Possibly the only profession with a lower approval rating than Congress is advertising. And no wonder. On a daily basis, we are assaulted by hyped-up messages that are dim-witted, abusive, hurtful, discourteous, annoying, and blatantly offensive. And then there are the really bad ones.

Some people get quite excited by the yearly media event called the Stupor Bowl. Wait, that’s not right. Super Bowl. And there are people who say the event attracts a few viewers because of the commercials. That’s true in the same way a car accident attracts a few viewers because of the traffic jams.

My goal in this article was to pay attention as soon as one of the encrusted-by-make-up announcers said “Hello Suckers.” Wait, no, that’s Texas Guinan’s line; I meant as soon as they said “Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday.”

Then, I was going to keep watching until the post-game clips of cretins burning cars in the streets of the winning and losing cities. But I just couldn’t do it. Sorry, apologies, mea culpa, etc. Look, other than a superb Chrysler commercial that was uplifting for the company and for America, there were just too many horrible ad moments for one human being to handle. Therefore, here are the heights of the depths. . .

Audi

Consider this concept: The headlights of the Audi are so similar to the sun that they kill vampires. Seriously? Wow. Well, considering how dim-witted Americans seem to be (have you been watching the presidential debates lately?), maybe this idea will work. Because, after all, who wouldn’t select a luxury automobile based on the strength of its headlamps? The song on the commercial’s soundtrack is “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen. Within the idiotic premise of the spot, the track is a pretty good choice. Since I see this as a comedic spot, I would have found “Flashlight” by Parliament more fun, but I admit that the cool angst of E&TB fits well with the fake-teeth-and-incense ambience.

Budweiser

About eleventeen spots in the broadcast. Did any of them give you a reason to purchase their products? Not really. The most interesting marketing development involves their “new” brew, something called Bud Light Platinum, which has six percent alcohol (didn’t see this mentioned in any of the spots), meaning they’re going after the Beer Blotto Brigade (obviously a dumb demographic considering that distilled spirits will get you there much faster without forcing you to urinate as often). But back to the POWer beer with the odd name. Using the word “platinum” in the beer category fits a trend discussed by Tiffany Hsu in an excellent Los Angeles Times article on people leaning toward specialty or micro-brews. What Anheiser-Busch InBev doesn’t seem to realize is that “Budweiser” is never, ever, ever going to fit in with words like platinum, high-end, upscale, specialty, etc. They’ll have to fake-out the public with a phony micro-brew name like “Blue Moon.” Oh wait, that’s the spurious concoction of MillerCoors. And I seem to have really gotten away from the topic of Budweiser. Probably because I’ve been sipping too much Absinthe to get through this assignment. Anyway, they also had an incredibly well produced/directed spot that appeared to tell the history of America through beer. I think. Anyway, it had those ugly horses that Bud always uses. Disagreeable-looking animals named Clyde something. Hmm, where’s the Absinthe? Must. Distract. Self.

Cadillac

Respect. Seriously, let’s give it up for ad guys who figured out how to improve the image of a car company long known for selling clunky boats-on-wheels. I have lived my whole life knowing that there’s nothing attractive about Cadillacs but this spot actually makes the ATS Sport Sedan look decent. And let’s face it, “sport” is not a word you’d normally associate with Caddy. The strong music track helps.

Carsdotcom

Eeeuuuwwwwwww! This is the commercial where an alien growth sprouts from a guy’s shoulder blade and on the end of the spronging protuberance is a smaller version of the man’s head. As if that isn’t gross enough, the miniature noggin performs a piss-poor parody of what the commercial makers call “soul music.” This piece of drivel is a top contender for the Gross-Out Trophy, which should be shaped to look just like the quivering superfluous neck-and-cranium. Rarely has the term “head” had such an evil connotation.

Chevrolet

Silverado pick-up trucks and their owners are the only survivors of the end-of-the-world. It’s unclear how this storyline ties-in with a not-too-highly-regarded truck, but at least the script is humorous and demographically on-target (every truck owner thinks his vehicle is tough enough to withstand the apocalypse). And using Barry Manilow on the soundtrack is a hoot. In their Sonic spot, the car is turned into a prop for some extreme sports publicity stunts. OK Go music works okay. For the whole campaign, ya gotta admit that Tim Allen gives good voiceover. He adds a touch of quiet, assured dignity (which probably dissipates the moment you realize “Hey, that’s Tim Allen talking!”)

