Teens have some of the highest social networking penetration of any age group. eMarketer estimates that 81% of internet users ages 12 to 17 will use social networks at least monthly this year, rivaling the 90% of online 18- to 24-year-olds and the 82% of 25- to 34-year-olds who will do the same. And while usage increases overall may be low at such high levels of saturation, that doesn’t mean teen social media activity is stagnant.

Pew Internet & American Life Project, in partnership with the Family Online Safety Institute and supported by Cable in the Classroom, found in July that 16% of online teens used Twitter, doubling the 8% figure found in September 2009.

Teen girls were more than twice as likely as boys to use the microblogging service, at 22% vs. 10% of the respective populations. Moreover, black internet users were more than three times as likely as whites to do so, and also significantly more likely than Hispanics. Older teens were also more active, as were those with lower household incomes. In each respect, Twitter usage mirrored the demographic differences in overall teen social network users—but amplified them significantly.

Older teens’ increased social participation extended to every activity Pew studied, except gaming.

Twitter is still far from being teens’ social network of choice, though. Most teens (59%) have an account on just one social site, and for 89% of that group, Facebook is that site. Among teens with multiple accounts, 99% have profiles on Facebook. Even in the multinetwork user group, only 29% had an account on Twitter in addition to other sites.

Source:eMarketer

Shanghai : Fanta creates more play for consumers with the brand’s most unified and largest global marketing campaign to date. The fun officially reaches mainland China today for the first time with the launch of Fanta’s 9th Class campaign – created in partnership with Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai – to mark the launch of a new and more natural version of the much loved sparkling brand, echoing the global theme of “Less Serious”.

“Less Serious” was first launched in New York in 2007, and in 2011 it will reach teens worldwide in regions representing 90 percent of the brand’s global sales volume.

To make the global “Less Serious” theme work in China, Ogilvy Shanghai proposed the 9th Class idea as a way to engage students in the bubbly Fanta world after they finish sitting through eight long school lessons which are the norm in China. To bring this idea to life, Ogilvy transformed Fanta.com.cn into a wildly creative place where teens are invited to take part in unconventional experiments related to Fanta products, live on the internet. It captures the imagination of Chinese teens and is relevant to their everyday lives. Learning continues but in a less serious way.

“Fanta 9th Class leverages the global creative assets whilst executing a local digital idea that is tailor-made for Chinese teens. We hope it will enhance our connection with our target audience on their own terms,” said Richard Wang, Brand Director of the Fanta brand at Coca-Cola.

The first experiment: how does an orange squeeze itself?

Starting today teens across China will try to solve the experiment together, live, online. By clicking a button on the campaign site, Chinese consumers will see Orange Man throwing an orange into a giant bowl.

The goal is to make the bottom orange squeeze, and with the physics, geometry knowledge and life experience they have acquired, Chinese teens are to estimate the magic moment when inner pressure squeezes the orange.

Thousands of prizes will be awarded along the way at random to those who participate in the big fun guess. The Grand Prize – an RMB9999 scholarship (tying into the 9th Class theme) – will be awarded to the lucky and smart student whose orange finally manages to squeeze the juice. A second scholarship of RMB999 will be given to the student who guesses the exact amount of oranges it took to complete the feat.

About the local approach, Chris Reitermann, President of O&M Group Shanghai and OgilvyOne Greater China, said, “We did not want to hang from the rafters shouting about Fanta's new taste and formula. We wanted to create an environment that Chinese teens found intriguing and fun in an unconventional way – and they get the brand news through this live experiment. And most importantly, because it is relevant to their lives and emotions, we hope they will keep coming back for more.”

Even before the official debut of Fanta’s experiment today, Fanta’s 9th Class campaign has already seen great success with its test website which launched March 25, 2011 and which already has more than 2 million page views.

Fanta and O&M Shanghai’s efforts to encourage Chinese teens aged 12-19 to be less serious and to keep playing while learning can be seen in interactive, traditional and non-traditional marketing platforms including broadcast commercials, the website, digital banners and in-store displays.

