• by May 26, 2006

All of a sudden it feels like there are hundreds of Web startups out there with all kinds of innovative applications that leverage audio, video, instant messaging, social networking, photo and file sharing, syndicated content, and the like. If you can think of it, some startup you may not have heard of — at least not yet — is working on it. And no, it’s not 1999 again, or at least we hope not. But we do notice an exciting profusion of Web-based businesses with unique capabilities on the scene and we want you to know about them.

OMMA contributor Jonathan Blum offers up snapshots of 10 of the hottest up-and-coming digital entertainment companies you probably haven’t heard about yet, and explains why they may be relevant to you. If you have heard of them, consider yourself ahead of the curve. These sites are influencing the future of online media and marketing, and are bound to have far-reaching implications.

In addition, Susan Kuchinskas outlines five more digital players that have made significant inroads into the consciousness of consumers and the media business. For example, YouTube, the popular hub for user-created video, plans to offer marketers the ability to integrate promotions, sponsorships, and other goodies into that video content.

This month’s Cross-Media Case Study was a challenge, since Coca-Cola declined to participate in the story. Nevertheless, Liz Tascio delivers a telling glimpse into Coke’s latest campaign, which integrates digital media and marketing into the overall media mix in a new way.

Young Asian men are a crazy-quilt of diverse ethnicities, interests, traditions, and styles, as Larry Dobrow discovers in Markets Focus. Marketers have a lot to learn about this highly coveted demographic, and from the looks of things, they’d better get started.