Sept 24, 2009
- Katy Bachman
NEW YORK A newly formed group of media companies controlling some of the biggest digital signs in Times Square will make it easier for brands to simultaneously put their names in lights across multiple venues.
Called Times Square Domination, the networking effort offers marketers a one-stop shop for creating an unprecedented campaign in the nation’s largest out-of-home arena, visited by 565,000 people each day.
The network will be able to sync marketers' messages across many of Times Square’s most captivating video billboards, including Clear Channel’s Spectacolor HD sign, ABC SuperSign, the Nasdaq monitor and News Corp.’s Astrovision sign. As part of the package, TSD offers accompanying marketing and event services such as sampling and the use of street teams to create brand immersion.
“Sometimes, the benefits of coming together as an industry for customers are so compelling that even strong rivals see the value,” said Harry Coghlan, president of Clear Channel Spectacolor, one of the companies participating in the network along with ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, Nasdaq, News Corp. and Reuters.
TSD will also include the Times Square Network, a fully integrated platform created around Clear Channel’s Spectacolor HD sign at 47th Street at Duffy Square. When it launches next year, Clear Channel is hoping to turn the sign into a new entertainment source, complete with original programming broadcast from a Times Square studio and streamed on a companion Web site. Short segments will focus on popular interests, including major product launches or interviews with people on the street. Sponsored advertising will air in pre-determined slots and be combined with live-event marketing, mobile messaging, polling and contests.
“When we build SpecHD, we knew this attraction could also support a new model,” said Coghlan. “We knew that we could enable true interaction with the audience, going beyond traditional one-way broadcasts to create true two-way conversations.”
(Courtesy of AdWeek.com)
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Natural Born Clickers - Follow Up
Following up on a previous post regarding click-through rates, Starcom has released a new report on measuring online ad success.
Read the full article here.
(Courtesy of adage.com)
The number of people online who click display ads has dropped 50% in less than two years, and only 8% of internet users account for 85% of all clicks, according to the most recent "Natural Born Clickers" study from ComScore and media agency Starcom. As the pool of people who click on banner ads rapidly decreases, it begs the question: Is the long-used click-through rate now officially useless?Useless? Probably not. Outdated? Absolutely.
"The click has always been of dubious value," said Joshua Spanier, director of communication strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. "But clicks are easy to understand and easy to measure. We still know that display advertising has unequivocal value; your search performance improves as well. Together, search and display are much stronger than apart."So how do we now measure the success of an online campaign if we can't use the click-through rates? Here are some tips:
1. Goodby's Mr. Spaniers points out that it's important for marketers to ask their agencies how display ads fit into the larger marketing plan. "With the media mix, how do you set up overall metrics?" he said. "It's unrealistic to look at one element of one media for success. Since online media is so trackable, it's is held to a higher standard. The reality is no one looks at print advertising like that. You can't measure print that way or TV because they don't have built-in capacity. It's a little unfair that display becomes the whipping boy."
2. In the digital space, look at how elements like display and search coalesce, Mr. Spanier said. How do people end up at a website to make a purchase? Look at sales of a product on-site with consumers' exposure to ads. "There is no way display advertising is wasting money," he said, "even if people don't click."
3. Clicks are a direct-response measurement. For display campaigns, look at brand-awareness studies, purchase-intent lifts and engagement rates. "Users might work with an ad, but not click on it," said Paul Gunning, CEO of Tribal DDB Worldwide.
4. Look at display view-through rates. "CTRs have a value, there is still a hand being raised, but view-through is more important," Mr. Gunning said. "How many people actually end up where you wanted them to? How much time are they spending?"
5. Look at the creative. While consumer attitudes online have undoubtedly changed, think about how messaging does or doesn't demand clicks. If you want to measure success against click-throughs, include strong calls for action. Or, if you have a rich-media experience, other metrics such as engagement time are probably more telling. And that may be the case as more banners include innovations such as embedded video and rich media, said Atmosphere BBDO's Warren Griffiths, group account director for Visa, Emirates Airlines, Hertz and Starwood. "More banners have become the destination. I don't believe that would account for a 50% drop in clicks, but this may have had some impact."
Read the full article here.
(Courtesy of adage.com)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
'Glee' banks on risky strategy
By Lisa Respers France
(CNN) -- When Fox aired a sneak-peek episode of its new series "Glee" four months before the show actually premiered, it took a big chance that the audience would still care.
To help maintain the buzz, it delved into social networking, maintained a strong online presence, dispatched the show's actors to malls across the country and held a fan contest.
