Nielsen Thursday officially announced the launch of local people meter service in Portland, Ore., and Pittsburgh, replacing its "set meter" service in those markets, but said it was delaying a previously planned launch of the service in Baltimore until July 7, due to a "very difficult conversion to digital television" in that market.

A joint research repoft by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing and research firm NeuroFocus found that TV earns high marks for emotional engagement, commercial recall and intent to purchase. Small-screen media is less immersive; as such, viewers tend to find that advertising on mobile and Internet platforms is not nearly as engaging as it is on TV.

In a move that will make it significantly easier, faster and far more efficient for ad agencies to buy local and national spot cable TV advertising, the leading spot cable TV rep firm, National Cable Communications, has integrated its sales systems with Donovan Data Systems, the leading provider of "back office" data processing systems for advertising agencies. The breakthrough will enable media shops to place orders and process spot cable TV buys electronically and without any manual paper insertion orders.

The networks have done a good job of explaining away the impact of DVRs on ratings, noting that, in fact, few users actually bother skipping through commercials. But that is about to change, according to one top researcher. As more and more users acquire and begin to use DVRs, ad skipping will become a far larger issue for networks, and those annual cost-per-thousand pricing increases will become a thing of the past.

The three biggest carmakers in America say the long decline in U.S. auto sales has bottomed out, as the industry reported its smallest monthly sales drop this year, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

The company tells companies whether their commercials are good enough, smart enough — and whether people like them. And in real time, too.

Facing a July 10 government funding cutoff, General Motors Corp. is calling for quick approval of its bid to sell its "good" parts into a new company and emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The court seeks further arguments in case that could undermine the longstanding ban against corporations spending on issue advertising.

Ford Motor Co. today called its 10.7% drop in U.S. June sales "steady progress," after a year of sharp declines across the industry.

Nielsen told clients Tuesday it would increase by 25% the size of its Local People Meter samples in each of the country's two largest markets. By next summer, the sample sizes in New York and Los Angeles will rise from the current 800 to 1,000.

The home security company will promote its name change to Broadview Security with a two-year ad campaign.

Advertisers are backing off their most radical and aggressive pricing demands in the so-called upfront marketplace, according to executives at three different buying agencies and one selling executive — a concrete sign that the market for TV advertising time in the new fall season is finally gearing up to move after weeks of delays.

Despite a 37% decrease in auto sales during 2008, bright spots persisted: the redesigned Forester revved up Subaru's sales while Hyundai and Kia gained traction from new models. And online media has changed the rules for auto marketing by placing consumer-generated media in the driver's seat.

Denny's Corp. is trying to restake its claim as a nocturnal hot spot for young adults by working with rock singers to create special menu items and wooing college students.

Analysts say Internet companies and ad agencies have no choice but to work together to develop ways to make money from digital media.