BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT

Audio Branding: Phillips Explores the Sound of Creation brandchannel 09.07.12 The stewards of the Philips brand are “obsessed” with sound, and are hoping to answer the question, “Does creativity have a sound? And if so, what would it be?” Cue “The Sound of Creation,” an interactive musical story and digital experience that’s playing out on the Philips Sound Facebook page and on a microsite.

Ikea’s Hit Web Show: An Entertaining Ad The Wall Street Journal 9.07.12 “Easy to Assemble,” a tongue-and-cheek comedy series co-produced by its creator and lead actress, Illeana Douglas, and the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, illustrates the latest twist in Branded Entertainment. The success of “Easy to Assemble,” which social-media users have already shared more than 1.5 million times, has led IKEA to roughly triple its efforts to create branded content.

ISM Entertainment Launching Branded Entertainment Group at Black Hangar Studios in the UK PR.com 9.13.12 ISM will offer brand partnership opportunities through Black Hangar Studios not available with major motion picture studios. ISM’s on-lot Branded Entertainment Group will manage strategic partnerships at Black Hangar Studios including Product Placement, Brand Integration and Cross Promotion. Other Black Hangar amenities include production offices, location services, art department, special FX workshops, construction workshops, full post-production and finishing services.

ADVERTISING 

Ad Industry Needs Social Analytics To Identify Influences And Search Trends Media Post Publications 09.10.12 Social media identifies buzz that points to trends in specific geographic areas and topics, but can advancements in analytics produce the insight to really identify increases in search behavior and interest?

Dew Process: PepsiCo Stunt Takes a Pop at Bloomberg’s NYC Soda Ban Brand Channel 9.13.12 In response to Bloomberg’s NYC Soda Ban, PepsiCo-owned Mountain Dew partnered with “cultural production” studio New York Art Department to plaster ads around New York City that say “Prohibition” and feature a 17 ounce, vintage can of Mountain Dew (long before it was abbreviated to Mtn. Dew). To drive the message home, a smaller message quips: “Also available in legal sizes!”

Facebook advertising gets more sophisticated MarketWatch 9.13.12 Facebook said Thursday its Facebook Exchange has moved out of a preliminary testing stage to become more widely available. The technology enables advertisers to track visitors on sites outside of Facebook back to the social network, and present advertising to them there based on interests expressed online.

ENTERTAINMENT

Martha Stewart Expands Digital Video Push to Hulu Mashable 09.10.12 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has knit partnerships with Hulu and AOL to transition the “domestic diva” from TV and some online content to a heavy dose of archived digital videos and newer short-form segments. The deals come after The Martha Stewart Show ended its daytime TV run in May, although Stewart will maintain a TV presence on PBS’s “Cooking School,” which debuts in October.

Online Video Frequency; Less Is More As CBS-Owned Digital Food Show Downshifts Media Post Publications 09.10.12 Whenever a regular online video series undergoes a change, that can be a good opportunity to learn about what works and doesn’t work in a regular Web video show. One such example is CBS Interactive-owned Chow.com’s “SuperTaster” series. The show, fronted by Chow columnist James Norton, who taste tests mass-market food in each episode, is downshifting from five days a week to a three-day-a-week schedule.

Nintendo Sets Sights on Living Room Entertainment With TVii Service AllThingsD 9.13.12 Along with announcing the launch date and price for the Wii U, Nintendo unveiled TVii, a new application that streams video to the TV. But as with many streaming TV services for the home, it is more of a fancy remote control or elaborate directory than it is a replacement for how you watch TV — and more importantly — how you pay for it.

MEDIA & TECH

Most TV, Tablet Interactions Involve Another Screen E Marketer 09.11.12 With a sizeable portion of the US population now in possession of multiple media devices, including TVs, computers, smartphones and tablets, maintaining a multiscreen presence is a mandate for marketers.

