The start of the Christmas shopping season has seen a solid start this year, with UK visits to retail sites up 18% during the first week of November compared to a typical week during the prior two months, according to new research.

Location-based mobile services could help Google increase its presence in the “largely untapped area of local advertising”, Garry McCollum, Google’s head of mobile partnerships, told delegates at today’s MediaTel Group seminar on the ‘Future of Mobile’.

Global advertising spending in measured media is expected to drop 6.6% to $445 billion in 2009 with a mild growth of 0.8% now expected in 2010 to $448 billion, according to a new 70-country forecast report from GroupM.

ZenithOptimedia has upgraded its 2010 advertising forecast for the first time in 18 months and predicts a return to normal 5% growth in 2012.

Virgin Media has appointed Aleks Habdank to the newly created role of director of on demand television services.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s latest Marketing Trends Survey reveals that UK marketers are quietly confident about the prospects for the economy over the next 12 months.

New research from Leichtman Research Group has found that 46% of households in the United States have at least one HDTV set – around double the percentage reported two years ago.

Lord Mandelson has launched a withering attack on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, accusing it of having an “iron grip” on the pay-TV market.

Ocean Outdoor has unveiled the second in a series of bespoke new digital advertising towers in the capital.

IPC’s men’s magazine Loaded has been revamped, backed by a six figure marketing campaign.