Chrysler

Amazing spot that makes you want to shout to the heavens and salute the flag. This is two minutes of understated but ultimately explosive power. Uplifting, inspirational, and patriotic, the narrative grabs you and makes you think how you can join in the new march into the future of our nation. The commercial also touches on the good side of capitalism, something that we have not been seeing much lately. Wonderful work.

Coca-Cola

In Part One: The Blandness, badly-animated polar bears watch the game. In Part Two: The Pointless, they juggle bottles of Coke. In Part Three: The Lameness, they make reference to the score of the game. The spots are worthless except as bathroom breaks. The only winners here are the hacks who got paid to work on these pieces of tripe. I’m not much of a soft-drink user but this would sure make me consider Pepsi.

Doritos

Not sure which one of the consumer-generated ideas was the winner but I enjoyed the one featuring a snotty kid taunting a wheelchair-bound woman and a little kid in a sling. It’s silly, but funny. And since it plays on the intense desire of fat Americans for salty snacks, it actually has marketing logic, something that appears to be missing from most other advertising these days. Nice choice of music (an instrumental version of “La donna e mobile” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto”). There also was one with a dog killing a cat and bribing the witness with a bag of chips. And another with a girl covering herself with chips to entice her boyfriend to, well, we don’t get to see but I can tell you from experience that it’s really messy and not much fun after the first couple of bites.

General Electric

In one spot, slack-jawed yokels are working on assembly-lines. What’s odd is that the idea of people working in a noisy warehouse is presented as something miraculous, as if Henry Ford had risen from the grave to re-invent his idea just for the suits at G-E to go out and use it for the benefit of all mankind. Soundtrack is hilarious: a kind of “Deliverance” instrumental that should send people screaming into the night. In a second spot, slightly-less slack-jawed yokels are building turbine engines. Terrific cinematography and a nice soundtrack, but halfway through, the script does a freak-out and we’re suddenly in a bar where G-E workers are taking credit for beer because their turbine engines were used in the brewing process. Which may be true, I suppose, but this is a very big “So What” moment.

Honda

In the Stupid Sweepstakes, we have several front-runners, including Honda with a CR-V spot starring a bored and out-of-it Matthew Broderick. He’s clearly only collecting a paycheck, but what’s the production company’s excuse? Their work is a limp, by-the-numbers “homage” to John Hughes’ “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Perfunctory images, slack timing, bad jokes, insulting script. For the soundtrack, they went with Yello’s “Oh Yeah.” Yup, the boring choice. Just think, they could have used “Love Missile F1-11″ (Sigue Sigue Sputnik), “Bad” (Big Audio Dynamite), “Taking the Day Off” (General Public), “Radio People” (Zapp), and, of course, “Twist and Shout” (that group Paul McCartney was in before Wings). The fact that the auto isn’t shown much in the commercial may tell us more about the product than they intended.

Hyundai

Among their half-ton of ads was one with some hysterically funny Roadrunner cartoon-style mayhem involving a cheetah and the Veloster. “Trust us, it’s fast,” says Jeff Bridges. Only an extended version of the spot would give enough time to view the vehicle properly, but what there was of it looked good. Maybe the slight glimpse is okay considering that this is part of what seems to be a nine thousand commercial campaign for the vehicle (and considering it’s called a Veloster, a huge campaign is a necessity). Unfortunately, another of their spots has their employees singing and it is embarrassing. Another, for the Genesis Coupe R-Spec, is as puerile as the car’s name.

Kia

Wow! Rock music, beautiful babe, explosions, martial arts, romance novel cover designs brought to life, and more! On the soundtrack are The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” and a Motley Crue song. The production is amazing! Oh, and all this for some little plastic-looking dork car. Rule of thumb: the bigger the production, the less valuable the automobile.

Pepsi

In a medieval setting, Melanie Amaro and Elton John made me grin. And at the end of the spot, when Elton is in the dungeon with Flavor Flav, I cracked up. Thanks, guys, I needed that. (Even more amazing, I actually chuckled at the other spot they made, too. That’s the one with, gulp, Regis. Just goes to show ya, great timing in directing and editing can bring off miracles.)