Munich : AMD (NYSE: AMD) has appointed RAPP UK as lead agency for its integrated marketing activities in Europe Middle East and Africa.

The appointment comes after a thorough and highly competitive strategic sourcing process.

"We were looking for a strategic partner who would support the development of cohesive and effective marketing campaigns for AMD's EMEA consumer, commercial and component go-to-market segments, as well as manage a network of production agencies to execute those campaigns throughout the region," said Linh Bergen-Peters, vice president regional marketing, AMD EMEA.  "RAPP demonstrated a clear understanding of our business and vision. We believe their strategic and creative solutions will deliver real value to our business."

The lead agency assignment – which includes media planning and buying – will have RAPP responsible for developing and producing offline and online marketing programs for AMD's EMEA consumer, commercial and component channels.

"We have a real passion for working with innovative technology companies and so adding AMD to our client list is a fantastic achievement and we look forward to forging a highly successful, mutually beneficial, partnership," said Marco Scognamiglio, CEO RAPP.

Allison Gollust has been appointed executive vice president, Corporate Communications, for NBC Universal. The announcement was made today by Jeff Zucker, president and chief executive officer of NBC Universal, to whom she will report. The appointment is effective July 13. Gollust succeeds Cory Shields, who was recently named Executive Vice President, Global Policy Strategies and Alliances for NBC Universal.

Gollust will be responsible for communications policies and strategic positioning of NBC Universal’s global assets, content and executives. She will oversee the company’s domestic and international media strategy and execution, executive communications, internal communications, corporate philanthropy, and community relations. She will serve as the chief spokesperson for Zucker and NBC Universal.

“Allison is an accomplished communications strategist who I’ve had the good fortune of working closely with for more than a decade,” said Zucker. “She brings a wealth of experience to this position, not only in her broad knowledge of this company, but of the media landscape at large. Her talents have earned her the respect of her colleagues and constituents, and will serve NBC Universal well for many years to come.”

Gollust has served as Senior Vice President of NBC News Communications since 2005, having overseen the nation’s number-one news division’s communications strategy since 2002. She is responsible for all internal and external communications for NBC News, its executives and its programming, including “Today,” “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Dateline” and “Meet the Press.” In addition, Gollust has oversight responsibility for communications for MSNBC, CNBC and The Weather Channel.

In the course of her tenure at NBC News, Gollust was responsible for managing communications strategy around three major network anchor transitions, including the appointment of David Gregory following the tragic death of Tim Russert in 2008. In 2006, Gollust oversaw all communications surrounding the highly-anticipated and widely-reported transition from Katie Couric to Meredith Vieira at “Today,” the nation’s number-one morning news program. Two years prior, she successfully managed the strategic communications for the switch from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams at “NBC Nightly News,” the first anchor transition at an evening news broadcast in more than two decades.

Gollust joined NBC News Communications in November 1998, as a senior publicist for “Today,” where she first worked with Zucker when he served as executive producer of the broadcast. Prior to her tenure with “Today,” she was a publicist in NBC’s Corporate Communications division, where she oversaw corporate and philanthropic events, as well as handled internal communications. In that capacity, she worked closely with the network’s government relations, sales and marketing departments, and developed strategic corporate events.

Prior to coming to NBC, Gollust was the Director of Communications for Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids, based in Denver, Colo., and New York City. She began her career as a news anchor, reporter and producer.

Gollust serves on the Board of New York Women in Communications. She resides in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Starting Saturday, June 27 at 12 noon ET/PT, VH1 Classic will celebrate the legacy of the man that became the “King Of Pop” and the artist behind “Thriller,” the world’s biggest selling album ever.

The channel will air a special music video tribute throughout the weekend, airing the songs, the performances, the choreography, and the styles that still impact pop culture four decades after he first became a star with The Jackson 5. The tribute, hosted by “VH1 Top 20 Countdown” host Jim Shearer, will run throughout the weekend until Midnight on Sunday, June 28.

