Global Media News

Tupac resurrected

Deceased (or allegedly so) rapper Tupac made his return the other day at the Coachella festival. But, how is this possible if the rapper had passed away in 1996? The Rolling Stone says that with a whole lot of money, a little help from a company called 'AV Concepts' and Digital Domain, and an idea bought about by Dr. Dre, the rapper made his debut back on stage.... as a hologram.

In a MTV article, Smith, owner of AV concepts says it was all Dr. Dre:

We worked with Dr. Dre on this and it was Dre's vision to bring this back to life," said Nick Smith, president of AV Concepts, the San Diego company that created the hologram. "It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life."

AV Concepts, has done similar work. The company did work for the Grammy's making the holograms for the group the Gorillaz possible. In the same MTV article, Smith says that this could possibly lead to something bigger than a simple hologram:

"I can't say how much that event cost, but I can say it's affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country," he said.

The Tupac hologram is already taking over the media as the hologram has its own Twitter account with 11,922 followers, probably growing by the minute. Is it possible that maybe holograms will be the go to for artists unable to perform, or maybe unwilling to perform? An article in Business Week states that other holograms were successful but Tupac's performance is the closest thing to raising the dead. Who's next? Business Week guesses Elvis. But Ed Ulbich, Digital Domain's chief creative officer say's it doesnt seem to promising to see the King swinging again:

“While we’ve demonstrated that we can certainly do that,” says Ulbrich, “that’s not really our business model.” Instead, he’s more excited by the fact that such a realistic hologram was created in just a few months. “It took us two years to do Benjamin Button,” he said. “Now that we’ve developed the tools to do this, we can start to look at other applications—advertising, commercial work; until now things like this haven’t been feasible.” 

Looks can be deceiving- are your favorite artists on stage real, or just a hologram? 

 

Mike and no Ike?

    The famous candy brand called Mike and Ike, has decided that these two characters are going to split up and follow their own paths. Boxes of the candy that are now manufactured show either the name Mike or Ike being crossed out. Each would come with their own message depending on which name is shown. On the back of packages with Mike’s name crossed out, a statement from Ike states that  Mike is “spending way too much time on his music.” Packages with Ike’s name crossed out have a statement from Mike saying that Ike is “spending way too much time on his graffiti art.” The announcment of this separation hopes to attract the attention of younger consumers.

    The marketing strategy for this product includes using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The brand has created their own facebook page where video reactions from celebrities have been posted. A dialogue of the two characters has been posted on facebook and a twitter blog. This use of social media is explained by Mark Richardson, president of the Elevator Group. He states,  "What social media allows us to do, and which traditional media now reinforces, is to build and enhance the story over time and allow consumers to really get to know Mike and Ike,”. Many young people who use facebook and twitter will be able to read these little conversations between the characters.  Billboards will also go up displaying a painter that will be crossin out either the name Mike or Ike. This new production will also include a television advertisment coming out in June, and an animated billboard in Times Square.

    The whole idea of this campaign is to introduce Mike and Ike to younger consumers by having them separate and expect the audience to find interest in their characters. Appearence of the character is not likely to appear. Only the voices of the characters will be presented  in writing,  on the back of packages along with the social media dialogue. The campaign plans on lasting for a year until the answer to whether Mike and Ike getting back to getter will be revealed. An example of the character dialouges; Mike wrote on Tumblr on Tuesday: “So over it. Instead of all this hassle, now I’m just gonna jam.” Later, he adds, “I can’t wait to share with you all the stuff I have in mind — sick music festivals, dope new songs, a music video.” "Whether that sounds to consumers like a hip youngster, or a marketer in a swivel chair impersonating one, will determine the success of the campaign."

 

 

 

 

Denny's Has a Web Series to Reach New Generation?

"Always Open" is not only part of Denny's slogan, it's also the website which displays web episodes in order to get younger consumers to eat at the restaurant. The web series began in March 2011, and is currently in the second season. The episodes are full of humor, and often feature different celebrities. According to New York Times reporter Andrew Adam Newman,

"the unscripted videos, between three and four minutes long, are released on CollegeHumor.com and on Denny's Facebook page."

 CollegeHumor.com "is a leading entertainment company targeting a core audience of people ages 18-49." This is the perfect place for these videos to be accessed because this age range is exactly what the Denny's series is appealing to. By uploading the videos onto CollegeHumor.com, more people in the target market for the web series will be reached and will be able to enjoy the episodes simply by accessing the website. 