Samsung

Sure, we’d all like nothing better than to have some company kick Apple’s butt now that it’s known what a greedy evil cabal they are, but unfortunately the silly marketing for Samsung isn’t going to help the situation. While it’s fun to hear Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” on the soundtrack, you still have to wonder why the spot shows us nothing but a line of boring people. Although there is a half-hearted attempt at a teaser at the end, the sum total of the ad is “enh.” All I can do is grudgingly admire the con job the agency pulled on the client in getting them to fund this piece of compost. Ironically, it’s well-photographed and directed, but like so much of today’s advertising, the lack of a marketing concept means the filmmakers are putting a spit-shine on a turd. But wait, that was the “preview” spot. The “real” spot for the new Galaxy is the exact opposite in approach: big, ugly, bombastic, silly, and boneheaded. C’mon, Samsung, stop making crap commercials. Don’t you know we’re rooting for you?

Suzuki

When you think “4-wheel drive,” you just naturally think of rap music, right? If so, the use of 50 Cent on the new spot for the Kizashi makes perfect sense. Either way, this is a nicely-made product demo. Basically, we’re out in the barren wasteland (See the ice! See the snow! See the nothingness!) and the Fizzozshee or whatever has no trouble roaring around as if it’s on a test track, which it probably was before the CGI crews got hold of the footage. The entertainment aspect is actually kind of neat: a sled dog team is being given a ride by their owner. A word on that: the owner is an obese Eskimo (or perhaps it was a Sumo wrestler? it’s hard for us ‘Murikuns to know). Whatever, it was cliche casting.

Toyota

Their spot for the “reinvented” Camry was, um, calm. However, I’m not believing anything they say about the car ’cause THEY ARE NOT SHOWING ME THE CAR. Still, the spot was entertaining. Drapes made of pizza, rain that makes you slim, a baby that doesn’t poop; all good. (And props for using “poop” in the script.) But poor Richard Strauss, having the opening to his “Also Sprach Zarathustra” used for the umpteenth time in a commercial. Just shows how terrific a music supervisor Stanley Kubrick was for putting this track into his “2001: A Space Odyssey” way back in 1968. Another spot, with memories that people associate with the Camry, was a tear-jerker. Effective as a story, silly as an ad for a car THEY DON’T SHOW.

Volkswagen

Spot #1: Dogs. Dogs barking. Dogs barking forever. Dogs barking forever in the vain hope that eventually it will seem clever. “I mean, you can’t lose with cute animals in your commercial, right?” Certainly, someone at the ad agency and/or the car maker’s marketing department made that statement. Unfortunately, they were wrong. The take-away message from this spot is: VW makes poor decisions. Which makes you wonder if they made that kind of poor decision in the auto designs, manufacturing practices, safety features, etc. Just asking. Glad you guys made me consider this, come to think of it. Who owns VW now, anyway, Monsanto? Spot #2: A fat dog gets into shape as we hear James Brown getting down on “Get Up Offa That Thing.” Fun! Plus, it’s two commercials in one as the twist ending puts us in the dive bar of “Star Wars.” How can one agency make such a nifty spot as this and that other one which is such a, well, dog?

Short Takes

1and1dotcom Product demo ad for a site that provides web hosting, site design, etc. A competitor to GoDaddy. Obviously not as eye-catching as babes but more convincing and more business-like.

Act of Valor Movie trailer for a 100-minute commercial for a video game.

Acura Jerry Seinfeld, in the lead role, has great comedy timing. Jay Leno, in a cameo, does not. Entertaining despite Leno. Didn’t show the NSX much, which is a shame ’cause it looks terrific.

The Avengers Movie trailer for a 100-minute commercial for a video game.

Battleship Movie trailer for a 100-minute commercial for a video game.

BMW Seems to tout the car’s ability to deliver text and e-mail while you drive. I prefer it if people concentrated on their driving. “The Ultimate Texting Machine?” Come on, people.

Bridgestone Their spots make me think buying their tires would lead to death or dismemberment on the highway.

BelVita Some sort of parody spot for an obviously fake “breakfast cheese” item. Funny idea, poorly executed. Besides, who would be stupid enough and gastronomically-challenged enough to buy hogslop like this? Oh, wait. Americans.

CareerBuilders This is the campaign with monkeys screwing up in the workplace. Yes, coworkers are jerks and assholes, but why will it be different when you change jobs? That’s why I freelance, where the only jerk around my office is me.

