...the whole industry is moving toward a different model where deciding whether something is a hit or not is not just based on how much you charge for 30 seconds of advertising.
Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at Horizon Media
In Edward Wyatt, "Despite Lower Ratings, Cash Flow Rises for ‘Idol’," New York Times, May 10, 2009
Despite declines in audience ratings over the past few years, the American Idol TV show is still making enormous--and growing--revenues for its owners. But the money is increasingly coming from more than the standard 30 second commercial: "The deals, which include products as disparate as ice cream and trading cards, as well as the more familiar partnerships with iTunes and AT&T, have driven tremendous growth in the profitability of “American Idol,” according to the public financial statements of the parent of 19 Entertainment, the company founded by Simon Fuller, the creator of the show." Fox Television, which broadcasts the show, also makes money by spinning off syndicated versions of it.
The activity is clearly not limited to Idol. Everyone in TV is trying to find "ancillary revenue streams" for their materials as audiences for individual programs decline with channel fragmentation and the amounts networks can charge for commercials consequently decline as well. One gauge sponsors of program deals like to see is audience "engagement" in the material. And Idol certainly still has that: "Last week, viewers cast 64 million votes, the most ever for a nonfinale episode."
Showing posts with label cross-platform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross-platform. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What Scholastic's Bratz Ban Indicates Isn't So Clear
When schools send these book club fliers home with children, the message is that 'We think these are fine and are good for your child.'
-Susan Linn, Director of The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
In Motoko Rich, "Scholastic Cuts ‘Bratz’ Products for Book Clubs and Fairs," New York Times, September 21, 2008
Linn's organization is celebrating--and taking credit for--the decision by Scholastic Inc. to no longer include books based on the Bratz dolls in any of its school book clubs or fairs this year. Scholastic makes about a third of its income from those clubs and fairs. Critics of the Bratz dolls consider them overtly sexualized due to the emphasis on particular aspects of the female anatomy; the critics insist that nothing about them should be placed in the hands of girls. In fact, Scholastic has also stopped offering spinoff products--for example, a Bratz computer game and designer stencil kit, in its book clubs and fairs.
Scholastic's president will not state directly that the Campaign influenced its decision; the company's position is that declining sales of these materials as well as anger around the Bratz combined to lead to that decision. Although some in Linn's organization may take the credit for Scholastic's decision as a win against commercialism in books sold in schools, over the long term the picture is much more complex. Many teachers and librarians believe that items in commercial culture are the only predictable items to attract serious attention toward reading by many young people. They feel that if bringing commercial products into books will encourage reading, then it should be done. Rather than indicating a trend against commercialism and childhood, the Scholastic decision make simply indicate an aversion to mixing sexual depictions and childhood.
-Susan Linn, Director of The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
In Motoko Rich, "Scholastic Cuts ‘Bratz’ Products for Book Clubs and Fairs," New York Times, September 21, 2008
Linn's organization is celebrating--and taking credit for--the decision by Scholastic Inc. to no longer include books based on the Bratz dolls in any of its school book clubs or fairs this year. Scholastic makes about a third of its income from those clubs and fairs. Critics of the Bratz dolls consider them overtly sexualized due to the emphasis on particular aspects of the female anatomy; the critics insist that nothing about them should be placed in the hands of girls. In fact, Scholastic has also stopped offering spinoff products--for example, a Bratz computer game and designer stencil kit, in its book clubs and fairs.
Scholastic's president will not state directly that the Campaign influenced its decision; the company's position is that declining sales of these materials as well as anger around the Bratz combined to lead to that decision. Although some in Linn's organization may take the credit for Scholastic's decision as a win against commercialism in books sold in schools, over the long term the picture is much more complex. Many teachers and librarians believe that items in commercial culture are the only predictable items to attract serious attention toward reading by many young people. They feel that if bringing commercial products into books will encourage reading, then it should be done. Rather than indicating a trend against commercialism and childhood, the Scholastic decision make simply indicate an aversion to mixing sexual depictions and childhood.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Rise of Microblogging and Marketers' Responses
...cool and frightening at the same time.
- Christopher Hoff, Southwest Airlines passenger and Twitter user
In Rachel King, "How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands," Business Week, September 6, 2008
Hoff is referring to his experience getting a message from Southwest the day after he send a used Twitter to circulate to friends a complaint about his flight. The two-year-old Twitter is a new of microblogging, a way for users to keep friends and acquaintances informed of what they are doing or feeling at a particular moment through text messaging that reaches all of them at the same time. Estimates of the number of people using Twitter range from one to three million. It's not that large an audience, but marketers such as Comcast, Dell, General Motors and Whole Foods see individuals who send "tweets" as potential opinion leaders. As King notes, they task employees with "haunting Twitter to do everything from burnish brands to provide customer service." King adds that "the attention to Twitter reflects the power of new social media tools in letting consumers shape public discussion over brands." But it also shows how companies are trying to exploit and even control that discussion. For consumers who receive messages they don't expect, it can all seem a bit creepy.
- Christopher Hoff, Southwest Airlines passenger and Twitter user
In Rachel King, "How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands," Business Week, September 6, 2008
Hoff is referring to his experience getting a message from Southwest the day after he send a used Twitter to circulate to friends a complaint about his flight. The two-year-old Twitter is a new of microblogging, a way for users to keep friends and acquaintances informed of what they are doing or feeling at a particular moment through text messaging that reaches all of them at the same time. Estimates of the number of people using Twitter range from one to three million. It's not that large an audience, but marketers such as Comcast, Dell, General Motors and Whole Foods see individuals who send "tweets" as potential opinion leaders. As King notes, they task employees with "haunting Twitter to do everything from burnish brands to provide customer service." King adds that "the attention to Twitter reflects the power of new social media tools in letting consumers shape public discussion over brands." But it also shows how companies are trying to exploit and even control that discussion. For consumers who receive messages they don't expect, it can all seem a bit creepy.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Big Challenge Facing Local TV
How much of newspapers' fate are local TV station owners destined to endure? Maybe, too much.
