Friday, February 29, 2008

Anheuser: We Based Super Bowl Buy On Web Integration

This appeared in MediaPost's Marketing Daily today....

"ANHEUSER-BUSCH'S BIG AD BUY DURING this year's Super Bowl was emblematic of a lot more than its need for reach during the game. According to Tony Ponturo, A-B's VP/global media and sports marketing, the company based the buy on extending into non-traditional media, and integration on the broadcast set and on the field."

"'Everything we do today is about how to extend our traditional media buys with new technology." he said, noting that the company garnered an additional 32 million views of its Super Bowl ads online the week after the game."

The extra "impressions" or views are great, but the real impact in my humble opinion comes from the time spent and the difference in sales. I agree with the strategy until you get the consumer online - then what?? Do you really just hope your audience watches your ads over and over again or do you want more substantial involvement? More of "substantial" engagement that can result in increased sales. Ultimately if the sales numbers in the following couple of months (only because we know that significant increases in awareness do not always result in immediate increases in sales - rather they often have a retro-active effect on sales) go up the real high fives occur, if the sales do not go up - then the strategy may not be as effective as thought and the online experience with the carry over audience should be re-examined. I am a big believer in the soft landing page - or the micro-site as it is more commonly known. If the audience is going online to watch a TV spot again - great! Give the audience what it wants, but once they have quenched their thirst for that entertainment, give them more to do, in a way that they enjoy. Keep the party going so to speak.

Get the entire article HERE

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Looking for a Lead Flash Developer

The Basement Design + Motion
Indianapolis, IN USA
Posted on: Feb 25, 2008

Lead Flash Developer


The Basement Design + Motion is seeking a Lead Flash Developer to accommodate new growth. The right candidate needs to live flash and have a passion for design, animation and innovation.

Required Skills:

• Excellent communication skills with clients and internal project team
• 5+ years experience on (mid-major to major brands)
• Experience in AS2 and AS3 and a strong understanding of OOP
• Strong knowledge of JavaScript, XML, and CSS
• Experience integrating FLV video with dynamic cue points
• An eye for motion design and timing
• Knowledge of FuseKit or equivalent tween engine
• PaperVision experience a plus
• Game design experience a plus
• Turntable experience a plus

If you possess the right mix of talent and experience, you can make an immediate impact in this growing studio. This is an in house position and candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to Indianapolis or a surrounding area. If you wish to be considered for this position please email your online portfolio and a list of urls clearly explaining your involvement on each project along with a current resume. Label "Lead Flash Developer” in the subject header.

The Basement Design + Motion is a growing motion design studio located in Broad Ripple, a historic arts district in Indianapolis, IN. Please refer to our site to learn more www.thebasement.tv

Apply at: dweller@thebasement.tv
EOE

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Comcast and It's "Project Canoe"

This was teased in another piece a few weeks ago. It is popping up again on the radar. One thought I have after seeing this "top secret" project being written about in very public trades is if it is that secret why does it keep popping up and why do their executives keep talking about it. I suppose the answer is not that it is secret at all - rather these folks want to throw the crumbs out to the market to see how it reacts. My guess is that since Comcast is reportedly throwing $70 million at this project for development, they still have some hesitation, and want to see how their partners, ad purchasing clients and investors react to the news before they take it all the way.

Here is a blurb plus a link to the full story...
"by David Goetzl, Friday, Feb 15, 2008 9:00 AM ET
COMCAST WILL INVEST UP TO $70 million this year as part of cable operators' joint effort to develop a national interactive advertising platform, a top company executive said Thursday.

Cable executives have indicated that leading operators had banded together to fund the development of a system, code-named "Project Canoe," (by industry research arm CableLabs), which would allow an advertiser to easily buy national spots. The added benefit--targeted click-through options depending on locale. Cable operators' set-top box data could yield performance results similar to initiatives by DirecTV/TNS and Google/EhcoStar's Dish Network.

If the system allows advertisers to place buys that run in a fell swoop on just the top-five cable operators--Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter and Cablevision--ads could reach some 50 million homes. MSOs get about two minutes an hour of ad time on the cable networks they offer."


Get the full MediaPost article HERE

What is interesting to me is that neither subject or reporter is discussing the real long term potential this model offers. They mention very briefly the measurement component, but they do not discuss the re-positioning of content, the user's control options, etc. All of that is the REAL benefit because it will translate into more value for the audience. If the audience understands and utilizes the model in that way, and realizes the added value, well then I guess these cable operators are offering real value and writing their own checks as a result.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Google Beta Testing Rich Media Ads

We knew it was coming and now it is in beta...
Google Tests Video Ads on Search Results Pages
"On Thursday, Google started testing video ads on some pages of search results. And it is developing ad formats with images, interactive maps and other more elaborate features.

Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, said in an interview that the change reflects the evolution of the once-sparse Google pages. Last year Google introduced what it calls universal search, which mixes images, videos, news stories and other types of information with the standard text links to Web pages."


Read the entire New York Times article HERE

Thursday, February 14, 2008

French agencies see the difference

I came across this article today and it is pretty telling. I have always said numbers do not lie. You have two of the top ten advertising agencies in the world seeing their greatest gains in their digital divisions. Don' take my word for it here is the article. I really enjoyed the last quote in this piece.

This comes from today's MediaPost Online Media Daily
Vive La Difference: Digital Media Propels French Ad Giants
Check it out HERE.

Monday, February 11, 2008

We will start to see more and more of this...

Remind you of anyone? Hint: The name starts with a G and they run the largest targeted ad network in the world.

Firm Matches Data From Cable Boxes With Shopper Cards
Pulled from the The Wall Street Journal

A new media research company, TRA (for "True ROI Accountability for Media") is merging data from people's cable set-top boxes with consumer-purchase databases to give marketers a clearer picture of who is watching shows such as "Grey's Anatomy" and what those viewers might buy. Go Here to read the full excerpt.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Monday, February 4, 2008

Smulyan Declares New "Killer App"

I came across this article today and it jarred a couple of thoughts in my head.
Check out Emmis' Smulyan Calls Tagging Radio's 'Killer App'

This was discovered through a MediaPost email newsletter - it was their lead story.

Locally in Indy and nationally in the radio business Jeff Smulyan is a highly regarded guy, and for good reason. However in this case, I am wondering if he is out of his element. Maybe not, but here are some thoughts I had after reading this piece.
"Tagging" songs that you hear on the radio for potential purchase later on, seems to me assumes a few things:
1. That people actually like the programming of the music on the traditional stations. I have thought for a long time that station programming has become about as stale as the music industry itself. The Internet has not necessarily destroyed the music, contrary to music execs' belief - it has however opened up the consumer to artists, genres and listening locations and schedules that the traditional music biz and radio have neglected - therefore pulling listeners in other directions for longer periods of time. Really, who wants to hear the same classic rock songs, hip hop songs, or easy listening rotation for the 10 millionth time when you can explore new music on your schedule at your own leisure?

2. Payola is no longer an issue - not the case. Payola still happens and this "tagging" model would seem to only further encourage this unfortunate activity

3. The only opportunity to help grow the music/radio industry is by making it easier to purchase the music played by traditional stations - not the case. Where you can listen, the variety of what you can listen to, having a say in what you hear, becoming more valuable to the audience than just some obnoxious dj spinning the same 10 tunes all day and many other opportunities exist for the industry to grow and become valuable to their audience. Key - stay valuable, not just a time killer for the drive when you forgot your favorite CD or iPod.

Complete solutions, not "killer apps" will cure this industry and others that share similar pains (newspapers, tv, movies, etc.) Hit me up Jeff I would love to chat with you about it.