This month's new fall TV schedule saw a number of returning favorites from the previous season, but two notable franchises also found their way back onto our screens. The CW's makeover of "Beverly Hills 90210" and NBC's revival of "Knight Rider" were two shows that almost everyone remembered. Would viewers invite them back? And how would a new generation of 18- to 34-year-olds respond?
LONDON – Online research specialist eDigitalResearch has launched a new version of its online community research tool, allowing participants to create profiles, upload photographs and update personal information.
LONDON – Condé Nast’s contract publishing division has secured the contract to publish Selfridges’ Centenary magazine in the first half of next year.
LONDON – Bartle Bogle Hegarty has won the August ad of the month in the Awards for National Newspaper Advertising for its Heathrow Terminal 5 ad, following a record seven nominations.
LONDON – Independent medical market research firm Healthcare Landscape has introduced a new patient and nurse omnibus program which it believes to be the first of its kind.
Everyone is nervous about what effect the economy will have on the biz. Recently, a bunch of media chiefs and brand leaders have made predictions at Advertising Week. Here’s the run down.
John Durham, formerly head of business development for Carat North America and co-founder of Catalyst:SF, said:
“I think smart marketers realize that now is the time they can get good inventory without having to spend Super Bowl amounts of money. That’s what makes our business fun. I’m not going to say that it’s going to be really great right now, but digital advertising works.”
Sarah Fay, CEO of Carat, has said elsewhere that:
“I would say the pressure we are facing comes from what our clients are facing. Clients need to achieve more for less budget, and it’s not necessarily because their budgets are going down, but because marketing activities are fragmenting. And the market is delivering less for more. We’re seeing escalating CPMs and diminishing GRPs in all of the usual places.”
Marc Goldstein, president and CEO of media agency conglomerate GroupM North America, says his crystal ball predicts:
“-that many companies would not cut back on advertising in 2009, despite the troubled economic conditions.”
Irwin Gottlieb said at Advertising Week that:
“consumer confidence is better than one might expect given the downturn in the economy and rising fuel prices. One explanation may be that “the consumer can’t comprehend what has happened” on Wall Street, he said. “Time will tell.””
That’s right, Irwin. Everyone is just too stupid to realize that the economy is in the shit. Yeah. Meanwhile, CMOs of consumer brands are not as upbeat as the media guys.
Wenda Harris Millard, co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Cheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, are predicting harder times for consumers and brands on their own Advertising Week panel.
Shall we make bets? Two to one that the client side kids have it right. It’s going to be a rougher road the media agencies are publicly pushing, but you know those guys got together and were like, “What’s the party line gonna be?”
More: The King Of Advertising: Irwin Gotlieb
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media
(TrendHunter.com) A while back we told you the first F1 Singapore Grand Prix would be held at night, and now the day is just around the corner.
“The most exciting thing for me is (racing under) the lights. It is going…
LONDON – The Uefa Cup will be rebranded as the Uefa Europa League next season in a revamp by European football’s governing body that will expand the competition and present the chance for one brand to become headline sponsor.
MediaPost reports on a Unilever exec who had some interesting things to say at Advertising Week:
In the continuing tug-of-war between what drives the train–creative or media–a top Unilever executive Thursday came out in favor of creative. While there is an argument that lackluster ads can still deliver a message with shrewd placement, Babs Rangaiah said if the creative does not drive demand, a strong media plan is not likely to save the day. Rangaiah, the director of global communications planning at Unilever, said if the creative appears banal, it’s time to yank the media spend and use it somewhere else.
“We have to penetrate the culture,” he said.
And the way to do that is through ads that effectively jump off the page or out of the screen. Top-notch creative is even more important in a fragmented world, he said, not to mention for a packaged-goods company.
It’s always good to hear. Though what constitutes “top-notch creative” is different for everyone. We all have our own notches, I guess.
LONDON – Virgin Trains has launched a voting booth that will tour railway stations across the UK to poll nominations for MTV’s 2008 Europe Music Awards, which is part-sponsored by the train operator.
LONDON – Levis has unveiled a series of outdoor installations across London, to promote its Live Unbuttoned campaign.
The Ad Council has partnered with Ian Schafer’s Deep Focus to get a push in the 21 Century. The interactive company has created the Exponential Action Network (EAN). Users will be presented with a list of Ad Council causes (autism, literacy, reckless driving, etc) and choose they want to support. A widget will be generated that can be posted on all sorts of social media sites. Basically, the Ad Council is going digital. As people sign up and friends join the cause, the image of users grows in real time. The widget also holds videos, news, etc.
