International Advertising Association

GM to cease Facebook advertising over poor results

Admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:42:50 +0000

General Motors has announced it is to stop advertising on Facebook, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided these ads had little impact on consumers, Reuters has reported. The decision by the third-largest advertiser in the US, marks the first highly visible crack in Facebook’s strategy and underscores doubts about whether advertising on Facebook works better than traditional media. “This does highlight what we are arguing is the riskiness of the overall Facebook business model,” said Brian Wieser, internet and media analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

NewsCorp raises stake in Rotana

Admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:08:10 +0000

Rotana Group, majority-owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has announced News Corp has raised its share in the group by acquiring newly-issued shares in the company. News Corp will pay $35m for the shares, taking its stake in Rotana to 18.97%. News Corp had acquired previously owned 14.53% stake in Rotana.

DVD piracy on the decline in Jordan

Admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:32:05 +0000

Jordan

Facebook’s Zuckerberg names mobile as top priority

Admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:36:22 +0000

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook Inc. has told investors that transforming the social networking portal

Microsoft revamps Bing

Admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:22:29 +0000

Microsoft has unveiled a new design for its Bing internet search engine to make results more social by listing related functions and content from a user’s friends, without encroaching on regular query results, Bloomberg has reported. The changes build on a partnership between Microsoft and Facebook to integrate social data into search results. The new design, which divides the web page into three parts, is the biggest change since the release of Bing three years ago. On the left, the biggest pane displays basic search results. The centre column lists tasks associated with the query such as looking for restaurants will bring up maps and reservations pages. The final column shows related content from friends, such as who could help with the search and who

Facebook tests new feature where users can pay to get noticed

Admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:20:36 +0000

Facebook is testing a new option to help users get noticed by their friends, the Daily Mail has reported. The

Facebook IPO already oversubscribed - report

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:22:51 +0000

Facebook Inc.’s record initial public offering is already oversubscribed, days after the world’s largest social network embarked on a cross-country roadshow to drum up investor enthusiasm, Reuters has reported, citing a source familiar with the share listing. One large institutional investor had put in a major order for shares and was calling around syndicate desks trying to acquire more, said a second source familiar with the IPO’s progress. The company is expected to begin trading on May 18 after an IPO that dwarfs the coming-out parties of other tech powerhouses.

Saudi Arabia’s Rotana base TV news in Bahrain

Admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:15:13 +0000

Saudi-based Rotana Group has announced Bahrain as the base to launch its latest Arabic

Oman authority orders action on unsafe billboards

Admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:42:53 +0000

The municipality of the Omani capital, Muscat has ordered immediate action on rooftop billboards that do not meet safety and maintenance requirements, Muscat Daily has reported.

Al Jazeera exits Beijing over secret jails, forced abortion reports

Admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:42:19 +0000

The English-language service of Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera has said it is to shut down its bureau in the Chinese capita, Beijing after China refused to renew the visa of a correspondent whose stories included reports on secret jails and forced abortions in the country, Bloomberg has reported. The government also declined to grant approval to replace the correspondent, Melissa Chan, 31, who had reported from China since 2007, Al Jazeera said.