Zeppelins, once the bombers of WW1 and the luxury airships of the post-war era, have a new mission: corporate sponsorship. The Eureka, a Zeppelin owned by Airship Ventures, is set to wrap its previous sponsorship with Farmers Insurance in April, when the company begins the search for a new sponsor wanting larger-than-life exposure. Other past sponsors have included the Bay Area News Group and Disney-Pixar’s animated film "Up." Airship Ventures director of sponsorship Joanne Fedeyko stated: “The most successful airship sponsors are those who think big, and we certainly accomplished big things with Farmers. Our partnership proved that airship sponsorship can yield rewards beyond traditional marketing programs." Fedeyko added that an investment in airship branding "isn’t just about having a cool billboard, but rather using the airship as a platform for differentiating its brand and engaging its audience.” In addition to showcasing the Farmers brand above professional golf, tennis and NCAA football, Eureka earned additional media coverage with stories about its work as a passenger and scientific research platform, including high-profile placements on Yahoo! and NBC’s "Today." One of its most memorable appearances was virtual, when the Farmers Airship appeared floating above the landscape of Zynga’s FarmVille. Being a Zeppelin airship still means something: at 246 feet, the Eureka is 50 feet longer than the largest commercial blimps, not to mention 15 feet longer than a Boeing 747. It is one of just three cutting-edge Zeppelin NTs (Zeppelin New Technology) manufactured by Zeppelin GmbH of Germany. The modern Zeppelins are environmentally friendly and use helium instead of hydrogen to avoid the unfortunate fate of the Hindenburg. In addition to its substantial outer surface area for corporate logos and messages, it accommodates a pilot, flight attendant and 12 passengers.
In a push to accelerate the promising field of neuromarketing, Madison Avenue’s top research authority today will release the findings of a report concluding that when used properly, neuroscience can be more insightful and effective than the “traditional” forms of survey, observational and behavioral research methods the ad industry has relied on for the past century or so to create, place and measure the effects of advertising. The authority, the ARF, also is preparing to field a new study that would utilize sophisticated marketing mix modeling techniques to compare and empirically measure the effectiveness of neuromarketing vs. conventional forms of marketing research. The new study, which the ARF is seeking sponsors for now, would go into the field this spring, and would likely include at least two methods of neuromarketing research, and at least one traditional form of marketing research to measure the effectiveness of actual TV ad campaigns that have run and already impacted sales. By utilizing sophisticated modeling techniques, the organizers believe the industry can learn the strengths and weaknesses of the new and traditional methods of research, and to what extent they can or should be used in combination with each other. “It is very interesting and very promising,” says Robert Woodard, who joined the ARF last year from consumer marketer Campbell Soup, where he was a big proponent of neuromarketing research methods. Woodard -- who was a key player in the first wave of benchmark studies, which included an unprecedented collaboration of some of the neuromarketing industry’s biggest competitors -- and the ARF’s Horst Stipp are leading the push, including this spring’s modeling test, which likely will be released next year during the ARF’s annual Re:Think conference in New York. Woodard and Stipp say the ARF likely was too cautious and conservative in its initial assessment of its findings about the efficacy and application of neuromarketing methods when it released preliminary findings of the first year’s research at its annual conference last Fall, and said it is trying to correct that perception now with the release of the final report and its next round of research and testing. Woodard acknowledges that neuromarketing methods, which utilize a variety of biometric techniques -– brain waves, facial expressions, eye-tracking, sweating and heart rate monitoring tied to scientific principles about the way the brain works –- generate “complicated signals” that are sometimes difficult to read and apply, but he says they sometimes can be better than traditional marketing research methods, because unconscious emotions account for as much as 95% of the way consumers’ brains process advertising, media and marketing communications. He says the goal of the ARF initiatives is to understand where neuromarketing research can “do better” than traditional methods, adding that, “traditional methods are not as good as we thought.” The ARF’s Stipp added that there is a great deal of noise and confusion within the neuromarketing research industry because “the scientists themselves don’t think alike about this.” Moreover, the ad industry has experienced a high degree of drama surrounding some of the neuromarketing industry’s leading players, especially Nielsen-owned NeuroFocus and venture-backed EmSense, both of which boycotted the ARF’s initial study. EmSense has since gone into liquidation, and Nielsen’s NeuroFocus has created animosity on Madison Avenue -- going so far as to ambush the ARF’s release of its findings during its annual conference, but releasing its own set of “standards.” Woodard and Stipp said the marketing mix modeling initiative would focus on TV advertising, because that is where most of the big advertising budgets still are allocated, but they said the research and findings would somehow be tied to “digital,” and ultimately, “in-store” media and marketing experiences.