VH1 Classic viewers are being invited now to go to VH1.com and offer their own tributes and memories about Jackson. These fan remembrances will be featured on-air on VH1 Classic throughout the weekend.

Sister channel VH1 is also remembering the “King Of Pop” through an on-air VH1 News packages as well as a VH1 News special covering Jackson’s entire biography that will premiere today, Friday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m. ET/PT.

VH1 will also air “Michael Jackson: King Of Videos,” a two-hour video tribute special that Jackson himself called the special’s producer to thank them for their work. That special will air tonight, Friday June 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Fans can get round-the-clock updates at VH1′s TheFabLife.com. Playlists of all of Jackson’s greatest videos are on VH1.com. And fans’ video and text tributes will run across all of VH1′s websites including VH1.com, TheFabLife.com, and the VH1 Blog.

The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. has named Amy J. Radin as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, with responsibility to help drive growth by aligning all aspects of RDA’s global marketing — including digital, research and customer care — to accelerate the company’s vision to create the world’s largest multi-platform communities based around branded content. The announcement was made today by Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer. Radin will report to Berner and serve on the company’s Executive Committee.

“I am delighted to welcome Amy Radin, a high-impact senior marketing professional, proven innovator, strategist and business leader who has created profitable growth throughout her career by transforming marketing strategies, customer experiences and products,” Berner said. “Amy will be responsible for expanding and leveraging all of our customer touch points as we pursue our goal to quickly transform RDA to become a global multi-channel, multi-platform marketing company.”

Radin comes to RDA from Citigroup Inc. (Citi), where since 2007 she was Executive Vice President & Global Direct Banking Head, responsible for strategy. She partnered with business, operations and technology across Citi’s 50 consumer markets to integrate Internet-based delivery of products and services with the customer experience in traditional and emerging distribution models. From 2005 to 2007, she was Chief Innovation Officer, a role she originated to realize new business opportunities arising from evolving consumer, technology and marketplace trends. Her team’s efforts positioned Citi in the forefront of trends including contactless credit, debit and alternative form payments, mobile payments and other innovations. Previously, she was a member of the CitiCards NA executive team, where she led marketing, advertising, strategic planning, database management, marketing operations and e-business.

Previously, Radin spent 13 years with the American Express Company, including as Vice President, Cardmember Loyalty Programs, where she led a multinational, cross-functional team to develop and execute strategic marketing and technology initiatives, including one of the first personalized rewards programs in the industry. She also was General Manager of Sign & Travel, for which she generated growth through marketing, product development, re-engineering and customer loyalty initiatives.

Radin received her M.B.A. in Marketing from The Wharton School and B.A., College of Letters and Spanish, from Wesleyan University. She is Vice Chairman of the Board of The Healthcare Chaplaincy. She lives in Short Hills, New Jersey.

RDA is a global multi-brand media and marketing company that educates, entertains and connects audiences around the world. The company builds multi-platform communities based on branded content. With offices in 44 countries, it markets books, magazines, and music, video and educational products reaching a customer base of 130 million in 78 countries. It publishes 94 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader’s Digest, the world’s largest-circulation magazine, operates 65 branded websites generating 22 million unique visitors per month, and sells approximately 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. Global headquarters are in Pleasantville, New York.

National Geographic Entertainment has acquired and will distribute “Amreeka,” Cherien Dabis’ comedy hit that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film is the opening night selection for New Directors/New Films 2009, a co-presentation of The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Society of Lincoln Center, in New York on Wednesday, March 25. A fall 2009 release is planned.

“Amreeka,” which charmed both critics and audiences at Sundance, tells the adventures of Muna, an indomitable immigrant Palestinian single mother, who dreams of a new life for herself and Fadi, her teenage son, in the promised land of small town Illinois. In America, as her son navigates high school hallways the way he used to move through West Bank military checkpoints, the resourceful Muna scrambles together an upwardly mobile new life, cooking up falafel burgers as well as the usual hamburgers at the local White Castle.