Century 21 What’s that? You say you don’t know how to market a service industry? No problem! Just use a dumb-ass concept and hire some second-tier celebs! Easy!

Dannon Overly cutesy boy/girl tease leads to violence. It’s for something called Oikos Greek yogurt. One of the two saccharine actors is a rapper named Stay Moes. (Okay, it’s John Stamos.)

The Dictator Movie trailer for the next film from Sasha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles. They seem to be the only people who can make social commentary hysterically funny.

Downy Mean Joe Green and Amy Sedaris “spoof” a great ad from yesteryear. This virtually defines inanity. (Ad agency guy: “Hey, since we don’t have a marketing platform, let’s just do a comedy spot without any comedy! It’ll be ironic!”)

E*Trade Talking baby campaign. You either like it or you don’t. I find it amusing, but it makes me stay far away from E*Trade. Not sure how it plays with the hoi polloi.

Fiat Car as sex object. Hate to admit it, but the ad actually works.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Movie trailer with Bruce Willis and The Rock in a 100-minute commercial for a video game. If this is the sort of thing you like, then you will like this sort of thing.

GoDaddydotcom Good old-fashioned “sex sells” approach. No subtlety whatsoever. Babes (Danica Patrick and the Pussycat Dolls) in tight costumes. Gotta love it, right?

H&M Homo-eroticism using David Beckham’s tattoo-defiled body. If the cinematographer of this spot was hired by GoDaddy, we’d be on to something! Interesting oldie for the music: “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by The Animals. H&M consistently uses great music.

Hulu Nicely-produced but insignificant spot starring Will somebody-or-other who totally believes he’s funny. Which is kind of funny, I guess.

The Hunger Games Exciting movie trailer for a film that shows what the world will be like if republicans are elected.

Infinity Uninspiring. Check out the Chrysler spot to see how it should be done.

John Carter Movie trailer for a 100-minute commercial for a video game.

Lexus Great art direction but not much auto in the ad. They’re calling the car the “2013″ GS model. More proof that auto marketers think we’re morons.

The Lorax Movie trailer for a kiddie cartoon. And yes, it will probably be a video game.

M&Ms I never know what to say about this campaign. Sure, it’s aimed at six-year-olds, but that’s how old we feel when thinking about M&Ms, so maybe they’re brilliant at marketing.

MetLife Cartoon characters (lots from Loony Toons) are milling around, doin’ stuff, and, um, I don’t know why.

Sketchers I like the Sketchers shoes I own. This spot (bulldog outraces greyhounds because of his running shoes) didn’t make me too embarrassed to admit that. So, okay then.

Star Wars Episode One The Phantom Menace Now Re-Released in 3D to Get More of Your Money Title tells all.

Swamp People Trailer for TV show on the History channel. Settle back and feel yourself losing I.Q. points every single second you watch. Ahhh, ignorance is bliss. (Or, as these people would put it: “Shoot, ig’nance is, uh, sumthin; I reckon.”)

TaxAct A kid has to pee. And this helps sell a tax preparation service how?

Teleflora Adriana Lima, stockings, pumps, little black dress, come-hither make-up. Tagline: Happy Valentine’s Night. I’m sold. Wonder what women think of the spot? Aw forget that; no I don’t.

The Voice Celebs battle each other before everybody meets in Betty White’s hotel room for some sexy talk. Sure, it’s injudicious, but it’s funny.

Video: Teleflora with Adriana Lima:

 
Article is Copr. © 2012 by John Scott G (“the G-Man”), and originally published on AdvertisingIndustryNewswire.com – all commercial rights reserved.

Musicians and bands interested in entering the competition should mail their most disastrous printed press kit to Jonas Music Services by February 29, 2012 along with the complete online application form available at: http://jonasmusicservices.com/worstkit.php .

Jonas Music Services’ Executive Director, Dr. Ann Lathan Kerzner, explains, “Press Kits are so essential in the marketing success of musicians and bands, but they are often poorly understood by the groups creating them. This competition is a fun way to draw attention to the making of a successful print press kit.”

Jonas Music Services LLC is an entertainment and arts marketing agency located in NewYork. Founded in 2004, the company serves musicians, entertainers, bands, agents, publicists and entertainment companies world-wide. Marketing and promotion services include websites, electronic press kits, social media solutions, print work, advertising, email promotion, CD design and much more.

