

• Other News

• Ikon3 names ex-Wieden exec Greg March chief digital officer
  Adweek (3/15)      

• Publicis adds India-based digital shop Convonix to its network
  MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (3/15)      

Marketer News

• Brands plan to ambush March Madness with crafty campaigns
  Brands such as Pizza Hut, Hormel's Spam and Hooters are tying into the March Madness of the NCAA basketball tournament without explicitly saying so -- avoiding pricey sponsorship fees, writes Bruce Horovitz. Pizza Hut is giving away pies if the top four seeds reach the Final Four, Spam's Sir Can A Lot is talking about "the madness of March" on YouTube and Hooters is establishing itself as basketball-watching haven. The tournament eclipses all other postseason sporting events for ad revenue, raking in more than a billion dollars last year, according to Kantar. USA Today (3/18), USA Today (3/17)      

• Adidas bows first global girl-centered pitch
  An Adidas social program #mygirls is part of an engagement initiative called "All In" aimed at activating women and girls ages 14 to 23, writes Karl Greenberg. It's being backed by the brand's first global TV campaign aimed at girls. "Girls from all over the world and from all different walks of life, though they may be different in terms of what language they speak or where they live, all share a common passion for sport and love for 'their girls,' " says John Norman, TBWA\Chiat\Day's chief creative officer. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (3/15)      

Interactive Media

• Advertisers reflect on Samsung's "smart pause" feature
  Samsung's use of facial-recognition technology for a "smart pause" video feature in its Galaxy S4 could be ideal for advertisers, writes Christopher Heine. The feature, which pauses videos whenever a user looks away from his or her phone, also runs the risk of becoming annoying, however, and observers are split on whether the feature will spur innovation. "It might over time incentivize brands to create more relevant ads and more valuable video content," says Crid Yu, InMobi's vice president and managing director. Adweek (3/15)      

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by IAB SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Facebook's FBX amasses most global retargeted digital ads (eMarketer)

• IAB "strongly opposes" Mozilla's default cookies setting (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model))

• How the mobile-ad market is shifting (MediaPost Communications)

• Facebook could adopt Twitter's topical hashtags (The Wall Street Journal)

• How to engage online audiences on difficult topics (SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

IAB News

• IAB cross-screen case studies in San Francisco, LA, Detroit
  Bacardi. General Motors' Buick. General Motors' Chevy. Intel. Marriott Hotels & Resorts. Nokia. Panera Bread. Pepsi. Unilever's Dove. Universal Pictures. Virgin Mobile. Hear from them all -- along with their agency and publisher partners -- during the IAB Case Study Road Show series. Join your colleagues, competitors and partners for one day of instantly actionable digital marketing strategies. This is a rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of never-before-presented campaigns to get answers and learn the real results. Are you ready to overcome the challenges of technology, measurement and creative execution? Learn from the best. See which brands are sharing successes and experiences in your area and register here. The San Francisco event will be held Tuesday, March 19; the Los Angeles event will be held Thursday, March 21; and the Detroit event will be held Tuesday, April 2.      

Position Title Company Name Location Director of Industry Initiatives (Audio/Video) Interactive Advertising Bureau New York, NY Bookkeeper/Personal Assistant Duval Art Couture Nationwide, United States Manager – Tag Management/Web Scraper Governance AutoTrader.com Atlanta, GA Media Planner Disney Interactive New York, NY Solutions Consultant Datalogix Westminster, CO Sr. Media Planner Disney Interactive New York, NY Solutions Consultant Datalogix Chicago, IL

Click here to view more job listings.

SmartQuote

What men value in this world is not rights but privileges." --H.L. Mencken, American journalist and essayist