‘Survivor's’ Burnett shows no signs of slowing

LOS ANGELES - excerpt from Hollywood Reporter interview with Mark Burnett:

THR: You've been a trailblazer since “Eco-Challenge” and “Survivor” in courting big-ticket advertisers to help fund your productions. How do you think the integrated marketing/branded entertainment trend will change the television business in the next few years?

Burnett: I thoroughly believe that only idiots are not looking for alternative financing forms in today’s market because the model can’t continue with TiVo growing and video-on-demand and everything. There’s got to be a different way of looking at it...There’s no reason to have this firewall between (producers and advertisers). We kind of broke that. We made some little chinks in armor in “Survivor.” With “Contender,” we can make maximum revenue possible by giving sponsors way more integration in an organic way. (NBC agreed to the unusual provision of selling some ad time in “Contender” back to Burnett and co-producer DreamWorks to resell on their own.)

THR: But does that ever frustrate you as a producer? Have you ever clashed with sponsors over a creative issue?

Burnett: I hear some producers say they really don’t want the advertising community involved in their precious creative work. What’s more creative than telling 30-second stories and seeing billions of dollars of product fly off the shelves? The advertising community is very creative and very willing to work together with producers. They have great ideas. As producers, you have to deal with studio or network notes anyway, and many notes you get are from people who haven’t actually produced a movie or TV show. You have to work hand in hand respectfully in that way. Sometimes the (advertisers’) notes have been the best help of all. It’s a fresh set of eyes.

Read the article: www.msn.com

Brand-conscious companies create their own content

Coca-Cola, BMW and American Express are among major brands driving the development of a new form of entertainment: "brand content". Rather than simply associating themselves with a film, TV show or video game through convenstional sponsorship, they are exploring ways to create and own entertainment content outright.

"BMW Films showed the entertainment industry that brand content is not just about product placement, and it doesn't have to mean compromising editorial integrity," says Michael Wood, director of international brand content agency Cocojambo. "Now they are waking up to the fact that it's not just BMW. Within two years, every major brand onwer will have brand entertainment specialists on the payroll."

"It's a very important trend," says Phil Harrison, executive vice president, development, for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe based in London. "Relationships between content creators such as ourselves and brand owners are getting closer."

Read the article: www.wsj.com

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Jeep® announce new animated film – “Tugger: The Jeep® 4x4 Who Wanted to Fly”

ORLANDO - Jeep® Brand and Genesis Orlando, a digital animation production company, have entered into a licensing and marketing agreement to launch the animated film property “Tugger: The Jeep® 4x4 Who Wanted to Fly.”

The original Genesis Orlando story centers on an animated character modeled after a Jeep vehicle who dreams of one day flying like an airplane. The film is being released in connection with the official launch of the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee and will release around the time vehicles will be available in dealerships, Fall 2004.

“Tugger is a great asset to help launch the all-new 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee,” said Jeff Bell, Vice president Jeep and Chrysler Marketing. “The animated character upholds the Jeep brand’s reputation for innovation and the go-anywhere do-anything spirit of the Jeep brand.”

Read the article: www.tuggerjeep.com

Game consoles positioned to dominate 'digital living room'

Explosive growth in the electronic gaming industry - fueled by accelerating technological advances and huge revenue potential - will transform the media, advertising, and entertainment industries while dramatically altering the leisure habits of millions, according to a new research report from Deloitte's Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group.

This new gaming world promises to open up a flood of advertising opportunities, according to the report. Because of the heavy costs associated with producing software that can keep up with ever-improving hardware, "Game publishers looking to recoup their spiraling development costs are increasingly receptive to product advertising in games," the report says.

It is still too early to tell what form this new advertising will take--whether gaming will be closer to movies, which accommodate mostly product placements and a few ads, or TV, with frequent interruptions.

"We are not there yet," says Scott Singer, head of Deloitte's Media & Entertainment Corporate Finance Group. "Advertisers, agencies--I don't think they have figured it out yet. I think it's all TBD." Deloitte predicts that spending on advertising in console games will climb from just $10 million in 2002 to $45 million in 2007. Similarly, they say that advertising within online games (ad-supported games and 'advergames') will rise to $230 million in 2007, from $75 million in 2002.

Read the article: www.mediapost.com

Oxfam launches download service

LONDON - Oxfam is launching a music download service to help raise money to fight poverty around the world. The charity is backing the Big Noise Music website, which launches on Wednesday and will offer 300,000 songs to download.