In an era when episodic television is battling for ratings against reality television and broadcast TV faces the loss of audience to cable networks, those familiar with the industry said, such innovation may have to become the norm.
"Particularly for those networks that skew younger such as Fox, CW and ABC to an extent, they are going to have to really promote all of their shows all year long and find new ways to keep them in front of their viewers and remind them that they are there," said Ed Martin, a television critic who writes for JackMyers.com. "What Fox did last spring was something totally new that had never been done before."
In a week when most prime time shows are debuting with the hopes of attracting an audience, "Glee" seems to have already found its niche. On Monday, Fox announced that it had ordered a full season of the show.
"Glee" follows the exploits of a group of underdogs who are members of a high school show choir.
The hour-long musical comedy, co-created by "Nip/Tuck" producer Ryan Murphy, created high anticipation after its first airing in May, following an episode of the wildly popular "American Idol."
The pilot was re-aired with a special director's cut prior to the premier of the actual season with Fox counting the pilot as episode one. Episode four debuts on Wednesday.
Bill Gorman, editor and co-founder of the site TV By the Numbers, said he would put the level of interest in "Glee" on his site "as pretty strong for a new show."
Gorman said the show -- whose premiere numbers may or may not have been helped by the fact it was one of the few airing during President Obama's health care address -- is initially faring well among the coveted 18- to 49-year-old viewer demographic.
According to the Nielsen Ratings, the "Glee" premiere garnered 7.44 million viewers, placing it in 19th place in the top 20.
"The 'Glee' premiere this fall did better than what Fox is calling the preview after 'American Idol,' " Gorman said.
To maintain interest over the summer, the show embarked on an ambitious marketing scheme. Joe Earley, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Fox, said the show was screened at summer camps, stars engaged in a 10-city tour, street teams handed out "Glee"-related items, and trailers were shown in front of the latest "Harry Potter" film.
Online, characters had Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, the pilot was available for streaming, and the show's stars took handheld cameras to events to gather behind-the-scenes content. The director's cut of the pilot was followed by a "Tweet-peat" where the stars and the fans took to Twitter to discuss the episode.
Martin said he was present when Fox screened an episode at the geekiest of all events: Comic-Con in San Diego, California.
"It was a standing-room-only crowd of several thousands of people," Martin said. "The cheering and yelling and screaming was ear-splitting. The crowd almost blew the roof off the place with their enthusiasm for the episode."
Visibility seemed to be key for the quirky show that some have referred to as " 'High School Musical' on steroids."
Earley said one challenge came in that the many facets that have given "Glee" its distinction -- it's a black comedy, it's a musical, it's a drama, it's about high school, it's about adults -- also made it difficult to market.
Still, airing the pilot four months before its regular run could have easily backfired, he said.
"If people didn't like it, it would have been four months of negative buzz," he said. "We could have been killing a show before it even began."
The result has been an strong fan base with a deep engagement who are taking to social networking to spread the message and buying the songs on iTunes, Earley said.
"What we have is this core of really passionate, very savvy fans, and they are definitely ambassadors for the show," said Earley, who added that executives have been pleased with the ratings.
Chicago Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan said executives seem to have totally committed to a show that from the onset was a risk.
"You either love this show, or you really don't care," she said. "There's not really a huge amount of in-between."
Ryan said that, in her opinion, the show is far from perfect (she points to the unlovable character of teacher Will Schuester's wife as a weakness) but says it has an opportunity to do well commercially.
"The terrific thing about 'Glee' is not only that it has this interesting concept going for it, but it has a ton on money-making potential," she said. "They've been selling the DVD of the pilot at Walmart, and they sent out a press release saying five of the top 200 songs on iTunes are songs from the show, and they are releasing a soundtrack soon."
Critic Martin said, given its mix of music and satire, the "Glee" strategy may not work for every show -- say a medical drama -- but if the network strikes gold with the new series, he imagines that it may serve as a blueprint for others.
"It would not surprise me at all if Fox had another promising new show in their development plan for next fall and decided to give it the same treatment as 'Glee,' " Martin said.
(Courtesy of CNN.com)
(CNN) -- When Fox aired a sneak-peek episode of its new series "Glee" four months before the show actually premiered, it took a big chance that the audience would still care.
To help maintain the buzz, it delved into social networking, maintained a strong online presence, dispatched the show's actors to malls across the country and held a fan contest.
In an era when episodic television is battling for ratings against reality television and broadcast TV faces the loss of audience to cable networks, those familiar with the industry said, such innovation may have to become the norm.
"Particularly for those networks that skew younger such as Fox, CW and ABC to an extent, they are going to have to really promote all of their shows all year long and find new ways to keep them in front of their viewers and remind them that they are there," said Ed Martin, a television critic who writes for JackMyers.com. "What Fox did last spring was something totally new that had never been done before."