More information about Jonas Music Services is available at http://www.JonasMusicServices.com or at 1-800-897-1774.

Voices.com supported VOICE 2007 and 2010 in previous years through sponsorship, social media reporting and editorial coverage, extending the reach of the conference to a global audience hungry for the latest news, information and trends observed during the industry conference.

“Voices.com is thrilled to sponsor VOICE 2012, an event unlike any other, drawing voice actors and experts from around the world. We look forward to the privilege of being among our customers, industry personalities and the voice over community as a whole. Those representing our team are eager to bring the Voices.com experience to VOICE attendees, to share our unique knowledge and inspire everyone we meet,” Stephanie Ciccarelli, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Voices.com, said.

“We are extremely excited about the support of Voices.com!” said James R. Alburger, an Executive Producer of VOICE. “Partnering with this leader in the voiceover industry is a tremendous opportunity for us. We know that all those in attendance will greatly benefit from this joint effort.”

The conference takes place June 13 – 16, 2012 with the VOICE Red Carpet Reception kicking off the conference on the evening of June 12. To learn more about VOICE 2012, visit: http://www.voices.com/voice2012 .

About VOICE 2012:
VOICE began as an idea to bring the fragmented world of voiceover talent together and has developed into the world’s largest and only international voiceover convention – The VoiceOver International Creative Experience. VOICE focuses on a three-tiered theme for its attendees: Education in both the performing craft and the business of voiceover; Technology knowledge for voice recording and home studios; and building a Community of like-minded professionals.

About Voices:
Voices.com is the industry leading website that connects businesses with professional voice talents. Small businesses and Fortune 500 companies rely upon the Voices.com marketplace to search for, audition and hire voice actors with the assistance of Voices’ innovative SurePay(TM) payment service and award-winning Web application. Voices has a global network of over 75,000 voice actors in over 100 languages and currently serves 163,694 members online. Clients include Microsoft, Cisco, Nintendo, The Los Angeles Times, Glam Media, The Make-a-Wish Foundation, US Army and tens of thousands more.

“We’re again donating $25,000 in free public relations and newswire services to worthy non-profit and charitable organizations to celebrate our 29th anniversary,” said Neotrope founder and CEO, Christopher Laird Simmons. “With this expansion, we’ve now added $25,000 in online marketing services to the program for the first time. This new component gives the grant recipients far more visibility online by running their advertising in ROS campaigns on our news network; we will even create banners for the recipients if they don’t already have them.”

Neotrope previously donated services as part of its Non-Profit PR Grants Program in 2011, 2009, 2005 and 2000. In 2010, Neotrope “adopted” various charities in lieu of providing the PR Grant program, and has provided discounted or free services to various non-profits for almost 30 years. Neotrope’s Send2Press(R) Newswire service provides the online news dissemination component of the grants program for getting press releases in front of interested media.

Past recipients of the Non-Profit PR Grant Program include Children Awaiting Parents, Girls Write Now, Paws of Life Foundation, Special Equestrians, The Bob Moog Foundation, The Starlight Children’s Foundation, The Native Voices Foundation, World Savvy, and many others.

“Neotrope has played an important role in our success in the last couple years,” said Dana Mortenson, Executive Director, World Savvy. “The Neotrope PR Service Grant in 2009 was tremendously helpful in a critical year of our growth. With Neotrope’s help spreading the word for our youth engagement programs, we were able to engage more than 6,000 youth and 1,100 educators in our programs during the 2009-2010 school year.”

“Neotrope has done more to raise our profile than we could have ever imagined, and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them,” said Tammy Westney, Executive Director, Special Equestrians.

How to Apply for 2012 Grant Program:

Non-profit organizations may apply online through January 15, 2012. Organizations will be selected by January 30, 2012, and the amount donated to each selected non-profit will vary, but typically $2,500 in PR services per recipient plus the additional online marketing/advertising component (total value approximately $5,000 per recipient; this is not a cash grant). Two of the grants will be provided to California-based non-profits, who will receive additional promotional assistance through California Newswire(R). Additionally, all 501(c)(3) organizations automatically qualify for a 15% service discount.