Since November 2011, a one-of-a-kind collection of the art of Leonardo da Vinci has been on display at London's National Gallery, including rare paintings from all over the world. While it’s not uncommon for major museum exhibitions to tour other continents, in this case, it’s impossible to transport “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan," given the fragile state of the artwork. Fortunately, art lovers and history buffs in the U.S. can still get a look at the exhibition -- in movie theaters. The cinematic exhibition "Leonardo Live" is being staged by National Cinemedia in partnership with BY Experience and PhilGrabskyFilms.com. Hosted by art historian Tim Marlow and presenter Mariella Frostrup, the documentary was filmed in HD shortly before the National Gallery exhibition opened to the public. It includes a virtual tour of the show with commentary from scholars and curators explaining the context and significance of each piece, including a number of pieces by da Vinci's disciples. Paintings highlighted in the exhibition include the “Belle Ferronière,” loaned to the National Museum by the Louvre, the “Madonna Litta,” loaned by the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, two versions of “Virgin on the Rocks,” from the National Gallery and the Louvre, and the never-before-seen “Salvator Mundi,” which was only discovered to be a da Vinci in 2005 after years of private ownership. "Leonardo Live" will be digitally broadcast by NCM to 450 movie theaters nationwide on February 16 at 7 p.m.
Initiative, the Interpublic Group media agency, has been awarded media planning, buying and digital marketing duties for movie distributor Roadside Attractions after a review, the client and agency confirmed Wednesday. According to Kantar Media, the client spent $12.5 million on ads for the first nine months of 2011. Estimated annual ad spending falls in the $15 million to $20 million range, according to sources. The incumbent on the account could not be immediately determined. Also unclear was whether other agencies were considered for the assignment. For Initiative, the new assignment adds a second film distributor to the shop’s roster. It has handled Lionsgate for a number of years and has gained attention for some of the innovative work it has done for that client, including the creation of an online channel dedicated to the “Saw” movie franchise. Lionsgate and Roadside have connections. A while back, Lionsgate purchased a 43% stake in Roadside and the two companies frequently partner to acquire distribution rights to films, such as the recent “Margin Call,” with Jeremy Irons and Kevin Spacey. Roadside is a distributor of mostly art house independent films. Other pictures the company has released include "The Cove," the Oscar winner for best feature documentary in 2010, "The Conspirator" and "Winter’s Bone." “As an independent film distributor, it is paramount that we maximize our marketing budgets beyond just paid media and this made Initiative a compelling partner to work with,” stated Dennis O’Connor, head of marketing for Roadside Attractions. He cited the agency's "focus on creating campaigns that leverage owned and earned opportunities, as well as social platforms" as critical elements in the decision. Initiative assumes the new assignment on Feb. 1.