- Diane Mermigas, media columnist
In Diane Memigas, "The Future Of Television: Local TV at Crossroads," Diane Mermigas: On Media, August 25, 2008
Mermigas notes that local television stations are feeling the same long term pressures that are buffeting local newspapers as the media system goes through major changes. She points out that as the February 2009 deadline nears for stations to give up their analog signals and go to fully digital transmissions, questions arise about the directions that station managements will take to place their firms on good economic footing in the new environment. The challenges are many, and not just because of the bad current economy. Ad dollars that used to go almost automatically to local TV stations are now migrating increasingly to websites. Cable TV operators have embarked on a program called Project Canoe that aims to connect cable systems across the United States with the ability to send targeted ads to individual homes. "In a world awash in interactive content distribution options, TV stations have lost their grip. Their sheer numbers exceed what many local markets can economically support..."
What can local stations do? Mermigas suggests that local TV stations may actually have to go out of business. The ones that survive will have to learn to use digital television with other digital media, often working together with Google, Yahoo, local newspapers, and cable operators to gain content and ad support. She says that "Stations able to solidify themselves as the definitive sources of local news and advertising will thrive if they find new ways to translate that online." Finally, she notes that "Local TV station owners could be their own worst enemies in underestimating or failing to properly leverage their local connections to communities, consumers and advertisers in utilizing interactive digital technology to their full advantage. "
- Diane Mermigas, media columnist
In Diane Memigas, "The Future Of Television: Local TV at Crossroads," Diane Mermigas: On Media, August 25, 2008
Mermigas notes that local television stations are feeling the same long term pressures that are buffeting local newspapers as the media system goes through major changes. She points out that as the February 2009 deadline nears for stations to give up their analog signals and go to fully digital transmissions, questions arise about the directions that station managements will take to place their firms on good economic footing in the new environment. The challenges are many, and not just because of the bad current economy. Ad dollars that used to go almost automatically to local TV stations are now migrating increasingly to websites. Cable TV operators have embarked on a program called Project Canoe that aims to connect cable systems across the United States with the ability to send targeted ads to individual homes. "In a world awash in interactive content distribution options, TV stations have lost their grip. Their sheer numbers exceed what many local markets can economically support..."
What can local stations do? Mermigas suggests that local TV stations may actually have to go out of business. The ones that survive will have to learn to use digital television with other digital media, often working together with Google, Yahoo, local newspapers, and cable operators to gain content and ad support. She says that "Stations able to solidify themselves as the definitive sources of local news and advertising will thrive if they find new ways to translate that online." Finally, she notes that "Local TV station owners could be their own worst enemies in underestimating or failing to properly leverage their local connections to communities, consumers and advertisers in utilizing interactive digital technology to their full advantage. "
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Fox Targets Dorms for TV Streams
The light bulb went off -- by simul-streaming 'Fringe' and 'Sarah Connor,' [the college students] get to see the show, and we get the increased fanbase and buzz.
- Peter Liguori, Fox Entertainment chairman
In Michael Schneider, "Fox to Stream Premieres for Dorms," Variety, April 24, 2008
Fox television and internet strategists have come up with a promotion for two new Fox TV series that aims to attract desired young-adult viewers who go online. Fox will stream the broadcast premiere of Fringe and season opener of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles online at the same time as they bow on TV. However, only people from a .edu domain will be technologically able to watch the stream. Fox figures that most of the .edu viewers will be college students. It knows that they often prefer the web to viewing traditional television. By allowing access, Fox is hoping to short-circuit illegal pirating of the programs as well as to get young people talking about the shows.
The Variety article doesn't point this out, but isolating the streaming audience to the .edu domain has an additional benefit. As Fox executives know, the Nielsen TV ratings do not canvas college campuses except when an individual student comes from a home that is part of the Nielsen national TV sample. If Fox allowed anyone to view the stream online, that might have lowered the national TV rating for the shows. (This is what happened to Gossip Girl on the CW network.) Instead, Fox strategists hope that their approach will raise the shows' profiles among the target audience, short-circuit piracy, build a fan base, and not canibalize its TV ratings--all at the same time.
- Peter Liguori, Fox Entertainment chairman
In Michael Schneider, "Fox to Stream Premieres for Dorms," Variety, April 24, 2008
Fox television and internet strategists have come up with a promotion for two new Fox TV series that aims to attract desired young-adult viewers who go online. Fox will stream the broadcast premiere of Fringe and season opener of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles online at the same time as they bow on TV. However, only people from a .edu domain will be technologically able to watch the stream. Fox figures that most of the .edu viewers will be college students. It knows that they often prefer the web to viewing traditional television. By allowing access, Fox is hoping to short-circuit illegal pirating of the programs as well as to get young people talking about the shows.
The Variety article doesn't point this out, but isolating the streaming audience to the .edu domain has an additional benefit. As Fox executives know, the Nielsen TV ratings do not canvas college campuses except when an individual student comes from a home that is part of the Nielsen national TV sample. If Fox allowed anyone to view the stream online, that might have lowered the national TV rating for the shows. (This is what happened to Gossip Girl on the CW network.) Instead, Fox strategists hope that their approach will raise the shows' profiles among the target audience, short-circuit piracy, build a fan base, and not canibalize its TV ratings--all at the same time.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Social Dangers of Declining Newspaper Support
With no end of the cyclical woes in sight, at the end of this downturn, who will be left to investigate those who seek to govern?
