By Emily Little
PromaxBDA Member Outreach Manager
Last night’s Emerging Media Workshop, at the New York offices of Definition 6, featured the whole spectrum of technology companies: ConnecTV, a true start-up still in is private beta stage; Crimson Hexagon, more established in social analytics but new to the TV industry; and Google+, the internet giant’s foray into social networking.
ConnecTV’s CMO and co-founder Stacy Jolna kicked the evening of presentations off by explaining how his company’s unique social TV platform instantly connects with anything that users, or “view-sers,” are watching via audio recognition. ConnecTV then tailors their online content and social networking capabilities to the recognized show, movie or even commercial, syncing online ads to that content for a more targeted, enhanced marketing message. The standing-room-only crowd was the very first to hear the exclusive breaking news that ConnecTV is coming out of private beta and will be public next week!
Next, Crimson Hexagon’s VP of business development, Melyssa Plunkett-Gomez, gave fascinating insight into the company’s social analytics technology. Like other, similar research platforms, Crimson Hexagon analyzes tweets, Facebook posts, social sharing and other activity during TV shows to extract that audience’s feedback and help inform media buyers’ spending. But unlike those other companies, Crimson Hexagon uses a more intuitive approach that can recognize abbreviations, shorthand and colloquialisms to more accurately analyze emotions and opinions tied to specific points during a show.
Wrapping the night up, Ryan Stonehouse, global lead of social sales and strategy at Google+, demonstrated why the social network differs from Facebook, and how it helps marketers “unify equity.” Almost all the EMW attendees could count themselves part of Google+’s 90 million users, and it was helpful for them to learn how they can segment their contacts into “circles” to streamline and enhance information sharing. This functionality is just one reason studios and networks are flocking to Google+ to create brand pages for their properties, allowing them to target the right marketing message to the right people at the right time. Stonehouse also had some insight for anyone working with social media: “Addressing social as another channel is flawed… think common thread/unification.”
In keeping with the social media theme of the night, Definition 6 had a “social DJ” who streamed tweets about the event onscreen throughout the night. A few highlights below:
@harrisc How TV viewers search for shows & what it means for networks – new research from @google and @PromaxBDA http://t.co/XSuKPhcf
@JPedde Really impressed by the data @crimsonhexagon is able to pull from social regarding TV. Goes further than simple sentiment @promaxbda
@RachelConforti Will be interesting in #2012 to see data evolve @JPedde @crimsonhexagon @promaxbda @Definition6
To learn more about or be involved with PromaxBDA’s quarterly Emerging Media Workshop and other events, contact Emily Little at emily [at] promaxbda [dot] org.
We’re entering Awards Season here at PromaxBDA, with no less than four different competitions currently accepting entries, the PromaxBDA Europe, Game Marketing, Global Excellence and North America Promotion and Marketing and Design Awards, and the PromaxBDALocal Awards.
As you prepare your promotional materials for submission (be it a digital media, print or premium and collateral entry), it can be easy to get caught up in the audio and/or visual elements and neglect the marketing objective portion of your entry. Of course, the work itself is the most important factor in determining the winners, but our judges also pay close attention to your written creative strategy as it helps them determine how well the campaign has been executed from start to finish. In fact, your submission’s marketing objective accounts for one-third of your overall score, so it’s important to get it right.
Shawn Anderson, PromaxBDA’s director of marketing and communications, offers these tips for writing an awards entry marketing objective that stands out:
“Clearly define your project including relevant background information, important findings from research, your audience, story you want to tell, who will need to review/approve the project and any unusual rights issues. Don’t forget to include the total budget for the project.”
“Outline the roles and responsibilities of each group participating, especially on larger projects where multiple departments are going to be involved such as on-air, off-air, digital, etc.”
“Clearly state your goals and objectives.”
“Know your target group. Use information from research or focus groups to fine tune the message when possible and where appropriate.”
Good luck and be sure to note the upcoming deadlines for all competitions below!
