Jun 17, 2009

NEW YORK Like print ads, context matters when it comes to the effectiveness of Internet ads, according to new findings from media researcher McPheters & Co. Analyzing the effectiveness of Internet banner ads, McPheters, collaborating with Condé Nast and CBS Vision, found that online ads running on sites with related content were 61 percent more likely to be recalled than ads on venues with unrelated content — a finding that would appear to undercut the case for behavioral ad networks..

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LOS ANGELES Mattel has named Razorfish as its digital agency partner.

In that capacity, the Los Angeles firm will provide online media planning and buying for the client, as well as design and creative work on a project basis. The budget was not disclosed.

“We are excited to be working with Razorfish as we extend Mattel Brands’ great play experiences into the digital space for kids of all ages,” said Chuck Scothon, general manager and svp of the Mattel Digital Network, in a statement. “Razorfish brings the right digital marketing expertise to help us reach our consumers in new, relevant ways.”

Razorfish’s first project has been working with Mattel on the digital component of the Barbie 50th anniversary campaign.

Source: Brandweek.com

NEW YORK Advertising to mobile phones is becoming an increasingly mainstream phenomenon, to judge by a Limbo-GfK Technology Mobile Advertising Report released today. (Limbo is a mobile social network whose free services to members are supported by the revenue from mobile ads.)

Thirty-three percent of Americans with mobile phones said they recalled seeing mobile advertising during the fourth quarter of 2008. Among those with iPhones, the figure was even higher, at 41 percent. “The vast majority of these ads were seen in SMS text messages,” the report notes.

Read The Rest—>Advertising to Mobile Phones Now the Norm

NEW YORK Time Warner and Time Warner Cable on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter losses on $24.2 billion in impairment writedowns to account for the lowered value of assets.

TW, which expects to soon spin off TWC, also projected a 2009 profit for its remaining content businesses of 66 cents per share.

Read The Rest–> Time Warner, TWC Report Q4 Losses on Writedowns

Participants are invited to go to Adeliciousdilemma.com to vote through March 6. For their trouble they are entered to win one of five $100 candy prize packs. Online marketing including a YouTube video supports.

The brand package redesign that receives the most votes will be on shelves by year’s end.

Read The Rest—>Nestle Seeks Consumers’ Design Advice

NEW YORK WPP Group and Omniture have concluded a collaboration agreement through which the holding company will invest $25 million in the analytics firm.

The firms agreed to work together on product development, with WPP shops like OgilveyOne, Wunderman, Enfatico, GroupM and 24/7 Real Media participating.

The plan calls for WPP in 12-18 months to shift its own technology and data products onto Omniture’s platform. This includes 24/7’s ad-serving systems and TNS’ data collection platforms.

The agreement is a testament to WPP CEO Martin Sorrell’s belief that ad holding companies must branch out beyond their traditional expertise in media and creative. (WPP spent $649 million to buy ad serving firm and network 24/7 Real Media in May 2007.)

“In the current economic environment and as clients continue to experiment with and develop their online budgets, the need for better analysis, measurement and focus on return on investment is more important than ever,” Sorrell said in a statement.

WPP bought 2.8 million units of Omniture common stock at $8.76 per share. Based on Omniture’s outstanding shares, WPP will own about 3 percent of the company.

Omniture’s shares this morning opened at $9.44. The firm also issued a warrant giving WPP the option to purchase more shares if undisclosed performance objectives are met.

Read The Rest—>WPP Takes Stake in Omniture

NEW YORK For the media, Inauguration Day was a cross between the Rose Parade, the Olympics and a military maneuver: Think saturation coverage, technological innovation, reams of color and commentary, a tone as momentous as the occasion chronicled — and what could be near-record ratings in the U.S. and around the world.

Tuesday dawned with the images of a National Mall that filled rapidly in advance of Barack Obama’s swearing-in at noon, swelling to more than 2 million. That made it one of the biggest U.S. crowds ever, a fact reiterated by virtually every pundit.

By the time the sun set, the broadcast and cable networks had chronicled — with barely any commercials — not just the inauguration ceremony but almost every moment save for a private prayer service and a few minutes of the Capitol Hill luncheon.

The events themselves and the TV coverage went off mostly without a hitch, even if the timing was hopelessly thrown off schedule late in the morning and never really recovered. NBC stayed on the air until 5 p.m. before taking a local break; CBS and ABC carried on as the parade began much later than expected. The cable nets continued through the night.