- Michael B. Nathanson, senior analyst for Bernstein Research
In Michael B. Nathanson, "Weekend Media Blast: So Attention Must Be Paid," Bernstein Research, August 22, 2008
In a recent privately circulated report (therefore no link), respected Bernstein Research analyst Michael B. Nathanson concisely lays out key secular and cyclical trends that are affecting the system, a kind of perfect storm of problems that in his view bode particularly bad news for newspapers and radio. He worries about the newspaper “carnage” both in terms of the impact on employee lives and for its long-term implications for a free press. Two key paragraphs:
…The reasons behind this demise are fairly well-established
and we have called them the 3 Ds – Dollars, Devices,
Digital. This is shorthand for the negative structural factors
facing the content-creative industries, from the growth of
online advertising, which is eating share of traditional
advertising, to the emergence of negative technology trends,
like DVRs and satellite radio that continue to fragment the
consumer while fostering advertising avoidance. While the
trends are certainly not new, the cyclical pressures of a
softening economy are now just emerging in national
advertising.
…As we watch this carnage, that phrase "attention must be
paid" is reverberating in our heads. For starters, faced with
steeply falling demand, industries are massively cutting back
staff. According to Bloomberg, Gannett is cutting 1,000 jobs
in their community newspapers, McClatchy is eliminating
1,400 jobs (10% of total staff), Tribune is eliminating 235
jobs at the Los Angeles Times and 80 more at the Chicago
Tribune and A.H. Belo is firing 500 staffers. Of course,
there is also sadness on a personal level as affected families
struggle with the loss of income. There also should be
broader concern that a critical piece of our democracy – a
free public press – is in such a tattered state. With no end of
the cyclical woes in sight, at the end of this downturn, who
will be left to investigate those who seek to govern?
What Nathanson's trends fundamentally reflect is the power of media-buying firms to define audience trends and where media money should go. When they and their advertisers act based on their understanding of the media economy, the decisions affect the life and death of magazines, newspapers, and other outlets. Wall Street investors also play a big role in shaping a sense of what is taking place in the media world. A recent Variety article traces the reasons behind News Corporation's stock decline. Much of has to do with Murdoch's purchase of Dow Jones and Wall Street's belief that involvement with newspapers is throwing good money after bad. Supporters of Murdoch buy his belief that Dow Jones can serve as a news-and-information engine across media platforms.
- Michael B. Nathanson, senior analyst for Bernstein Research
In Michael B. Nathanson, "Weekend Media Blast: So Attention Must Be Paid," Bernstein Research, August 22, 2008
In a recent privately circulated report (therefore no link), respected Bernstein Research analyst Michael B. Nathanson concisely lays out key secular and cyclical trends that are affecting the system, a kind of perfect storm of problems that in his view bode particularly bad news for newspapers and radio. He worries about the newspaper “carnage” both in terms of the impact on employee lives and for its long-term implications for a free press. Two key paragraphs:
…The reasons behind this demise are fairly well-established
and we have called them the 3 Ds – Dollars, Devices,
Digital. This is shorthand for the negative structural factors
facing the content-creative industries, from the growth of
online advertising, which is eating share of traditional
advertising, to the emergence of negative technology trends,
like DVRs and satellite radio that continue to fragment the
consumer while fostering advertising avoidance. While the
trends are certainly not new, the cyclical pressures of a
softening economy are now just emerging in national
advertising.
…As we watch this carnage, that phrase "attention must be
paid" is reverberating in our heads. For starters, faced with
steeply falling demand, industries are massively cutting back
staff. According to Bloomberg, Gannett is cutting 1,000 jobs
in their community newspapers, McClatchy is eliminating
1,400 jobs (10% of total staff), Tribune is eliminating 235
jobs at the Los Angeles Times and 80 more at the Chicago
Tribune and A.H. Belo is firing 500 staffers. Of course,
there is also sadness on a personal level as affected families
struggle with the loss of income. There also should be
broader concern that a critical piece of our democracy – a
free public press – is in such a tattered state. With no end of
the cyclical woes in sight, at the end of this downturn, who
will be left to investigate those who seek to govern?
What Nathanson's trends fundamentally reflect is the power of media-buying firms to define audience trends and where media money should go. When they and their advertisers act based on their understanding of the media economy, the decisions affect the life and death of magazines, newspapers, and other outlets. Wall Street investors also play a big role in shaping a sense of what is taking place in the media world. A recent Variety article traces the reasons behind News Corporation's stock decline. Much of has to do with Murdoch's purchase of Dow Jones and Wall Street's belief that involvement with newspapers is throwing good money after bad. Supporters of Murdoch buy his belief that Dow Jones can serve as a news-and-information engine across media platforms.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Movie Advertisers Target Segments Via the Web, As Newspapers Lose Out
We will select a mix of media that hits all the individual segments with a creative message that breaks through and compels the audience not just to go, but go opening weekend.
-Suzanne Cole, executive vice president of of media for print, TV, online and outdoor at Universal Pictures
In Laurie Sullivan, "Universal's Suzanne Cole On Grabbing Attention," Marketing Daily, July 29, 2008
Promoting movies has become extremely difficult because of the need to have the greatest attendance during the film's first weekend of release. That is because, as Cole notes, "It sets the bar for everything that happens in the life cycle of the film." Even DVD sales are linked to how well the movie did on its opening weekend.