Nisreen Faour stars as Muna, and Melkar Muallem plays her 16-year-old son. Also in the cast are Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussef Abu-Warda and Joseph Ziegler.

“Amreeka,” written and directed by Dabis, was produced by Christina Piovesan and Paul Barkin. Dabis, Alicia Sams and Greg Keever were executive producers; Liz Jarvis and Al-Zain Al-Sabah were co-producers.

“Amreeka” is an E1 Entertainment (Canada)/Levantine Entertainment (U.S) presentation in association with Rotana Studios and Showtime Arabia, of a First Generation Films, Alcina Pictures, Buffalo Gal Pictures (Canada)/Eagle Vision Media Group (Kuwait) production.

Earlier in her career Dabis received a National Geographic All Roads Film Festival Project Seed Grant for her short film “Make a Wish,” which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

National Geographic Entertainment includes National Geographic Films (NGF), which co-presented the 2005 Academy Award-winning “March of the Penguins” and the 2004 Oscar-nominated film “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” and National Geographic Cinema Ventures (NGCV), which released domestically and internationally, to critical acclaim, the 3-D concert film “U2 3D” in 2008. NGCV set giant-screen box office records with “Mysteries of Egypt” and recently with “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure.” Adam Leipzig is president of NGF, Lisa Truitt is president of NGCV and Mark Katz is president of distribution for NGCV.

Leipzig said, “‘Amreeka’ is a great culture clash comedy and with it Cherien Dabis has announced herself as one of the great new talents in film. It is funny and also moving in its depiction of the hectic work it takes to attain the American dream. This international story is a perfect fit for National Geographic as we aspire to inspire people to care about our world. Since Cherien received one of the first National Geographic All Roads grants, working with her on ‘Amreeka’ is especially exciting.”

“National Geographic helped launch my career with its early support of my short film ‘Make a Wish,’ so I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with the organization again,” said Dabis. “While ‘Amreeka’ is a very personal film, it’s a universal story about family, the sacrifices we make for those we love and the often elusive search for belonging. I have no doubt that we’ve found the right home for it.”

Rena Ronson and Jerome Duboz of William Morris Independent negotiated the sale on behalf of E1 Entertainment International, headed by Charlotte Mickie, which holds the film’s international rights. Tiffany Leclere and Kattie Evans handled negotiations for NGE.

The Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), the country’s largest organization of ethnic PR practitioners, is celebrating its 25th anniversary of serving the needs of professionals and students in the field.

“As HPRA enters a major milestone with its 25th year celebration, the organization continues to serve public relations professionals and students by offering innovative thought leadership, professional development, and career advancement opportunities for individuals in the public relations, marketing, and advertising fields,” said Ivette Zurita of Edelman Public Relations, who is serving her second term as organization president.

HPRA was established in 1984 by a group of Hispanic practitioners who believed the creation of an organization dedicated to serving their specific needs and interests was the most effective way to promote professional advancement in the field. The organization was formed at a time when Hispanics were beginning to fill many corporate, non-profit and government PR positions in the Los Angeles area. Today, as the nation’s largest ethnic group, Hispanic communication professionals continue to be in high demand, and HPRA is the only organization that has fostered talent and exposed students to this industry.

“Throughout the past 25 years, HPRA has been a resource and set the standard for new and seasoned practitioners to foster their talent and gain real life experiences,” said John Echeveste, partner with VPE Public Relations and HPRA Senior Advisor and founding member. “I’m proud to see the organization reach this landmark and look forward to the new generation of leadership.”

Joining Zurita as board officers are Lourdes Rodriguez, VPE Public Relations, as Vice President; Albert Proctor, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as Secretary; and Mario Flores, co-founder and managing director of Sportivo, as Treasurer.

In 2008, the association successfully executed events, increased membership, and advanced the structure internally to expand HPRA into new markets. It also initiated the HPRA PRemios Campaign of Year Awards to recognize outstanding achievements in Hispanic public relations.