READ THE REST—> Inauguration Frenzy Covers All Screens

1. Time Inc. Calls for Buyouts
Nov. 11: “With a handful of higher-ups already out the door, Time Inc. is moving to the rank and file as it, like other publishers, seeks to reduce its workforce in the face of dropping ad revenue.”

2. Lowe’s Pulls Ads From ‘Big Brother’
Feb. 22: “CBS got a little taste of its own reality. Lowe’s has vowed not to advertise on future episodes of the reality show Big Brother 9 because of a defamatory comment a contestant made about people with autism.”

3. Ferrell’s Bud Light Spot Hits Big Time
Feb. 5: “Get ready for more Jackie Moon pitches for Bud Light. The improvisational endorsement from Will Ferrell’s character in New Line Cinema’s release of Semi Pro initially was intended to be an online short. But Anheuser-Busch executives decided to put the ad from DDB, New York and Chicago, on Fox’s Super Bowl telecast during the fourth quarter.”

4. Lippert’s Critique: Fey Chic
Oct. 13: “Saturday Night Live parodies GOP veep candidate Sarah Palin, but not everybody’s laughing.”

5. Campaign ‘08: Power Play
Aug. 25: Agency creative directors put their spin on the presidential campaign season.

6. Victoria’s Secret Tops Nielsen Bowl Ratings
Feb. 7: “The highest rated commercial in Sunday’s down-to-the-wire Super Bowl battle was an ad for Victoria’s Secret, according to Nielsen analysis released today. The spot was seen by 103.7 million people at 9:44 p.m., near the dramatic conclusion to the game, which aired on Fox.”

7. DDB Chicago ECD Tilley Dead at 40
Feb. 24: “Paul Tilley, the 40-year-old creative chief of DDB in Chicago, died Friday, an apparent suicide. An ambulance was called to that city’s Fairmont Hotel around 6:25 p.m. Friday following reports that someone had fallen from the building.”

8. Microsoft Unwraps 2nd Seinfeld Salvo
Sept. 12: “The second salvo in Microsoft’s Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates campaign has appeared in the form of a four-minute-plus video available on YouTube and elsewhere. The iconic comedian and Microsoft chairman this time venture to suburbia, where they try to act like regular guys despite being surrounded by a highly irregular family.”

9. Obama Tops McCain on Search Ad Front, per Survey
Oct 1: “SendTec found Obama’s campaign was more aggressive in purchasing ads tied to debate-related search terms.”

10. United to Shut Down Ted Airlines
June 5: “What remained of the airline-within-an-airline strategy for battling low-fare carriers was grounded this week when United Airlines said it would discontinue Ted Airlines. United plans to reconfigure Ted’s fleet of 56 Airbus 320s with first-class seats and rebrand them as United planes starting in spring 2009.”

Read The Rest—>Adweek.com’s Most-Read Stories of 2008

LOS ANGELES A gaggle of seasoned TV comedy writers are signing on to create a Web series for Machinima.com.

Fifteen scribes including WGA West president Patric Verrone (Futurama), Bill Oakley (The Simpsons) and Mike Rowe (Family Guy) will write short-form episodes to be produced, marketed and distributed by the site, which also is a popular channel on YouTube.

Machinima.com chairman and CEO Allen DeBevoise is looking to the TV pros to elevate machinima, a digital art form that appropriates existing or new video game characters as animation.

Read The Rest—>TV Vets Partner for Web Series

Dec 8, 2008

-By Andrew McMains

NEW YORK WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell, speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference today, reiterated concerns about the advertising marketplace next year given the recession and massive fluctuations in the stock market.

“I do think that the financial markets, which always go down or go up before the real world — of which we are part — will recover … by the middle of next year,” Sorrell said. “The real world, I don’t think will change for the better until 2010. And it will be helped by the fact that comparatives are going to be against a down market.”

Such comments echoed remarks Sorrell made last month in a video interview with Adweek.

Asked by an industry analyst how automotive and retail clients in particular are budgeting their marketing dollars for next year, Sorrell said all client categories are pressured, though auto, retail and travel are under “intense pressure.” Automotive business supplies about 10 percent of WPP’s global revenue and Ford is its No. 1 client.

“Every piece of evidence we find to be produced shows that those [clients] that cut in these times suffer and the costs of getting back to where they were are greater than if they continued to invest. But easier said” than done, said Sorrell, addressing a ballroom full of Wall Street analysts at the Grand Hyatt in New York.

Read The Rest—> Sorrell Feels the Heat