Testing New Google Youtube Contextual Ad based Video Unit November 6, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentBolloré Fails in 3rd Aegis Board Try April 4, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentBolloré Fails in 3rd Aegis Board Try
April 04, 2007
By Steve McClellan
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NEW YORK For the third time in less than a year, Aegis Group shareholders have rejected a proposal by French investor Vincent Bolloré to gain a pair of seats on the company’s board.
Aegis shareholders had already voted down the same proposal in June and November 2006.
The third vote on the matter was held today at Aegis’ headquarters in London.
The results of all three votes were practically identical: each time, more than 90 percent of the shares not controlled by Bolloré were pledged against the resolution to place a pair of his associates on the board.
Lord Sharman, chairman of Aegis, said the outcome demonstrates that shareholders “see board representation for a direct competitor as an unacceptable conflict of interest. We hope that Groupe Bolloré will come to respect this democratically expressed point of view. In the meantime, our attention remains on developing our business for the benefit of all shareholders.”
Bolloré is Aegis’ largest single shareholder, holding a 29 percent stake in the company.
He also serves as chairman of Paris-based holding company Havas. That standing constitutes a flagrant conflict of interest that should effectively bar his representatives from serving on Aegis’ board, the company’s management has argued.
Analysts have said that given Aegis’ strong financial performances of late, no real benefit would be gained by bringing that company closer to Havas, which has turned in mediocre performances.
Bolloré has made no secret of his desire to somehow combine the media operations of Aegis and Havas.
The former is the parent of the Carat, Isobar, Synovate and Vizeum networks. Havas owns Arnold, Euro RSCG and MPG.
MTV To Build "Thousands" Of Sites Around Brands March 7, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy Kenneth Li
NEW YORK (Reuters) – MTV Networks, owner of the MTV and Comedy Central channels, is pushing a risky new Web strategy to win back young viewers from the likes of YouTube and MySpace.
The network, which already has 150 Web sites in 162 countries, plans to build literally thousands more, hoping to draw viewers by letting them watch, contribute and even re-edit its television shows.
“People tend to find content on the Internet through thousands of front doors as opposed to one,” said Mika Salmi, the new digital president of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc..
In some ways we’re in a better position than most media companies are — we’re where people want to be.”
The music channel MTV was once synonymous with youth culture, but popular social networks like News Corp.’s MySpace.com and Google Inc.’s online video-sharing site YouTube have siphoned away some of its viewers.
MTV Networks’ new strategy is part of an effort by Viacom to reach a wider audience that is spending as much time on the Internet and on video games as watching television, and no longer cares when or where programming is shown.
It aims to build Web sites related to every personality and aspect of its shows, hoping to catch viewers wherever they happen to be on the Internet and on mobile phones, Salmi said in an interview
It has created three virtual worlds — Laguna Beach for teenagers, Nicktropolis for children and Virtual Hills for young adults — and says more Web sites can help it go deeper to promote individual shows and personalities.
The move is a risky one for Viacom as it could breed confusion and dilute corporate branding, especially for a company whose Web strategy has been difficult to discern.
Compare it to News Corp’s focus on MySpace — a property Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone had once coveted — which is an anchor for News Corp., Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
It is one of a number of experiments by the media industry to sell, rent and stream for free programs over the Internet.
But Viacom appears to more aggressive than its peers in freeing up its content, lit by an urgency to protect and grow its core youth market.
Viewers will have a degree of control uncommon for media corporations, Salmi said.
An example of this approach is Lucasfilm Ltd.’s lax policies on letting fans post re-edited clips of Star Wars, which has helped sustain the franchise for years.
Some three months ago, Salmi began laying the groundwork in a strategy plan called “Atlas.”
MTVN’s sites currently operate largely within their own “silos,” so they first had to adopt the same technology tools and then find better ways to cross-promote the myriad brands tied to its shows, Salmi said.
“The goal is hopefully to tie it all together over the next year, and to be far more open,” said Salmi, who joined MTV Networks last summer after Viacom purchased Atom Entertainment, known for online short films and games. “Consumers love these shows. Let’s get them involved.”
