Google is asking a federal appellate court to dismiss a privacy lawsuit stemming from the company's admission that its Street View cars collected URLs, passwords and emails sent over unencrypted WiFi networks. The company argues that the interceptions did not violate the federal wiretap law because the networks were not password-protected. The company says the 1986 federal statute, which pre-dates the modern Internet era, generally allows companies to intercept "readily accessible" radio transmissions. "Because Wi-Fi transmissions are 'radio communications,' they are expressly defined by the Wiretap Act as 'readily accessible to the general public,' and their acquisition is not unlawful unless one of the statute’s specific exceptions applies," Google argues in papers filed last month with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case stems from Google's acknowledgment that it collected payload data -- including passwords, URLs of sites visited, and emails -- that was sent over unencrypted WiFi networks. Google apologized for the interception and said it intended to destroy the data. Still, the company's statement triggered investigations abroad and in the U.S. about whether Google violated privacy laws, including the federal wiretap law. Google's statements also resulted in more than a dozen potential class-action lawsuits, which were consolidated into one case in federal court in San Jose, Calif. The lawsuits allege that Google violated various laws, including the federal wiretap, by collecting the payload data. Google asked U.S. District Court Judge James Ware to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that transmissions sent through open networks were accessible, and therefore not subject to the wiretap law's prohibitions. Last year Ware rejected that request, noting that the material sent over the networks could not be read without "sophisticated technology." He wrote that the consumers who were suing alleged that the networks were "configured to render the data packets, or electronic communications, unreadable and inaccessible without the use of rare packet sniffing software," which was "outside the purview of the general public." Google immediately appealed that ruling to the 9th Circuit; the class-action lawsuit has been put on hold while the appellate court considers the issue.
If the ad industry’s major creative media awards are the measure, OMD remains the most creative media shop in the world. The Omnicom unit once again took top honors in the Gunn Report for Media’s annual round-up of the ad industry’s major media awards programs, marking the sixth consecutive year it has held the top spot. OMD scored 176 points in Gunn’s grading system, which weights the performance of agencies in key industry media awards, such as MEDIA magazine’s Creative Media Awards. WPP’s Mindshare unit ranked second with 161 points, followed by Publicis’ Starcom (142), and WPP’s MediaCom (87). Interestingly, WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather unit (83) was the only “full-service” shop to make it on the top five list of the Gunn Report for Media this year, representing a marked shift in the impact of full-service shops in media creativity awards over the past few years (see table below). Given the relative performance of its individual media agency networks, GroupM not surprisingly ranked as the most awarded holding company media unit with 513 points, followed by Omnicom Media Group (412), and Publicis’ VivaKi (343). It wasn’t clear how much client rosters played a role in the relative performance of the media shops, but Gunn Editor Isabelle Musnik noted, “As advertisers recognize more and more the importance of media creativity, several are setting the pace for the future.” As a result, Gunn recognized Coca-Cola Co. as the most creative media client of 2011 with a total of 62 points, followed by Volkswagen (29) and McDonald’s (25). The U.S. remained the most creative media nation with 196 points, followed by Germany’s 120 and the U.K.’s 99. RankAgencyPoints 1 OMD 176 2 MindShare 161 3 Starcom 142 4 Mediacom 87 5 Ogilvy &Mather 83 6 Leo Burnett 80 7 BBDO 74 8 Mediaedge:cia 69 9 DDB 59 10 ZenithOptimedia 58
Sports fans still love their big screens, but new research indicates the Web is changing how athletics are enjoyed worldwide. Across Europe, the Web has surpassed TV as the primary platform for 18-to-35 viewers to watch their favorite sport, according to new research conducted by Havas Sport & Entertainment for the Global Sports Forum Barcelona. A full 36.1% of this prized demographic sign in online to watch their favorite sport or team play on a weekly basis, compared with just 32.1% who do so on television. This marks a significant shift from a year ago, when similar research conducted by Havas found the Europeans of prime age still preferred their sports on a TV. Advertisers, content providers, broadcasters, rightsholders and athletes will all be affected, according to Lucien Boyer, President and CEO of Havas Sport & Entertainment and General Commissioner of the GSFB. “The implications of this are huge and suggest the broadcast sales model for sport needs to be carefully considered in the future,” Boyer warned. “Whilst TV will clearly continue to remain of enormous importance, the younger generation choose to consume sport in a number of ways. The key now is to be a content provider that can satisfy the demands of sports fans across all platforms.” Stateside, the evidence suggests that more sports nuts are choosing to forgo pay-TV services for Internet services. According to The NPD Group, iVOD users reduced the time they spent watching television shows, news and sports via pay-TV companies by 12% between August 2010 and August 2011. In particular, the National Basketball Association is benefiting from its embrace of the Web. Last year, NBA.com reported more than 1.94 billion videos views, which represented an annual increase of more than 140%. The site also saw nearly 5.9 billion page-views -- an increase of more than 35% year-over-year. Just as consumers are moving online, however, media providers are rethinking their digital business models. After years of offering college hoops for free -- with ads, of course -- Turner Sports, CBS Sports and the NCAA recently unveiled a new tiered pricing and access model for this year’s on-demand March Madness offering. Now dubbed NCAA March Madness Live, full access to all 2012 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship games from March 7 to the April 2 finals will run $3.99 across Web, mobile and tablet screens. (Free streaming will still be available on NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and SI.com for select games.) Paid or not, the market for digital media and sports marketing and endorsements is increasing. Exceeding TV ad spending, digital media is expected to reach $77 billion by 2016, according to Forrester. Pro-athlete sponsorship dollars are also rising -- projected to exceed $38 billion by 2016, according to eMarketer.
