Here are the most interesting articles that came across this week…
At MTV, a New Show That Pushes Deodorant
MTV proved the most open to the idea. The channel had previously worked with Radical Media and advertisers on program development. It also helped that Unilever was already a big advertiser on MTV, spending over $10 million on the network in 2005, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
While it wasn't willing to immediately approve a series, MTV agreed to air a one-hour special, to be financed by Unilever at a cost of about $2 million.
Production began in November 2005. Heavily stylized, with the eccentric feel of a film made by director Wes Anderson, the show followed the travails of Aaron, a recent college graduate trying to woo a young woman in
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118963983165125765-email.html
Viacom's plan to be cool again
Will Sumner Redstone ever get over being bested by Rupert Murdoch in the bidding for MySpace two years ago? Maybe.
Fortune has learned of two stealth projects that Redstone's company, Viacom, has in the works for its MTV Networks unit. One is a twist on social networking called Flux, the other involves an investment in upcoming online video site VBS.tv, and both suggest that Redstone's company may actually be on to something.
'Saturday Night Live' Has a New Rival: P&G
Procter's Mr. Gentile said the company is seeking ways to snare attention from viewers who have more power to avoid traditional messages. "The market is so fragmented, and because you have DVRs out there, we know that people are fast-forwarding through the commercials. If you can create something that is interesting and that resonates with the consumer, for Procter & Gamble, that's a pretty big deal."
A program dominated by a single advertiser can offer another fringe benefit: Rivals may stay away. Already, MediaVest has created such a presence for P&G's CoverGirl in "
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article.php?article_id=120329
“Quarterlife” exclusive to MySpaceTV
MySpace has bagged itself some more professionally-produced online video content, to “air” exclusively on the social networking site. “Quarterlife”, a production developed by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, creators of the TV shows “My So-Called Life” and “Thirtysomething”, will debut on MySpaceTV on November 11.
“Quarterlife” will follow the lives of six twenty-somethings and “chart the sometimes excruciating, sometimes comic, often emotional experiences that comprise coming of age as a part of the digital generation.” In classic post-modernist fashion, the lead character, Dylan, is a video blogger (in the trailer she coughs on camera, as if to demonstrate her authenticity).
“Quarterlife” provides yet more evidence of News Corp.’s strategy to make MySpace a home where user-generated and professionally-produced content can live side-by-side and with both benefiting from the online communities that blossom as a result.
paidContent, however, picks up on one curious aspect of the “Quarterlife” partnership. A separate social network will exist for the show, away from MySpace.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/social/?p=309
Once Considered a YouTube Rival, MTV Does Away With IFilm.com
Instead, Viacom bundled iFilm.com under MTV Networks' newly formed entertainment group last December, which also includes Spike TV and Comedy Central as well as gaming properties such as Xfire and GameTrailers.com. IFilm's core audience of young males seemed to perfectly align it with the target demo for Viacom's Spike network, prompting Erik Flannigan, MTVN's exec VP-digital media, to suggest the two brands merge under one umbrella.
The result: SpikeTV.com and iFilm.com will be no more by first-quarter 2008, forever rebranded together under the name Spike.com.
"We're going to concentrate on it being its own men's destination," said Jon Slussser, senior VP of newly formed Spike Digital Media Entertainment Group, which is being launched in conjunction with the new site. "It needs to be an entity to exist where guys want to go to the site regardless of the channel."
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=120354
TNS: TV Ad Spending Slides 2.4% in First Half of 2007
Advertising spending in television dropped 2.4% in the first half of 2007 versus the same period in 2006, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a research group specializing in advertising and marketing information.
Within television advertising, network TV slipped 3.6% to $11.8 billion in the first half, while cable TV rose 2.8% to $8.4 billion. Cable’s growth was attributed to a strong first quarter, tempered by soft results in the second quarter.
“General-interest and sports networks were slack in the second quarter,” said Jon Swallen, senior vice president and director of research at TNS. “The growth came from niche networks that are cannibalizing audience from the larger networks.”
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6477515.html?nid=3345
Warner Shifts Web Course, Shouldering Video Costs
The studio says that a half-dozen more video projects are in development, including an animated offshoot of “The Wizard of Oz” and an online dating game produced by Lauren Graham of “Gilmore Girls.” Joseph McGinty Nichol, a director of the “Charlie’s Angels” movies who is known as McG, also has a project in the works.
Although Warner is spending more cash up front, executives point out that the combined budget for the 24 projects is less than $3 million, or the approximate cost of one episode of a high-end television drama.
