Readers and publishers alike are embracing a digital future. Electronic-book sales increased 73% in October compared with the same month last year, according to the Assn. of American Publishers, while sales of adult paperbacks decreased 23% and children's paperbacks declined 14.8%

More than four out of 10 children ages 6 to 11 have visited a Website they saw or heard about in a commercial or advertisement, according to a 2008 MRI survey.

The goal: to make Barbie fashionable again with older girls, who are dropping her for other, edgier playthings like video games.

Regardless of the economic landscape, kids are more consumer-driven than ever and are prime targets for marketers.

Small firms and those that use natural materials say the costs of testing toys for lead and other harmful substances may put them out of business.

LONDON - Ofcom has estimated the amount of TV advertising for less healthy foods seen by children has dropped by a third since the introduction of stricter regulations in April 2007.

State legislators have introduced at least three bills since January that would allow school districts to raise money by selling ads on the sides of the buses they rent or own.

Advertisers are looking to malls more and more as venues for experiential marketing, hoping to immerse consumers in spaces where they are physically surrounded by brand messages.

Collaboration with Spike TV Will Spotlight Trials and Tribulations of Independent Gamers

Montgomery County school officials said today they have decided to end a trial run of BusRadio, a private broadcast service that provides programmed music and ads to students on their school buses.

Montgomery County parents and national children's advocacy groups are questioning the school system's experiment with BusRadio, a private network that broadcasts sanitized music and ads to a captive audience of student passengers.

Nearly 60% of U.S. mobile subscribers use text-messaging on a regular basis, with 16% recalling some form of advertising while texting, according to new research by Nielsen Mobile. Given the growing popularity of text messaging, Nielsen says cell users can expect to see more short-code marketing.

So far, the deepening recession has not slowed sales of virtual goods, which executives attribute to people spending more time at home.

Move is part of the Better Business Bureau’s Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative

According to the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), the study, which was conducted by independent analyst TNS, sought to ascertain the manner in which UK children between 0 and 16 years of age consume drinks.

Junk food companies are collecting children's personal details via websites to direct marketing messages to them.

In what researchers call the first report of its kind, a review of 173 studies about the effects of media consumption on children asserts that a strong correlation exists between greater exposure and adverse health outcomes.

With all the glittering decorations and tempting toy commercials, children are especially vulnerable at this time of the year to becoming selfish shopaholics if parents don't step in, the author of a new book says.

Americans are taking a closer look at their spending habits this holiday season as the country is mired in its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

A leading Catholic cleric has launched a fierce attack on Disney, claiming it has corrupted children and encouraged greed.