New York Life has been an integral part of the landscape of New York City for over 165 years. This year, no where is their presence more appropriate than in the Times Square scene of one of New York City’s greatest holiday traditions,the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Working on behalf of our client  New York Life and with our vendor partners at MSG we were able to negotiate a premier placement of the New York Life “blue box” billboard in the Times Square scene during the Rockette’s extravagana.

This New York Life billboard will not only appear during the NYC Holiday schedule but also in the 19 touring cities that will host the traveling Radio City Spectacular this season.

This is the first year that advertisers have been integrated into the actual scenery of the Radio City Show production. Our client New York Life’s signature blue box shares the stage with Macy’s and Maybelline.

It has been just over a week since Google TV’s launch, and opinions are still unclear.  Self-described as “tv, apps, search, and the web…together at last”, Google TV is available in two ways: Standalone TV (Sony Internet TV) and set-top box (Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TV Blu-ray players).

The first round of reviews are in, and they are mixed.  On the good side, Google TV has incredible functionality and a universal Google Chrome search bar that overlays every screen.  Google TV’s biggest offering is its ability to access nearly all web-based video.  Apps, like Android’s Remote App and Vimeo’s Couch Mode have been created as a complement.   On the other hand, compatible apps are limited.  The Netflix App is outdated and ABC, CBS, and Hulu are blocking Google TV devices from streaming their content.

In an effort to remedy these issues, Google has given away nearly 10,000 Revues to developers to motivate them to write applications designed for the service.

In the end, Google TV has serious potential, but is certainly still in its infancy.  We look forward to seeing what happens next.

At today’s DPAA Digital Media Summit at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, Darus Zahm, VP Account Director at TargetCast tcm, presented a Hotels.com case study developed in conjunction with media partner, Captivate Network.

The presentation focused on the positive results of the study, provided background on Hotels.com’s SMART brand positioning and explained the strategic rationale behind why Captivate’s digital out-of-home platform made sense for the brand in 2010.

Recognizing the brand’s emphasis on targeting frequent leisure as well as business travelers, Captivate’s in-elevator TV platform presented a unique means of reaching a qualified audience at the office, during the work day, in a virtually distraction-free environment.

“As an agency,” Darus explained, “we view digital out-of-home as a dynamic means to connecting with audiences outside of conventional channels, and is always in our consideration set as we strive to develop effective, efficient and measurable media strategies for our clients.”

As Hotels.com’s campaign spokesman might say, “Smart. So smart.”

After four years of arguing, record labels finally scored yet another victory against the file sharing masses when U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood ordered LimeWire to stop distributing and supporting its software yesterday.

While LimeWire will not be shut down immediately, it will begin developing copyright friendly technology and overhauling its business model. The new technology LimeWire plans to develop will include a desktop media player, mobile apps and a catalog of music from which people can stream and download songs. The outcome of this case, however, has implications that extend far beyond LimeWire and could change the file-sharing landscape permanently.

LimeWire is the most popular P2P application on the market today with 6MM unique visitors per month and a 37% market-share. Now that LimeWire has been closed, who will record labels and file sharers focus their attention on next? The race is on. Already, in the past 2 days ThePirateBay.org – a site that allows users to locate torents – has seen its traffic jump significantly. In the court injunction, BitTorrent clients uTorrent, Vuze and Transmission were described as “similar software,” perhaps setting the ball in motion for the next wave of popular P2P applications to be shut down. Will users run out of P2P options? Have the record labels finally found a bulletproof way to stop people from sharing their music online?

Experian^® Hitwise^® announced recently that Google accounted for 72.15% of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending Oct. 2, 2010. Bing powered search received 23.64% of searches for the month with Yahoo! Search and Bing receiving 13.54% and 10.10%, respectively. The remaining 65 search engines in the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis report accounted for 4.22% of U.S. searches.

Read more…

Just when you thought social media could not get any bigger, you were mistaken. Social media, more specifically FourSquare and Twitter, have gone UNIVERSAL (Twitter actually made it to space in 2009, just never in conjunction with geo-based marketing). As if taking over the world was not enough for these two social media powerhouses, they have just been introduced to outer space by NASA Astronaut Douglas Wheelock.

