PennTags Feed for /tag/Advertising

OnMedia Panel: Monetizing Online Video

This “article” is actually a transcript of a live event between a few individuals within the online entertainment industry. The moderator was James Montgomery, CEO of Montgomery & Co. The rest of the panel consisted of John Edwards, CEO of Move Networks,
Adam Berrey, SVP Marketing & Strategy of Brightcove, and Iaain Scholnick, CEO of ImageSpan. In the talk, Adam Berrey stated that are three major segments of content, and different ways to monetize each. I included that particular excerpt of the article here:

1. The highest interest long-form content; you ad sales force can sell sponsorships. But this is a small slice of web audience and content.

2. Next band of content, also often sold direct,

3. Remnant content, either fragmented content, or fragmented audience, or peak demand that you didn’t forecast accurately.

I like this article as it contains a plethora of information that come straight from industry professionals. The talk focuses on video but the concepts touched upon throughout the transcript apply to other types of monetization as well. I plan on using information within this article chiefly to talk about Hulu.com and YouTube.com. Additionally, I believe that this article would strengthen my argument because I will be able to directly quote industry leaders within my paper. Being able to do this is essential when talking about internet based operations as the industry is usually rife with predictions and misinformation.

Montgomery, James. "OnMedia Panel: Monetizing Online Video." Www.paulallen.net. 30 Jan. 2008. 8 Apr. 2009 <http://www.paulallen.net/onmedia-panel-monetizing-online-video/>.

SES NY: Will Monetization Models for Social Media Ever Come?

This video talks about Social Media and the struggle it has been to monetize it. According to the article, ComScore rates YouTube as the second largest search engine next to Google. However, the video states, it does not have a solid monetization model. Based on the video, apparently YouTube users don’t care what’s going on around them - they only want to watch a video. These users approach advertisements much like they do on television, by either flipping to another channel or leaving the room until the ad is finished. The article also talks about Twitter. They throw around the idea “What if Twitter would start charging for their usage?” Since Twitter recently announced that Pro accounts are coming this year, but has yet to disclose what they consist of, this seems like an ever more poignant question to answer. Lastly, the video talks about Facebook. It states that “contextual advertising on Facebook is based on the freely submitted data Facebook users provide” and that Facebook’s model is more accurate than a search engine’s technique of ad targeting.

I found source to be particularly interesting as it approaches social media much in the same way I do. I do not exclude YouTube (and also Hulu.com as well) even if it is an entertainment medium as they have social element to them as well. I also felt that this source was interesting as it discussed current trends like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (the latter being a little old in the fast paced world of the internet monetization). I believe that this source will be a foundation text within my research paper and want to delve deeper into each of the monetization models for each of these businesses. The question the article addresses is a important one for every serious company to consider.

SES NY: Will Monetization Models for Social Media Ever Come? Www.webpronews.com. 8 Apr. 2009 <http://videos.webpronews.com/2009/04/03/ses-ny-will-monetization-models-for-social-media-ever-come/>.

Web Site's Formula for Success: TV Content With Fewer Ads

The Newsweek article focuses on Hulu.com and its “formula” for success. Instead of the long commercial breaks that television audiences have become accustomed to, only one ad is shown during each segment break. According to studies done by the website, fewer ads make the ones on the site more memorable, allowing the site to charge higher prices for each ad unit. Hulu.com conducted a customer survey with 18,000 respondents and they said that the site had the right amount of ads given the free price of viewing; 17 percent said there was less advertising than they expected. The survey also found a 22 percent bump in advertiser message association and a 28 percent increase in intent to purchase among users. Additionally, the article states that users are encouraged to click buttons indicating whether they like or dislike each ad they see. As they collect more and more data, the site personalizes the ad experience for each individual user.
I felt that this article is a great source to use within my paper and for my presentation as it focuses on one of the main websites my project is on: Hulu.com. The site is a joint-venture between Fox and NBC that brings TV shows from both channels to the web to view for free with an ad supported monetization system. The site also boasts full length films from many distributors including Universal, Fox and Disney. This is a great article as it shows one ad supported system that “works” online. Although the system makes markedly less money that TV on the set, it’s better than the alternative way individuals would gain this content online: Piracy.