Declaring its independence from Facebook -- sort of -- Zynga is launching a new gaming hub that allows users to play on its Web site rather than through the social networking giant. Demonstrating that it can prosper separately from its longstanding symbiotic relationship with Facebook has been one of Zynga’s main goals as a newly public company. To date, more than 90% of its revenue has come from its presence on Facebook, where popular games such as “FarmVille,” “CityVille” and “Mafia Wars” have become synonymous with the site. Now “CityVille” and five other top games, including “CastleVille,” and “Words With Friends,” will debut on Zynga.com this month, with more to follow. The site will also feature games from third-party developers and emphasize social elements such as live chat, and its own social network dubbed zFriends. Players will each get their own profile highlighting their favorite games, recent activity and a score tracking users' “helpfulness” in sharing game-playing strategies. Is it game over for Facebook? Not quite. Zynga.com users will still have to log in using their Facebook ID and all sales from virtual items within games will still be purchased using Facebook Credits, the social network’s payment system. Facebook takes a 30% cut of those sales. If the new Zynga offering becomes a powerhouse in its own right, however, it could take valuable traffic from Facebook, since games are one of the most popular activities on Facebook. In a research note Thursday, Macquarie Group analyst Ben Schachter noted: “If Zynga aggressively tries to push its users from Facebook directly to Zynga.com and monetize in anyway outside of Facebook credits, we could see complications in the relationship develop.” But he added that it’s too early to say whether the new site will prove a viable alternative to Facebook or other social platforms. Zynga.com General Manager Manuel Bronstein told Reuters the new site is not intended to migrate users away from Facebook but provide another option for gamers to connect more directly with Zynga. The updated site will also include advertising, but the company is not providing details at launch. The new gaming platform will debut on the desktop Web, but may expand to mobile devices, since the company is making a broader push to build its mobile business. Zynga introduced a dozen mobile games in 2011, including eight for mobile phones, and is expected to roll out at least another 10 mobile games this year. In its first-quarter earnings call last month, Zynga said it saw strong uptake for mobile versions of games such as “Dream Zoo,” “Words with Friends” and “Zynga Poker” in the quarter. Overall, it reported a loss of $435 million, or $1.22 a share, on revenue of $311.2 million. Excluding certain costs, it would have earned $37.2 million, or 5 cents a share. Zynga went public with a $1 billion initial stock offering in December. With 240 million users to date, the rollout of its own game platform should help the company toward its goal of reaching 1 billion users worldwide. The service will be offered in 16 languages including German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
Game developers will soon have the ability to connect Total Immersion's augmented reality technology with Unity, creating D'Fusion for Unity, a gaming tool that will create immersive video games for consoles and smartphones and tablets. It joins brands like Volkswagen and Ray-Ban, which have created ad campaigns and platforms to allow consumers to try out their wares. Consumers who play video games on smartphones, Sony's PlayStation Vita, Microsoft's Xbox 360, 3D television and Web content can experience augmented reality by putting their image in the picture. Developers will have the ability to license the software development kit to create a variety of applications. Total Immersion has been experimenting with the technology, creating an AR Formula 1 game that runs on the Intel Ultrabook, which has both gesture detection and a Webcam that can track faces. The software inserts the player's face in a racing game complete with helmet behind the wheel of the car. The player holds up anything in the shape of a steering wheel that the camera would recognize. In the future, connected-TV manufacturers supporting 3D TV could increasingly turn to augmented reality to bring a more immersive experience to viewers. The technology will also change search through computer vision by providing a new way to interact with machines, according to Bruno Uzzan, Total Immersion CEO and co-founder. He says people will search "using your hands, face and eyes." In 2011, the company secured $5.5 million in venture-capital funding in a round led by Intel Capital, with existing backers Partech, iSource and Elaia Partners participating. The total raised came to more than $11 million. Total Immersion, which supports more than 6,000 developers and 100+ partners worldwide, is working with companies such as the eyewear company Ray-Ban, so people can try glasses by looking into a tablet. It gives consumers a way to try on virtual glasses. The display uses face tracking and augmented reality.