*PromaxBDA Europe Awards: Due January 26; entry fee increases January 20
*PromaxBDA Game Marketing Awards: Due February 17; no entry fee increase
*Promotion, Marketing and Design Awards: Due March 15; entry fee increases February 17 and March 2
*PromaxBDALocal Awards: Due April 5; entry fee increases March 16
Although, this year’s four-day Consumer Electronics Show doesn’t wrap up until this Friday, it’s already provided plenty of incredible technological innovations, cool new gadgets and other game-changing announcements, presentations and moments of general awe and wonder. Because it can be hard to sift through them all, we’ve culled five stories from the show we found particularly interesting, not to mention pertinent to our industry.
1.) Sony no Crony: Jumping headfirst into the age of connectivity, Sony was especially busy at CES, heavily hyping the Sony Entertainment Network, a new service that will finally connect the company’s numerous digital products with its numerous hardware products. Going forward, Sony’s music, games, movies and more can be found and shared across the company’s PlayStation 3, Bravia TVs, tablets and smartphones. By unifying its disparate parts, Sony has made a crucial step forward and placed the domineering Apple square in its sights.
2.) A Sportier Smart Phone: LG used its time at CES to unveil The Spectrum, a new smartphone that will give Verizon customers exclusive access to HD video on ESPN’s popular ScoreCenter app. Of course, smartphone users have been able to watch sports highlights for a while on their phones, but this partnership marks the first time sports will be viewable at 720p on a mobile device. The Spectrum launches on the Verizon network on January 19.
3.) A Smarter Smart TV: Lenovo unveiled what could be the smartest smart TV yet: The Lenovo K91. Offering 55 inches of streaming video-on-demand and multimedia sharing, the K91 runs on a custom-skinned version of Android 4.0 and features a slew of games from a Lenovo-approved Android market. Throw in voice recognition and an integrated 5MP webcam and you have the next generation in home connectivity. While an April release is planned in China, a stateside roll-out has yet to be finalized. Good things come to those who wait…
4.) A Simpler Smart TV: GigaOM reports on the CES unveiling of Simple.TV, a new kind of streaming set-top box for consumers who have given their cable packages the boot. The streaming set-top box can be connected to an HD antenna or to a broadband feed. From there, the user can transmit live and recorded television to an array of supporting mobile devices and tablets, which as of now include iPad, Roku boxes and Boxee. If TiVo and Sling had a baby, it might look something like Simple.TV.
5.) Tablet Totality: If you thought 2011 was tablet-crazy, 2012 might just be off the hook. The good folks at Mashable report that CES has officially kicked off the “year of the tablet,” in which Microsoft, Samsung, Motorola, BlackBerry others vie to compete with the rampaging iPad. All of these companies had something tablet-related to share at CES, with the Motorola Xoom making an especially large splash thanks to a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 10.1-inch screen, 1280×800 resolution, 4G connectivity, 32GB of on board memory and the Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” OS.
Santa Claus is not the only one who makes a list and checks it twice this time of year – it seems like everyone offers up a year-end list of some kind during the holiday season, if not several. Never one to be left out of the fun, we offer up a list of our own: Five TV-related Apps That Caught Our Eye in 2011.
IntoNow: A kind of Shazam for television shows, Yahoo’s IntoNow application lets users “tag” a program of their choosing, simply by pointing their mobile device at the screen and pressing a friendly green button. Using nifty SoundPrint TV-listening technology, the app can then identify the show and episode from millions of different broadcast airings, supplying pertinent data and links, and naturally, making sharing it on Twitter and Facebook a breeze. As IntoNow has evolved, it’s partnered with networks and series to feature premium content as well, such as “Project Runway” judge bios, sneak peeks at future episodes, photo flipbooks and more. What could be more fun for a TV fan than simply pointing a device at their favorite show and pressing a button to unlock magical treasures? IntoNow knows the answer: nothing.