Stetler, Brian. "Web Site?s Formula for Success: TV Content With Fewer Ads." The New York Times. 28 Oct. 2008. 04 Apr. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29adco.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=hulu%20advertising&st=cse>.

Twitter to Offer Business Accounts, at a Price

This is a nice article by Wired magazine that talks about the future of Twitter.com and one of the monetization systems that it is going to put in place. In the article it states that the company is preparing to create commercial accounts where corporations and other types of businesses could pay a fee to receive an enhanced version of Twitter. The traditional use of the website is a free service that allows people to send short, text message length updates to their network of friends, or as they are called on the site “Followers”. The Wired article also states that Twitter recently closed a round of venture capital financing “pegged at $35 million by media reports, following two earlier funding rounds totaling $20 million.” Although Twitter initially planned to begin seeking revenue streams in 2010, the article mentions that the company recently decided to accelerate the schedule and find ways to monetize its service this year.
This article is a very good account of one of the methods that one of the emerging giants of social media is doing to monetize its service and make money for its investors. The commercial or premium account model is one that many other websites use to make money. How successful that particular method will work for a site like Twitter is yet to be seen. However, it should be noted that Twitter is extremely unique as it can do real time searches of a mass of individual’s opinions at any given time. Perhaps companies would shell out the cash to be given analytics of their own to study the chatter on twitter.
Additionally, I also heard of other pay-to-play programs popping up on Twitter from Microsoft and CBD. ExecTweets and MarchTweetness were two ventures that tested out the waters for Twitter being a paid service. It’s too soon to tell the real success of the programs, but I personally believe that may be useful.

Rueters. "Twitter to Offer Business Accounts, at a Price." Wired News. 08 Apr. 2009 <http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2009/03/reuters_us_twitter>.

Online Advertising

This article is simply a Wikipedia article that talks about Online advertising as a whole. I wanted to include it in my Annotated Bibliography as it is probably one of the best sources to learn about such a new advertising/marketing phenomenon. As we learned in class, Wikipedia is often more accurate than other encyclopedias because of it is online, editable, and under shared license. Some of the subjects the article touches on are the competitive advantage of online advertising over traditional advertising, purchasing variations, E-mail advertising and Affiliate marketing. The article also talks about two types of advertising Hulu.com and Facebook utilize: Contextual advertising and behavioral targeting.
I felt that this article was actually very informative and helped to broaden my understanding of the online advertising world. The concepts within it are directly applicable to websites that I will be using for case studies in my research paper. The monetization models of YouTube.com, Hulu.com, and Facebook.com are all talked about in depth with sources there as well for additional information if I am so inclined to do so. Basically this article will serve as the framework to help me better understand the principles of advertising online.

"Online Advertising." Wikipedia. 5 Apr. 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising>.

Hulu Attracts Crowds but Not Ads

This article is about how Hulu.com is struggling to find advertisers for its On-Demand video streaming website. The article states that the site is facing many problems, including hesitant advertisers, partners that provide entertainment content but will not negotiate prices, and parent companies concerned that the site might cannibalize their own competing media. The article states that Hulu.com is under pressure from content providers, and it has gone back on its pledge to allow anyone to syndicate its content anywhere on the Web. One analyst stated that the site is struggling to find ads for many of its videos. "What we've seen is rapid growth in consumption, but the advertising isn't keeping up," he says. "I don't think that anyone can say they are impervious to the macroeconomic environment, but we're still hugely optimistic about our ability to monetize the service." Based on numbers from Hulu.com, the site has only sold about 60% of its ad inventory. The rest of the remaining space is filled with public service announcements.
I thought this article was another good one I could sue as a counterpoint to the success that Hulu.com has found in recent months. Although the site has millions of viewers daily, advertisers are still hesitant in putting their money into the still emerging market of online advertising. It should be noted that YouTube.com also has problems making money and still does not have an efficient advertising based system to monetize itself sufficiently on. Having small commercials play online is a old-fashioned approach to persuading consumers in this new medium, and Hulu.com will live or die by this fact.