Cole, with many years of experience in the business, notes, "We're trying to figure out how to reach someone who has 10 things going on simultaneously." Studio planners have determined that the best way to solve the problem is to vary the ads and promotions by gender different age categories. Then the challenge turns on speaking directly to the segment in a way that makes them want to see the film on that on weekend. With TV, the question becomes "How do you make the 30 or 60 seconds of time that you have with consumers impactful?"
For Universal, as well as other distributors, broadcast television and cable remain at the center of advertising and promotional campaigns. What is changing is the advertising-and promotion budget allocated to newspapers. Cole says that newspapers don't do well for "the average moviegoers," because they typically find their movie information online. As a result, newspapers are losing movie-advertising money. Will broadcast and cable TV also lose it in coming years, as the new generation finds mobile phones, games and the web more likely places to learn about out of home entertainment?
-Suzanne Cole, executive vice president of of media for print, TV, online and outdoor at Universal Pictures
In Laurie Sullivan, "Universal's Suzanne Cole On Grabbing Attention," Marketing Daily, July 29, 2008
Promoting movies has become extremely difficult because of the need to have the greatest attendance during the film's first weekend of release. That is because, as Cole notes, "It sets the bar for everything that happens in the life cycle of the film." Even DVD sales are linked to how well the movie did on its opening weekend.
Cole, with many years of experience in the business, notes, "We're trying to figure out how to reach someone who has 10 things going on simultaneously." Studio planners have determined that the best way to solve the problem is to vary the ads and promotions by gender different age categories. Then the challenge turns on speaking directly to the segment in a way that makes them want to see the film on that on weekend. With TV, the question becomes "How do you make the 30 or 60 seconds of time that you have with consumers impactful?"
For Universal, as well as other distributors, broadcast television and cable remain at the center of advertising and promotional campaigns. What is changing is the advertising-and promotion budget allocated to newspapers. Cole says that newspapers don't do well for "the average moviegoers," because they typically find their movie information online. As a result, newspapers are losing movie-advertising money. Will broadcast and cable TV also lose it in coming years, as the new generation finds mobile phones, games and the web more likely places to learn about out of home entertainment?
Monday, July 28, 2008
Singer Chris Brown's Product Placement
[B]y the time the new jingle came out, it was already seeded properly within popular culture.
-Steve Stoute, chief executive of Translation Advertising
In Ethan Smith and Julie Jargon, "Chew on This: Hit Song Is a Gum Jingle," Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008
Stoute is a former senior executive at Interscope Records. He is now the chief executive of Translation Advertising, which is a unit of Interpublic, the agency holding company. One of Stout's goals for Translation is to use music to support the aims of clients. In 2003, for example, he hired Justin Timberlake to write and record a song for McDonald's that expressed its "Im Lovin It" theme. The Timberlake song, though, was never released as a recording. In 2007, as part of a promotion for the Wrigley gum company, Stout engineered a new wrinkle. He enlisted R&B singer Chris Brown to write a melody that could also be used as a jingle for the client Doublemint gum ( the favorite Wrigley gum among African Americans). He asked to write lyrics for a recorded version of the song and the jingle.
Jive Records released the recording in 2007, and it became a top-ten hit. Only the phrase "double your pleasure, double your fun" would have given away the connection to Doublemint; that was its longtime slogan. Nevertheless, Translation and Wrigley kept quiet about the connection between the song and the gum. As Stout suggest, they wanted the song to become part of the target audience's life. Then, when new gum commercial echoed the song with new lyrics, the commercials would reinforce the song and the song would reinforce the commercial. A few record company executives seemed concerned that the song was created for advertisers without telling the audience. But they said they went ahead with its release because "the song was so potent and strong. That overruled us being maybe a little hesitant."
Translation and Wrigley undoubtedly see this as a triumph of a new form of product placement. In an where recording artists are industry struggling to find new ways to make money from their songs, and where marketers are struggling to find ways to get target audiences to connect emtionally with their brands, it is not hard to predict that we will see attempts to copy and extend what Chris Brown and Translation have done.
-Steve Stoute, chief executive of Translation Advertising
In Ethan Smith and Julie Jargon, "Chew on This: Hit Song Is a Gum Jingle," Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008
Stoute is a former senior executive at Interscope Records. He is now the chief executive of Translation Advertising, which is a unit of Interpublic, the agency holding company. One of Stout's goals for Translation is to use music to support the aims of clients. In 2003, for example, he hired Justin Timberlake to write and record a song for McDonald's that expressed its "Im Lovin It" theme. The Timberlake song, though, was never released as a recording. In 2007, as part of a promotion for the Wrigley gum company, Stout engineered a new wrinkle. He enlisted R&B singer Chris Brown to write a melody that could also be used as a jingle for the client Doublemint gum ( the favorite Wrigley gum among African Americans). He asked to write lyrics for a recorded version of the song and the jingle.
Jive Records released the recording in 2007, and it became a top-ten hit. Only the phrase "double your pleasure, double your fun" would have given away the connection to Doublemint; that was its longtime slogan. Nevertheless, Translation and Wrigley kept quiet about the connection between the song and the gum. As Stout suggest, they wanted the song to become part of the target audience's life. Then, when new gum commercial echoed the song with new lyrics, the commercials would reinforce the song and the song would reinforce the commercial. A few record company executives seemed concerned that the song was created for advertisers without telling the audience. But they said they went ahead with its release because "the song was so potent and strong. That overruled us being maybe a little hesitant."
Translation and Wrigley undoubtedly see this as a triumph of a new form of product placement. In an where recording artists are industry struggling to find new ways to make money from their songs, and where marketers are struggling to find ways to get target audiences to connect emtionally with their brands, it is not hard to predict that we will see attempts to copy and extend what Chris Brown and Translation have done.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Protecting Trademarks from Birthday-Party Thefts
But I told her, 'You can't have the real Dora. If you want the real Dora, call Nickelodeon.'