In the coming months, Salmi said the company plans to open up more of its archives, allowing Internet users to take videos and post them on their own sites and also re-edit some clips.
ComedyCentral.com already allows viewers to post, or embed, some of its videos on their own sites.
“Consumers want control,” Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield said. “Fighting that trend is not a winning strategy…They’re moving in the right direction now.”
In February, Viacom appeared to be making a move in the opposite direction when it ordered YouTube to pull down more than 100,000 clips of its popular shows that were uploaded by users without permission.
The controversial move to protect online programming found supporters among other media companies including NBC and News Corp., though CBS Corp. continues to sing the praises of the marketing impact of YouTube.
Viacom says the move has helped boost traffic to its own sites — traffic in January to MTV.com jumped 55 percent and ComedyCentral.com nearly doubled from a year ago.
The company has left the door open to a deal with YouTube, but is offering its shows to others such as Joost, an online video service that uses the very technology once feared by media.
Meanwhile, MTV Networks is quietly getting its house into shape for what analysts have called a “transformative” year, when Viacom retools the entire organization to capture more online advertising dollars.
Viacom has said it expected to roughly double revenue from digital businesses to $500 million this year.
Electronic Arts, iVillage Make Play for Women March 1, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentElectronic Arts, iVillage Make Play for Women
Electronic Arts, iVillage Make Play for Women
February 28, 2007
By John Gaudiosi, The Hollywood Reporter
LOS ANGELES — Electronic Arts has joined forces with NBC Universal’s female-oriented iVillage.com to create a co-branded games channel that will feature casual games from EA’s Pogo.com.
The games channel on iVillage.com will be placed alongside existing channels like health, wellness, diet & fitness; pregnancy & parenting; beauty & style; and home & food.
“The number of women playing games online has clearly exploded, and we knew it was time for us to carve out a space where our members could play to their heart’s content,” iVillage Properties COO Ezra Kucharz said. The site boasts 16 million members.
Pogo.com attracts more than 14 million players per month and is the No. 1 gaming site with women 25-54, according to ComScore Media Metrix.
While EA targets male gamers through console and PC game franchises like “Need for Speed,” “Madden NFL,” “Command & Conquer” and “Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf,” the video game publisher does offer games for the mass market that appeal to both genders, like “The Sims 2,” which has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide.
Casual online games like “First Class Solitaire,” “Poppit!” and “Word Whomp” attract a large female gaming audience for long sessions. According to ComScore MediaMetrix, in December, women spent 83 million hours playing games, and 39% of women who went online visited gaming sites. This compares to 63 million hours spent on Google and 47 million hours spent on Yahoo! instant messenger.
Nancy Smith, evp-Pogo.com, said that not only do Pogo and iVillage share an audience demographic, they share a passion for women’s issues and a belief that interactive entertainment is a great way to stay connected, stay sharp and keep a healthy mind.
“This relationship will allow us to reach even more women than ever before,” Smith said.
Members of iVillage will be invited to participate in monthly game nights on the games channel, where they’ll interact with other Pogo users. Members will also be given two-week passes to try out Club Pogo for free.
Hispanic Ad Growth to Outpace General Market February 26, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentHispanic Ad Growth to Outpace General Market
According to a new study from Kagan Research, Hispanic advertising growth is expected to outpace that of the general market, reaching $5.5 billion in gross advertising revenue by 2010. The study forecasts bigger revenue growth curves for cable nets in the next several years, with projected growth of 32% from 2002 to 2010, versus 12.5% for broadcast networks.
Deana Myers, senior analyst for Kagan Research, says “The rapid rise in population and purchasing power has made the Hispanic TV and radio audience a highly desirable market for networks, content owners and advertisers…”
Some of the key findings of the report include:
- Although the Hispanic demo has lower multichannel penetration than the general population, the services are expected to gain ground in the coming decade. Multichannel penetration of Hispanic TVHH is projected to grow to 71.7% in 2010.
- TV station players can expect solid revenue growth rates, while radio stations are projected to outpace their English Language peers between 2006 and 2010.