Macmillan, Douglas. "Hulu Attracts Crowds but Not Ads - BusinessWeek." BusinessWeek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 08 Apr. 2009 <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2009/tc20090330_571175.htm>.

Why Advertising is Failing on the Internet

This article was extremely interesting as it outlines the reasons why advertising is not working extremely well on the internet. The first reason the author states is that “People don’t trust ads.” The goes on to state that the internet is at it most basic level a much different vehicle for spreading information than other mediums like television or newspapers. He then goes on to say that “People don’t want ads.” As individuals watch content, the author remarks “when is the time people get up to get a snack, during their show or the commercials (paraphrased).” Lastly, he states that “People don’t need ads.” He supports his argument by stating that the way people buy online is different than offline. He states that reviews take much more priority when people decide what they are buying than advertisements online.
I love this article as it provides a skeptics opinion on the future of online advertising. It supports my probably hypothesis of my research paper: traditional advertising will never survive online. People go online only to find content, so even the ads need to be tailored to their preferences to be able to keep eyeballs. After reading an article like this, it makes me feel that monetization systems like those utilized by Joss Whedon (Dr. Horrible) and Facebook (behavioral targeting) will be the future of the medium. Individuals need to feel that they are not being forced to buy anything, and instead should come to thier own colclusions online. By allowing consumers to feel this way, companies can better thier brand image as well as thier clout in the online sphere.

Clemons, Eric. "Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet." TechCrunch. 22 Mar. 2009. 6 Apr. 2009 <www.techcrunch.com>.

Twitter's Business Model? Well, Ummmm...

This article talks about Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of twitter, and his hesitance to monetize the service. Other major Web 2.0 companies such as Facebook and YouTube who came before the relatively new company have struggled to find stable streams of revenue as they rushed into building their audience first and then find their source of income later. However, as the article states, these earlier giants have shown that converting eyeballs into money hasn't been easy. The article mentions that Facebook has yet to start generating meaningful amount of profit, and Google has said it has “yet to find the right business model for monetizing YouTube's considerable traffic.” The article infers that Twitter, despite some plans Mr. Stone has, may find itself in the same position. Stone states "How would they respond to us putting ads on the site?" "Are we going to end up pissing them off?"
A company called Federated Media thought of an idea that creates websites that pull together tweets about a certain topic or by a select group of people. The company is getting corporations to sponsor the sites and will share the ensuing advertising revenue with Twitter. The first site was ExecTweets by Microsoft, a collection of tweets from executives. The second was MarchTweetness, with tweets about the March Madness basketball tournament. I think that this is the best method for monetization for the company and will focus on this during my essay and presentation. Being able to have focused live-streaming information is a new, meaningful way to gain information and I believe people will pay a modest price to be able to do so comfortably.

Gustin, Sam. "Twitter's Business Model? Well, Ummmm..." Wired News. 4 Sept. 2008. 08 Apr. 2009 <http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/news/2008/08/portfolio_0804>.

Joss Whedon's Plan to Monetize Internet Content (Watch Out, Hollywood)

The article is an interview between Knowledge@Wharton and Joss Whedon, creator of the “Firefly” series and the web-only musical "Dr. Horrible". Dr. Horrible was released on the web in three parts last July and Whedon's plan was to remove the free online versions and sell all three episodes as video downloads through Apple's iTunes Store after a certain amount of time. A week after the series moved to iTunes, it appeared online on Hulu.com. Later, in December, a DVD version became available on Amazon.com. Dr. Horrible utilized various distribution channels and serves as, according to the article, “something of a case study for marketing independently produced content.” The mini-series cost $200,000 to make from crew and production costs alone and the actors weren’t even paid at first. However, the endeavor ended up making around more than twice the original cost. Whedon stated that he wants what he has done with "Dr. Horrible" to serve as a model for similar original content.
I am using this source as one of my main texts in my final paper and my presentation. Just as the article states, I want to use “Dr. Horrible” as a case study in the marketing and monetization of independent content online. I find it very interesting that this particular piece of content was able to double its initial investment. The story of Whedon’s online series, and the methods that he used to distribute the content are interesting in the fact that it actually worked. I will definitely use the information I obtained in this lengthy interview to further enrich my paper as it serves as a great example of independent content monetizing itself successfully. Comparing Whedon's work to other ways to monetize entertainment online will be a focus of my presentation and paper.