Tracks will cost between 75p and 99p, with 10p going to Oxfam. Acts featured include Coldplay and George Michael. "Artists will see their music help some of the poorest people in the world," Oxfam's Adrian Lovett said. The service - backed by digital music firm OD2 - will be available across Europe, although songs will be priced in sterling.

Competition is increasing in the digital music market, with Napster launching its UK service last week, and Apple's iTunes service is expected to open its doors to European users soon. As well as Oxfam's service, OD2 also powers download services offered by Coca-Cola, HMV, Tiscali, Virgin, Ministry of Sound, Wanadoo and MSN.

Read the article: www.bbc.co.uk

Jerry Seinfeld stars with Superman in new Amex web ad

NEW YORK - Jerry Seinfeld is starring in a second internet-only advertisement for American Express, in which he goes on a road trip with Superman.

The four-minute spot was directed and co-written by Barry Levinson, the man behind films such as 'Rain Man' and 'Good Morning Vietnam', and features an animated Superman alongside Seinfeld. The new ad appears on the American Express website, along with a spot that first appeared in March this year. Called "Hindsight is 20/20", the new ads shows Seinfeld and Superman going on a road trip.

John Hayes, American Express’ chief marketing officer, said of the campaign: "We are continually looking for innovative ways to engage consumers and introduce new customers to the brand, and the internet has already proven to be an exciting channel for us."

Read the article: www.revolutionmagazine.com

Interactive video games emerge as major ad-supported mass medium

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- Nick Kang is the ultimate action hero. Taking on the Russian and Chinese crime syndicates in the City of Angels, Kang drives, fights and shoots his way across 240 miles of Los Angeles area real estate. Crime in progress? Kang is on the way. It's a Puma truck heist at the 3rd Street Promenade flagship store in Santa Monica. Nick Kang kicks butt and heads back to the streets for more adventure.

Kang is the virtual hero of "True Crime: Streets of L.A.," a video game from Activision. And Puma is one of Activision's marketing partners. Kang wears Puma clothing and occasionally drives past Puma billboards or benches in the virtually real L.A.

Players were able to watch video-game trailers on the Puma Web site and even buy Kang's clothing or footwear on a co-branded site when the game was released in November. Promotional winners could pick up Puma merchandise, and pre-release copies of "True Crime" were available at Puma stores.

"Companies are starting to understand the power of this medium," says Dave Anderson, Activision's senior director for business development. "They're realizing video games are not only mass-market entertainment that reaches an elusive male demographic, but can be done in an integrated ... way without bludgeoning the consumer with message."

Forward-thinking marketers playing in this field include Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Coca-Cola Co., BMW of North America, Nokia, Callaway Golf Co., Kraft Foods, DaimlerChrysler's Jeep and Sony Ericsson.

Read the article: www.adage.com

Alan Sugar to present UK version of 'The Apprentice'

LONDON – Entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar is to front a BBC version of 'The Apprentice' the popular reality show fronted by property magnate Donald Trump in the US.

The show, which sees contenders battle it out in a Pop-Idol style contest for the chance to become an entrepreneur, has been a massive ratings success in the US, drawing in 28m viewers to US network NBC in the final episode last month.

In the UK show, being produced by Talkback, Sir Alan will guide 14 candidates vying for his approval and knowledge on whether they can make it in the world of business. The BBC claims that the contestants will face the "longest and most gruelling interview of their lives". The lucky winner who manages to prove their worth will secure a year long job and a six-figure salary.

Weekly assignments will be given to chosen contestants to test their business acumen and entrepreneurial skills. Each week, Sir Alan will fire one of them, leaving the rest to go on to another challenging task.

Read the article: www.brandrepublic.com

Japanese revive company songs

Japanese companies once offered their employees jobs for life, and in return expected a lifetime of loyalty. The bonds between firms and their workers were reinforced by rituals like singing the company song, which was supposed to express "shafu" or company spirit.

But lifetime employment in big companies have been in decline for a decade in Japan - with them, it looked as though the company song and other corporate traditions would also die out. However, a small demolition firm is unexpectedly leading a company song revival.

Nihon Break Kogyo has made an amateur promotional video that has become an unexpected hit in the Japanese pop charts.

It features the firm's own staff, in overalls and helmets, smashing buildings, singing and playing guitar. Thanks to the publicity, Nihon Break Kogyo now has more demolition work than it can handle. The video was the brainwave of Shogo Kurita, one of the company directors.