- Programming is a potential growth area for all distribution outlets. Cable networks will increase program expenses most quickly, while broadcast networks are likely to have slower growth.
For the complete release and more information on Kagan Research, please visit here.
Report: Clients Dissatisfied with Big Agencie February 26, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentReport: Clients Dissatisfied with Big Agencies
Madison Avenue
A recent survey released by Forrester Research confirmed a challenge Madison Ave faces today: How agencies can remain central marketing partners in an age of increased specialization driven by an increasingly digital media environment
According to AdAge, a measly 21 percent of clients would recommend their agencies’ services to others. However, the report also found a whopping 76 percent of marketers had no way to determine their ROI from their lead agencies – 69 percent said ROI is too difficult to measure.
“There’s always an undercurrent of discontent with agencies,” said Peter Kim, a senior analyst at Forrester. “What surprised me is that three-quarters do not measure agency ROI. They’re dissatisfied, yet on what basis? … it’s a feeling that there isn’t data to back up.”
In recent years, large agencies that for decades dominated the scene have been under assault from much newer and leaner shops that promise channel-agnostic thinking. However, the good news for big agencies is that they still account for over 60 percent of all marketing budgets.
PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS CIRCLE STRUGGLING CHRYSLER GROUP February 26, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentPRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS CIRCLE STRUGGLING CHRYSLER GROUP
DETROIT: The future of the Chrysler Group could lie in the hands of private equity firms, which have reportedly held preliminary talks with the struggling automaker’s parent company, Daimler-Chrysler.
Among the financially flush groups looking at the enterprise are said to be Apollo Management, Blackstone, Carlyle, and Cerberus Capital Management, as well as several European names.
Private equity groups have been circling weakened US automakers for sometime as they search for potential bargains. Cerberus took part in the acquisition of a 51% stake in the finance arm of General Motors last year, while Carlyle was part of a consortium which acquired car rental group Hertz from Ford Motor Company in 2005.
DaimlerChrysler has engaged the services of investment bankers JPMorgan Chase to examine all options for the US unit’s future which, at least officially, remains unclear [WARC News: 16-Feb-07].
Indeed, the German giant is still talking about turning round Chrysler Group, while its ceo, Thomas LaSorda says: “It may take weeks or months before official comments can be made on some issues.”
In an email message to workers he added: “Meanwhile, our job is very clear. Our mission is to produce great cars and trucks, to take care of our customers and to restore profitability. Whatever fork in the road we may take, we first have to make sure we’re on the road — and the recovery and transformation plan is that road.”
The company has already announced plans to shed 13,000 jobs, including 11,000 production workers and 2,000 white-collar staff as it trims expenses to match declining sales. It also announced the closure of one plant and layoffs at several others.
Data sourced from Financial Times online; additional content by WARC staff, 26 February 200
Unaided Advertising Recall Significantly Higher With Mix of Radio and Internet February 23, 2007
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Friday, February 23, 2007
Unaided Advertising Recall Significantly Higher With Mix of Radio and Internet
According to research from the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) released at the Radio Advertising Bureau’s (RAB) Management & Leadership Conference, recall of advertising is dramatically enhanced when a mix of Radio and Internet ads is used together compared to website ads alone.
The report demonstrated that unaided recall was four-and-a-half times higher, and aided recall was more than twice as high with consumer exposure to one radio and one Internet ad compared to two Internet ads alone. Furthermore, the report states that a mix of radio and Internet exposures revealed a clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds.
The study first examined existing data about radio and Internet advertising to determine how the two media are likely to intersect. Several key points on how Radio and the Internet might work well together in a media mix emerged:
- Both radio and the Internet reach light users of other media
- Radio and the Internet connect with consumers differently and in potentially complementary ways
- Radio can drive traffic to websites
- Radio and the Internet have unique reach patterns, and that can make them work powerfully in combination. On a daily basis, Radio and the Internet together reach 83 percent of the 18-54-year-old population
- Consumers often use Radio and the Internet simultaneously, with up to a third of Internet usage being accompanied by Radio listening during some times of the day
Michael Orgera, Vice President, Director of Research, Universal McCann, said “… With so many media choices and so many ad messages… understanding how radio and the Internet together can significantly boost advertising attention levels is a tremendous advantage when creating a multi-platform campaign.”