"Joss Whedon's Plan to Monetize Internet Content (Watch Out, Hollywood) -." Knowledge@Wharton. 08 Apr. 2009 <http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2152>.

EBSCOhost: APPLE'S IPHONE

Cuneo, Alice. "Apple's iPhone." Advertising Age. Vol. 79.11 (2008) 56.

Cuneo's article compiles many persuasive statistics about iPhone user's internet behaviors, especially in comparison to other mobile phone users. Her sources show that iPhone users browse the internet six times as often as other mobile phone users and are the most frequent users of mobile search and mobile social networking sites. The article also discusses some of the iPhone's functions that lead to a presumably better marketing experience including a better operating system, screen size and resolution. The argument is made that all of these things allow advertisers to better appeal to potential clients in the mobile platform. The article concludes that the iPhone has been a game changer in the world of mobile marketing and references companies like 20th Century Fox and Land Rover that have already found it to be worthwhile.

The internet is very clearly based around advertising. The web offers users a multitude of free content but users constantly pay for it through embedded ads, banners, pop-ups, product placement, and ads within searches. The fact that so many iPhone users visit a plethora of different web through applications demonstrates the need for advertisers to use resources like video to reach out to them. Additionally, the systems like GPS within the iPhone allow marketers to eventually target very specific areas of the population. This will most likely make it even more valuable than standard internet advertising in the future. Something the article doesn't discuss is the prevalence of iPhone apps as tools for marketing and advertising. However, when this piece was written, it was not yet apparent how useful these tools would become. Through many of the thousands of free apps present in the app store, companies are doing their best to grab hold of consumers using this brand new method of communication.

OnMedia Panel: Monetizing Online Video

This “article” is actually a transcript of a live event between a few individuals within the online entertainment industry. The moderator was James Montgomery, CEO of Montgomery & Co. The rest of the panel consisted of John Edwards, CEO of Move Networks,
Adam Berrey, SVP Marketing & Strategy of Brightcove, and Iaain Scholnick, CEO of ImageSpan. In the talk, Adam Berrey stated that are three major segments of content, and different ways to monetize each. I included that particular excerpt of the article here:

1. The highest interest long-form content; you ad sales force can sell sponsorships. But this is a small slice of web audience and content.

2. Next band of content, also often sold direct,

3. Remnant content, either fragmented content, or fragmented audience, or peak demand that you didn’t forecast accurately.

I like this article as it contains a plethora of information that come straight from industry professionals. The talk focuses on video but the concepts touched upon throughout the transcript apply to other types of monetization as well. I plan on using information within this article chiefly to talk about Hulu.com and YouTube.com. Additionally, I believe that this article would strengthen my argument because I will be able to directly quote industry leaders within my paper. Being able to do this is essential when talking about internet based operations as the industry is usually rife with predictions and misinformation.

Advertising and Privacy

In Britain there is no advertising on radio or television, there is only 1 major domain of public space left in Britain that is commercial free, BBC television. In America, everything around us is designed to persuade someone to buy something or to recall a logo, a name, a clothing line. Advertisements include clothes, boxes, cans, bottles, everything. The article goes on to explain how America has advertising is every aspect of life including the internet, where ads pop up on every website; movies, the previews are ads and the ads that pay before the previews, telling you to go buy popcorn or go shopping at this mall; buses are moving billboards; sport events, the uniforms have logos on them, the stadium has advertisements in the bathrooms, on the walls, on the big screens, on the media coverage on television.