The 2012 Neotrope PR Grant application for U.S. based IRS recognized 501(c)3 charitable non-profits can be found at http://www.Send2Press.com/non-profit/index.shtml .

About Neotrope:

Since 1983, Neotrope (www.neotrope.com) has been helping small-to-medium businesses, non-profits, and entertainment companies establish their brand and grow revenue. Neotrope was an Inc. 5000 listed company in 2009. The Neotrope(R) marketing team includes Christopher Laird Simmons, who is an award-winning designer, photographer, musician and digital artist. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and ASCAP. Simmons has been widely interviewed by publications as diverse as Entrepreneur, Chicago Post Tribune, Medical Office Front Desk Pro, Monster.com, Nutraceuticals World, PCWorld, Produce Merchandising, and TrendWatch. He has written for a number of national print publications including Digital Imaging, Print on Demand Business, the Graphic Artists Guild newsletter, and he sold his first article in 1984 to Polyphony (now Electronic Musician). Other team members include accredited public relations professionals, working journalists and SEO experts.

Each Central Texas Smashburger will feature a regional menu created with regional flavors and tastes in mind. The Temple menu includes: The Texas Burger, served with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, pickles, and red onion, and dressed within yellow mustard. It will also include the Texas Dog, a 100 percent Angus Beef hot dog dressed with pepperjack cheese, creamy guacamole, fresh jalapenos, spicy chipotle sauce, tomato, and onion. As a regional side item, the Temple store will offer fried jalapeno spears with buttermilk ranch dressing.

“Smashburger has a unique spot in the industry,” says Smashburger Founder and Chief Concept Officer Tom Ryan. “We have created a union of top-quality ingredients, loving preparation, and friendly service that we hope Temple will agree is unparalleled.”

At Smashburger, the secret is in the smash. They start with 100-percent-fresh, never frozen, Certified Angus Beef and smash it on a 400 degree flat grill to sear in the juicy flavor. To further the “better burger” experience, they are served on a toasted artisan bun and topped with a selection of the freshest produce, real cheeses, and highest-quality condiments.

Smashburger is known for its delicious burgers, but customers can also enjoy a selection of tender marinated grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, grilled and split hot dogs, and fresh tossed signature salads, along with a variety of irresistible sides including rosemary and garlic-seasoned Smashfries, fried pickles, Haystack Onions, and Veggie Frites (flash-fried and seasoned asparagus spears, carrot sticks and green beans). The restaurant will also serve a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including local beers, wine, hand-spun Haagen-Dazs shakes and IBC(R) root-beer floats in frosted mugs.

“We are thrilled to bring our business to Central Texas, starting in Temple,” says David Prokupek, Chairman and CEO of Smashburger. “We believe the Texmash franchise group will be great partners in helping the area come to love the excellent food and service Smashburger offers.”

“Temple is an exciting place for us to bring the Smashburger brand,” says Manish Agrawal, Managing Partner of Texmash Holdings LLC. “We see Temple as a thriving city with a lot of competitive growth in the fast-casual segment. Residents here have many choices for a high-quality quick meal, but we hope to stand out. Smashburger wants to be every city’s favorite place for burgers, and we aim to earn that respect in Temple with our great food and astoundingly friendly service.”

About Smashburger:

Smashburger is the country’s fastest growing, fast casual “better burger” restaurant. Its hand-crafted burgers are made with fresh, never frozen, 100 percent Certified Angus Beef, that are “smashed,” seared and seasoned on the grill to juicy perfection for every individual order. Guests can create their own burger masterpiece or enjoy one of Smashburger’s innovative signature recipes, including a unique burger for every local market that highlights the distinctive flavors of that region.

Smashburger also serves tender marinated grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, grilled and split hot dogs, freshly prepared entree salads, kids meals, hand-spun Haagen-Dazs shakes and an array of signature sides. Developed and owned by private equity firm Consumer Capital Partners (CCP), Smashburger operates and develops both corporate and multi-unit franchise territories across the country with 140 restaurants nationwide. Smashburger topped the Forbes Most Promising Company list in 2011 and was also named to the 2011 Inc. 500 list. It is the recipient of the International Council of Shopping Centers 2011 Hot Retailer Award. To learn more, visit www.smashburger.com .

