Not since the Kennedy-Nixon debates has media played such an important role in a presidential election. The Internet, the new kid on the political media block, is proving highly influential in everything from fundraising to myth busting. To track the interplay of candidate web buzz, political advertising, pundit programming, entertainment parodies, convention and debate coverage requires an integrated, multi-media view.

Color the 2008 holiday shopping season red for investment losses, white for shredded financial documents and blue for American consumers dealing with the double whammy of failed financial markets and crumbling employment numbers. An equal opportunity offender, the market downturn has impacted all economic strata , including the one-third of high net worth individuals dialing down holiday spending.

Television celebrity chefs have helped to usher in a new wave of home-grown culinary connoisseurs. From best-selling books and top-rated shows, to palate-pleasing provisions, home-style gourmet chefs represent a highly desirable demographic that can help boost ailing retail sales at a time of economic uncertainty. Gourmet cooks not only shop more frequently than the average household, but they also spend more dough at club, grocery, drug and dollar stores.

EA Sports’ video game Madden NFL Football is the number one selling sports video game of all time, with more than 70 million copies sold since its release in 1988. Video gamers and sports fans alike eagerly anticipate the game’s arrival every year in what has become something of an annual holiday. Meanwhile, the game has successfully crossed over into television programming, has moved across screens to online and mobile, and has become embedded into U.S. sports culture.

CI SUMMARY: More consumers are obese than ever before, and the future does not look bright. Consumers have responded by checking nutrition labels more and embracing creative weight-loss methods. But the level of concern about weight and healthy lifestyles varies by consumer segment. A solid understanding of obese consumers and their self perceptions may prove to be key in helping marketers create products and programs that tackle this problem head on.

CI SUMMARY: Asians in the U.S. are often overlooked by marketers due to the tremendous growth of the Hispanic population. However, marketers will need to dig deep in order to reach this rapidly growing segment, who speak many different languages and have diverse cultural backgrounds as compared with the Hispanic consumer. While most Hispanics in the U.S. come from either Mexico or Latin America and share at least some parts of their culture, Asians do not. The strong cultural differences between persons from Japan, China, and India impact their tastes and how they approach their lives in the U.S.