His friend calls it “an invasion of privacy.” He argues that he has no right to control what his neighbor puts on their wall so he has no right to complain about what is on a movie screen, what’s on a website or what’s on the uniform of a sports player. However, he says advertising may appear in three kinds of spaces: private (home, body, car), public (streets, sidewalks, parks), and commercial (businesses, stores, offices, movies, arenas). People hate telemarketers because they are uninvited advertisers in private space. It is expected; however, to be advertised to in public space. He does think that public space should be off limits to advertising because public space is owned and operated by the people and should not be managed by private interests.

I am not 100% certain that public space should be off limits to advertisers. I feel like they have to make money and advertising is the best way to get your product noticed. The problem with advertising develops when the advertisers take their advertising methods one step too far and actually do ‘invade privacy.’ I do however agree that advertisements really are everywhere. You cannot walk 1 block without seeing some form of advertising.

The Challenge of Change: Perspectives on the future for Content Providers

Accenture Media and Entertainment. "The Challenge of Change: Perspectives on the future for Content Providers." Accenture Global Content Study 2008. Accenture: 2008.

This report is the result of a market research firm initiative, in which they surveyed 100 entertainment executives to determine their opinions on the future of revenue models based on digital media. The results of the survey show that the ad-based model is the most popular model for the surveyed executives, as opposed to subscription or iTunes-like services. Though the focus in the report seems to be on forms of entertainment other than music media, it provides a successful context for profit-garnering models in digital entertainment. It also reflects the point of view of those that will ultimately be responsible for shaping the way that media is transferred to the consumer (legally) online.

This report represents yet another perspective on successful provision of internet content (without greater legislation). The importance of advertising on maintaining free content on the internet cannot be understated -- many argue that advertising-based models represent the future of music revenue. Ad-based music models are already being put into place: the music-search engine developed by Google in China, for example. The Accenture report is important, therefore, because it provides data and quotes from industry experts that address the longstanding relationship between advertising and entertainment.

Why do People avoid Advertising on the Internet?

Cho,CH . "Why do People avoid Advertising on the Internet?" Journal of advertising [0091-3367] 33.4 (2004). 89-97.

In this study, the researchers theorize that internet users avoid advertisements because of “perceived goal impediment, perceived ad clutter, and prior negative experience.” They hypothesize a positive relationship between each of these variables and advertisement avoidance; for example, the greater the perceived ad clutter, the greater the advertisement avoidance on the internet. An online survey was used to collect data which suggested that people avoid messages because of perceived ad clutter; many consumers “choose not to click on ads because of an aversion to the amount of ads on the internet.” Clutter can be seen as anything which “impairs efficient interactivities, such as placement, timing, and size of ads.” The data also showed that prior negative experience as well as perceived goal impediment on the internet acted as a deterrent.
This research builds upen previous studies of behavioral and cognitive ad avoidance by adding affective ad avoidance. An example of a measurement of affective avoidance would be an survey item saying, “I hate banner ads” (Appendix); i.e. a consumer’s emotional reaction. Delving into the world of consumers’ train of thought is able to provide a richer insight to my topic. One of the interesting things in this study is that while the results all point to how and why advertisements on the internet are ineffective, Cho and Cheon be sure to discuss how advertisers can use this data to their advantage, effectively remodeling their advertisements. For example, to reduce perceived goal impediment which was found to be the most significant factor affecting avoidance, internet advertisers might “utilize text-links displayed with keyword search results.”

Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet

Clemons, Eric. "Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet." [Weblog Entry.] TechCrunch. 22 Mar 2009. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/22/why-advertising-is-failing-on-the-internet/). 8 Apr 2009.