"The economy is very bad for us now. Every time we submit a cost estimate to potential clients, all our competitors give the same estimate," he told the BBC. "So we wanted to have something which would differentiate us from other demolition firms - we chose to write our own song."

Read the article: www.bbc.co.uk

Brands quietly getting into the film act

DKNY has helped produce a short film that the clothing label says embodies its spirit, but from watching it, you wouldn't know the company was behind it.

The rise of such brand-sponsored short films began with the success of BMW's series - available online - whose plots centered around a driver-for-hire and his vehicle of choice, always a BMW. American Express got into the act in March with a 4-minute online spot starring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman. Both the BMW and American Express shorts have been shown, in part, on TV.

DKNY commissioned two online short films, one that promoted its fall 2003 line, the other its spring 2004 line. No explicit mention of DKNY appears, even though the company was involved in script meetings and casting and the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, an event for which the advertising shorts for the clothing line wouldn't have qualified. The company also plays "Fever" on monitors in stores and on its Web site, though not on TV.

Film Movement (who produced the DKNY films) has also co-produced another short, with Visa, starring Pharrell Williams, of the band N.E.R.D., and The Neptunes, in what the companies call Williams' acting debut. A Visa credit card does pop up a few times in the short, but - as is not the case with the American Express card and Seinfeld - it's never mentioned by name.

Read the article: www.newsday.com

Marc Ecko's revolutionary new videogame

NEW YORK - Atari, Inc. and fashion pioneer Marc Ecko, creator and founder of the urban lifestyle brand Ecko Unltd. and publisher of COMPLEX magazine, are joining forces to create the first truly authentic video game based on urban culture and graffiti art.

In announcing the partnership, Bruno Bonnell, Chairman and CEO of Atari, said, "Videogames have become a huge part of the urban lifestyle but no game has yet to truly capture the look, attitude, action or sound of urban culture. We have an incredible opportunity to change that....to be the first to get it right and share the authentic experience with gamers worldwide. Marc's vision of Getting Up fuses his expert knowledge of youth culture, his talent as a graphic artist and his passion for gaming. It's nothing less than extraordinary and Atari is thrilled to be a part of it."

Marc Ecko, said, "This game will be genre-defining. Revolutionary. We will put the flag in the ground of popular culture with Getting Up. Over my seven-year journey to get this thing made, I have had the good fortune to have met and explored opportunities with many different publishers. Atari allowed me the freedom to challenge the status quo manner in how games are developed, and that is precisely why it is the ideal home for this title. This is a dream come true for me."

Read the article: www.atari.com

Clear Channel creates new entertainment unit

NEW YORK - Broadcaster Clear Channel Communications has set up a new business unit to produce live entertainment and related television programming with top advertisers, the company said Tuesday.

The unit, Clear Channel Entertainment Properties, will help marketers cultivate advertising venues with live events from music to sports and theatrical performances, then develop them further into broadcast material for television or radio and recorded properties as well.

"Branded entertainment," in which an advertiser becomes closely linked with celebrity performances or broadcast programs, has become a sought-after service to reach consumers as network television viewership declines and commercial messages get lost in a barrage of ads.

Read the article: www.forbes.com

Real-time, In-game advertising

Massive Inc., a games software company, plans to disseminate ads over the Web to PCs and videogame consoles. The ads can be integrated into specific places in videogames, and data on viewer engagement with the ads can be sent back over the Web for analysis.

Massive is sharing its advertising technology today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. In order to have a broad impact, the technology needs to be included in games by leading software publishers. So far, Ubisoft and Atari have both agreed to use the technology.

Why should media strategists be interested? The appeal of such a system lies in its ability to perform real-time advertising. As online gaming grows, companies like Massive can serve fresh advertising, promotions, and special offers into games at regular intervals. Daypart creation and precise targeting becomes possible. The same can be said for analysis by daypart. Primetime in online gaming might be say, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Snack brands like Cheetos or Lays might advertise then.

Read the article: www.mediapost.com

Product placement via online games

Marketers are increasingly turning to videogames--console-based, online, and so-called advergames that are built-to-order by advertisers seeking to create the ultimate in branded experiences. Product placement and promotion in videogames are part of the broader trend toward branded entertainment.

The trend is likely to spread across all media as marketers try to surround consumers with their brands everywhere they go. But there are unique opportunities in the online space. Take online games, for example. With each new plotline, episode, segment, or character downloaded, gamers can view new in-game advertising and promotional messages. The ability to swap out and update specific messages is easier with online games. The process also requires more monitoring and labor. With online games, there is an opportunity to interact with players, perhaps via instant messaging or opt-in, permission-based methods. There is the possibility of more data collection.