About Consumer Capital Partners:

Denver-based Consumer Capital Partners (CCP) is an innovative private investment and concept development firm focused on multi-unit retail businesses, primarily in the restaurant industry. CCP has deep experience in the fields of private equity, brand, concept and product development and strategic consulting. To learn more about CCP, please visit www.consumercp.com .

“Despite global economic uncertainty, the telecommunications industry is showing strong revenue growth, which is being driven by consumer Internet usage and business mobility solutions. These are enabling new applications,” says Fran Caulfield, Research Director for Insight Research.

“Even amidst so much economic uncertainty, the fact remains that telecommunications is a key factor in economic growth. Telecommunications facilitates socio-economic advancement and is a critical utility for economic development, much like water and energy,” Caulfield concluded.

According to the new industry market study, says that the global telecommunications industry continues to expand as spending by consumers and businesses for wireless services fuels industry revenue growth.

“The 2012 Telecommunications Industry Review: An Anthology of Market Facts and Forecasts” notes that wireless subscriber growth, particularly in Asia and other emerging markets, will raise wireless revenues by 64 percent from current levels, while wireline revenues show only modest growth.

Nearly all of the growth in both sectors is expected to occur in broadband services, with wireless 3G and 4G broadband services projected to grow at a compounded rate of 24 percent over the forecast period and wireline broadband services projected to grow at a 13 percent compounded rate over the same forecast horizon.

In addition to regional and sector forecasts, the report provides an assessment of the key drivers of this growth, including industry trends, network infrastructure and access technologies, telecom services, and enterprise telecom markets. An excerpt, table of contents, and ordering information are available online at http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/review12.asp .

This comprehensive 352-page report is available immediately for $1,195 (hard copy). Electronic (PDF) reports can also be ordered online.

According to Rasmus Refer, President of Masterseek, “Already included within these 100 million listings for businesses worldwide are comprehensive, accurate contact data for all Fortune 500 companies, and the Masterseek Business Directory also features 408,000 importers and exporters. As another important milestone in business search technology, it is especially noteworthy that over 76 million of these Masterseek-listed businesses can be reached through the platform’s e-mail contact form.”

The importance of achieving such a milestone is logistical as well as psychological: By providing business researchers with access to information regarding every significant company and business enterprise worldwide, and by offering businesspeople the tools to achieve B2B search results with pinpoint relevancy, Masterseek is now poised for more growth ahead.

Masterseek’s achievements leading up to the New Year are expected to provide a foundation for the launch of even more functionality during 2012, building upon Masterseek’s reputation as a business search powerhouse and continuing to highlight Masterseek’s ability to connect buyers and sellers around the world on a common, highly-effective business platform utilizing intelligent software that learns and responds to the needs of users in real time.

Search-technology industry analysts believe that 2012 will be another year of continued rapid growth and development for Masterseek, already an acknowledged leader in B2B search technology, with more news expected soon.

More information: http://www.masterseek.com .

The goal of the campaign is to warn Americans about a looming problem. “The majority will be affected at some point by long-term care needs of themselves or a close family member,” says Goldberg. “Yet few are prepared for this.” The campaign is letting them know so they can avoid a financial and personal crisis. “Our new board members and the new carrier support will add to our ability to do this.”

The new carrier support includes:
* A study sponsored by Genworth. Released in November, the study found that most adults believe that long-term care insurance should be purchased between the ages of 45-64, yet 82 percent of this age group has not purchased a policy. The study also found that since the 2008 financial crisis, only 20 percent of adults have taken any action on their financial strategy.
* Marketing support by John Hancock. The company applied the “3 in 4″ logo to its newly created education materials supplied to its network of LTC agents in honor of LTC Awareness Month.

The 3in4 Association’s advisory board has been expanded from 14 to 21. The seven new members are:
* Joseph Pulitano, President, Advanced Resources Marketing;
* Bill Herring, President, Online Insurance Services, LLC;
* Steve Dozier, President, AIMS Benefit Solutions;
* Mark Leighton, Chief Operating Officer, Connect America;
* Chris Orestis, Co-Founder and President, Life Care Funding Group;
* Carol Gardner, President of LifeStyle Insurance Services;
* Barry Eldridge, President of ICBLTC.

To take advantage of the “3 in 4 Need More” campaign, LTC agencies, brokers, agents, and advisors may use a number of resources found at http://www.3in4needmore.com .