-Elvira Grau, owner of Space Odyssey USA, a party location
In Kathy Roseman, "Why Dora the Explorer Can't Come to Your Kid's Birthday Party," Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2008.
These comments came in response to a parent whose child-partyers were terribly disappointed that Grau's Dora-like costume was not close enough to the real thing. But Grau's semi-Dora-like appearance resulted from a fear of lawsuits. It seems that entertainment companies are increasingly trying to protect their trademarks even in the realm of children's parties. The firms claim they are worried that costumed characters may act badly and hurt the brand, or the free use may dilute the company's right to own the character. As a result, "companies that include Marvel Entertainment Inc., Scholastic Inc., and HIT Entertainment, have sent cease-and-desist letters, threatened lawsuits and in some cases received settlements from companies that market unauthorized character impersonators."
In our brand-saturated society, children often expect not generic clowns but characters that firms have cultivated in their minds for years. "But to sustain live-entertainment and theme-park revenues, most companies that own rights won't offer licensed, authentic costumes that can be worn by professional birthday-party entertainers. That has left parents out of luck." HIT Entertainment, which owns Barneyand Thomas the Tank Engine, says that it regularly monitoring birthday-party planning Web sites and parenting blogs with the aim of making sure that no one steals its trademarks. What if parents don't want to disappoint children who hope the party will be visited by Thomas? According to a company representative, there is still a way: buy paper plates and decorations at Hallmark, which is the authorized provider of paper products featuring Thomas and other of the company's licenced characters.
-Elvira Grau, owner of Space Odyssey USA, a party location
In Kathy Roseman, "Why Dora the Explorer Can't Come to Your Kid's Birthday Party," Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2008.
These comments came in response to a parent whose child-partyers were terribly disappointed that Grau's Dora-like costume was not close enough to the real thing. But Grau's semi-Dora-like appearance resulted from a fear of lawsuits. It seems that entertainment companies are increasingly trying to protect their trademarks even in the realm of children's parties. The firms claim they are worried that costumed characters may act badly and hurt the brand, or the free use may dilute the company's right to own the character. As a result, "companies that include Marvel Entertainment Inc., Scholastic Inc., and HIT Entertainment, have sent cease-and-desist letters, threatened lawsuits and in some cases received settlements from companies that market unauthorized character impersonators."
In our brand-saturated society, children often expect not generic clowns but characters that firms have cultivated in their minds for years. "But to sustain live-entertainment and theme-park revenues, most companies that own rights won't offer licensed, authentic costumes that can be worn by professional birthday-party entertainers. That has left parents out of luck." HIT Entertainment, which owns Barneyand Thomas the Tank Engine, says that it regularly monitoring birthday-party planning Web sites and parenting blogs with the aim of making sure that no one steals its trademarks. What if parents don't want to disappoint children who hope the party will be visited by Thomas? According to a company representative, there is still a way: buy paper plates and decorations at Hallmark, which is the authorized provider of paper products featuring Thomas and other of the company's licenced characters.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Gossip Girl's Trend-Making Machine
We tried to launch trends from the get-go.
-Eric Daman, costume designer Gossip Girl
In Ruth La Ferla, "Forget Gossip, Girl; The Buzz is About Clothes," The New York Times, July 8, 2008
The CW Network's Gossip Girl, which centers on the machinations of young ladies in a Manhattan private school, is popular with teenage girls. Although its TV ratings are only middling (though some argue that many more people view it online), the show is having a broad impact on the retail marketplace. "Merchants, designers and trend consultants say that Gossip Girl, which is in summer reruns on the CW network before returning Sept. 1, just in time for back-to-school shopping, is one of the biggest influences on how young women spend. Fans stride into boutiques bearing magazine tear sheets that feature members of the cast and ask for their exact outfits. Or they order scoop-neck tops and hobo bags by following e-commerce links from the show’s Web site." According to Daman, this type of influence--along with the product-placement cash that comes with it--is what the program's creators intended from the start. Daman had worked previously on Sex and the City. Gossip Girls brings a similar materialistic sensibility to its script and screen. The Times writer treats all this quite benignly, quoting someone who tosses it off as "eye candy." But many of the items are quite expensive, and at a time when many US families are suffering financially one wonders what kinds of tensions these induced desires cause. Clearly, too, the program is another example, of the blanket commodification of television programming.
-Eric Daman, costume designer Gossip Girl
In Ruth La Ferla, "Forget Gossip, Girl; The Buzz is About Clothes," The New York Times, July 8, 2008
The CW Network's Gossip Girl, which centers on the machinations of young ladies in a Manhattan private school, is popular with teenage girls. Although its TV ratings are only middling (though some argue that many more people view it online), the show is having a broad impact on the retail marketplace. "Merchants, designers and trend consultants say that Gossip Girl, which is in summer reruns on the CW network before returning Sept. 1, just in time for back-to-school shopping, is one of the biggest influences on how young women spend. Fans stride into boutiques bearing magazine tear sheets that feature members of the cast and ask for their exact outfits. Or they order scoop-neck tops and hobo bags by following e-commerce links from the show’s Web site." According to Daman, this type of influence--along with the product-placement cash that comes with it--is what the program's creators intended from the start. Daman had worked previously on Sex and the City. Gossip Girls brings a similar materialistic sensibility to its script and screen. The Times writer treats all this quite benignly, quoting someone who tosses it off as "eye candy." But many of the items are quite expensive, and at a time when many US families are suffering financially one wonders what kinds of tensions these induced desires cause. Clearly, too, the program is another example, of the blanket commodification of television programming.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
BBC's Non-Worldwide Web
Building on the success of the iPlayer, we want to develop BBC.co.uk to include a broad range of the BBC's broadcast content, as well as new and interactive forms of media that enable audiences to interact with and contribute to the website.
