by Ed Martin on Nov 30, 10:08 AM
When it comes to commercials, does placement matter anymore? That was the first thing I thought of at a key moment during the last episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead," when a series of grisly, gory and grotesquely noisy shots of several walkers hungrily and sloppily feasting on the entrails of an unfortunate hermit was followed by an instant cut to the title card for the show, over which an announcer's voice said, "Brought to you by KFC."
by Jeff Siegel on Nov 29, 10:27 AM
Brands looking to develop more meaningful consumer connections are turning to branded content to increase engagement, reach new audiences, and convert immersive brand experiences into sales. A fusion of advertising and entertainment, branded content has been developed by a broad range of leading brands; everyone from BMW to Marks & Spencer and Chipotle. Incidentally, the latter recently won the first ever branded content Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Lions Festival for its efforts. To date, branded content has strictly been used as a form of online marketing; however, given the rise of Internet connected TVs, its time it made …
by Charlene Weisler on Nov 28, 4:02 PM
I met Nadim Homsany of Serent Capital at the recent OMMA Response conference, where he spoke about the future of online investments. Nadim is a VP at Serent and leads the company's efforts in tech-enabled and digital marketing investments.
by Gary Holmes on Nov 27, 2:40 PM
So "Modern Family" is the favorite comedy of the Romney family. So says the Republican nominee himself. Of course campaign consultants, trying to signal to moderate voters that he had no particular hang-ups on social issues, may have advised him to make this claim. But it might have been one of those rare cases where a politician actually spoke truthfully about his personal preferences. Regardless of whether the Romneys actually watch "Modern Family," millions of others do. With DVR viewing added in, it's typically the most watched show of the week, often beating even football. And of course it continues …
by Ed Martin on Nov 23, 9:28 AM
In my last column I lamented the disappointing state of prime-time drama on the broadcast networks, asserting that the quality of dramatic series on basic and pay cable was making it increasingly difficult to be satisfied by traditional network fare. But here's a pro-broadcast caveat: At present, the quality of the remaining daytime dramas on ABC, NBC and CBS is better than it has been in a very long time.
by Jack Smith on Nov 20, 10:45 AM
While Nate Silver has soaked up the post-election "triumph of the quants" spotlight, how Obama's team used data and science just may have the most lasting impact on advertising and marketing. Particularly telling was the use of data in the campaign's television advertising strategy, which represented a shift away from tactics that political campaigns have used since the 1980s. Estimates from the Washington Post and others put the Obama campaign's TV spend at close to $500 million. If you look at Obama the president as Obama the brand, it's the largest scale implementation of data-denominated television advertising that any brand …
by Ed Martin on Nov 16, 12:36 PM
Thank goodness for CBS' "The Good Wife" and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," arguably the only veteran series at the moment that prove broadcast can consistently deliver compelling quality drama that is competitive with the best of basic cable. (I'm still waiting for any of this fall's new broadcast dramas to earn similar high praise.)
by Gary Holmes on Nov 13, 3:52 PM
very once in a while when I'm flipping around the TV, I'll come across a syndicated repeat of "The Office." And because it's my favorite show, I'll continue to watch it to the end, whether there's five or 25 minutes left. While commonplace, this behavior is profoundly irrational. After all, if I really wanted to watch "The Office" I have a full set of DVDs to choose from. Instead, I'll watch the syndicated show because it's the path of least resistance. It's possible I'm the laziest viewer in the history of television, but more likely there's something in the very …
by Ed Martin on Nov 9, 12:08 PM
I thought my 2012 year-end ten-best list was good to go until last Sunday, when I was realized I was going to have to make room for AMC's "The Walking Dead," which I planned to include among my runners-up. That realization came as I watched "Killer Within," arguably the most powerful episode in the series' three-year history and one of the most impactful hours of television this year. I'm still shaken by what I saw. I haven't been so rattled by a drama series since that game-changing episode from the fourth season of FX's "Sons of Anarchy" in which gang …
by Charlene Weisler on Nov 7, 12:58 PM
We think we are connected all the time. We comfort ourselves that with all of our virtual and technological devices we can keep in touch any time, any place -- and, with the ability to access the Internet, we can get news easily and effortlessly no matter what catastrophe befalls us. Well, throw that idea out the window.