The check in from outer space marks the beginning of a partnership between FourSquare and NASA and the launch of NASA’s FourSquare page. Users can now check in to various NASA locations in order to unlock the “NASA Explorer” badge. Something that would-never-be astronauts can strive to do, in order to be as close to space as possible…without ever getting there.

Check out the NASA FourSquare page here…

Netflix may have started out as a DVD-by-mail company, but its streaming service has proven to be a bigger hit within the US. A study conducted by Sandvine found that Netflix streaming accounts for 20% of U.S. Internet traffic between the peak usage hours of 8pm and 10pm. The findings have even prompted Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to declare that “In fact, by every measure, we are now primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail”.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/netflix-instant-accounts-for-20-percent-of-peak-u-s-bandwith-use/#ixzz137L0pOfL

The ANA Conference is in the book.  It was an incredible few days of content and connecting with friends and colleagues.  ANA celebrated it’s 100th anniversary.  A truly remarkable accomplishment.  To think, during that period of time, marketing has changed so much and continues to evolve today faster than ever before. 

Over the course of four days we heard from a few truly great marketing minds.  The first full day of events,  Day 2 featured the following speakers:  Marc Pritchard (P&G), Marilyn Mersereau (Cisco), Mark Baynes (Kellogg) and Joe Tripodi (Coca-Cola).

Day 3 featured Ted Ward (Geico), Keith Pardy (RIM), Jim Speros (Fidelity) and Michael Francis (Target). 

Speakers on the final day of the conference included John Hayes (AMEX), Ralph Santana (Samsung), Candace Mathews (Amway) and John Caron (Darden Restaurants). 
Common themes found within each presentation:

1) Brand transparency
2) A need for a greater connection to consumer needs
3) Building a business through “Brand Action”
4) Social, Social, Mobile, Social – it was discussed a lot

Hands down, the most dynamic speaker was Marc Pritchard (P&G).  He discussed P&Gs ability to connect with consumers in a very emotional way.  Their brand benefits were clear and transparent to the consumer and the messaging strategy resonates with meaningful memories embedded deep within the consumer.  Memories from their childhood.  Memories of comfort and security.  The brand pays off the consumer needs of today, but the marketing message calls upon these triggers of the past to capture the consumer attention. 

With more than 1,500 conference attendees looking on, Marc’s presentation reached an emotional level leaving half the room in tears.  His passion for the P&G business and his belief in how consumers would truly benefit from using P&G products was unparalleled.  It was truly amazing but to be honest, I would expect nothing less of P&G. 

In a very different way, I would rank Michael Francis (Target) a close second.  His presentation was dynamic and smart.  He clearly demonstrated the marketing evolution Target needed to go through to ensure they remained connected to consumer needs.  Creative messaging of old highlighted what Mike called “Bright, shiny people”.  The creative was beautiful and it showed gorgeous people wearing, using or having fun with Target Products.  The models used in their :30 spot looked more like Hollywood’s “A” list. The main selling message – Target can make you (the consumer) feel like a celebrity.  It worked – for a while.

The need for message transformation came as our economy dropped and consumer confidence fell dramatically.  The consumer had a different need.  Gone were the days of wanting to feel like a celebrity.  Here are the days of survival (a little dramatic, but you get the point).  Wieden & Kennedy did a fabulous  job of  connecting to a true consumer need. 

The new creative, produced beautifully, showed the consumer enjoying a luxurious vacation.  Upon camera pull back, the spot reveals that they are actually in their backyard.  The super reads “lawn chairs $11.95”.

A second spot shows a couple sipping designer coffee in a trendy coffee house.  Upon camera pullback, it’s clear they are in their kitchen.  The super reads “coffee maker” $8.95. 

The new creative connects with a big consumer concern – “How should I exist in this new economy”?  Target shows the way for the consumer, highlighting the new frugal lifestyle that is a must today.  The connection is made with the need wonderfully through the new creative execution.  The message has been transformed and Target wins in a big way. 

