U.S. retail sales rose 1.4% in March 2025, driven by auto purchases and supported by tax refunds, lower gas prices, and modest income growth. While the National Retail Federation forecasts core retail sales to grow up to 3.7% this year, consumer confidence remains shaky amid ongoing tariff uncertainty and global trade disruptions. For local media, this presents short-term ad revenue opportunities in sectors like auto, home improvement, and financial services. However, advertisers are expected to be cautious and demand more ROI-driven, flexible advertising solutions.

Omnicom and Publicis report that advertising spending remains stable in early 2025, with clients continuing to invest to maintain brand strength despite economic uncertainty. Both agencies caution that volatility in inflation, tariffs, and geopolitics may impact future spending, but Q1 growth was solid—7% for Omnicom and 4.1% for Publicis in the U.S. Clients are taking a wait-and-see approach for the remainder of the year, holding off on major new investments until conditions clarify. Analysts warn that a potential decline in consumer spending could lead to modest reductions in ad budgets later in 2025.

Kroger is expanding its Our Brands portfolio with a fresh lineup of trendy, affordable products under its Kroger, Private Selection, and Simple Truth labels. The new offerings reflect the supermarket chain rsquo;s commitment to innovation, customer preferences, and budget-friendly quality.

Often, when I talk to managers, they tell me how much time they spend coaching. They tell me stories of meeting, weekly, with their people, doing reviews, pipeline discussions, activity discussions—-all sorts of “coaching meetings.” They say, “Dave, coaching is important and we are spending a lot of time coaching…..”

As a sales manager, it’s crucial to avoid common pitfalls that can negatively impact team performance. Here’s how to navigate ten key mistakes: Assuming Everyone Works Like You: Establish clear KPIs to guide different working styles. Hiring Based Solely on Experience: Prioritize performance over experience. Delaying Firings: Act quickly when someone isn’t performing. Failing to Identify Bad Reps: Remove toxic or unproductive reps promptly. Relying on Activity over Results: Focus on outcomes, not just activity. Allowing Low Win Rates: Coach reps, but don’t tolerate chronic underperformance.

Studies reveal a startling paradox: 82% of leaders believe they’re supporting their teams effectively, yet only 38% of employees feel genuinely supported. Moreover, this disconnect stems from what initially appears to be a positive leadership trait – what I call “the protection paradox” – the desire to protect teams from challenges. However, this well-intentioned shield ultimately becomes the very barrier that stifles growth and erodes trust. As an executive leadership coach working alongside pioneering organizations,

Americans lead media-driven lives, and technology is always changing how businesses can communicate with consumers. Not so very long ago, advertisers were limited to static media like billboards, newspapers, direct mail, and the Yellow Pages; radio, television, and cable followed. Social media and the internet are the newest tools in the box. With all these options, it can be hard to choose what to...

Television remains the most popular choice for national and international news, despite the growth of online news sources. There has been continued expansion of news time on local television, setting a record high in 2010. During that time advertising on local news programs contributed 46.8% of the average station’s revenue, according to a survey of news directors.  Although TV viewership has increased overall, both local morning and late night time slots experienced the most growth in 2011.

Weather forecasting has been around since the 1700s, when the nation’s livelihood literally depended on the weather. Benjamin Franklin published his own weather reports, as did Robert B. Thomas, whose Farmer’s Almanac is still published to this day. As technology supported new media like radio, television, and the Internet, weather was always a staple of any news broadcast—though today’s

A number of industries and potential advertisers can benefit from grant money. Nonprofit organizations usually rely heavily on grants to finance operations and special projects, but the media can also benefit from these funds. Partnering with a nonprofit organization to apply for grant money gives your station a chance to help the group reach its goals, while generating revenue for your station.

Today’s Media Map is as complex and dynamic as the map of the Earth – the winds of change erode the high points, the fastest-flowing channels can be reduced to a trickle or disappear entirely and unpredictable forces can suddenly and dramatically alter the landscape.

The Founding Fathers were quite progressive for their time when they declared that all “men (and women) are created equal.” Living in the 18th century, it’s not surprising that they didn’t take the next step and realize that although all are equal, all are also different. Since then, especially during the late 20th century and the first decade and a half of the 21st century, people have come to understand that inclusiveness, or societal diversity, is a strength.

When the history of the last 50 years is studied and analyzed hundreds of year from now, it is likely to be recognized as the first epoch of equality. Seemingly every day, stereotypes and biases about gender, age, race and sexual orientation are being rejected and being replaced by genuine efforts to treat everyone equally. Often, lost among all these seismic changes is the major transformation of the role of men.

The Most Profound Change, Positive, meaningful change can seem to take forever, and then, during a single moment, we collectively take a giant leap across the divide., A spacecraft’s encounter with Pluto. The US Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage is constitutional

Quite likely, the dominance of sports in modern American culture is only exceeded by the biggest non-athletic competition, politics. Kantar Media’s report on total US advertising expenditures for 2014 – a 0.7-percent increase to $141.2 billion – supports this conclusion, as it stated the increase was attributable to the Winter Olympics, World Cup and the mid-term elections. According to Kantar