HISTORY Shop: Back in the Dark Ages, if a television viewer saw something on a show they wished to own themselves, such as Bill Cosby’s sweater of the week, they had to turn the TV off, drive to their local sweater store and hope that a.) they could even remember what they had seen back at the house and b.) that something in the store actually resembled the item of their desire. It was truly a barbaric time, but lo, we have emerged from it and into enlightenment thanks to HISTORY Shop, an app-collaboration between HISTORY, Verizon and interactive commerce specialists Delivery Agent. Now, anyone who is a Verizon FiOS TV subscriber will, upon being moved to shop by such shows as “Pawn Stars,” “Ice Road Truckers” or “American Pickers,” be able to simply push a button on their remote control, and instantly view an array of buyable online products tailored specifically to the current episode. The list appears on one side of the screen as the program continues to run on the other, and the entire transaction can be made right there within seconds, using the remote. Look for apps like HISTORY Shop to spread across the landscape of networks and providers as the line between TV and retail grows ever-slimmer.
#Hashtag Killer: Television programs have been using social networking to bring fans closer to their favorite characters for a while now, but USA Network took that trend to a whole new level when it teamed with the “scripted social networking” startup SocialSamba in June. To help market the popular series “Covert Affairs,” the two forces created a “Tweetcast” called the #Hashtag Killer, wherein viewers could actually interact with their favorite characters within a fictional Twitter universe and watch them solve an extra crime over the social network. Ostensibly an ongoing exchange of direct messages and @replies between characters such as Christopher Gorham’s blind special-ops agent Auggie Anderson and CIA Trainee Annie Walker, the stunt revolutionized what a tweet can do, offering a seven-week stream of images, videos and various “classified documents” culled from the show’s rich, imaginary world. Creating a personal-feeling connection between characters and fans is crucial in this age of social media, and the #Hashtag Killer was a pioneering plunge into this realm. “SocialSamba’s recipe enables the Psych junkies, the writers and even the marketers,” wrote Social TV website Lost Remote.
Clicker.TV: Acquired by CBS Interactive back in spring, Clicker.TV remains one of the best ways to find television-related Web content on your computer. Simple and user-friendly, the app lets anyone with Boxee installed quickly comb through all available broadcast programming online, including TV-quality Web originals. Subscribers can browse more than 1,000,000 episodes from more than 12,000 shows from more than 2,500 networks, funneling it all into one central watch queue for the viewer. With a smooth, seamless interface, the site is a joy to navigate as well, which speaks volumes in an Internet television field already filled to bursting with jostling competitors.
GetGlue: No 2011 year-end list of television-related apps would be complete without the inclusion of GetGlue, a social networking site that brings the “check-in” notion into the entertainment world. GetGlue is not the only service of its kind (see: Miso amongst others) but it’s done an excellent job of not resting on its laurels, finding new content partners, implementing a sticker service through which users can get entertainment discounts and creating a slick “one-stop self-service marketing dashboard” that helps its partners and marketers get the most out of the service. PromaxBDA member outreach director and GetGlue user Emily Little says she likes the site because “there’s a lot of interaction with my existing friends (especially when I’m checking into my guilty pleasure shows). I also like that my check-ins there automatically update on Facebook and Twitter.” One of Mashable’s “6 promising new companies” in 2010, GetGlue continues to grow and innovate at a breathtaking pace.
From action figures to comic books, video game companies are merchandising en masse to promote their new releases. This is a very effective strategy for sequels and established brands alike to build on fans’ nostalgia and/or anticipation for upcoming releases. And, as the following three merchandising examples suggest, it’s a great way to give fans a little something extra for the holidays.
1.) Online retailer CafePress, which specializes in user-designed merchandise, announced it has partnered with Microsoft to create custom Xbox LIVE Avatar Gear just in time for the holidays. Along with Microsoft’s new app, My Xbox Live, which lets users interact with their Live Friends in all kinds of cool ways, it’s another innovative way the company found this season to connect with fans outside of the games themselves. Through CafePress’ website, gamers can emblazon their carefully honed avatars on T-shirts, water bottles, commuter mugs and other types of merchandise then ship it off to themselves for Christmas… because nobody but them would ever want something so ridiculous (albeit fun.)
