Jaffe Juice

Branded Entertainment redux

Just heard the panel on Branded Entertainment, featuring Dave Burwick, Mark Kaline (Ford) and Stuart Shlossman (Madison Road Entertainment)...moderated by Jonah Bloom.

They released a study on b/e which I hope you'll be able to get from the ANA's website, but if not...just e-mail me and I'll fill you in.

Jonah was kind enough to ask my cloaked question (meaning I wrote it on a piece of paper) about whether Pepsi would be back next year on the Apprentice...

Bob Liodice Reports

Bob Liodice, ANA Chief, is busy addressing the crowd.

In his speech, he outlines 2 critical directives in the new playbook underpinning a new marketing landscape:

1) The consumer is in control

2) Marketers will be held accountable for everthing they do

He stressed that CEO's and CFO's are making the connection between terrific marketing and increasing revenues/profits/shareholder value

Exposing movie studios for the frauds they are...

In my book I talk about the fact that consumers aren't as dumb as they used to be...put differently, consumers today are smarter than they used to be.

One example is the difference (and perceived credibility) of movie critic reviews versus community (meaning you and me) reviews.

Exacurbating (sp?) this is the downright, borderline criminal misrepresentation of real reviews by studio frauds as misleading marketing propoganda

Reporting in from ANA TV Conference

I'm blogging ANA's TV conference today and looking forward to hearing from:

• David A. Burwick, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Pepsi
• Julie Roehm Director Marcom - Jeep, Dodge, &Chrysler DaimlerChrysler
• Leslie Moonves Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Viacom Inc. Chairman, President, and CEO CBS Broadcasting Inc.
• Rishad Tobaccowala President, SMG IP Starcom Mediavest Group
• Malcolm Gladwell Author, Blink and The Tipping Point

later...

Brands as Entertainers

MSN recently announced the renaming and rebranding of their custom solutions team as the branded entertainment and experiences team.

The move positions MSN on a direct and level playng field with the likes of the big Y. Moreover, it positions the portal as a major player in the sector of the industry which is arguably where the puck is right now...product placement/content integration/branded entertainment et al

Martha Focker

(ok, no more innuendo...at least for today)

Martha Stewart's now-famous poncho, adorned by the diva when she left prison, is turning heads.

Lion Brand Yarn - a yarn company - recreated the poncho pattern from various images and photographs and put it on the website. In the first 4 days after it was posted, more than 167,000 patterns were downloaded. It's called the "Coming Home" free poncho.

Sony goes Darth Vadar on us...

As reported in Adweek, Sony Electronics - a company/brand brimming with all the potential in the world, but thus far unable to let go of "old marketing" - has informed agencies that "digital technologies are in their infancy and the battle for the digital future is far from over."

I don't know that I would call it a battle (doesn't sound very consumer-friendly), nor would I refer to it as a future battle. It's a reality. It's happening today. But yes, it is just the beginning of a hyper-competitive attempt to woo the consumer and connect with their most precious commodity - their disposable time (not money)

24 reasons to connect with fans

More than 50,000 people watching episode Day 4: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM of 24 (aired January 17), dialled a phone number which appeared on a cell phone screen (it belonged to a member of the crew)

In the episode, a cellphone rings and fans with TiVo or similar DVR device were able to pause the program and see the actual incoming number.

Both crew and stars of the show including Carlos Bernard, Reiko Aylesworth and Mary Lynn Rajskub - took the calls.

How to get a job (the unconventional way)

Lee and Dan - those crazy suicide-bomber guys that gave the legal-eagles from VW enough headaches to last a lifetime are back in the news (which means that VW are get more impressions - good, bad or ugly)

They've been hired at Quiet Storm as was reported in Brand Republic.

Barry Diller doesn't f*** around a.k.a. the Butler did it

As reported in MarketWatch:

IAC/InterActiveCorp and Ask Jeeves said Monday that they've reached an agreement under which IAC/InterActive would acquire Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion in stock.

I think Barry is saying something to the effect of, "Google, Yahoo! and MSN, can you hear me now?" In actuality, this goes back to Barry Diller announcing that he was deadly serious about the space and he certainly followed through and came good on his promises...