In a week when most prime time shows are debuting with the hopes of attracting an audience, "Glee" seems to have already found its niche. On Monday, Fox announced that it had ordered a full season of the show.
"Glee" follows the exploits of a group of underdogs who are members of a high school show choir.
The hour-long musical comedy, co-created by "Nip/Tuck" producer Ryan Murphy, created high anticipation after its first airing in May, following an episode of the wildly popular "American Idol."
The pilot was re-aired with a special director's cut prior to the premier of the actual season with Fox counting the pilot as episode one. Episode four debuts on Wednesday.
Bill Gorman, editor and co-founder of the site TV By the Numbers, said he would put the level of interest in "Glee" on his site "as pretty strong for a new show."
Gorman said the show -- whose premiere numbers may or may not have been helped by the fact it was one of the few airing during President Obama's health care address -- is initially faring well among the coveted 18- to 49-year-old viewer demographic.
According to the Nielsen Ratings, the "Glee" premiere garnered 7.44 million viewers, placing it in 19th place in the top 20.
"The 'Glee' premiere this fall did better than what Fox is calling the preview after 'American Idol,' " Gorman said.
To maintain interest over the summer, the show embarked on an ambitious marketing scheme. Joe Earley, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Fox, said the show was screened at summer camps, stars engaged in a 10-city tour, street teams handed out "Glee"-related items, and trailers were shown in front of the latest "Harry Potter" film.
Online, characters had Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, the pilot was available for streaming, and the show's stars took handheld cameras to events to gather behind-the-scenes content. The director's cut of the pilot was followed by a "Tweet-peat" where the stars and the fans took to Twitter to discuss the episode.
Martin said he was present when Fox screened an episode at the geekiest of all events: Comic-Con in San Diego, California.
"It was a standing-room-only crowd of several thousands of people," Martin said. "The cheering and yelling and screaming was ear-splitting. The crowd almost blew the roof off the place with their enthusiasm for the episode."
Visibility seemed to be key for the quirky show that some have referred to as " 'High School Musical' on steroids."
Earley said one challenge came in that the many facets that have given "Glee" its distinction -- it's a black comedy, it's a musical, it's a drama, it's about high school, it's about adults -- also made it difficult to market.
Still, airing the pilot four months before its regular run could have easily backfired, he said.
"If people didn't like it, it would have been four months of negative buzz," he said. "We could have been killing a show before it even began."
The result has been an strong fan base with a deep engagement who are taking to social networking to spread the message and buying the songs on iTunes, Earley said.
"What we have is this core of really passionate, very savvy fans, and they are definitely ambassadors for the show," said Earley, who added that executives have been pleased with the ratings.
Chicago Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan said executives seem to have totally committed to a show that from the onset was a risk.
"You either love this show, or you really don't care," she said. "There's not really a huge amount of in-between."
Ryan said that, in her opinion, the show is far from perfect (she points to the unlovable character of teacher Will Schuester's wife as a weakness) but says it has an opportunity to do well commercially.
"The terrific thing about 'Glee' is not only that it has this interesting concept going for it, but it has a ton on money-making potential," she said. "They've been selling the DVD of the pilot at Walmart, and they sent out a press release saying five of the top 200 songs on iTunes are songs from the show, and they are releasing a soundtrack soon."
Critic Martin said, given its mix of music and satire, the "Glee" strategy may not work for every show -- say a medical drama -- but if the network strikes gold with the new series, he imagines that it may serve as a blueprint for others.
"It would not surprise me at all if Fox had another promising new show in their development plan for next fall and decided to give it the same treatment as 'Glee,' " Martin said.
(Courtesy of CNN.com)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Facebook is taking over the world...
Or at least the United States. The big news today is that Facebook has reached the 300 million user mark, which is quite the feat considering I remember when I signed up about 5 years ago and it was only available to college students.
The bigger thing to note here is that the population of the U.S. is at about 307 million people right now, and it looks like Facebook will soon have more users than the United States has people.
Sort of makes me feel like a proud mama - Facebook is all grown up!
It also marks the first time that they've actually seen some profits, here's the deal:
Read the rest of the article here.
(Courtesy of CNN.com)
The bigger thing to note here is that the population of the U.S. is at about 307 million people right now, and it looks like Facebook will soon have more users than the United States has people.
Sort of makes me feel like a proud mama - Facebook is all grown up!
It also marks the first time that they've actually seen some profits, here's the deal:
As Facebook has grown, it also has drawn criticism from privacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, which says people on Facebook unwillingly give up personal information to advertisers and Facebook application developers.