2.) No game-related merchandising post would be complete without some mention of Rovio’s “Angry Birds,” which had been capitalizing on fans’ fiendish desire for product spin-offs long before the holiday season rolled around. In November, however, the company outdid all its plush toys and iPhone cases with “Knock on Wood,” a board game that lets fans bring the game off the screen and into the living room. Like seemingly everything “Birds¬”-related, “Wood” has been a massive hit, lingering in the top 10 in Amazon’s “Toys & Games” section since its inception.
3.) In November, Nintendo teamed with West Coast Customs to create life-sized replicas of two different vehicles from “Mario Kart 7”: Mario’s Standard kart, replete with glider attachment for soaring through the air, and Luigi’s Bumble V kart with rear propeller attachment for underwater navigation. The karts brought a lot of attention to the new release when they appeared at the Los Angeles Auto Show from November 18-27 and will continue to do so when they appear in an upcoming episode of the West Coast Customs reality show. And, to chime with the holidays, one lucky gamer will get to take the Mario kart model home as part of GameStop’s monthly Epic Reward Giveaway program. Now that’s a gift we’d like to see Santa fit under the ol’ Christmas tree!
Of course, before picking up any of this sweet swag, you have to get the games themselves, if you don’t have them already. That’s why the number-one gift request on OUR video game merchandise holiday wish list is a good ol’ fashioned Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars Bundle. Merry Christmas!
“The Best of PromaxBDA,” an evening of Gold Award-winning spots from the 2011 Promotion, Marketing & Design Awards Show, is hitting the road for a tour through major cities. Each event starts with a pre-screening reception, followed by “The Best of PromaxBDA.” It’s our chance to take our show on the road and visit our members on their home turf and it’s YOUR chance to network with movers and shakers in our industry.*
Check the schedule below to see if “The Best of PromaxBDA” is coming to a theater near you! (All events start with the reception at 6 p.m. followed by the screening promptly at 7.)
LOS ANGELES Thursday, September 8, 6 p.m.
FOX lot Little Theater, 10201 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035
This screening is in conjunction with a special first-look preview of the new FOX television series, “New Girl,” starring Zooey Deschanel.
RSVP here!
ATLANTA Wednesday, September 21, 6 p.m.
The Weather Channel, 300 Interstate North Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339
RSVP here!
MIAMI Thursday, September 22, 6 p.m.
Univision, 9405 NW 41 St., Miami, FL, 33178
RSVP here!
SILVER SPRING/DC Wednesday, October 5, 6 p.m.
Discovery, One Discovery Place, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
RSVP HERE!
TORONTO Thursday, October 6, 6 p.m.
Corus Entertainment, Corus Quay, 25 Dockside Drive, Toronto, ON M5A 0B5
*For any questions, or to RSVP for the Toronto event, please contact Member Outreach Manager Emily Little at 310.789.1525 or emily [at] promaxbda [dot] org
The first three speakers have been announced for the 2011 PromaxBDA Latin America Conference and Awards, with more on the way for this exciting, jam-packed event.
On October 18, 2011, at the Hilton Buenos Aires in Argentina, the PromaxBDA Latin America Conference and Awards will welcome to the stage Corina Capuano, Mauricio Carrandi Lámbarri and Maribel Martínez.
Corina Capuano is the VP of creative services for Fox Latin American Channels. Based in Buenos Aires, she oversees the brand, identity and on-air services for more than 20 television channels including FX, Fox Life, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Utilísima, Speed and Bem Simples Brazil. Capuano has been the creative force behind FIC’s (Fox International Channels) Fox and FX brands on a worldwide basis including the rollout of FX UK in 2005. Over the last few years she has developed all on-air, off-air, print and digital promotional elements for “Glee,” “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons,” “24,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Prison Break,” “Dexter,” “The Walking Dead” and FIC’s multiple original series including the key art and title sequence for “Mental,” a co-production between Fox Television Studios and FIC.