And Rex Conklin, Media Director, Wal-Mart, and member of the RAEL Research Committee, noted, it’s been gratifying to see advertisers and agency representatives work closely and candidly with broadcasters to establish clear direction for research studies…”
The full study, plus previously released research from RAEL, are available here.
Ask.com Renews Ties with Looksmart’s AdCenter February 21, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentAsk.com Renews Ties with Looksmart’s AdCenter
Online advertising agency LookSmart announced today that Ask.com has extended its AdCenter license for Publishers through 2009. LookSmart’s AdCenter is part of the Ask Sponsored Listings (ASL) PPC advertising program, which enables marketers to make purchases from an automated open-auction format. Marketers are also allowed to manage and grow campaigns on Ask.com and within its publisher network.
Offered through IAC Advertising Solutions, ASL handles over five billion queries on a monthly basis and provides for more than 30,000 bidding advertisers. ASL offers these services through IAC Advertising Solutions, and services advertisers bidding on more than 10 million keywords.
In a press statement, James Speer, vice president of search marketing products at IAC Advertising Solutions, states, “We’re focused on delivering results for our advertisers and AdCenter is one component of our overall strategy.”
CEO of LookSmart, David Hills further adds, “The AdCenter provides Ask.com a solid platform to grow and service its advertiser base and revenue in a cost-effective manner. We’re proud to be associated with their success.”
LookSmart’s AdCenter (not to be confused with Microsoft’s adCenter) caters to various types of online media companies while providing not only an auction space, but also an algorithmic ad server and a reporting engine. Both the publisher and the advertiser receive detailed reporting so that pricing and ROI decisions can be made. Through LookSmart, an API is offered, which allows agencies and largest advertisers to deal directly with publishers licensing AdCenter technology.
Joost Deal To Bolster Viacom Ad Inventory February 21, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a comment| Joost Deal To Bolster Viacom Ad Inventory |
| by Gavin O’Malley, Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007 10:25 AM ET |
| THE NEW DISTRIBUTION DEAL BETWEEN Viacom and Internet TV startup Joost–which will provide Joost with clips from MTV Networks, BET Networks and Paramount Pictures–won’t just enable the startup to launch with a full slate of popular content. The deal also is expected to give advertisers a good deal of new online video inventory. “There’s tons of long-form archived content we hadn’t been selling ads against,” said Jeremy Zweig, a Viacom spokesman, adding that Viacom will make available a wealth of videos from older shows including “Punk’d,” “Beavis & Butthead,” and “Real World.” Unlike most video-sharing sites such as YouTube, which are dominated by short clips, Joost–slated to launch later this year–plans to specialize in long-form, high-quality content. In all likelihood, full-length Viacom shows running on Joost will be broken up by one, two, or even three breaks for a single sponsor’s spot, said Zweig. Viacom will sell the ads, which will accompany its content. Philippe Dauman, Viacom President and CEO, indicated that he will be pursuing deals with additional Internet carriers–with or without Google’s YouTube. Earlier this month, Viacom demanded that YouTube remove around 100,000 clips from the site after talks between the companies broke down. “In addition to strong partnerships we have with traditional distributors, we will continue to seek out partners like Joost,” Dauman said in a statement. “We’re determined to keep pushing and growing our digital presence and bring our programming to audiences on every platform and device that they want.” Joost, formerly known as The Venice Project, was founded by the same entrepreneurs–Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis–who brought the world Skype and Kazaa. The startup, which utilizes peer-to-peer networks, has to date struck deals with a handful of content providers, including Warner Music and Endemol, a Dutch production company responsible for “Big Brother.” Along with MTV, Viacom properties providing Joost with content include Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV2, Logo, Spike TV, mtvU, VH1 and BET Networks. Also, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics will be providing full-length feature films from their catalog of classics and recent releases. |