In a video interview with Fortune, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said Facebook gives its users robust privacy controls.
She also told Fortune that a new approach to online advertising has helped Facebook's revenue grow throughout the recession.
"Our advertisements are very much part of the user experience," she said. "So the same way you can RSVP for an event on Facebook -- you know, a party your friend might throw -- you can RSVP for a movie premiere. And that's really a movie advertisement saying, 'Our movie is opening this weekend. Do you want to go?' "
Read the rest of the article here.
(Courtesy of CNN.com)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Proofreading: The Lost Art
Without further ado, your Tuesday afternoon silliness...
These are headlines that probably should have been proofread before they were published:
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
War Dims Hope for Peace
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
And the winner is....
.
.
.
.
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
These are headlines that probably should have been proofread before they were published:
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
War Dims Hope for Peace
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
And the winner is....
.
.
.
.
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Number 9...Number 9...
In honor of 09/09/09 - a day I've been counting down to for 6 months - here's a short film for The Beatles Rock Band game that was released yesterday. (I saw it when watching John Lennon's film Imagine on Palladia last night.)
Even though it looks waaaaay better in HD, it is 100% worth watching:
(Courtesy of YouTube)
Even though it looks waaaaay better in HD, it is 100% worth watching:
(Courtesy of YouTube)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Yahoo! and Microsoft to Challenge Google Search?
Yahoo! will soon be using the bing search technology to power it's own searches, but only on the back end. This means Microsoft will have a bigger share of online search (about 30% of the market), and be positioned to take on search giant Google.
So if you've been optimizing and marketing your website with Google and thinking you're all set - think again. Even though Google controls much of the internet search today, this Yahoo/Microsoft partnership opens the door for some real competition.
Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age writes:
Other interesting reading on the subject (links directly to article):
Yahoo! still intends to compete with Microsoft on internet search
Yahoo unveils new features
Microsoft, Yahoo's next battle: Antitrust probe
(Courtesy of AdAge, bloggingstocks.com, San Francisco Chronicle, and Chicago Tribune)
So if you've been optimizing and marketing your website with Google and thinking you're all set - think again. Even though Google controls much of the internet search today, this Yahoo/Microsoft partnership opens the door for some real competition.
Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age writes:
Turning up on the first page of organic search results when someone types your product or brand into a keyword box is pretty much the cost of entry for any substantial e-commerce entity or marketer. And for the past decade or so that's meant pretty much one thing: optimize your site for Google, maybe a tweak or two for Yahoo, and everything else, well, didn't matter all that much.
"If you were well-optimized for Google, you were pretty much set, because it means you were well-optimized for everyone else out there," said John Ragals, chief operating officer of digital agency 360i. "The gap wasn't significant enough to warrant the extra investment."
But Bing is quite a bit different from Google and Yahoo, both in the way it ranks pages and the way it presents results on the page. And if search becomes more of a two-player market, it could mean a return to the late '90s, when it was common for marketers to create separate pages optimized for Yahoo, Google, Lycos and AltaVista, and as they do now for the iPhone or other mobile devices.
"You'd effectively have two pages, one for Google and one for Bing," said Danny Sullivan, editor of SearchEngineLand.com. If all goes according to plan, Yahoo will make the switch to Bing's organic search results in the third quarter of next year, and then fold in Bing's paid search results soon after.
Other interesting reading on the subject (links directly to article):
Yahoo! still intends to compete with Microsoft on internet search
Yahoo unveils new features
Microsoft, Yahoo's next battle: Antitrust probe
(Courtesy of AdAge, bloggingstocks.com, San Francisco Chronicle, and Chicago Tribune)
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Slammer - Nothing Sells Newspapers Like a Mug Shot
One newspaper that's still alive and kicking is The Slammer, a 15-page collection of crime stories and mugshots that's apparently selling like hotcakes in Phoenix right now. From The Slammer website:
Why is The Slammer important?There's nothing I love more than finding absconders from the law. Except maybe using the word 'absconder' in an actual sentence.
The Slammer provides important information related to your community- local arrests, sex offenders, fugitives and most wanted, missing persons, and many more note-worthy crime stories concerning your area. We have numerous success stories of helping find absconders from the law.
(Courtesy of Ad Lab, abc15, The Slammer)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
RadioShack would like you to call it 'The Shack'
Apparently the 'Radio" in the name sounds too old-timey, so RadioShack is re-branding itself as 'The Shack' - a move that doesn't just happen overnight:
Anyway, I posted all that to get to this gem, one of my favorite current ads:
(Courtesy of USA Today, YouTube, and Radioshack)
Analysts say that a brand overhaul requires lots of time and capital — and consumer acceptance.Yeah, I don't know about you but "The Shack" conjures up images of leaky tin rooftops and dirt roads for me - not exactly the techno-savvy image I think they're hoping for...
