Ambush ads gain World Cup edge

So-called ambush ads by Nike and Carlsberg are generating more buzz than rivals who have paid millions to be official football World Cup sponsors, a study has found, reports Financial Times.

Nielsen, the audience measurement group, found Nike's 'Write the future' ad, featuring England player Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, of Portugal, has helped the brand achieve twice as many mentions on English-speaking blogs, forums and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook than Adidas, its main rival.

Like other sponsors, Adidas paid millions of dollars to be an official Fifa partner. But its Star Wars-themed ad, featuring footballer David Beckham and Noel Gallagher, from the band Oasis, has not been as well-received as Nike's.

Nielsen and McKinsey & Company have formed a global joint venture, NM Incite, to help companies harness the power of social media intelligence to drive superior business performance, states Earth Times.

NM Incite builds upon the social media and online brand metrics, consumer insights, and real-time market intelligence of Nielsen BuzzMetrics to transform business operations such as product development, marketing, communications and customer service. With the creation of this new venture, BuzzMetrics becomes wholly part of NM Incite.

“Our venture with McKinsey will extend our ability to help clients answer one of the central questions facing CEOs - how to unleash the promise of social media,” said David Calhoun, CEO of Nielsen.

Information technology experts have said Nigeria's economy would be widely driven by e-business if government, corporate bodies and individuals adopt electronic forms of business at all levels, says the Daily Independent.

The IT experts, who spoke at the e-business conference in Lagos, organised by the Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), called on Nigerians to give priority to e-business solutions because of their potential to drive business and the economy.

In his welcome address to the conference, NIG president Lanre Ajayi said e-business has continued to be a catalyst to accelerated economic growth in many countries around the world, and that Nigeria can not afford to be an exception.