Take a look at a few spots here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5fEKBnsdX0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDzUY2f-6I8&feature=related

Lastly, their newest effort uses :15 spots to make quick connections. With the tagline “Life’s a Moving Target”, Target connects with simple consumer needs and show value immediately:

These are great.  Check them out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N0wRs_Xr-E&NR=1

And my favorite ….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNYwpedglB4&NR=1

Lastly, I found Joe Tripodi (Coca-Cola) to be informative and entertaining.  I think we are all well aware of how large the organization is, but it blew me away to learn they employ more than 1 million people worldwide.  Joe talked about Brand Action and the ability Coca-Cola has to deliver relevant content to any screen at any time around the world through the Coke Digital Network. 

However, even with all this Brand Action and change for Coke, I found it really interesting to learn that the Coca-Cola logo has remained exactly the same for more than 100 years.  Now that’s staying true to brand.

Social marketing was  a main theme discussed by all.  Read a few of my Tweets from the show – they all focus on how a brand connects with consumers through the social space.  Empowered consumers lift the brand up, make it their own and elevate success like never before:

 - ANA Conf Done! Key buzz: Transparency, Connecting Brands to Economic Needs and Building Brand Through Meaningful Action #ANAmarketers

 - Michael Francis – Target: Watching “Life’s a Moving Target” new short TV spots and cross marketing strategy. It’s Brilliant! #ANAMarketers

 - Jim Speros – Fidelity: A Brand is a trust mark. Customers in tough times depend on a brand promise #ANAMarketers

 - Jim Speros – Fidelity: What you say, where you say it and how you say it – Critical for building a brand in a tough economy #ANAMarketers

 - Keith Pardy: RIM (Blackberry) Empower your community of fans to elevate your marketing mix and drive results #ANAMarketers   

 - Joe Tripodi-Coca-Cola: There are great ideas around the world-we need to tap into the creativity. Social gives us access! #ANAmarketers

Still, even with all this success, there’s no true ROI to be had when reviewing success of social efforts.

A few of the low-lights include the Day 1 School of Marketing Workshops.  The content was novice and the Q&A was limited and dull.  Also, NBC / Universal hosted a conversation over lunch on Day 2.  It was poorly planned out and extremely difficult to get any value out of the almost hour long discussion. 

All in, this was a valuable event.  It’s great to hear different perspectives.  It’s incredible to debate contrasting POVs and truly amazing to connect with many people across the industry, one on one in such a great setting.

Next up, the Consumer Electronics Show and the TED Conference.  Let’s go.

Mobile advertising has grown astronomically over the last year – from $416 million in 2010 to an expected $743 million this year – and is expected to rise even further.

Much of this credit can be given to Apple, as its “iAd” platform has driven notable buzz around mobile advertising throughout the year; however, Google seems to be capitalizing the most from the medium’s explosion, as it is reportedly on pace to bring in $1 billion in mobile ad revenue this year.

Though SMS messaging is still the largest mobile advertising format, search and display will overtake this by 2012, with video also making a push in the mobile environment.

As long as people refuse to be more than an arms length away from their Smart Phones and tablet computers are on the rise, mobile advertising will continue its rapid growth. These devices have the ability to be personalized, incredibly engaging and even addicting in certain cases. Advertisers have caught on to the popularity of the trend – the next step now is to capitalize on all of its best features.

In a move to capitalize on the success of such mobile applications like FourSquare, Google’s Local Products, and AOL’s “City Guides” – SheKnows (a top Mom focuses website, generally focusing its content mostly on health) has launched their own version…for Moms.

Dubbed, “SheKnows City Guide” the application and web content hub is designed to give moms a one stop shop for entertainment ideas for themselves as well as ideas for their family.

The hub will exist in 30 of the top U.S. markets for now; namely New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. It will feature guides to living a healthy lifestyle as a Mom – both individually (yoga, hiking, gyms) and with the family (museums, zoos, festivals).

Take a look here