About the 3in4 Association:
The “3 in 4 Need More” campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of long-term care planning. The campaign utilizes multiple marketing strategies to increase awareness. The “3 in 4 Need More” campaign is a public service of the 3in4 Association, which operates as a nonprofit 501(C)(6)corporation. Members of the campaign cross all industries, genders and ages. The campaign supports an online platform located at www.3in4needmore.com .

This resource supports consumer plan development, and products and services that should be considered in long-term care planning. The platform also provides awareness support for long-term care planning specialists.

The market research report notes that in this period of slow economic growth and reduced spending on basic telecommunications and IT services, many enterprises will find that purchasing managed services is a cost-effective alternative to increasing internal staffing. The study predicts that revenues associated with the managed services market will nearly double from nearly $140 billion in 2012 to $266 billion in 2016.

Insight’s newly-released market analysis report, “Managed Services in an IP World: Global Opportunities for Wireless and Wired Networks 2011-2016″ includes full segment details for North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and Pacific Rim, and Latin America.

The study differentiates and forecasts five managed service segments: managed data center services, managed infrastructure, managed LAN services, managed WAN services, and managed mobility services. In addition to the revenue forecasts for these market segments, forecasts are provided for various market subdivisions, including managed IP VPNs, security services, VoIP, LAN extensions, WLAN extensions, managed cellular services, hosting and cloud services.

“Stability has returned to the telecommunications industry and with the continued shift to wireless and cloud-based services we are forecasting strong revenue growth in the managed and outsourcing services segments,” says Fran Caulfield, Research Director for Insight Research.

“As enterprises shift their applications to the cloud and as more users access these applications via mobile devices, the level of complexity involved in managing these moving targets increases. Buying a suite of Managed Services can get the enterprise around the complexity-the local IT manager can outsource the most difficult tasks to a service provider, and probably get the job done faster and at a lower cost,” Caulfield concluded.

An excerpt of this market research report, table of contents, and ordering information are online at http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/manserv11.asp . The report is available immediately for $4,695. Electronic (PDF) reports can be ordered online. Visit our website at www.insight-corp.com or call 973/541-9600 for details.

“The U.S. economy the past two years had been hard on small business, and even harder on small charities and non-profits. This PR Grant program is our way of supporting some of the numerous smaller organizations we feel need ongoing help to ‘get the word out’ about their worthwhile efforts,” said Neotrope CEO and co-founder, Christopher Simmons. “We’ve been very helpful to numerous organizations to increase visibility both online and off, and hope to continue this program into the future.”

Founded in 1983, Neotrope has previously donated services as part of its Non-Profit PR Grants Program in 2011, 2009, 2005 and 2000, and has provided discounted or free services to various non-profits for almost 30 years.

Neotrope, and its service division Send2Press Newswire (www.Send2Press.com), have also sponsored art benefits contributing to aid efforts for the homeless in Chicago, groups providing environmentally sustainable housing in areas of the world where disaster has left people without adequate shelter; and to orgs who raise money for AIDS orphans.

How to Apply for 2012 NonProfit PR Grant Program:
Non-profit organizations may apply starting November 15, 2011 through January 15, 2012. Organizations will be selected by January 30, 2012, and the amount donated to each selected non-profit will vary, but typically $2500 in services per recipient (this is not a cash grant). Three of the grants will be provided to California-based non-profits, who will receive additional promotional assistance through California Newswire(R). Additionally, all 501(c)(3) organizations automatically qualify for a 15% service discount.

The 2012 Neotrope PR Grant application can be found at http://www.Send2Press.com/non-profit/index.shtml .

About Neotrope:
Since 1983, Neotrope (www.neotrope.com) has been helping small-to-medium businesses, non-profits, and entertainment companies establish their brand and grow revenue. Neotrope was an Inc. 5000 listed company in 2009. The Neotrope(R) marketing team includes Christopher Laird Simmons, who is an award-winning designer, photographer, musician and digital artist. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and ASCAP. Simmons has been widely interviewed by publications as diverse as Entrepreneur, Chicago Post Tribune, PCWorld, Monster.com, and TrendWatch. Other team members include accredited public relations professionals, working journalists and broadcast veterans.

Neotrope(R) is a registered trademark and service mark in the U.S. and Europe. Send2Press and California Newswire are registered service marks of Neotrope. All rights reserved.