The Atlantic Media Co., publisher of well-known analogue print mags such as The Atlantic and National Journal, has hired The Wall Street Journal Online’s Managing Editor Kevin Delaney as editor-in-chief of a “digital-first,” “global business brand.” The company did not specify what that brand is, but said it would launch this year and would provide digital content aimed at “business executives navigating the increasingly complex global economy.” In other words, it wants to be another Wall Street Journal knock-off. Fittingly, the Washington, DC-based media company said the new publishing entity’s offices would be located in New York, with branches opening in Asia and Europe soon. Delaney comes to Atlantic Media from The Wall Street Journal, where he served as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Online. He was responsible for its editorial content and direction amid a period of rapid growth and successful expansion to new platforms such as the iPad. Prior to that post, he spent a decade as a reporter and senior special writer for the Journal, covering the Internet and other topics from the Paris and San Francisco bureaus. "Atlantic Media Company has devoted the last several years to re-inventing our core businesses - The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive - and transforming them into digital-first organizations. We are proud of our success," said Smith. "We are now preparing for our most important new launch since The Atlantic Monthly in 1857,” stated Atlantic President Justin Smith.
Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest, live entertainment impresario AEG and Creative Artists Agency will rebrand Cuban's small cable network HDNet into a bigger new music-entertainment-lifestyle channel. The new network called AXS TV (pronounced "access") is scheduled to debut this summer, building on the content of AEG’s live events, run in more than 100 venues worldwide. TV programming will include behind-the-scenes access to live concerts and music festivals, red carpet premieres, award shows, parties, pop culture events and in-depth interviews. The new network will meld content with HDNet’s existing programming -- HDNet Fights, "Inside MMA," "Dan Rather Reports," Sunday concert series and other nonscripted series. The announcement says the agreement will included an expanded deal with Dish Network, which will count a variety of unique music services for Dish subscribers. The new network, along with existing TV distribution deals, will get AXS TV into 35 million U.S. TV homes. Mark Cuban, co-founder/chairman of HDNet, stated: “AXS TV will unquestionably be able to leverage our unique assets to do things no other network will be able to replicate." AEG owns and operates L.A. LIVE, which includes venues such as Staples Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia and The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Katz Marketing Solutions, the national marketing arm of broadcast and digital media sales rep Katz, has signed an agreement to license the Media Behavior Institute's USA TouchPoints research tracking and correlating consumer behavior and media consumption. Katz said it would use the data and insights to help market the radio station inventory it represents to marketers and agencies. The TouchPoints data is highly regarded among marketing and media researchers, and the Media Behavior Institute is backed by research giants Nielsen and GfK MRI, which hold stakes in the startup. The deal also comes at an interesting time for the radio industry, which has begun repositioning itself from a single, broadcast-centric media platform play to a multimedia option, as symbolized by industry leader Clear Channel Radio's rebranding this week to Clear Channel Entertainment.
The State of Texas has awarded its tourism advertising account to Dallas-based independent agency Slingshot. The shop replaces Interpublic’s TM, which had the assignment for about a decade. A spokesperson for the governor’s office in Texas confirmed that the account contract “will cost about $20 million,” in fiscal year 2012 -- which, according to Kantar, is what the campaign spent on ads in 2010 as well. That’s up from the annual $15 million a year the contract was worth when TM successfully defended the account in 2004 for a two-year term. TM subsequently renewed its agreement with the state without a formal review. It was not clear whether TM defended this time around or what other agencies were in the two-month review. A TM rep did not immediately return an email query seeking comment. As the new agency of record on the account, Slingshot will plot and execute an integrated campaign that includes creative, media planning and buying, digital and experiential events, a Slingshot rep confirmed. Media channels will include broadcast, print, online, social media and live events. The shop will be responsible for promoting both domestic and international travel to the state. “We couldn’t be more excited about our new agency partner,” stated Julie Chase, tourism director for Texas Tourism. “Slingshot’s proposal included quality strategic thinking and creative ideas, a thorough media plan and understanding of emerging platforms to reach our wide variety of target audiences.” For its pitch, Slingshot created a dedicated group to manage the account, dubbed “Team Texas,” which is comprised of Slingshot, Dallas-based creative boutique Belmont Icehouse and international partners. Slingshot is managing the new assignment from its Dallas headquarters, but is opening a new office in Austin -- the state capital -- where the account team will be based. “We set out to create a one-of-a-kind agency resource for Texas -- one with an unmatched knowledge of the state, a deep passion for Texas and the skill to apply next-generation thinking about how you sell it,” stated Owen Hannay, founder and CEO of Slingshot. The privately held Slingshot was founded in 1995. The agency’s clients include Jack Daniel’s, Joe’s Crab Shack, Borden Dairy, IHOP@Home and the American Heart Association.
