Google is building out its mobile ad arsenal by expanding its new click-to-call ad options. The company is providing the smartphone ad option to national advertisers seeeking to give mobile users the ability to tap numbers in ads to connect with businesses. The click-to-call ads had previously been limited to firms with local numbers.

Marketers are just beginning to explore what augmented reality can do for their campaign and brands. However new research - along with some speculation - suggests that the promise this technology holds is only just beginning to unfold.  

Women and people between 35 and 54 are most apt to perform social networking activities via mobile device, according to data from The Nielsen Company. A clear gender gap exists in social networking activity on mobile devices.

Talk about getting caught with your pants down. After running back-to-back ads in the Super Bowl utilizing the same creative theme -- people walking about without any trousers -- CBS has agreed to give one of the marketers involved additional ad time to make up for the gaffe, according to a person familiar with the situation.

While video email marketing is still an emerging technology, a new survey by GetResponse suggests that marketers are intrigued by the technology's potential to increase conversion rates - and plan to adopt it in the near future.  

It's not just B2C marketers that are increasing their interactive spend. Forrester predicts B2B companies will not only increase investment in interactive channels but shift their traditional marketing budgets online.

New research indicates that the long-held promise of TV/Internet convergence is gaining traction, albeit slowly. Leichtman Research Group data shows that just over 24% of all U.S. homes have a Web-to-TV connection, while 5% of adults are watching YouTube and Hulu on their TV screens each week.  

There's a new ad unit on the horizon. Online video ad network Smartclip released the SmartStitial video ad unit this week, giving marketers the ability to surround a video ad with a branded message.