Professor Clemons holds a strong viewpoint: “the expected drop in internet advertising revenues this year was neither unpredictable nor unpredicted, nor was it caused solely by the general recession and the decline in retail sales.” He places a lot of the blame of the advertising decline on the mere fact that consumers know how to get what they want. The three main reasons he provides for advertising’s imminent failure are: “1. Consumers do not trust advertising, 2. Consumers do not want to view advertising, 3. Consumers do not need advertising.” He proceeds to unravel these statements, arguing that “messages are observed by potential customers who are performing other activities.” Presently, there are only a “few examples of website symbiosis, where community content on one site adds considerable value for another.”
The argument made by Professor Clemons further complicates my argument. He basically says outright that advertising on the internet is destined for failure. Throughout his blog, he constantly refers to the messages as the problem and how they are “not trusted, not wanted, and not needed.” This does provide a little window of hope for my argument; if banner advertisements could be trusted, then maybe they might have an impact on internet behavior. One way of doing this might be to restrict the vast amounts that are allowed on a particular page. Yes, frequency of a particular advertisement is helpful, but if people are bombarded with various advertisements, they will tend to tune them all out, even the ones that might in fact appeal to them. In addition to decreasing the number of banner advertisements, I think it would be extremely effective to have certain banner advertisements for certain sites. Therefore, you bypass the step of intriguing the consumer, for they are already on that particular website because they have an interest in its content. Therefore, it is up to the content of the banner advertisement to further intrigue the consumer.

Managing the power of curiosity for effective Web advertising strategies

Menon,S . "Managing the power of curiosity for effective Web advertising strategies" Journal of advertising [0091-3367] (2002). 1-14.

The authors discuss effective web advertising strategies, with their research mainly focusing on the power of curiosity. Specifically, they believe that curiosity can be “harnessed to design an effective advertising strategy that results in greater information acquisition, enhanced learning, and better evaluation of the advertised product,” and the results confirmed these beliefs. The authors hypothesize that there is an inverted U-shape relationship between the time gap and elaboration and learning. While the results show a significant increase in advertising effectiveness by incorporating curiosity into advertisements, there was a disproportionate effect on the clickstream data, which, once again, questions the use of clickstreams as the primary measure of advertising effectiveness. As an alternative, measures of elaboration quality and direction through protocols accounted for better results. The four elements to a successful strategy are:(1)Develop curiosity by creating or highlighting a knowledge gap (2)Knowledge gap should be created for the feature that represents the unique positioning of the brand and be accompanied by a cue that guides curiosity resolution (3)Consumers should receive information that will help them resolve curiosity (not immediately)(4) Use measures of consumer elaboration and learning to test for advertising effectiveness.
This study is helpful because not only does it show that banner advertising can be effective but it suggests practical ways to accomplish this. The effectiveness of banner advertising has many elements, from developing a successful advertisement to accurately measuring the effects, which fits right in with my thesis. The setup of this study was able to highlight the weaknesses of click through and suggest alternatives. A limitation within this study is that only a technology product was used, making it hard to convince, say, clothing companies, that a curiosity based advertisement would be effective. However, being able to evoke an emotion out of the consumer makes the method more relevant to and adaptable across other products.

Internet advertising: Is anybody watching?

Dreze,X . "Internet advertising: Is anybody watching?" Journal of interactive marketing [1094-9968] 17.4 (2003). 8-23.

In this study, the authors use an eye tracking device to investigate people’s attention to online advertising. While click through rates have plummeted, they believe that banner advertisements are, in fact, effective because they lead to brand awareness, which is more important in the long run. The authors acknowledge that internet surfers fixate on “less than 50% of the banners to which they are exposed,” and some actually “avoid looking at them.” The focus of this study is to provide advertisers with suggestions to improve their effectiveness, such as, concentrating on the message they send. What is said (content) and how often it is said (frequency) is more important than how it is said. This study also stresses the idea that click through rates may not be an accurate representation of actual effectiveness of an advertisement since a large part of consumer processing is done at the pre-attentive level, not leading to immediate action.
When you think of an advertisement that might draw your attention, one would think of something colorful, shiny, and maybe incorporating some sort of movement. While this might be valuable for attracting initial attention, this study shows that the actual content of an advertisement / what is said is what leads to people remembering and possibly, in turn, affecting purchasing behavior. Additionally, frequency of a message is shown to affect unaided advertisement recall, brand recognition and awareness. While the statistics might show that people are avoiding or intentionally ignoring these banner advertisements, there are effective ways to reduce this occurrence. Therefore, advertisers and marketers should rethink their strategies of attracting people by focusing on a less obnoxious advertisement; maybe one that is not blinking and one that a consumer has seen over and over and gotten used to and stored some sort of image in their head about a brand.

