Here is a look at some standout brand-building and advertising communications stories that have been catching our attention:

Rethinking Strategy, Planning

• Contagious’ Recap of the Hyper Island & D&AD Digital Masterclass
• 2009′s Media Plan of the Year
• Global CMO Interview: Trevor Edwards, Nike
• What Mountain Dew Learned from Dewmocracy
• Transparency: The Most Valuable Companies in the World
• Three Principles for Driving Innovation Through Technology
• Orange’s iPhone 4 Loyalty Approach: Rewarding Loyalty vs. Gaining New Customers

World Cup Influence on Brand Work

• Twitter Servers Can’t Keep Up with World Cup Traffic
• Adidas Launches “The Quest”
• Pereira O’Dell’s Pocket Vuvuzela iPhone App
• Blooper Turns to Buzz for English Soccer & Player
• US-England Game Highlights in Legos

Innovation, Creativity, New Brand Work

• Mini Taunts Porsche
• Spike Lee Takes Absolut on Tour of Brooklyn in Latest Campaign
• Inside Gatorade’s Social Media Command Center
• GiantHydra Launches, Aims to Bring “Mass Collaboration” to Creative Development Process
• “End Love” Another Original OK Go Video
• Coke’s Closely-Guarded Trade Secret
• On the Record with BBH’s Seth Weisfeld
• Tiffany’s Engagement Ring App

Digital Media & Marketing News

• 22% of Internet Time is Social
• Facebook “Like” Comes to Comments
• Why Apple’s Siri Acquisition Points to the Future of Mobile
• With 600,000 Units Sold, iPhone 4 Sells Out Until July 2
• Social and Local Features Double Spotify Subscriptions
• New York Times Bans the Word “Tweet” Outside of Ornithological Context
• Social Media in Business: Fortune 100 Statistics
• Pandora Deal Brings Big Name Advertisers to iPad
• More Viewers for TV Shows Online
• Another Perspective on the Value of a Facebook Fan