Read the article: www.mediapost.com

The role of play - Videogames with a political message

The bleeping sound tells you you're about to play a variation on one of the classics - Space Invaders. But when the graphics appear, it isn't green aliens advancing at you, but white blocks with dollar signs on them. And you shoot at them with... well, the disembodied head of a smiling George W. Bush. Pump enough bullets out of W's cranium and you clear the screen to leave the message: "You've saved the country from John Kerry's tax plans."

Read the article: www.mediaguardian.co.uk

Mobile Branded Entertainment

Thumbworks(TM), a leading publisher of branded mobile entertainment, today announced several new additions to its spring line-up of games developed for QUALCOMM's BREW solution. Over the next few weeks, Thumbworks will launch several new BREW-based games featuring some of the most familiar consumer brands, including Element Surfing(TM) (sponsored by American Honda), Jeep(R) Off-road Jam, and Tennis by Wilson(R).

Read the article: www.prnewswire.com

Gamers To Marketers: 'Add Value, Not Clutter'

As intrigued as advertisers have recently become with the idea of advertising in online and console-based video games, the surface has yet to be scratched. Sports games, racing games, and a few select espionage titles have demonstrated effective in-game product placements--but the mantra, among marketers at least--is to exercise extreme caution in this space: Gamers tend to be a skeptical bunch, and they're not willing to have their content infiltrated with blatant product plugs and brand images.

There is absolutely a right and a wrong way to tap the video game market, according to P.J. MacGregor, vice president and partner, Play--the Starcom MediaVest Group unit devoted to the branded advertising applications within gaming. MacGregor says that a "value exchange" must take place between the consumer and the game environment, and marketing messages cannot disrupt this exchange.

Read the article: www.mediapost.com

Advertisers get into TV shows

NEW DELHI: Advertisers and broadcasters are trying novel ways to grab attention of TV viewers who are increasingly tuning out commercial breaks.

Result: Emergence of ‘‘branded entertainment’’ and ‘‘product integration’’ within TV shows. Recent findings by AC Nielsen’s TAM have established the fact that brands weaved as backdrop ads or talked about by characters in TV serials are getting increasingly more attention than conventional 30-second ad spots.

Many broadcasters have begun setting revenue targets for their programming departments, which was
restricted so far to creative work. The ad fraternity feels the new development could change the dynamics of media buying.

Already, viewership of ads during commercial breaks is falling. ‘‘In 2002, 8% viewers in India skipped commercial ads and last year the number rose to 19%. This is expected to grow higher,’’ says TAM’s Atul Phadnis.

Read the article: www.indiatimes.com

Illegal film and TV downloading triples in the UK

The number of internet users who illegally download films and TV series has tripled over the past year.

An estimated 1.67 million people download illegal film or TV files, compared to 570,000 last year, the British Video Association (BVA) found. The average film or TV downloader was identified as under 35 years old and male.

He is most likely to live in the south of England, where broadband is more widely available, and to download an average of 30 films or TV episodes per year.

Read the article: www.bbc.co.uk

Europeons want more entertaining, but fewer ads

According to a survey by GfK Marktforschung on people's attitudes and preferences regarding advertising, the majority of Europeans think the advertisements that surround them every day are "Too many and too boring".

Many Western, Central and Eastern Europeans all agree that they are exposed to far too much advertising and that most of it is not even entertaining. In Spain, as much as 92 per cent of the population complains about there being too much advertising, closely followed by Russia and Italy where 85 percent feel bothered by advertising. But in the UK and Romania, almost 12 percent would like to see even more advertising. People in all countries, though, agree that if advertisements are entertaining, they are less likely to feel bothered by them.

Read the article: www.mediapost.com

Pepsi makes history with $1bn promotion on ABC show

NEW YORK – Pepsi is to tie up with American television network ABC for what it claims is the biggest promotion in the history of television, where one person could become a billionaire.
In the Pepsi 'Play for a Billion' sweepstake, one finalist will be guaranteed to win at least $1m on national television and will also have the chance to walk away with as much as $1bn (£557m).

The show is scheduled to air on Sunday September 12 on ABC and will be fronted by Damon Wayans, star of US comedy series 'My Wife & Kids'.

