For years, ESPN has produced the well-received "This is SportsCenter" campaign -- albeit with the help of Wieden + Kennedy -- and now it's forming a sort of in-house agency: ESPN CreativeWorks. ESPN said Tuesday it will assist clients with developing creative using a tone that dovetails with ESPN's accent. Among its goals: crafting co-branded vignettes with marketers, as well as spawning promotions that stretch across multiple screens. CreativeWorks falls under ESPN's sales organization, although it may call on outside agencies ESPN works with for production help, including Triple Double, Maggie Vision Productions and Phoenix Productions. No word on any Wieden involvement. ESPN has worked with clients before on such co-development. Other cable networks provide a similar service; branded vignettes hope to capture more viewer attention during breaks than traditional spots. The CreativeWorks announcement came as ESPN held its annual upfront event, in which the network touted its coming coverage of the World Cup starting June 11. Twenty-five games will be carried on its new ESPN 3D channel, with network sponsor Sony set to air a spot in 3D. ESPN sales chief Ed Erhardt said discussions about 3D spots continue with several other companies; film studios would be a natural fit. The sports net will not produce the 3D games, but rely on a generic feed provided by soccer's international governing body. Separately, ESPN has said that use of its mobile offerings is up 30% year-over-year. Eric Johnson, an executive vice president in multimedia sales, said advertising on handheld devices wants immediate results. "The ad in the pocket to get cash out of the pocket," he said. ESPN has been interested in launching a non-"SportsCenter" original show in late night -- something it tried on ESPN2 with "Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith," which ended in 2007. Next spring, the company will give it a go on its ESPNU outlet. "U:Nite" is scheduled to debut on the channel, which has increased distribution to 70 million homes as ESPN has cut deals asking for increased reach for "U" in exchange for marginalizing ESPN Classic. Targeting young males, "U:Nite" has sports interspersed with segments on gaming and music. There will be some remote coverage from college campuses. ESPN will migrate shows to its Spanish-language ESPN Deportes by debuting a version of its year-old "SportsNation" ("Nación ESPN") early next year. In social media, the company said it has a deal with Playdom to develop ESPN-branded sports games that can be housed on Facebook and MySpace. Also, ESPN's ScoreCenter, which provides score updates to iPhone users, will be available as an Android app this month.
Google said Tuesday it has made a $68 million offer to acquire Global IP Solutions Holding, an Internet voice and video company. The deal could put the Mountain View, Calif. company in direct competition with Skype, as well as supporting search rivals. GIP customers include Yahoo, IBM, AOL, Nortel Networks, and Baidu. The offer comes one day before the Google I/O conference. The company fits nicely between Google's existing voice services, Google Voice, and the acquisition of Gizmo 5. It could give Google the technology it needs to move forward and provide wider support for VoIP from landline phones and mobile devices. "The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform, and real-time video and audio communication over the Internet are becoming important new tools for users," Google Engineering Director Rian Liebenberg said in a prepared statement. "GIPS's technology provides high quality, real-time audio and video over an IP network, and we're looking forward to working with the GIPS team at Google to continue innovating for the Web platform." Trip Chowdhry, managing director at Global Equities Research, in a research note points to GIP's technology integrating well with unannounced phones from Samsung, Motorola and HTC that have two cameras. He also mentions that both Apple and Google, separately, continue to "stress test CLWR WiMAX Network for both capacity and latency." The cash buyout offer should expire around June 4. The Norwegian company shares trade on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Global IP's board recommends the offer. The companies say the offer price represents a 27.5% premium to Global IP's closing price on Friday.