Since its inception in 1988, the HPRA Scholarship Program has awarded $210,000 to students pursuing communications careers.

“HPRA has a solid record of achievement and a committed membership,” said Zurita. “The organization is well positioned to serve the needs of Hispanic communication professionals and students for another 25 years.”

The CLIO Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious international advertising and design competitions honoring creative excellence and innovation in the industry, today announced that Mark Cuban, chairman of HDNet will accept an Honorary CLIO Award at the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, May 12 – 14.

Mark Cuban, chairman and co-founder of HDNet, investor, internet entrepreneur, and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, will accept his Honorary CLIO Award during the Emerging Media Awards on Wednesday, May 13th. Cuban is being recognized as a digital media thought leader who helped pave the way for the industry by launching and investing in many successful online ventures and cutting-edge technologies. He will be joining Barry Manilow and Matthew Weiner, creator and executive producer of AMC’s MAD MEN, who are also receiving honorary awards for their distinguished contributions to the advertising industry (previously announced).

Cuban is the chairman of HDNet, which he co-founded in 2001, a general interest television channel in the United States and Canada broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television. In 1995 Cuban co-founded Broadcast.com, the leading provider of multimedia and streaming on the Internet and sold it to Yahoo! in 1999.

“2009 is truly an exciting year for the CLIO Awards. In addition to celebrating five decades of creative excellence in the advertising industry — this year, for our milestone 50th Anniversary, we’re honoring industry pioneers who have, and continue to shape the landscape with their ground-breaking ideas,” said Karl Vontz, director of events. “This is why we are thrilled to recognize Mark Cuban during the Emerging Media Awards with an Honorary CLIO, for his undeniable dedication to and passion for the medium.”

The Online Publishers Association (OPA) has announced  a new initiative designed to help stimulate a renaissance of creative advertising on the Internet that meets the needs of marketers by better integrating their messages into the fabric of the Web. As part of the announcement, a broad group of its members will implement new interactive, display advertising units across their sites. Starting in July, these new units will be available only through the publishers’ direct sales teams.

“Members of the OPA are offering a set of new principles and unique display advertising units to continue to foster innovation and leverage an environment that research has proven delivers better results for advertisers,” said Pam Horan, president of OPA. “Agencies are looking for new ways to integrate their clients’ brand experiences with more interactivity on the page, and these new units provide a way for them to accomplish this while capitalizing on the halo effect of the high-quality media brands.”

The initial participating OPA members are: BabyCenter, Bizjournals, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, CBS Interactive, CNN, Conde Nast Digital, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Forbes.com, FOXNews Digital, IDG, iVillage Network, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Meredith Interactive, msnbc.com, MTV Networks, NBC Universal, New York Media, The New York Times, Reed Business Information, Reuters, Time Inc., USA Today, Wall Street Journal Digital Network and Weather.com, with more OPA members to be announced. In January, these publishers had a combined, unduplicated reach of 108.3 million visitors, or 66 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience. This group of sites also represents 8.17 billion total minutes of time spent during the month (according to Nielsen Online).

“As consumers and advertisers increasingly turn to digital media, we must create formats and programs that support and sustain the differentiating aspects of our businesses,” said Martin A. Nisenholtz, founding chairman of the OPA, and senior vice president, digital operations, The New York Times Company. “Agencies must be given the tools to build brands on the Web and publishers must provide the formats for their advertisers to thrive, while balancing the needs of their users.”

The Fixed Panel (recommended dimension is 336 wide x 860 tall), which looks naturally embedded into the page layout and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user scrolls. The XXL Box (recommended dimension is 468 wide x 648 tall), which has page-turn functionality with video capability.
The Pushdown (recommended dimension is 970 wide x 418 tall), which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page.

The publishers have committed to offer at least one of the three advertising units by July 1, 2009. Advertisers interested should contact their publishers.