David Koechner regularly hosts the episodes, and is accompanied by a famous guest. Most of the guests who appear in the videos are comedians who regularly appear on Saturday Night Live. For example, in the first season, Koechner was accompanied by Sarah Silverman. In the video, both Silverman and Koechner make explicit, but hilarious jokes which leave the viewer laughing. Many of the videos by Denny's are made like this one, and it's very interesting to see how the comedy changes between the different guests that are featured.

These videos don't necessarily refer to Denny's, but it is made clear who is sponsoring each of the videos at the close of each of them, "the only reference to Denny's is that the host and the guest share a booth in the diner and the video ends with the company's logo and tagline 'America's diner is always open'."- pskf.com. This could be a really affective way to appeal to the viewers because Denny's, as an entity, is not flashing all over the videos. The lack of pressure from too much self-branding may make consumers more willing to visit the restaurant.

 The videos are not produced by Denny's directly, or by CollegeHumor.com. Infact, a completely different company is used for the production of the series; it's called DumbDumb. This production company has mastered the way in which the videos subtlety helps to indirectly sell Denny's. This campaign is sure to reach the market that is targeted because the advertising for Denny's itself is minimal, which may make people more receptive to the ideas conveyed in each commercial.

Overall, Denny's has found a great way to reach their intended target market. Hopefully more people in the demographic range will become aware of the videos that are provided on CollegeHumor.com, and will be more likely to go to Denny's over another diner-style restaurant. The continuation of this project is sure to help, and is ensuring a bright future for Denny's.

Global Media News Webcast #9: April 12, 2012

Listen: Global Media News for April 12, 2012

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  This webcast is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.

This week on GMN:

• Morning Show Battle: Today vs. Good Morning America
• Marketing Hunger Games
• PETA Causes Sensation with Racy Content
• Social Media Show Down: Google V. Facebook
• Trillion Dollar Apple?
• Instagram: The Billion Dollar Photo App?
• Anonymous:  Hacktivist Heroes or Just Plain Trouble?
• The Big Business of Botnets
• Stalking Apps:  Is Too Much Location Too Little Privacy?

See you next week for more breaking media news!

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April  19, 2012.

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TV is now smart!

    Thanks to companies like Apple and Kindle, it is possible to have tablets that allow us to use apps and social media websites easily on an  everyday basis.  Besides the new Netflix app that has just recently been advertised for tablets such as the Ipad and now Kindle, your everyday television never had internet access.  Until Now.

    The brand new Samsung Smart TV has just reinvented  the use of the television.  First of all, it is very rare to find a TV that has built in WIFI to get internet access never mind built in apps like Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Netflix.  This new TV allows someone to use all these.  You can update your twitter while making a video call to your family in California!  Even the new remote is revolutionary. According to some Samsung employees;

"The new Samsung Smart Touch Control makes it even easier to navigate a world of Smart Content. With a fully functional touchpad, it allows you to control multiple services and devices together. It even has a built-in microphone that you can use to give your TV voice commands."

     Its pretty clear that the ability to use Facebook and watch TV at the same time on the same screen is pretty clear but that's only half the reason that this TV is smart.  You actually have the ability to you hands as the remote and by moving your hands you control the cursor.  Because of its dual core processor all of this is possible.  Check out this video from World Star Hip Hop and see for yourself just how amazing this TV really is. 

    This Samsung Smart is making some really big news across the country and pretty soon that will be the standard for all televisions.

Global Media News Webcast #8: April 5, 2012

Listen Now! Global Media News #8

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  This webcast is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.

This week on GMN:

• Advertising for Advertising on the Web
• eCommerce and Social Media:  Using Facebook to make sales
• The Trayvon Martin Story:  A social media tempest?
• Obama Mic Slip:  The perils of the presidency
• Twitter as a Programming Tool:  Nick polls the audience . . .
• Mad Ratings for Mad Men
• News Corp and Sports:   ESPN watch out!
• Animated Angry Birds Coming to a Screen near You!

See you next week for more breaking media news!

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April  12, 2012.

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Cartoon Network using social media to find out what its fans want

Cartoon Network's night-time television block, Adult Swim has recently called out to its fans by way of its Twitter account. The tweet in question pertains to a large and growing cult following of fans voicing a desire for the cable network to bring back Toonami, a programming block which ran from 1997 to 2008 and featured mainly Japanese anime styled action shows. 

Adult Swim is encouraging its followers to tweet #BringBackToonami to show their support for the re-running (and possibly even re-packaging) of this programming block. This single tweet has already sparked large amounts of discussion on 4Chan's popular image board /b/, and has even warranted the creation of a thread on Reddit with over 600 replies so far. 