Jon Mandel, the veteran top media-buying executive and former chief of a Nielsen arm, has taken over as CEO at PrecisionDemand, a Seattle-based firm that looks to apply online and direct-marketing techniques to upgrade TV-buying ROI. Unlike some emerging measurement systems that examine how ads in a TV program drive purchases, PrecisionDemand moves in reverse -- starting with specific audience targets and mining set-top-box data to find TV shows where the viewers are most likely to respond. A PrecisionDemand client’s audience targets can involve immense specificity, culled from hundreds of demographic and psychographic segments or “buyometric portraits,” using data from Acxiom. For example, a company selling motorcycle insurance might not target all potential customers, but can drill down to ones that are price-sensitive or have other preferences. “We can empower the CMO to think and talk like a CFO,” Mandel said. “We can turn advertising from an investment of unknown return into an actual business lever.” Swift adjustment to creative and ad load based on delivery can result. “You can adjust it up and down,” Mandel said. “It’s like a thermostat.” Mandel said his principal aim is to sign up marketers as clients, and perhaps agencies -- but to stick with the “buy side” rather than approach networks. Mandel also sits on the board of PrecisionDemand, which is backed by venture capital. His new role was first reported by Ad Age. PrecisionDemand’s former CEO Tyson Roberts has moved to chief revenue officer. Before joining Nielsen in 2006, where he remained as CEO of NielsenConnect until 2009, he spent years at various divisions of Grey Global Group and helped establish the dedicated media agency MediaCom, which he led for years as chairman. At NielsenConnect, he tried to establish a sturdy single-source measurement service that would tie the impact of TV viewing on customer-purchase behavior. Multiple companies have been trying to command leadership in the single-source business, which has been helped along by the availability of set-top-box data. Recently, Mandel has been operating a consulting business with clients ranging from eXelate -- which works in online targeting -- to TiVo to place-based media network IndoorDirect. Three executives handling research and analytics at PrecisionDemand helped build the Microsoft AdCenter: CTO Brian Burdick, chief scientist Brendan Kitts and vice president of data architecture John Sobieski. PrecisionDemand’s principal scientist Dr. Al Lee was a Duke professor of particle physics.
Looking to more closely align your brands with consumers' favorite TV stars? For the second year in a row, look no further than Mark Harmon of CBS' "NCIS."In 2011, according to The Harris Poll, Harmon grabbed the top spot for favorite TV personality for high-rated CBS network drama.But it isn't only network ratings that count. Ellen DeGeneres and her Warner Bros. "Ellen" syndicated show moved up to second position, just behind Harmon. She was in 7th place a year ago.Next in order were some non-prime time names of talk shows or late-night shows: Jon Stewart, Bill O'Reilly, Jay Leno, and David Letterman. Oprah Winfrey came next. She was in second place a year ago, and now came in seventh. For many years, the poll showed her in first place.Some prime-time network stars came next: Hugh Laurie of "House" and Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory." In tenth place, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert. Leno, Parsons and Colbert were not on the list a year ago.Leno, Letterman and Winfrey have been pretty consistently on the top 10 list of favorite TV personalities since 1993. Off the top 10 list from a year ago was Conan O'Brien (who was 4th), Charlie Sheen (tied for 5th), and Steve Carrell, 10th.Breaking down preferences by demographic and/or group. Men prefer Harmon; women prefer DeGeneres. Political preference has Harmon tops among Republicans; Democrats like DeGeneres. Conservatives are strong for O'Reilly. College graduates are strong for Stewart.Harris surveyed some 2,200 adults in December.