Sales of sports drink Gatorade have suffered since changing its name to "G" in January. After a test earlier this year to change its name to The Hut, Pizza Hut is sticking with its original.
There's also risk involved, especially as the company markets itself as The Shack but operates its 4,450 U.S. retail outlets as RadioShack. The company's logo also will go unchanged.
Martin Bishop, director of brand strategy for the San Francisco office of design and branding firm Landor Associates, says there's a logic to what RadioShack is doing. " 'Radio' sounds old-fashioned, and they want to sound cutting edge," he says.
But Bishop warns of possible trouble. When Federal Express changed its name to FedEx, he says, "FedEx had no other meaning than Federal Express. With The Shack, there is a contrived familiarity that I'm not sure is helpful."
Anyway, I posted all that to get to this gem, one of my favorite current ads:
(Courtesy of USA Today, YouTube, and Radioshack)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Monetization of Mimi: Mariah CD to Have Ads
Aug 1, 2009 By Becky EbenkampAs music sales continue to drop like they’re not so hot throughout the industry, Island Def Jam Music Group is jamming on a new business model: integrating brands into artists’ CD booklets.
The first deal, created for the Mariah Carey release Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel on Sept. 15, is a 34-page co-production with Elle magazine that includes lifestyle ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Métier de Beauté and the Bahamas Board of Tourism. Providing the experiment goes well, the label is eyeing bigger brand deals for booklets of CDs by Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Kanye West and other artists.
The mini magazine contains Mariah-centric editorial (“VIP Access to Her Sexy Love Life,” “Amazing Closet,” “Recording Rituals”) and lifestyle advertising along with lyrics and other CD booklet elements. Elle contributed the editorial and designed the layout.
The booklets were created for the first run of U.S. CDs (1 million) and the first 500,000 overseas, said Jeff Straughn, svp-strategic marketing for Island Def Jam Music Group. It will also be available in a digital format for those who buy music online. A condensed version of the Mariah mag, sans the 14 pages of CD-specific material, will be inserted into 500,000 subscription copies of Elle’s October issue, which arrives mid-September.
“The idea was really simple thinking: ‘We sell millions of records, so you should advertise with us,’” said Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group, a unit of Universal Music Group. “My artists have substantial circulation—when you sell 2 million, 5 million, 8 million, that’s a lot of eyeballs. Most magazines aren’t as successful as those records.” Carey was “very open” to the concept when Reid showed her a mock-up of the booklet in a magazine format that included brand imagery synonymous with her lifestyle. “I wouldn’t want to do Mariah Carey and Comet abrasive cleaner,” Reid said, laughing. “I wanted things that really reflected her taste.”
Reid said the program was unprecedented. Terry Dry, president of Los Angeles-based digital-word-of-mouth marketing agency Fanscape, agreed, saying that the CD booklet advertising is a first, though he wouldn’t be surprised if more labels look into doing the same thing: “Hollywood Records [Disney], I know they love to monetize all over the place for something like a Jonas Brothers record. Open any rap record and a couple of inserts will come flying out, usually for a business the artist is a part of. I wouldn’t be surprised if 50 Cent had a Vitaminwater thing.”
Labels are looking for ways to eke out extra bucks, borrow equity and cut costs anywhere they can today. Year-to-date album sales were down 13.9 percent for the week ending July 19, 2009, compared with the period last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan (227 million units vs. 195.5 million units). Of those 2009 sales, 18.9 percent, or 41.9 million, were digital. Ad revenues are subsidizing 100 percent of Island Records’ costs for the Carey booklet, but label execs also see the alliance as a way to expand distribution at a time when the local music store is becoming as rare as the Beatles’ Yesterday and Today LP with the “Butcher” cover.
“We don’t have music retailers any more, so a smart consumer products company that understands the value in distributing music is going to restore the vitality of our business,” Reid speculated. “If we distribute music properly and if it’s done tastefully, it could be a huge profit center for all of us. That is the missing link—we need partnerships.”
To underscore the point: At one large retail establishment, partner Elizabeth Arden is allowing the label to cross-promote the release. The CD Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel will be merchandised directly outside Walmart’s music aisle with Carey’s new signature Arden fragrance, Forever, which has its ad on the booklet’s back cover. The CD and scent will also be displayed together in the beauty department.
(Courtesy of Brandweek)
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