Candidates adopt new media campaigns

Perhaps the biggest wake-up call to the power of new media was Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, and now the trend has spread to the elections for the Columbia City Council, writes Columbia Daily Tribune.

Knorr Marketing Communications president, Wendy Knorr, says using a variety of tools is key to marketing and communication success. “Candidates ... need to embrace these mediums as they did radio and TV. It is no longer a one-way communication.”

Most city council candidates use or plan to use some combination of Web site, Twitter and Facebook. For some, such as mayoral candidate Sid Sullivan, it's a new experience. “I'm not exactly a techie. I'm learning as I am going,” he said.

With Pfizer dramatically scaling back its sales force, the drug giant has turned to other promotional methods, nearly doubling its spending on electronic marketing through most of last year, reports The Day.

The trade publication Medical Media & Marketing reported that Pfizer had spent $27 million on e-marketing efforts through the first 11 months of the year, compared with $14 million for the same period a year previously. The numbers came from the research firm SDI of Yardley.

Pfizer, which has R&D campuses in Groton and New London, was second only to Merck among drug companies in the amount spent on e-marketing. Merck cut back on electronic promotions last year, but still leads by a wide margin, on pace to spend about $68 million on an annual basis.

A new start-up in Singapore is cutting business costs and taking on an environmentally-friendly postal service, according to Channel NewsAsia.

Global leaders are continuing to urge international action on increasing clean energy usage and climate change awareness. While governments are working on fighting the effects of climate change, companies are coming up with innovative solutions for reducing carbon footprints.

It is estimated that, on average, every bill sent costs a company about S$1 (R5), but with paperless billing or e-billing, Singapore firm GreenPost said the cost could be reduced by as much as 80%. According to GreenPost, only 5% of Singaporeans have gone paperless when it comes to receiving their bills. The firm has created a secure online portal or 'mail box' for users to receive their bills and statements.