And Mr. Rosenblum has distribution plans for most of its new digital entertainment. RealNetworks has agreed to distribute the Jim Henson project. With other projects, Mr. Hunegs said, programming will appear on Joost and other video portals. Warner plans to sell its digital projects to advertisers through its own media sales unit.
Think Big
Alternatively, big companies may believe that an emerging subcategory will be too small to materially affect their business. Such thinking held Coca-Cola and PepsiCo back while the new health- and sport-drink categories were blossoming.
Innovators need to be aware that their challenge is not only to create an offering and brand, but to create, manage and protect the perception of the new subcategory.
The ideal way is to make the brand synonymous with the subcategory. The assumption should be that competitors are irrelevant because they lack visibility, credibility and authenticity.
The inevitable result will be that the innovator is also considered the most relevant brand -- perhaps the only relevant brand -- for the subcategory.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118841644146412501.html?mod=todays_us_the_journal_report
Together We Innovate
After studying networks in more than 20 organizations, we've found three problems that stifle innovation. They share a couple of common themes: the failure to effectively leverage the expertise of employees (or their peers in partner organizations) and the failure to react effectively when new ideas do arise. But we've also found five steps companies can take to clear those barriers and start producing big ideas.
Here's a look at the network problems and how to solve them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118841662730312486.html?mod=todays_us_the_journal_report
Selling P&G
The stakes are high for P&G, which has built its $200 billion market cap in large part on superior marketing. So far, Stengel has met the challenge. He has been P&G's chief marketer for six years; the average tenure of a chief marketing officer is less than two, according to recruiting firm Spencer Stuart.
Before an invited audience at the
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/09/17/100258870/?postversion=2007090511
G4 Aims to Cash In on Halo 3 Launch
As an example of G4’s immersive “Multiplex” sales strategy, Game Fuel will be integrated into the night’s programming, and the logo will be featured in bumpers, tune-ins and various digital permutations. “We take the consumer and we put him in a bear hug,” said Dave Cassaro, president of Comcast Networks ad sales. “We can do plain vanilla, but the tutti-frutti approach is a prerequisite if you want to reach our demo.”
Specials have become a significant ratings driver at G4, so much so that its live coverage of last year’s E3 Expo drew 2.5 million total viewers over the course of three days.
“We’re not going to do the kind of ratings American Idol does, but it’ll hit the demo and resonate with our audience,” Cassaro said.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003637079
Singer Spears Ratings For VMA
Evidence comes from the network's surprisingly high-rated "Video Music Awards," which soared in viewership 23% over last year's numbers, giving the show 7.08 million viewers. It was the highest-rated cable show among 12-34 viewers--5.0 million--this year.
Moreover, MTV.com set records. On Monday, the day after the event, MTV posted its best daily traffic ever--2.6 million unique visitors--40% higher than a year ago. Yesterday's numbers were also 32% higher than last year's MTV.com unique visitor numbers.
MTV also noted there were 6 million streams on Monday for its "2007 MTV Video Music Awards On-Demand" area.
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=67271&Nid=34224&p=334375
Networks Differ With Respect to Previews
It's all a brave new world for the networks, who are still operating on guesswork about whether the Internet can help make hits.
"The new world order demands a distribution that is anywhere, anytime, anyhow," said Vivi Zigler, executive vice president of NBC Digital Entertainment.
That's one theory. Coming off a couple of fourth-place finishes in the ratings, NBC arguably has the least to lose in exposing their four new dramas to as many people as possible.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/16/ap4122046.html
Cable Takes A Ratings Hit
The switch to the new ratings system reflects a frustration that advertisers have long had with TV: Every time a show went to a commercial break, a chunk of viewers would click away to another channel. Since shows were rated based on how many people tuned in, advertisers had to pay for what often amounted to phantom eyeballs. Knowing that the changes roiling the media world had put more power in their hands, advertisers played rough this year. "We made it clear," says Rino Scanzoni, who, as chief investment officer for media agency GroupM, spearheaded the move. "We were not going to be negotiating on anything but commercial ratings."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_39/b4051050.htm
Capture teens in a mobile web
As the mobile web reaches maturity, major brands are scrambling to stake their claim on the new frontier. Targeting the teen audience is a logical step; they are the fastest to adopt new mobile technologies, and the immediacy of the mobile web is an intrinsic part of their culture. However, the marketer venturing into the mobile space to pursue this demographic must be careful. Success depends on an understanding of how teens want to be spoken to, as well as how they will perceive the message. Failure is often very costly, and controversy is quite public given the media attention focused on the topic. The time is right, the rewards are great, but the risk is real.
We'll explore the teen market and how their use of mobile technologies shapes a pragmatic approach to reaching them with a positive, resonant message.
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