Online Profiling: A Report to Congress

The Federal Trade Commission thinks that Congress should require the fair information practice principles despite the challenges that profiling by network advertisers presents. Some of the challenges include the existence of the non-visible, third-party relationship between network advertisers and consumers, meaning consumers do not know that their information and activity is being monitored by network advertising companies. Consumers only see the website that they are visiting, unless the website informs them of the advertising networks presence and that they are collecting data. Another challenge comes from having multiple network advertisers on one particular website.

In November 1999, the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) was formed. It is made up of the leading Internet Network Advertisers including 24/7 Media, Avenue A, Engage and MatchLogic. They created a blueprint for the self-regulation of the online profiling industry. The point of implementing fair information practices to online profiling is to attain transparency (the collection and use of both non-personally identifiable information and personally identifiable information) when the consumer is unaware that they are being profiled. A consumer cannot say whether or not they want their information given out unless they know it is being collected. It would be ideal for each website to provide a notice and the choice options to consumers when a network advertiser is placing cookies on their files or is collecting other information. This way, consumers can choose not to partake in profiling. For non-personally identifiable data, network advertisers cannot link what they have already collected to personally identifiable information without the consent of the consumer. Consumers will be given access to their personally identifiable information that is retained for profiling by a network advertiser. Network Advertisers must take notable precautions for protecting consumer information from being loss, misused, altered, and destroyed. To enforce the rules, all industry members must submit themselves for monitoring of compliance by an independent third party and are subject to sanctions for non-compliance. The Commission believes the NAI Principles tackle the privacy concerns most consumers have about online profiling. The Commission believes self-regulation to be really important and they think the NAI presents a concrete self-regulatory method.

I agree with the Federal Trade Commission and believe that fair information practice principles should be required. If consumers are unaware they are being watched, they cannot voice their opinion about how they feel about being watched. As of now, network advertisers can take personally identifiable information and combine it with the profiles that were created by cookies. This is not fair to me. I think the network advertisers have way too much non-consented, private information. By putting requirements on how much information they can take and requiring them to ask for permission before taking certain types of information, they are giving privacy back to the consumer. Even though the consumer never knew it was gone and some could argue, therefore, it didn’t matter anyway, but I believe that it is still their personal information and no one should be able to just take it without authorized consent.

Advertising and Privacy: Is There a Problem?

This project is about advertising and privacy and whether or not companies should have access to consumer personal information without consent and then personalizing advertisements back to the consumer. It will also look at actual consumer response to advertising and privacy and how actual consumers feel about receiving personalized advertisements.

Packaging girlhood : rescuing our daughters from marketers' schemes / Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown.

Lamb, Sharon. . Packaging girlhood : rescuing our daughters from marketers' schemes / Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown. 1st ed. 0312352506 series New York : St. Martin's Press, 2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HD9970.5.C483 U655 2006

Sports Losing Momentum

    Recently, while fan bases are as strong as ever, ad sales for the sporting industry have gone down as much at 15 percent. With the state of the economy, ad revenue from the financial sector and domestic auto has slowed, but sectors like these have been offset by other long-term investments for the time being.
    The NFL in particular is feeling the slump. Ads for normal Sunday games are selling for less than normal, and there are still a number of slots left open for commercials during the Super Bowl. Many previous, big Super Bowl advertisers have pulled out from putting a commercial in this year. Moreover, the argument here is that the sports industry is feeling the pressure of the hurting economy, and losing revenue because of it.
    With the economy and advertisements down, the NFL needs higher ratings during the upcoming Super Bowl more than ever to see an increase in revenue. Therefore, this bolsters my argument because the NFL needs to protect against big Super Bowl viewing parties that infringe upon copyright, and therefore affect ratings. The NFL’s greatest source of revenue comes from advertisements, and unless the NFL makes licensing agreements with large Super Bowl viewing parties, they are losing revenue when establishments hold such parties. Moreover, while churches and other establishments may argue that the NFL has enough money and should not complain about small cuts, the NFL is still a business that looks to maxmize their profits, and they should not be looked down upon for trying to do so.