Reporters Turn to Mobile Video for Fashion Week Coverage Mashable 09.10.12 Instagram may have been the darling of New York Fashion Week in February, but this September, several fashion reporters are turning to Viddy and other forms of mobile video distribution to compliment their coverage. Eva Chen, Teen Vogue beauty director and hyperactive user of Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, has been uploading several short videos to Viddy at and in between each show she’s attended since Fashion Week began last Thursday.

High-Tech Product Announcements This Fall ABC News 9.13.12 Toys R Us says it plans to launch its own Android tablet computer aimed at children, Google releases a new YouTube app for the iPhone and the iPad as Apple prepares to release a new iPhone model and more.

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT

Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama concept store at Selfridges, London Wallpaper 09.05.12

Kusama fever has been spreading for a while, and it’s officially in its most virulent stage. The Japanese artist, who created a spectacularly dotty limited-edition cover for our W*159 June issue, has been the subject of a worldwide retrospective that this year toured to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London and New York’s Whitney Museum. The infection has spread to the fashion realm too, with her iconic polka dot patterns being picked up on a line of leather goods and a small ready-to-wear collection for Louis Vuitton, launched in July.

How to Assemble That Big Content –Integration Deal AdAge 09.05.12

When Starcom MediaVest elevated content-and-integration veteran Brian Terkelsen to CEO of MediaVest USA in June, it was the latest sign of the growing role for content in marketing and media buying. Mr. Terkelsen previously helped execute high-profile deals such as Wheat Thins’ appearance on “The Colbert Report,” the Cover Girl integration on “America’s Next Top Model” and Microsoft’s “TV to Bing About” campaign with The CW.

Miniclip partners with former Nickelodeon president to take IP to TV, film and web Pocket Gamer 09.05.12

Miniclip has announced a partnership with digital entertainment studio Worldwide Biggies designed to bring its IP to TV, film and the web. Founded by Albie Hecht – the former president of Nickelodeon and founder of Spike TV – Worldwide Biggies will accelerate Miniclip’s ‘long-term global brand extension campaign’ by creating branded entertainment experiences targeted at a young audience.

Dior Unzips Lady Dior Documentary About “Lady M”: Marion Cotillard brandchannel 09.03.12

Dior is releasing an online-exclusive documentary featuring French actress Marion Cotillard, who also starred in the luxury brand’s 2011 branded entertainment foray, titled “The Lady Noire Affair.” That short film noir spoof, featuring a black Lady Dior handbag and matching accessories in a co-starring role, helped make Lady Dior a sub-brand in its own right — and the handbag of choice of North Korean first lady Ri Sol Ju.

Dove® Men+Care® Portrays The Personal Playbooks of Sports Legends John Elway and Doug Flutie Missouri Sports 09.01.12

Sports fans know John Elway as a college and professional football Hall-of-Famer and Doug Flutie for his celebrated “Hail Mary” pass, but few know that Elway likes to hit the dance floor with his children at family gatherings, or that Flutie incentivized his daughter’s soccer team to win a game by allowing them to paint his fingernails. 

ADVERTISING

Brands Climb Onto NFL, NCAA Juggernauts for Football’s Big Kick-Off brandchannel 09.05.12

Are you ready for some football? Big brands surely are. The National Football League may be a marketing and TV-programing juggernaut, but it is carrying more weight for more major brands than ever. Take auto advertisers, for instance. Despite football telecasts that already were slated to be crowded with other car brands, Audi decided to use tonight’s kickoff game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys for the marketing launch of its crucial new 2013 S Models.

Ad Club of New York “I’mpart”s Diversity Training brandchannel 09.05.12

The Advertising Club of New York is committing $700,000 to “I’mpart,” an initiative to support training programs in high school, college and post-college to promote greater diversity in advertising and marketing, industries notorious for poor inclusion of blacks, Latinos and Asians. “Diversity in advertising has crept into the news again. The gorilla in the room continues to make noise as everyone tries to ignore it.”