-Mark Thompson, BBC director-general
In Steve Clarke, "BBC Puts More Channels Online," Variety, June 5, 2008
"The BBC is preparing to put all its TV channels online — but the video streams will only be available to users in the U.K." Its youth and digital channels are already online, but the new initiative will include the U.K.'s most popular channel, BBC1. Accessed through the iPlayer, which allows accessing programs from the past week, the already streaming channels help to make the BBC website one of the UK's most popular. The BBC's site was recently criticized by the BBC Trust for overspending. Another already hot issue that is likely to get even more attention involves TV funding in the internet age: "how to force auds that only watch online to pay the TV license fee, which funds all U.K. BBC services to the tune of around $6 billion a year."
-Mark Thompson, BBC director-general
In Steve Clarke, "BBC Puts More Channels Online," Variety, June 5, 2008
"The BBC is preparing to put all its TV channels online — but the video streams will only be available to users in the U.K." Its youth and digital channels are already online, but the new initiative will include the U.K.'s most popular channel, BBC1. Accessed through the iPlayer, which allows accessing programs from the past week, the already streaming channels help to make the BBC website one of the UK's most popular. The BBC's site was recently criticized by the BBC Trust for overspending. Another already hot issue that is likely to get even more attention involves TV funding in the internet age: "how to force auds that only watch online to pay the TV license fee, which funds all U.K. BBC services to the tune of around $6 billion a year."
McDonald's as Cross-Platform Kung Fu Master
This kind of multifaceted campaign, including a philanthropic tie-in, doesn't just happen. They're masters at integrated, coordinated marketing.
-Robert Passikoff, president of the Brand Keys branding consultancy
Passikoff is talking about McDonald's--specifically, the fast-food restaurant's tie-in with DreamWorks Animation SKG's film Kung Fu Panda. The movie will debut two months before the Olympics in Beijing. McDonald's is McDonald's is the official restaurant/food service sponsor of the games, and it has fine-tuned an international cross-platform extravaganza to push its relationship to the film, and through that to Pandas, and through that, to the China-based games. Ad agency Leo Burnett (famous for its cartoonish brand characters like the Keebler Elves) has created a TV commercial that will appear in 23 languages. It features "two child Kung Fu experts vying for the last Chicken McNugget left from a Happy Meal."
The campaign is international on TV, in-store, and online. and it even ties into public service activities: "From June 6 through July 3 in McDonald's restaurants in North America, and then rolling out across the world, McDonald's Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal program will treat kids with a toy of one of eight animal characters from the film each time they purchase a Happy Meal. In addition to offering Kung Fu master games and related offline activities for kids (like a new hip-hop panda dance), online promotions tying in with the 'Kung Fu Panda Party' promotional theme will encourage kids to learn about pandas and their environment. For instance, the site (www.happymeal.com) will offer a "panda-cam" enabling kids to view real pandas in their natural habitat. All of this ties in with McDonald's support of Conservation International, and specifically its support of CI projects in China aimed at protecting panda habitats.
-Robert Passikoff, president of the Brand Keys branding consultancy
Passikoff is talking about McDonald's--specifically, the fast-food restaurant's tie-in with DreamWorks Animation SKG's film Kung Fu Panda. The movie will debut two months before the Olympics in Beijing. McDonald's is McDonald's is the official restaurant/food service sponsor of the games, and it has fine-tuned an international cross-platform extravaganza to push its relationship to the film, and through that to Pandas, and through that, to the China-based games. Ad agency Leo Burnett (famous for its cartoonish brand characters like the Keebler Elves) has created a TV commercial that will appear in 23 languages. It features "two child Kung Fu experts vying for the last Chicken McNugget left from a Happy Meal."
The campaign is international on TV, in-store, and online. and it even ties into public service activities: "From June 6 through July 3 in McDonald's restaurants in North America, and then rolling out across the world, McDonald's Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal program will treat kids with a toy of one of eight animal characters from the film each time they purchase a Happy Meal. In addition to offering Kung Fu master games and related offline activities for kids (like a new hip-hop panda dance), online promotions tying in with the 'Kung Fu Panda Party' promotional theme will encourage kids to learn about pandas and their environment. For instance, the site (www.happymeal.com) will offer a "panda-cam" enabling kids to view real pandas in their natural habitat. All of this ties in with McDonald's support of Conservation International, and specifically its support of CI projects in China aimed at protecting panda habitats.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
NBC-U's New Upfront Approach
[Y]ou can buy mobile, you can buy digital, you can buy cable … you can buy Olympics, you can buy football — you can buy the Super Bowl — you can buy Hulu.com, you can buy integrations into our films, you can buy integrations into our theme parks.
--Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal CEO
In David Lieberman, "NBC Leads a Different Upfront Charge," USA Today, May 23, 2008
Zucker's comments reflect the changes taking place in American television, and he's trying to change advertisers' perception of his company during the still-important upfront. That's the summer period during which the big networks typically sell 75% of their ad time for the coming television season that begins in Septemer. Executives of the major networks are trying to show advertisers that, like so much of the rest of the media, they can provide them with audiences that they want with efficient prices across a gamut of platforms. In Zucker's case, the aim is to draw attention not only to the range of new exhibition points for NBC shows--such as Hulu.com--but to the areas of NBC Universal that actually generate more growth and profit than the flagship NBC network. The USA Today article notes that "NBC, the network, contributes less than 10% of NBCU's revenue. And Zucker says that NBC's prime-time shows — the series that attract so much attention — account for 25% of the network's revenue, but 5% of operating profit. By contrast, cable networks — which include USA Network, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC and Oxygen — account for 25% of NBCU's revenue and 50% of profit. About 5% of NBCU's sales come from digital properties." As Zucker says, "The world has changed. Our competition is not just broadcast networks--it's cable and video games and online sites."
--Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal CEO
In David Lieberman, "NBC Leads a Different Upfront Charge," USA Today, May 23, 2008
Zucker's comments reflect the changes taking place in American television, and he's trying to change advertisers' perception of his company during the still-important upfront. That's the summer period during which the big networks typically sell 75% of their ad time for the coming television season that begins in Septemer. Executives of the major networks are trying to show advertisers that, like so much of the rest of the media, they can provide them with audiences that they want with efficient prices across a gamut of platforms. In Zucker's case, the aim is to draw attention not only to the range of new exhibition points for NBC shows--such as Hulu.com--but to the areas of NBC Universal that actually generate more growth and profit than the flagship NBC network. The USA Today article notes that "NBC, the network, contributes less than 10% of NBCU's revenue. And Zucker says that NBC's prime-time shows — the series that attract so much attention — account for 25% of the network's revenue, but 5% of operating profit. By contrast, cable networks — which include USA Network, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC and Oxygen — account for 25% of NBCU's revenue and 50% of profit. About 5% of NBCU's sales come from digital properties." As Zucker says, "The world has changed. Our competition is not just broadcast networks--it's cable and video games and online sites."
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Is Production-Distribution Synergy Passe?
Distribution used to be a monopoly, and now it's much more competitive, which makes it less financially attractive, while making content (that benefits from the competition) more attractive.
-Dennis Leibowitz, managing general partner at media-focused hedge fund Act II Partnershedge fund Act II Partners
In George Szalai, "Media business synergy update: Distribution assets are sooo last year," The Hollywood Reporter, May 13, 2008
Most media executives seem to have cooled on the notion that a media conglomerate needs to connect a powerful content-production engine with a strong distribution abilities. "Nobody has brought up a Disney-Comcast merger for a while, and Murdoch said in February 2007 that News Corp. has no more need for a distribution play in the U.S. ... Similarly, Time Warner recently said it will spin off Time Warner Cable into a separate company." Executives are realizing that distribution is a capital-intensive business that has little common with content production. Moreover, whereas in the past they needed distribution channels to make sure their content could reach audiences, the rise of the internet and other digital platforms has made it easier than ever for producers to get on distribution platforms.
So, does that mean that content-distribution synergy as a strategy is a thing of the past? Certainly, it is still important in some traditional media, such as print magazines, theatrical movies, and broadcasting. And I would argue that distribution is still crucial in the digital world because high-profile distributors are still worth a lot. Author Szalai seems sometimes to be confusing distribution with exhibition. An ISP and a cable company are exhibitors. Internet sites and cable networks are distribution outlets. Owning them, or parts of them, may well still be crucial. MySpace, for example, has been an important distribution vehicle for News Corporation, and CBS has recognized the importance of grabbing part-ownership of some of the key sites it has decided to use to distribute programming; Joost is an example. Wayne Friedman points to the importance of the content-distribution nexis when discussing CBS' purchase of CNET Networks, (Media Daily News, May 15, 2008): "CNET Networks will help build CBS' distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites, reaching 82% of all online users in the United States."
-Dennis Leibowitz, managing general partner at media-focused hedge fund Act II Partnershedge fund Act II Partners
In George Szalai, "Media business synergy update: Distribution assets are sooo last year," The Hollywood Reporter, May 13, 2008
Most media executives seem to have cooled on the notion that a media conglomerate needs to connect a powerful content-production engine with a strong distribution abilities. "Nobody has brought up a Disney-Comcast merger for a while, and Murdoch said in February 2007 that News Corp. has no more need for a distribution play in the U.S. ... Similarly, Time Warner recently said it will spin off Time Warner Cable into a separate company." Executives are realizing that distribution is a capital-intensive business that has little common with content production. Moreover, whereas in the past they needed distribution channels to make sure their content could reach audiences, the rise of the internet and other digital platforms has made it easier than ever for producers to get on distribution platforms.
So, does that mean that content-distribution synergy as a strategy is a thing of the past? Certainly, it is still important in some traditional media, such as print magazines, theatrical movies, and broadcasting. And I would argue that distribution is still crucial in the digital world because high-profile distributors are still worth a lot. Author Szalai seems sometimes to be confusing distribution with exhibition. An ISP and a cable company are exhibitors. Internet sites and cable networks are distribution outlets. Owning them, or parts of them, may well still be crucial. MySpace, for example, has been an important distribution vehicle for News Corporation, and CBS has recognized the importance of grabbing part-ownership of some of the key sites it has decided to use to distribute programming; Joost is an example. Wayne Friedman points to the importance of the content-distribution nexis when discussing CBS' purchase of CNET Networks, (Media Daily News, May 15, 2008): "CNET Networks will help build CBS' distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites, reaching 82% of all online users in the United States."
Friday, May 16, 2008
Has Synergy Seen Its Heyday?
Enough of this integrated-conglomerate pretension.
-Barry Diller, Chairman of InterActive Corporation (IAC)
In Diane Mermigas, "Even for Diller, Vision Does not Equate Value," Mediapost's Media Daily News, March 15, 2008.