ESPN Tuesday introduced five sports and news applications for the iPhone and iPod touch targeting five cities: Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The new ad-supported apps will offer breaking regional sports news, hometown team reports, local writers and bloggers, and a customized local SportsCenter. They will also feature national headlines, GPS-activated weather updates, an interactive scoreboard, schedules and stadium guides. Advertising opportunities within the local apps include banners, "presenting" sponsorships and ads dynamically inserted into the top stories carousel and in articles. The apps will also feature live digital audio from the ESPN Radio stations as well as in-app purchase opportunities. Separately, ESPN launched ESPN Passport app, a free download highlighting next month's 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. The app will allow users to keep a record of the games they attended and upload mobile photos to share with social media properties like Facebook. With GPS-enabled devices, fans will also be able to "check-in" and confirm their attendance, allowing ESPN to gather user-generated content to provide the fans' perspective on ESPN.com. The new titles are part of an ambitious push into mobile apps by ESPN in the last year. Among the more than two dozen iPhone apps its launched are ESPN ScoreCenter -- which boasts 6 million downloads since debuting in June -- as well as ESPN Radio and ESPN Fantasy Baseball 2010. More recent titles released for the iPad include ESPN ScoreCenter XL and ESPN Pinball. The ESPN apps range in price from free to $24.99 for ESPN: The Mighty Book of Sports Knowledge by Steve Wulf.
In their latest quarterly reports, U.S. telecom giants Verizon Wireless and AT&T both highlighted that mobile data revenues had climbed to about one-third of overall wireless revenue. Mobile research firm Chetan Sharma points out in a new report that Verizon hit a more significant milestone in the first quarter -- edging past decades-long leader NTT DoCoMo to become the biggest wireless operator by data revenues at $4.5 billion. U.S. wireless data revenues overall increased 22% to $12.5 billion from a year ago, and 5% since the fourth quarter. "The U.S. has become ground zero for mobile broadband consumption and data traffic management evolution. While it lags Japan and Korea in 3G penetration by a distance, due to higher penetration of smartphones and data cards, the consumption is much higher than its Asian counterparts," stated Chetan Sharma's latest mobile data report. Verizon and AT&T have each benefited from the growing popularity of so-called connected mobile devices from tablet computers to e-readers to GPS gadgets. Both companies added more customers with non-phone devices than postpaid, or contract, subscribers in the most recent quarter. And facing saturation in the postpaid business, carriers have increasingly turned to alternative sources of sales growth including connected devices, and the prepaid and enterprise markets. In that vein, AT&T Monday announced a new unit to speed up development of mobile applications for businesses and other organizations. Separately, Sprint's growing push into the prepaid arena, with the addition of a fourth no-contract brand for customers who spend less than $30 a month on wireless services, raises the question of whether other carriers will take steps to keep up with Sprint or continue to focus on the more lucrative contract business. Independent prepaid companies like Leap Wireless and Metro PCS loom as possible acquisition targets for the major carriers. Widening adoption of mobile data services by consumers has also added to broader concerns about privacy in the online world. New privacy legislation introduced by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), would, among other things, require explicit opt-in permission for collecting precise geolocation data on users. Chetan Sharma chimes in on the topic, suggesting that the wireless industry offers a simple, easy-to-understand set of privacy options. "If people are really serious about tackling privacy, OEMs and carriers should build a physical/soft privacy button on the device with 3-5 levels (just like for the ringer volume) that allows users to open/close privacy across all applications and services with the touch of a button," advises the report. "All apps and services should adhere to the principle via APIs." Finding consensus among handset makers, carriers, developers, ad networks and other companies that make up the mobile ecosystem, however, would be anything but simple. Still, efforts to give consumers more control over their information on mobile phones are starting to take shape. To that end, mobile analytics firm Flurry last week unveiled a new set of privacy rules for app developers that use its software tools to track usage. They include requiring features in apps such as an opt-out switch as well as a button to delete any user data linked to a specific device.