Ogilvy & Mather announces joint venture in the Philippines GMA News 09.02.12

Ogilvy & Mather Philippines and A+B Expedio Integrated Marketing Communications, a leading below-the-line agency in the country with expertise in trade activation and events management, have established a joint venture company in the Philippines called OgilvyAction.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sundance Channel’s reality push Realscreen 09.05.12

As many producers of unscripted programming know, reality can be relative. “We used to do a lot of programming we called ‘The Green,’” explains Sarah Barnett, Sundance Channel’s executive VP and general manager. “It was environmentally focused programming, and these days people don’t particularly want to watch that on television. Sundance is interested in looking at very real, hard-fought, but positive solutions for some of the challenges that exist in our world.”

AOL’s Entrance Rolls Augmented Reality And Entertainment Into One Impressive Package Wed Pro News 09.05.12

Microsoft and Nokia are holding a big event today to show off the future of the Windows Phone platform. We’re expecting to see some new hardware from Nokia’s impressive Lumia line. The mobile device manufacturer has also been busy on the software side of things lately. They recently announced Nokia Music, a free streaming service, but a new partnership with AOL has yielded an even more impressive app.

Killing TV to Punish Comcast? It’s the Networks That Take the Hit Wired 09.04.12
According to recent research, multi-channel cable television subscription costs have gone up an average of 7 percent in the U.S. in the last year, and economic pressures have led roughly 30 percent of Americans to cut back on their bundled cable packages. But the truth is, they’re not worth as much to the cable company as one might think.

Vegas Airport Gets Interactive Media Post Publications 08.31.12

If endless rows of slot machines aren’t your thing, you’re in luck: Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport is installing interactive digital signage that allows you to spend a few minutes actually, like, learning something useful without having to throw five $20 bills down the drain.

MEDIA & TECH

Google+ Hangout Featuring World Premiere of “Lincoln” Movie Trailer To be Broadcast In Times Square Tech Crunch 09.04.12

This piece of news comes wrapped up with quite a few bows-of-interest.  If you’re familiar with how Google+ Hangouts work, then you’ll be interested to know that Steven Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be participating in one on September 13th at 4 PM PT

The Dawn Of Social Innovation 3.0 Fast Company 09.04.12
We’ve reached a new stage of social innovation in which bold ideas are now being turned into real-world projects. Neil Kleinman of New York University’s graduate school of public service says social innovation has evolved twice since its creation and right now we’re in a period that he calls social innovation 3.0. Our current stage–perhaps the most important–is about institutionalizing those ideas so that they can take hold in businesses, governments, and organizations around the world.

Northwestern Launches College Football’s First Social Media Hub Mashable 09.04.12

The Northwestern University football program launched a social media homepage on Tuesday, one that brings together content and status updates from a number of networks for easy fan consumption. Not just a collection of Twitter handles and other links, school reps say the Northwestern Football Social Media Network is the first of its kind in college football.

The Netflix Effect: In a Multi-Screen World, Being Seamless Is the Next Big Task Media Post Publications 09.04.12

When people use multiple screens throughout the day to accomplish a task, the smartphone is most often the starting point, according to a comprehensive new research study from Google. In fact, the Ipsos/Sterling/Google study of over 1600 users of multiple devices discovered that 90% of consumers are moving across multiple screens in some kind of sequence in order to complete a task, and almost all (98%) are moving between those screens to advance that task on the same day. Sequential multi-screening generally involves Web browsing (81%), social networking (72%), shopping online (67%) and searching for information (63%).

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT

YouTube Branded Channels Get A Boost In Interactivity – wireWAX’s Taggable Videos Given Green Light Tech Crunch 08.21.12

In what looks like a pretty big win: wireWAX, the taggable video startup, has secured approval for its interactive videos to be placed directly on YouTube brand channels — meaning that its bigger known clients can now fully embrace the company’s technology. Prior to this, YouTube integration was limited to a ‘wrapper’, with the resulting video files only embeddable on third-party sites, thus somewhat limiting their exposure.

 Behind the Work: James Franco Directs and Acts in Cheil’s Latest Samsung Film Ad Age 08.20.12

James Franco can tick off a couple more items on his list of accomplishments with the debut of an online film for Samsung from Cheil USA, promoting the Galaxy Note 10.1, which dropped in the U.S. last week.