Mauricio Carrandi Lámbarri founded Grao Comunicación, a company that created and developed brands using “The Compass,” a diagnosis and image strategy methodology that enriches marketing with basic semiotics and strategic business planning to increase the value of brands. In 2002 Televisa, the world’s foremost Spanish-language media corporation, engaged the services of Grao and in 2005 Carrandi was hired as Televisa’s Deputy VP of image and advertising. Since June 2011 Carrandi has served as Televisa’s general director of image and advertising.
Maribel Martínez also hails from Televisa, where she has worked as creative director for corporate image for more than 10 years. Her department’s scope of work covers a wide variety of projects including open title sequences for television programs, on-air promotion, image campaigns, graphic ID packages and animated shorts. Martínez’ work has been awarded repeatedly by PromaxBDA, Animacor/Spain and Círculo Creativo Mexico and she has held several lectures on design, animation and digital animated content at schools, universities and film festivals.
Stay tuned as we continue to update the lineup for this inspiring day of dynamic presentations and networking opportunities culminating with the special awards celebration of the 2011 PromaxBDA Latin America Awards winners. Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your creativity and learn new tools to help your company grow with some of the most innovative and strategic professionals in the media marketing, promotion and design industries.
Reserve your spot early and save!
PromaxBDA has recently announced the elite group of industry leaders who will serve as jury members for second annual Sports Media Marketing Awards competition. The esteemed group will judge the winner’s of this year’s TITANIUM AWARD categories.
David Levy, president, Turner sales, distribution and sports, Turner Sports, who will chair the jury, said, “In just its second year, the Sports Media Marketing Awards has established itself as an important competition and event, and I am honored to again serve as jury chair. It’s a must-attend for anyone who cares about the creativity that drives our industry.”
The 2011 Sports Media Marketing Awards jury members are:
- Jury Chair: David Levy, President, Turner Sales, Distribution & Sports, Turner Sports
- Sean Bratches, EVP, Sales & Marketing, ESPN
- Tim Brosnan, EVP, Business, MLB
- Paul Guyardo, EVP & Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, DIRECTV
- Christopher Hercik, Creative Director, Sports Illustrated Group
- Amy Latimer, SVP, Sales & Marketing, Boston Bruins
- Eric Markgraf, CMO, Fox Sports
- Daniel Meiseles, EVP & Executive Producer, Production, Programming & Broadcasting, NBA
- Luc Robitaille, President, Business Operations, Los Angeles Kings
- Mark Waller, CMO, NFL
- Casey Wasserman, Founder & CEO, Wasserman Media Group
“The industry response to the Sports Media Marketing Awards has been overwhelming internationally,” said Jonathan Block-Verk, president and CEO of PromaxBDA International. “This elite jury of industry luminaries is the perfect group to determine and recognize the year’s most compelling, strategic and creative work from the sports media marketing industry.”
Winners of TITANIUM AWARDS are chosen from top scoring entries within the following select categories:
- BEST SPOT
- BEST USE OF AN ATHLETE/ BEST PARTNERSHIP WITH AN ATHLETE
- BEST USE OF HUMOR
- BEST USE OF ORIGINAL MUSIC OR SOUND DESIGN
- BEST DIRECTING
- BEST OVERALL INTEGRATED MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGN
The August 18 deadline for submitting entries for the second annual PromaxBDA Sport Media Marketing Awards is fast approaching, so make sure to enter now! Don’t miss your chance to be honored for excellence and innovation in sports media marketing and promotion at the Sports Media Marketing Awards ceremony taking place in New York this November 15. Click here to read the full list of award categories, learn more about the TITANIUM AWARD and see submission details. Enter today!
And don’t miss the first ever Sports Media Marketing Summit, a packed one-day event for sports media marketing, promotion and design executives, taking place on November 15 in New York City. Register now to secure your spot at this inaugural event!