To enter, consumers have to check specially marked Pepsi cans for the sweepstake entry code, then enter it on the website billionsweeps.com.

Read the article: www.brandrepublic.com

Network ad sellers look for ways to fit into the branded entertainment world.

When reality mogul Mark Burnett delivered the first season of "The Restaurant" to NBC's Jeff Zucker, it marked a turning point for primetime. Although the show itself represented yet another twist on the ubiquitous format by following a young chef through the trials and tribulations of running an eatery, the finances behind "Restaurant" were very different. Zucker, who's used to paying upward of $2 million an episode to license an hour of primetime television, received Burnett's show for free -- with a catch.

NBC gave up half the show's advertising inventory to the program's three sponsors and its financier, Magna Global Entertainment, which spearheaded the unique structure of the co-production of MGE, Reveille and Mark Burnett Prods.

Who could blame Zucker for turning down a free show? Well, for one, the network's ad-sales department. As advertisers reduce their network ad spending on traditional 15- and 30-second network spots -- forging closer ties with producers, who integrate products into their shows -- the broadcast advertising sales divisions are feeling the pinch.

Read the article: www.hollywoodreporter.com

Can the in-game ad medium become a rival to TV?

Against certain demographic groups, console games account for a huge chunk of leisure attention span - that's well known. What's less well known is that an increasing number of serious advertisers see this as an important advertising environment.

Car manufacturers vie with each other to have their marques tested to destruction in virtual races and chases. That's the most obvious example, but it's not just about cars - it's everything from fast food and drinks to mobile phones. Product placement in video games is becoming a big business.

And now the research company Nielsen Media Research is teaming up with the games publisher Activision to begin the first piece of comprehensive games-audience research. It will be conducted in the US, where Nielsen runs the main television audience measurement panel - and, indeed, a feature of the research is that it will be able to make direct comparisons between TV watching and games playing behaviour in the young male audience.

The growing sophistication of the games business is a driver for this sort of interest from Nielsen, as it demands creative involvement of the advertiser at the basic planning stage of a game. The aim is to embed the brand in such a way as to deliver a fundamental emotional engagement.

Bobby Kotick, Activision's chief executive, comments: "The video games industry is one of the fastest-growing entertainment businesses today and video games will soon be as mainstream an advertising medium as TV. Given the tremendous popularity of the medium, we wanted to take a leadership position in generating a standardised method to measure advertising metrics in video games."

Read the article: www.brandrepublic.com

BBC introduces flexible TV with online trial

Later this month, the BBC will launch a pilot project that could lead to all television programmes being made available on the internet. Viewers will be able to scan an online guide and download any show. Programmes would be viewed on a computer screen or could be burned to a DVD and watched on a television set. Alternatively, programmes could be downloaded to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

The revolutionary plan has been drawn up by Ashley Highfield, the BBC's director of new media and technology. He revealed details of the project to The Independent last week. He said: "If we don't enter this market, then exactly what happened to the music industry could happen to us, where we ignore it, keep our heads in the sand and everybody starts posting the content up there and ripping us off."

The plan is to make all television programmes from the previous week available on the internet, using a programme guide similar to that already used on digital television.

The inspiration for the idea is the BBC Radio Player scheme, which has made the corporation's radio content available online for listeners unable to catch programmes at their scheduled times. The service was expected to be popular with fans of late-night shows, such as Radio 1's dance music programme Essential Selection, but has also been embraced by fans of Radio 4. "We knew it was going to appeal to the downloading generation. The surprise was that we serve several hundred thousand fans of The Archers every week," Mr Highfield said.

Read the article: www.independent.co.uk

Google-like technologies could revolutionize TV, other media

After years of failed promises for ads that can pinpoint targeted consumers, traditional media are finally taking interactive advertising seriously, on the Web and beyond. Companies that have advertised for years on platforms ranging from television to billboards are rethinking their marketing strategies, as Internet advertisers work through the technology glitches and privacy issues that have challenged the first wave of the technology.

"The creative community is still fixated with 30-second commercials, and the clock is ticking," said Chuck Fruit, senior vice president of integrated marketing at Coca-Cola, adding that brands like Coke spend roughly three-fourths of their ad budgets on television. "That percentage will go down steadily for the next decade to well under half."

Industry research tends to support that prediction. An estimated 75 percent of national advertisers plan to cut spending on TV commercials by at least 20 percent in the next five years, when advertisers believe that ad-skipping devices like TiVo will be widespread, according to Forrester Research.

Read the article: www.news.com