Home Media Magazine - April 6-12, 2008 - (Page 36)

NEWS STARZ GETS NEW LOGO, TAG LINE By Chris Tribbey www.homemediamagazine.com Online Advertising Struggling to Define Value By Anne Sherber EW YORK — Before online distribution of programming becomes a significant revenue stream, the industry has to agree on a way of measuring audiences and assigning a value to reaching those audiences, according to advertising and Internet executives. The executives participated in “Online Is the New Prime Time,” a panel discussion that was a part of ARF 2008 — Re:think, the Advertising Research Foundation’s 54th annual convention. “Online is where the audience is,” said Gian Fulgoni, co-founder and chair of comScore, an Internet market research firm. He said his firm has conducted research that demonstrates that 185 million people in the United States, age 2 or older, spend an average of 29 hours per month online. He also said that comScore’s research indicates that the Internet’s reach marginally exceeds that of television between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. He said that more people are surfing the net during the day than are watching TV. But despite the Internet’s explosive growth as a source for both information and entertainment, advertisers have been testing the waters only sparingly. tarz Entertainment March 31 launched a $25 million marketing campaign, introducing a new logo and the tag line “Are You Ready?” The initiative reaches across all of Starz’ standarddefinition and high-def channels, including the company’s on-demand offerings, and also will be used by Starz Media, Starz Animation, Starz Productions, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Manga Entertainment, Film Roman and Overture Films. “The new brand campaign is the culmination of an evolving process for Starz,” said Nancy McGee, SVP of marketing for Starz Entertainment. “Clearly we are not the company we were 18 months ago. We’ve invested in new and exciting ways to entertain and engage our audiences, from the production of our new original series to first-run theatrical movies from Overture Films.” The new logo will debut April 2 during TV spots, and an online campaign will launch April 14. “The use of a common Starz logo for all our companies emphasizes that we are a fully integrated media company able to produce all types of programming for distribution across all platforms worldwide,” McGee said. S N Lee Doyle, CEO of Media Edge, said marketers must shift their worldview and that kind of change comes slowly. “[Marketers know that] television moves product,” he said, adding they are not certain that online advertising has the same effect. Additionally, marketers are being asked to react very rapidly to what amounts to a sea change in the advertising paradigm, and that kind of shift is not likely to happen quickly. “The largest advertisers tend to be conservative, and they won’t shift those dollars without proof of ROI,” Fulgoni said. However, the tide may be beginning to shift, he said, citing General Motors’ recent decision to shift half of its $3 billion ad budget to online advertising. But according to several panelists, it is important for advertisers to view online advertising as a part of an overall media plan, rather than as a replacement for advertising on other media. “We should be talking to advertisers about both,” said Peter Daboll, chief of insights for Yahoo. Doyle agreed. “Magazine and TV equals more than TV alone,” he noted. For the most part, panelists said that the same challenges that faced radio and television in the early days of those media face online companies now: How to prove to advertisers that they can reach consumers who are conducting Internet searches, watching TV or visiting social networking sites, and that, once reached, advertising can be effective and persuasive. Studios Discuss Their Green Efforts Continued from page 10 marketing for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Disney has tied in its feature-length animated films to environmental causes for the ocean and forests. For Gaiam, “The very DNA of our company is eco-oriented,” said Bill Sondheim, president of entertainment and worldwide distribution. Employees are offered discounts for buying solar panels and other green products, and the employee with the best ecofriendly idea for Gaiam each year is rewarded with a large bonus. Sondheim also took a small jab at leading DVD retailer Wal-Mart: “While many of us are going out of our way to lower carbon emissions, I would like to find CLASSIFIED SHOWCASE BUSINESS SERVICES CO M P U T E R S O F T WA R E a way for them to lower theirs.” Steve Feldstein, SVP of corporate and marketing communications for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, said his parent company’s (News Corp.) green efforts can be seen in “everything we do,” from green broadcasts to analyzing the carbon footprint of Fox DVDs. Fox has found being green to be profitable as well. “We’ve found tremendous cost savings in it,” said Mike Dunn, president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Fox released the very first carbon-neutral DVD in Futurama: Bender’s Big Score, and has plans for more (see story, page 14). B RIEFS I CEA WANTS TO ‘CONVERT YOUR MOM’ FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL TV For people struggling to make their elders understand the upcoming government-mandated transition from analog to digital television, a new ad campaign seeks to help. The “Convert Your Mom” awareness campaign, launched by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), will be hosted by Florence Henderson of “The Brady Bunch.” The campaign will start with a satellite media tour in early May and will feature a downloadable guide with tips on how to continue receiving free over-the-air TV, such as buying a new TV with a built-in digital tuner, subscribing to a pay-TV service such as cable or satellite TV, or using the two $40 coupons allotted by U.S. Department of Commerce to purchase a digital TV converter box. “CEA’s member companies have filled retail stores with a wide assortment of affordable digital TV products, from low-cost digital televisions to converter boxes and antennas that are easy to hook up to existing analog TV sets,” said Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO. “With ‘Convert Your Mom’ we’re asking baby boomers to help make sure everyone is ready well in advance.” I MYSPACE MUSIC LAUNCHES Social networking giant MySpace has formed a music division, MySpace Music, along with Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The site, www.music.myspace.com, builds off of MySpace’s existing music platform but will make it more fully integrated, unveiling new music services, monetization models, and music management and sharing capabilities. New features include DRM-free downloads, adsupported audio and video streaming, a mobile storefront from News Corp.’s Jamba mobile company, and sponsorships. On the user end, people will be able to create playlists and have access to more advanced purchase opportunities and search functionality. For artists, MySpace Music will allow them to offer digital downloads, ringtones, SMS and artist wallpaper, as well as sell merchandise such as T-shirts and concert tickets. The new division will be based in Los Angeles and will have its own dedicated executive management team. Services will roll out continually over the coming months. — Billy Gil USED TAPES & DVDS CO M P U T E R S O F T WA R E REDUCING YOUR INVENTORY? We Buy VHS, and also DVD & Video Games xtreme deo E 733-7370 (203) Vi 36 Home Media Magazine April 6–12, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.corporate.com http://www.rapidrental.com

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Home Media Magazine - April 6-12, 2008

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