It is still unsure whether Cartoon Network's idea for this tweet was sparked by growing fan interest, or if they are trying to mirror the recent success of Nickelodeon, which recently experienced a very large increase in ratings by re-running many of its canceled shows from the 90's.

If this endeavor becomes a commercial success for Cartoon Network, we may well begin to see a trend of growing fan interaction with larger companies. The rise of social media has changed the way we interact with each other, and now it seems to be changing the way consumers interact with producers. 

Hunger for Hunger Games

    

    The hit adolesent book series "The Hunger Games" rocked the box office the weekend of March 23rd with sales that hit over 150 million dollars.  This is such a big deal because it hit number 3on the all time list for most money in the opening weekend behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and Batman the Dark Knight
    Not only did The Hunger Games hit big with just young adults as the books were went for, unlike the Twilight Saga, this movie was geared toward a bigger fan base. The Twilight Saga appealed to mostly teenage girls that have the hotts for Edward Cullen and guys do not want to see that.  But because the Hunger Games deals with a broad range of catagories more people wanted to see it.  Over 50 percent of the views were views of ages 25 and older.  Because this movie had a female hero and a whole lot of action it with killing, love, deciet and alliances, it appealed to both males and females which is the best way to top the box office as this movie already has.
    Along with topping the box office, The Hunger Games also had a HUGE raise in book sales. According to The New York Times;

"By early November, after a heavy on line marketing push, 16 million books from the trilogy were in print in the United States. The first full-length trailer made its debut on Nov. 18 (with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1”), igniting Facebookand the blogosphere. There are now 23.5 million books in print in the domestic market."

    The Hunger Games has clearly mad a huge splash in the United States as this movie made it huge in the theatres and rocked the box office.  The Advertising was great as it appealed to everybody and mad a huge entrance on Facebook and Twitter.  If you haven't seen or read the books and movie go out and do so now and get ready for the the next two movies that should be coming out in theatres in 2013.

 

The Development of Smart-phones and Advertising

Smart-phones and other handheld devices have become an appealing market for advertisers. This is no surprise as many Americans own either a smart-phone or handheld device, according to CNET.com, a recent Pew Poll estimates that around 35% of adult males own a smart-phone device and it's estimated that around 100 million americans own a smartphone device in total. This is a large number and this is key for advertisers and marketers looking to find new markets to spread their product.

Smart-phones are becoming more and more involved with people's lives but the way people use them are starting to change. More and more people, especially the younger people, are using smart-phones to search for health information. According to the New York Times, three of the top five symptoms searched on Yahoo Mobile were early pregnancy, herpes, and H.I.V. People are using their smartphone devices to search more on topics that affect them and this has caught advertisers eyes resulting in a increase of spending. 

Advertisers are seeing this as a new marketplace to expand to. Advertisers have spent $3billion online in 2011 and $818million on mobile ads alone. This figure has surpassed the amount spend on Radio and print advertising signifying the shift in technology. Lee Slovit, Heartbeats Ideas a ad agency stated in a interview with the New York Times, "The return on investment is much higher than radio or TV.” As handheld devices become more popular and radio and print are become more obsolete this gap will continue to increase. Marin Software, an ad management and services firm, discusses the marketability of mobile marketing in an interview with Forbes

The emerging world of a mobile-enabled consumer will be significantly different from a pre-smartphone world. In this new reality, the walls between online and offline commerce are crumbling. For instance, consumers can now check product reviews and compare prices, while they’re looking at a product in a physical store. One implication of this is that a mobile search could be a lot closer to the purchase point than a desktop search, and therefore be more valuable and competitive.

Marketers are seeing the growth and shift to smart-phone and mobile devices. And why wouldn't they? Smart-phones are becoming more and more Incorporated in everyday life and the devices are becoming more versatile. For example, the Iphone allows users to install apps or view the internet from anywhere with a internet signal allowing the user the ability to read news, listen to the radio, find hot deals, talk to friends, etc. Its important to note the shift from advertising in print and radio to more advanced technological devices such as smart-phones. Smart-phones have become popular due to their advanced technology while radio and print are becoming more obsolete due to their limited technology. Smart-phones have become popular for their wide range of use and advertisers are increasingly jumping on the chance.

 

Global Media News Webcast #7: March 29, 2012

Listen to the Global Media News Webcast!

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  This webcast is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.

This week on GMN:

• Homeless Social Media?
• Private Bankers & Social Marketing
• Pakistani Censorship of the Web
• Privacy Debate in the UK
• Mad Men's Audience
• KONY 2012:  Behind the video . . .
• UK's Guardian Invading America?
• Miss Universe Candidate Uses Twitter to Protest Exclusion

See you next week for more breaking media news!

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April  5, 2012.

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