"What's a Zippo?" my daughter asked as I pulled out the promotional lighter the iconic company sent me months ago. "Nothing that would interest you," I answered, as if I had been caught rolling a joint. There's that reflex protectiveness that kicks in for parents even when your kid is well into teenhood. It is the impulse to disavow your own pre-parental past in a vain attempt to seem like a model of uprightness. She sees an object that so predates the disposable lighters of her lifetime that even the basic functionality of Zippo is alien to her. I, on the other hand, see all of the many things I lit with Zippos that I would prefer not to share right now. "It's a lighter," I finally say. "How is that a lighter?" she asks. I am trying to get into the head of someone born in 1992 who was just dropped into 1976, and here is a brushed steel slab that offers no clue to her about what it does. I flip the top to show the workings and realize that in her eyes that enormous wick, the pad that needs to be filled manually with putrid fluids, and that big honking wheel and flint mechanism must look prehistoric. Suddenly I feel like Fred Flintstone with a dinosaur-powered lawn mower. "Cool. Can I have it?" "You don't smoke." I am old, but I am not doddering. It only takes but a nanosecond for Dad paranoia to set in. "Do you?" This is a question that no kid can answer quickly enough to reassure a parent. "Do you?" "Nooo! And don't lecture me. Before I came along you smoked like a train." True, of course -- more like two trains, in fact. But I counter the deflection by deflecting in return and showing her the Virtual Zippo app that continues to be perhaps the most downloaded iPhone app of all. She gets into the skins, which make the unadorned real-world model she was coveting seem bland. And she is off and running on a half-hour personalization bender of the sort her generation has perfected, the real lighter now out of mind. Some basic tricks of distraction still work on her after all of these years. And Zippo itself is well aware of its app's appeal. Now at a staggering 10 million downloads, Zippo and marketing partner skyrockit released version 2.0 this weekend, and it plays right into my daughter's hands. The new Virtual Skins Store lets her find scores of skins to buy at 99 cents each. Skyrockit CEO Jon Vlassopulos says the upgrade satisfied the two major needs of both the brand and the consumer. According to the thousands of reviews and comments on the iTunes store, people wanted more skins. "We gave them what they wanted," he says. They want badges. But this time, they saw a business model in here. What the company is looking for is a new source of revenue. "The Zippo guys have an ambition by 2013 to have up to half of their revenue from non-lighter-related products. As an agency we tried to help," says Vlassopulos. Ninety-nine cent skins may not build the Zippo fortunes necessarily, but it helps solidify the brand's association with all the other things its target audience loves, especially music. The brand is involved in over 260 concerts a year. In-venue text-message programs reinforce the availability of the app. And the skins in the store are strong on bands and artists. In just the first days of the Version 2 release, Bob Marley is the top-selling skin. Vlassopulos, who came to skyrockit from the branded entertainment division of Endemol, has always seen apps evolving into platforms where brands can build new products and revenue streams. Ultimately, the Zippo brand's connection with music could be linked via the app to ticket sales, concert information, and direct music downloads. The virtual goods store is that first step. Vlassopulos admits he doesn't want to press either the brand or the users of the app too far too fast in that evolution. "We want to keep the partner and the fans in step," he says. For all the time Virtual Zippo Lighter has been near the top of its category in the iTunes store, it is still attracting over 100,000 downloads a week, says Vlassopulos. One of the other things skyrockit built into this version is better analytics, so now the company can see user activity in much greater detail. In fact over 1 million sessions have been counted in the few days since the app's new version arrived. About a third of downloaders have checked out the new store, and Vlassopulos reports "significant purchase of premium skins." Yeah, I know at least one young lady who has been making that new Zippo business model work. "Ooh, Bob Marley," my daughter squeals. "Hey, how do you know about Bob Marley?" I bark. "More to the point, what do you know about Bob Marley?" "Nothing, Dad. I don't smoke. I don't smoke ANYTHING, okay? Can I buy this one?"