Deal or No Deal agrees to product placement with PG Tips Product Placement News 08.21.12

PG Tips has teamed up with Deal or No Deal for product placement and branded entertainment. UK’s popular tea brand will now be visible on Channel 4’s game show with the help of a new, innovative technology. The tea logo will be embedded on the mugs used by members of the show. sThe first PG Tips appearance took place during the first week of August.

ADVERTISING

Memorable Ads Employ Humor, Supply ‘Upbeat’ Storyline Media Post Publications 08.22.12

It doesn’t take much for Super Bowl viewers to conclude Madison Avenue believes humor is a winner. Nielsen research found “audience-appropriate humor” is one of five “common characteristics” that yield successful TV spots based on viewer “memorability.”

Conde Nast Grabs a Piece of the Cloud For Ad Delivery brandchannel 08.20.12

Condé Nast has joined the cloud and will use Flite to enhance delivery of rich media display ads across its portfolio. Flite lets brands build, measure and update interactive ads real-time, integrating social, video, reviews, movie show times, weather, buy now, and live chat functionality, plus in-unit analytics, while the underlying technology includes the ability for ads to carry sharing icons for Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. “These ads are essentially mini Web pages,”said Flite CEO Will Price.

Non-sponsors Junping Onto the Olympic Brandwagon brandchannel 08.20.12

Just before and during the London Olympics, athletes were not allowed to tweet support for advertisers and marketers unless they were official sponsors of the Games. This led to a few of them being so irked that they tweeted with such hash tags as #wedemandchange and #rule40 so the general public could see that it wasn’t all rainbows and Happy Meals at the Olympic Village.

 ENTERTAINMENT

Grammy Nominations Concert Special Headed To Nashville Huffington Post 08.21.12

This year’s Grammy Awards nominations will come with a Southern accent. The Recording Academy is moving its annual live nominations concert special to Music City. The show will air Dec. 5 live on CBS from Bridgestone Arena. This is the fifth time The Recording Academy has held “The Grammy Nominations Concert Live,” but the first outside Los Angeles.

Starbucks Facebook Game Decides Who Gets Pumpkin Spice Latte First Mashable 08.20.12

You know fall is coming when Starbucks starts promoting its Pumpkin Spice Latte, but no one knows what city it will appear in first. However, if you’re determined to get the drink in your hometown, you may want to alert your friends to a promotion the coffee chain is running. Starting Monday, the cities that really want the drink can compete at the brand’s Facebook Page; the U.S. and Canadian city that get the most points will get the drink first.

Pivotshare Eliminates The Video Distribution Middleman brandchannel 08.17.12

Indie video producers have been waiting for the moment when they could eliminate the middleman and market and distribute direct to their fans. Digital media startup Pivotshare, which just closed $1 million dollars in Series A funding, offers the next step in disintermediating audio and video distribution, filling a gap in the market between free services relying on advertising and expensive online platforms.

MEDIA & TECH 

Vail Resorts Ski App Gets Racing With Lindsay Vonn Mashable 08.22.12

Vail Resorts is gearing up to release the third edition of EpicMix, a web and mobile app system that lets visitors track their activities and share them with their friends using radio frequency-enabled chips embedded in their access passes. The app, which is slated for a mid-December release, is perhaps best described as Nike+ for skiing and snowboarding.

Volvo wants You Inside Brand e Biz 08.22.12

Volvo has joined car brands Citroen and Nissan in turning to the wisdom of the crowd with the launch of a new Facebook app, You Inside. The crowdsourcing application enables fans to post images of the things they keep inside their cars along with info about their vehicles and lifestyles.

YouTube Wants to Be Your Go-To for Election Coverage Mashable 08.22.12

YouTube launched the “YouTube Elections Hub” Wednesday, providing a one-stop spot for live footage and video news coverage of the 2012 presidential election. On the Elections Hub, YouTube users will be able to watch the biggest moments of election season — including speeches from the upcoming conventions and the presidential and vice presidential debates — live from their computers or connected mobile device.

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