IAC is a collection of interactive businesses such as Home Shopping Network (HSN), Ticketmaster, Lending Tree, City Search and College Humor that Diller had been collecting for thirteen years on the IAC banner. Like other new-media executives, Diller often suggested that bringing these companies together would allow them to interact with each other in ways that would yield synergies--benefits from the interconnections that would transcend what they could do alone. Now, with the value of his company sinking on Wall Street, Diller says that salvation lies in breaking the firm into five publicly traded pieces: HSN, Ticketmaster, Interval travel, Lending Tree, and IAC (assets such as City Search and College Humor). The question of whether unrelated media activities are synergistically useful to a firm, or whether the firm should spin them off and concentrate on core competencies, are issues that several media conglomerate, including Time Warner, now face.
-Barry Diller, Chairman of InterActive Corporation (IAC)
In Diane Mermigas, "Even for Diller, Vision Does not Equate Value," Mediapost's Media Daily News, March 15, 2008.
IAC is a collection of interactive businesses such as Home Shopping Network (HSN), Ticketmaster, Lending Tree, City Search and College Humor that Diller had been collecting for thirteen years on the IAC banner. Like other new-media executives, Diller often suggested that bringing these companies together would allow them to interact with each other in ways that would yield synergies--benefits from the interconnections that would transcend what they could do alone. Now, with the value of his company sinking on Wall Street, Diller says that salvation lies in breaking the firm into five publicly traded pieces: HSN, Ticketmaster, Interval travel, Lending Tree, and IAC (assets such as City Search and College Humor). The question of whether unrelated media activities are synergistically useful to a firm, or whether the firm should spin them off and concentrate on core competencies, are issues that several media conglomerate, including Time Warner, now face.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Decline of the "Upfront" Reflects Major Changes in the TV Business
The upfront is a false indicator. It's a misleading indicator. The economics have changed so radically that you can't use old metrics.
-Jack Myers, president of Jackmyers.com, a media, advertising, and entertainment research firm
For several years, critics of the television upfront have been complaining that it has outlived its usefulness. There is still a nominal upfront but it is dramatically different from the one of the networks’ halcyon days. The writers’ strike pushed the changes forward, but more significant in the transformation are the product-integration strategies of advertisers and the cross-platform strategies of the networks. The decline of the upfront indicates that not only is the meaning of television changing, the traditional TV box is only one piece of “television network” business.
In John Simon, "The Networks' New Advertising Model," Fortune, May 5, 2008
-Jack Myers, president of Jackmyers.com, a media, advertising, and entertainment research firm
For several years, critics of the television upfront have been complaining that it has outlived its usefulness. There is still a nominal upfront but it is dramatically different from the one of the networks’ halcyon days. The writers’ strike pushed the changes forward, but more significant in the transformation are the product-integration strategies of advertisers and the cross-platform strategies of the networks. The decline of the upfront indicates that not only is the meaning of television changing, the traditional TV box is only one piece of “television network” business.
In John Simon, "The Networks' New Advertising Model," Fortune, May 5, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Hearst Magazine Sings Online
The Jango partnership is the first step in a larger strategy that will add more entertainment-focused content to all the Hearst Digital sites, which in turn creates compelling opportunities for advertisers to participate.
-Chris Johnson, Hearst Digital vice president of content and business development
Johnson is reflecting on Hearst magazines' announcement of a partnership with social music website Jango to place music widgets on Seventeen.com and brand them with both the Hearst and Jango names. "Seventeen will allow readers to create personal online “radio stations” featuring songs from their favorite musicians. They can listen to the music directly at Seventeen.com and can share their stations, also called Celebrity DJ Jukeboxes, with other readers over a social networking application." The activity demonstrates how magazines are changing from their static paper incarnations to become active lifestyle centers and tools for their audiences and advertisers. To Ann Shoket, Seventeen's editor-in-chief, the music-widget application “helps the Seventeen brand live beyond the pages of the magazine. . . ." Johnson adds that this sort of entertainment-focused content "creates compelling opportunities for advertisers to participate."
In Jason Fell, "Hearst Launches Widgets for Seventeen," Folio, May 5, 2008
-Chris Johnson, Hearst Digital vice president of content and business development
Johnson is reflecting on Hearst magazines' announcement of a partnership with social music website Jango to place music widgets on Seventeen.com and brand them with both the Hearst and Jango names. "Seventeen will allow readers to create personal online “radio stations” featuring songs from their favorite musicians. They can listen to the music directly at Seventeen.com and can share their stations, also called Celebrity DJ Jukeboxes, with other readers over a social networking application." The activity demonstrates how magazines are changing from their static paper incarnations to become active lifestyle centers and tools for their audiences and advertisers. To Ann Shoket, Seventeen's editor-in-chief, the music-widget application “helps the Seventeen brand live beyond the pages of the magazine. . . ." Johnson adds that this sort of entertainment-focused content "creates compelling opportunities for advertisers to participate."
In Jason Fell, "Hearst Launches Widgets for Seventeen," Folio, May 5, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
On Nielsen's Cross-Media Ambitions
Today's [Nielsen] communication [to clients] says, 'As the most wide-ranging research and development plan in Nielsen's history, A2/M2 was designed to follow the video across all platforms and keep pace with the evolving ways that people watch television in contemporary society.' It's nice to dream, but Nielsen has a well-earned reputation for producing nightmares; poor judgment, late delivery and shoddy service are an all too persistent theme over time. Nielsen may have a former GE executive at the helm, but never use a jet engine manufactured at 770 Broadway.
-An unnamed Nielsen client
In Joe Mandese, "Nielsen Follows the Video, Sets PC, TV Panel Integration," Media Daily News, February 12, 2008.
-An unnamed Nielsen client
In Joe Mandese, "Nielsen Follows the Video, Sets PC, TV Panel Integration," Media Daily News, February 12, 2008.
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