Entravision, the owner of a slew of Spanish-language TV stations, has altered an agreement where Univision serves as its rep firm. Entravision will now pay Univision a percentage of all local and national sales generated at a particular station, rather than just a commission on national business. Under the agreement, which went into effect Oct. 1, Entravision will pay Univision 9.4% of all net sales generated at one of its Univision or TeleFutura affiliates. Previously, it had paid 15% of national business that Univision’s rep firm delivered. Entravision CFO Chris Young told investors this week that based on 2010 results, the new deal would have brought the company a savings of $800,000 that year. The altered arrangement is part of Entravision’s affiliation deal with Unvision, which runs through 2021. Under terms, Unvision is the exclusive national and regional rep firm. Entravision owns the Univision affiliates in markets such as Washington, Boston, Orlando and Denver. In 20 markets, it has a Univision-TeleFutura duopoly. Young also reiterated that the company expects to return to where the auto category makes up about 25% of all ad dollars at stations. It’s about 17% now. The telecom category has been a trouble spot, where ad dollars should be relatively flat as marketers move dollars out of smaller markets, Young said.
"In a recent column, Wall Street Journal features editor Kevin Sintumuang wrote what was, in effect, a “Dear John” letter to cable TV." It’s a pretty bold statement to make, Kevin -- publicly ending a relationship like that. But it sounds like it’s been over for a while now; you probably felt like you should get through the holiday special marathons before cutting it off so it wasn’t really awkward for everybody. So cable expected too much and gave you too little. You commit to bills and tiers and packages for programming you’ll never need, maintaining an up and-down vertical relationship of nothing but food, housewives, sharks and ghost hunters. To be fair, there’s more than just that. There is nonstop poker, non-musical music networks, 24/7 channels of opinion posing as news, and enough DIY programs to make you think that gutting and rebuilding your house is something you can do in a weekend. And if you want more, like movies and many original programs, it’s going to cost you.It’s no wonder that got old fast.So you move on to where you can get the same programs you’ll miss on cable -- Hulu, Netflix, and maybe even DVD or Blu-Ray. But you’re still paying for the same diluted programming that way, or at least delaying your satisfaction. All you’re gaining is a line-item veto on the programming you’ve already marginalized, but will still have to purchase. It’s not cutting the cord as much as unplugging it from one place and plugging it in somewhere else. These things are just enablers, Kevin. Give yourself more credit. You deserve better.When you’re ready to get into a more lasting relationship, broadcast television will be there for you. In the world of broadcast TV, all the Housewives are still Desperate, the food stays in Hell’s Kitchen, and you’ll see so many more live sports -- the major sports, not the JV version -- that you’ll forget that you haven’t seen a ghost hunter or a shark marathon since you cut the cord. And yes, there is the local news that you found you can’t be without. Because let’s face it, Kevin, you know a good thing when you watch it.Let’s not forget how social broadcast is; we’ll be dancing or singing at least once or twice a week. There’s the theater of the world-class dramas and a great new generation of comedies. It’s OK to feel again, Kevin. Enjoy the healing power of laughter that broadcast has developed for you, and for all of those other modern families who feel the same way you do.You said it yourself, with almost a hint of foreshadowing in your words: most of what we watch is available free, over the air and in high definition. As you point out, breaking up with cable doesn’t mean that you give up available cutting-edge television technology. You mentioned Channel Master as a “cable-like interface,” that gives you a DVR, program guides, and access to streaming and VOD. But there are other stand-alone DVR products that don’t come from a cable provider. For example, Tivo works just fine without cable. But hey, if you’re looking for a new relationship with your television content, you will probably want a social life, too -- getting out of the house now and then to share some special time away. With Dyle for smartphone and other portable devices, you can get free, over-the-air TV content delivered directly to your device, all without burdening your data plan. ConnecTV will give you an opportunity to open your viewing up to a social network with your second screen.And so, Kevin, as you find yourself picking up the pieces of your broken cable television relationship, remember all the great times that you had with broadcast television -- and will have to come. Because with broadcast television, it won’t take any coax-ing to make you feel good about your television viewing all over again.