In a press release, Schafer said: “These customizable widgets serve as a means to educate, inspire, and provide audiences with the information and tools they need to change behavior and encourage others to do the same.”
Everyone? This is the Ad Council. Ad Council, this everyone. We’re happy to welcome you to the club.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media
According to The New York Times, Wieden + Kennedy’s three-dimensional AstroTurf-like billboards for ESPN keep getting stolen by football fans. We are simply shocked that sports fans are acting irrationally in pursuit of items with negligible value. Most of this thievery is taking place in New York (of course), where “72 of 90 bus shelter postings have been stolen and all of the 85 more traditional billboard posters have been stolen.” Los Angeles and Chicago have been hit by this crime wave, too, although not as hard as the Big Apple. Authorities have been wondering what’s being done with the stolen billboards. Of course, big-city apartments could always use a little more green.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
Pugilist Michael Donovan has survived his public fall out with Publicis’ Starcom Mediavest to sign up MPG, RJ Palmer and Rubin Postaer Associates to new “long-term contracts for its ad-buying processing system.” Donovan Data Systems, Mike’s firm, is still waiting to see if he lands the $20 billion in ad buys that come from Interpublic. They’re up against their nemesis Mediabank. The decision is expected any day now and it could change the landscape of media buying.
If you recall, Mediabank stole Publicis Starcom out from Michael Donovan’s feet. He basically had a monopoly on handling the transactions involved in media buying for the big conglomerates.
Greg Koerner, Chief Sales Officer for MediaBank, has made it clear that the shop is after Donovan’s business. In a Mediapost article, he said:
“We found a few monolithic and archaic software platforms that nearly the entire media planning and buying industry used. We saw progress in the business of media buying crippled by these legacy platforms.
The CEO of MediaBank, Brad Keywell, has also had his share of press lines attacking the “legacy” systems. Oh Mr. D, these kids aren’t messing around. They want your business and they’re willing to play the tech card, the PR card and all the rest of the deck to get it.
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(TrendHunter.com) The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci’s famous masterpiece, still smiles her enigmatic smile in these eight modern works. The La Gioconda, as it is also known, was painted in the 16th century but is still popular…
Rubin Postaer & Associates is moving to Playa Vista after seventeen years to some new digs. The move to a former post office distribution center will save the agency some cash and house their 575 staff. The ad agency, now in Santa Monica, will pay about $200 million over 15 years to join a gaggle of small shops. Vince Mancuso, chief financial officer of Rubin Postaer told the LA Times that: “It’s a substantially better deal.”
Other folks, like Fox Interactive, are also moving to the area. Frank Gehry also has his headquarters nearby.
Location, location, location… Maybe the creatives will be more inspired? Co-Chairman Gerry Rubin made it clear that renovations would be green meeting the environmental standards of the Green Building Council.
More: The Good And Bad News From T3
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Remember the grossness of the hotel commercial that depicted a woman licking everything? Now Toy Agency has decided that being able to fart when you please will make you want to stay in Extended Stay hotels.…
(TrendHunter.com) Wash your body with rocks? These are not actually stones, but stunning pure glycerin hand and body soaps made in the incredible likeness of gemstones.
The ‘Tumbled Turquoise’ soaps will also exfoliate…
Remember the grossness of the hotel commercial that depicted a woman licking everything? Now Toy Agency has decided that being able to fart when you please will make you want to stay in Extended Stay hotels.…
Dave: Oh my god! Stewardess! Judging by that sun-kissed, palm-draped scenery outside the windows of this airplane, we’re heading toward tropical climes. Looks like the Bahamas! But I have to be in Pittsburgh for a meeting! Oh wait, I get it. Those sandy beaches, that azure sky—it’s all part of Arnold’s nifty campaign for the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the one where they decorate the inside of the plane. Phew! I was worried.
Stewardess: Yes, that’s some eye-catching, unconventional creative, all right. Unfortunately, it’s running exclusively on Spirit Airlines. This is JetBlue. Those are beaches and palm trees, sir. We land in Nassau in five minutes.
Dave: What?! … Ah well, at least I won’t have to go to Pittsburgh. What a dump.
Stewardess: I’m from Pittsburgh, sir. My dad’s deputy mayor.
Dave: Well, it’s a great town. Why are you rolling your eyes? I thought these were the friendly skies?
Stewardess: That’s United. And they’ve dropped that line.
Dave: Hey, can I get your phone number? Why are you walking away so fast down the aisle?
—Posted by David Gianatasio
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