Google is a technology company. This doesn't mean it will abandon search. But after 20 years in technology and marketing, I know the signs and can say unequivocally that the company has crossed over. It reminds me a little of Microsoft's climb to the top, complete with regulatory issues and privacy concerns. The attention, this week anyway, turns toward applications, specifically those built on Android. And while those applications could integrate with search, the technology is the star of the show. The biggest difference between Google's and Microsoft's climb, as we all know, Bill Gates built Microsoft's empire on technology, rather than search. The Redmond, Wash., company also advocates proprietary instead of open source applications. Applications that move Google from search to technology will continue to put the company in situations where it will have to either defend actions or apologize for programming glitches. Last week's mess up around the software error that caused Google to unwittingly collect unsecure wireless data will haunt the Mountain view, Calif., company for years. A sign Google discussed this with the German government prior to posting the blog comes from an Associated Press article. Several daysbefore Google admitted to the glitch, the German government ordered "wireless passwords for all" to lockdown information. I'm not defending Google, but after going on a ride-along in the early 2000s with one of the companies that capture location-based data for maps, I could see the mound of raw data-bits and bytes-the system collects. Some just want Google to concentrate on improving search results. Search engine optimization expert SEO-Shop.com founder Steve Gerencser, says "I'd be happier if they actually got search perfect." He's referring to search results in a tab down the left rail that provides an option to select "more shopping" or "less shopping" sites. It doesn't always serve up the correct information, he says. Aside from search and this morning's announcement that Google made a $68 million bid to acquire Global IP Solutions Holding, an Internet voice and video company, the company confirmed the deal with OnStar to integrate Google technology. The deal to develop several new mobile app features aims to strengthen Chevrolet's commitment to providing Volt customers the most connected vehicle. Nothing confirmed, but can you say "search." The functions and features in the Volt mobile application from OnStar run on the Android platform. A navigation tab has been added to the home screen of the existing Chevrolet Volt mobile app on the Android smartphone. When a Volt owner presses this tab, they can see the location of their Volt pinpointed on Google Maps, as well as their location relative to it. From this map screen, owners can use Google search by voice to locate a destination with their Android handset, and see where that destination is related to the Volt's location. Imagine ads, both visual and audio, running on the OnStar platform in Chevrolet's cars. Nothing intrusive, but tap on the icon in the navigation system and it not only tells you the location of the nearest Starbucks coffee house, but perhaps sends a coupon to your Android-supported mobile phone, too. These applications sit at the tip of the iceberg consumers will see in the coming year as Google continues to transition from a search company into a technology powerhouse. Cloud computing will support some of those apps. Others will come from investments in windmill farms and electricity. It's a delicate line Google will need to walk and it could explain why its stock price now sites at just under $500 per share. Microsoft began in technology and moved to search. But some say Yahoo's transition from search to technology and portals led the innovator astray.
Google could announce this week that it will move SSL encryption implemented in Gmail to other services such as search. During the company's annual shareholders meeting a question on this from John Simpson, an investor who works for Consumer Watchdog, prompted a curt "Do you get the drift of the answer?" from Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt after Google vice president of search Marissa Mayer replied "stay tuned." Encryption has moved to the forefront after Google's admission last week it had collected small pieces of private information people sent through unencrypted wireless networks." Expect some big news from Google this week, as the Google I/O conference kicks off in San Francisco. The meeting, full of teasers, shed light on Google's strategy to grow profits during the past year as the economy tanked. Schmidt told stockholders that advertisers were advised to increase orders, rather than decrease them as the need for good search tools continue to grow. Schmidt estimates between 1.8 billion and 2 billion people rely on the Internet, up from 300 million 10 years ago. That's only a third of the world, he says, but more will come online via mobile devices as it gets easier to connect. There are 800 exabytes of information in the world people can access on the Internet, he says, explaining that an exabyte is about 1 billion gigabytes. "Between the dawn of civilization and 2003, there were exactly five exabytes created," he says. "We now create that every two days." During the stockholders meeting, Google cofounder Larry Page told investors that translation tools will "significantly" change the world, pointing to features now available in Google Gmail. Google translates 160 million pages per day in 70 different languages. Schmidt explained how Google continues to work on technology that allows translations in mid sentence, where either one person speaks or texts a message in one language and the person on the other end hears or reads it in another. These are difficult problems to solve, he says, but Google continues to work on them. That translation tool has been built into Chrome, Google's Web browser, which, by default, translates into the language of choice. Chrome also gave Google an opportunity to build "a third platform of choice," aside from PC and Mac, Schmidt says. "Why am I so proud," he says. "There hasn't been one in 20 to 25 years." The new hardware architecture has been developed with enough speed and performance for computations to support secure cloud computing. Another topic brought to light during the shareholders meeting, the $700 million kill fee Google will have to pay if federal regulators reject its proposed $750 million acquisition of the mobile advertising network AdMob. Schmidt told the group "We don't expect to pay any kill fee because we expect these things to get approved." During Google's shareholder's meeting, Schmidt also explained Google's decision to move search services to Hong Kong where a "firewall censorship barrier between Hong Kong and mainland China" exists. That barrier provides the censorship so Google doesn't have to censor its own searches under Chinese law. Schmidt called the China situation "stable" and says Google has maintained business relationships with the Chinese governments and engineering centers in China. But if the Chinese government becomes "further upset" with us they have the ability to change the outcome.