If you ever wondered where your beer came from (well, beyond the gruff waitress or sticky bar top), then Anheuser Busch says, this QR code is for you. In a campaign aimed at promoting the quality and local roots of its brewing process, the Budweiser brand has created the “Track Your Bud” program that gives drinkers the progeny of the brew they are imbibing. QR codes on the bottles themselves or entering a “Born on Date” code from the bottles into the downloadable “Track Your Bud” app or the TrackYourBud.com trigger an elaborate landing page with custom content from one of 12 Bud breweries around the country. Videos of brew masters, details about the brewing process, and highly interactive images on the landing page not only outline the history of the brew, but also allow you to save and track the beers you have been drinking. Unlike all too many QR code prompts, this is one use of the mobile activation methods that delivers an immersive and rich payoff. But it required a considerable investment of time and resources, according to Budweiser VP Robert McCarthy. “Every batch has its own unique code for 12 breweries,” he says. “We sent a production crew to every single one of the breweries, talked to the employees and spent a lot of time with the brew master.” The landing pages include swipe-able photo galleries with rich pop-up captions, links to beer trivia questions and extensive video chronicling each part of the beer-making procedure. And there are a lot of images and clips of thirst-inducing beer-pouring. Part of the mobile experience is sharing. The iOS and Android apps can connect to Facebook and share their Budweiser experiences with friends and connect with others. McCarthy says that on the back end they are not hammering consumers for information in order to pull them into an extended CRM effort. “We are trying not to ask too much of people. "We want this to be easy access. We ask people to connect through Facebook. We are not trying to get them in, but to enhance the total experience from social networking. We will be able to tell people who of their friends also checked in.” The larger brand effort is intended to communicate the quality of the brand through localized, personal stories. “It is a celebration of the fact that there are 12 breweries in the U.S. and 12 brew masters, each of whom is responsible for every single bottle. We are celebrating the pride that goes into the beer.” The campaign was developed with Bud’s agency Anomaly. The QR codes were introduced to the packaging last year when Bud relaunched with a new design.
David Horsey -- who, according to his bio snippet on the L.A. Times Web site is a "Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist (and) a political commentator for the Los Angeles Times" -- recently expended nearly 500 words amusing himself over an apparent "debate" in the fashion community about whether Kate Upton, the model adorning the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, is too -- shall we say -- zaftig. Careful not to take sides in this crucial cultural debate, Mr. Horsey dishes the SEO ("…too-blond hair, her generic, pouty cheerleader face and her long legs that one critic described as looking as if they belong to a player for the WNBA. The casting director for Victoria’s Secret fashion shows said she’d never allow such a skank to darken her runway…") but then turns safely back to a lamentation that more folks seem to be interested in Kate Upton's body than bother to vote in the primaries. A tip of the hat to a guy who knows the meaning of traffic. Perhaps if folks could have seen Kate Upton in her microscopic bikini instead of Mitt -- or, well, any of them really -- I expect that football field in Michigan would have looked more like a free Audioslave concert than the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel at 4 a.m. At the risk of bringing up politics at this dinner party, is it just me -- or is this just about the worst slate of potential presidential candidates in memory? I thought I'd have to live another half a century to see anyone running for office more bizarre and moronic than Sarah Palin -- and boom, just three years later.... Feel free to fill up the comments box with testimonials for any or all of them, but almost nothing can be said to convince me that we are within a million miles of the best and brightest this country can offer. I know that the scrutiny and constant pressure to raise money and shift views to appease an electorate all over the sensibilities map keeps most right-thinking Americans out of politics, but surely we can find someone in this crowd of +311 million folks better than this lot (and IN this lot I include the guy one of them will eventually run against). I can think of several clients I've had in the past 25 years that I would vote for before any of these bubbleheads. I confess that the SI Swimsuit Issue, in the age of Internet accessibility to photos of naked models and actresses (including most of the young ladies actually in each issue), has lost a good deal of its bad-guy allure over the years. In fact, when I saw the most recent copy on a stack of magazines at the gym the other day, I didn't even bother to flip through it (well, my glasses being in a locker about 300 steps away was in all fairness, an extenuating circumstance). But I recall with some fondness the early days of the issue, when there was tangible moral outrage over the amount of skin uncovered in each photo and loud debates about why a sports magazine read by impressionable young men was stooping to appeal to prurient interests rather than sticking to bats, balls, helmets and field goals. But that single annual issue (and its broadcast and digital offspring) rang up sales like nothing else in the history of Time Inc. and became a national institution. Now, like the slate of Republican candidates, it seems timeworn and irrelevant. (Not that there needs to be any real relevance to showing wonderful photos of some of the best-looking women on the planet wearing not more than some paint or a smile.) And unlike Newt and Mitt and Rick and Ron, the swimsuit issue provides a passing moment of amusement.