Advertising Agencies (ING Wholesale Banking - Equity Markets)

59p.

Analyst report from ING Wholesale Banking (Equity Markets) on advertising agencies.

The Anti-Advertising Agency B; Why You Should Be In New York July 1st

Why You Should Be In New York July 1st

ctivists estimate that half the billboards in New York City are illegal. Between fudged permits, lack of enforcement, and millions in profit, outdoor advertising has become a corporate black market that wont flinch at breaking laws to get your attention. On July 1st, the Anti-Advertising Agency and Rami Tabello of IllegalSigns.ca will give a free workshop teaching you how to identify illegal advertising and get it taken down. You will leave this workshop equipped to have illegal signs removed in your neighborhood.

Advertising Age International

Advertising Age International
-from EBSCO MegaFILE
Holdings: 7/1/1996-7/1/2000

Suspense and Advertising Responses

Alwitt, Linda F. "Suspense and Advertising Responses." Journal of Consumer Psychology. Vol. 12, no. 1. 2002. pp. 35-49.

In her article on suspense and consumer psychology, Linda Alwitt explores what suspense is, how it is created, and its effects on audiences. She argues that the presence of suspense in an advertisement, in this case a television commercial, evokes at once both positive and negative emotional responses in the viewer, with the ultimate result being a more positive attitude towards suspenseful ads than non-suspenseful ads. She also argues that while viewers have a respond better to suspenseful ads, there are trade-offs in regards to effectiveness.

Suspense is a fundamental element of Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, as it is for most of his films, and is one of the keys to understanding the movie's success. For both filmmakers and advertisers, suspense is used to maintain the audience's interest, so for both groups the creation of suspense is similar, though filmmakers must hold the audience's attention for much longer than advertisers. As outlined by Alwitt, the critical elements that set the stage for suspense in both mediums are characters, a plot, conflict, perceived time (the passing of which must be somehow related to the conflict), multiple possible outcomes to the situation, and often the omniscient knowledge of the audience. All of these elements are present in Notorious. Since he is working within the movie format, which is much more extended than that of the commercial, Hitchcock is able to more fully utilize the camera, editing, music, and his characters to heighten the suspense.

One of the films' clearest examples of mounting tension is just before the climax in the wine cellar, as the camera cuts back and forth between large party scenes and close-ups of the dwindling numbers of champagne bottles. The result is the audience's increased emotional involvement in the film and it's main characters, Alicia and Devlin. When the conflict is resolved, viewers walk away with a more gratifying emotional experience, having experienced both excitement and fear with the films characters and having lived to tell the tale.

Mortal Kombat Viral Is Tool For Bullying, Claims Charity

Croft, Martin, and Nathalie Kilby. "Mortal Kombat Viral Is Tool For Bullying, Claims Charity." Marketing Week 16 Nov 2006: 3.

This article explains how an anti-bullying charity group is complaining about a video game campaign for Mortal Kombat. In this campaign people are directed to a website where they can upload images of their friends to be superimposed on the fighting video game characters. These superimposed Mortal Kombat characters are then sent to that person in the form of a “Death Diss” whereby the character is brutally murdered. The charity Bullying Online worries that real life bullies will upload images of their enemies to this site and it will only cause issues between the two parties in question. It states that the site has already seen examples of people using this viral marketing tool as a malicious way to insult somebody. A complaint about this advertisement campaign was made to the Advertising Standards Authority, the leading groups in controlling advertising. It is unknown if this campaign will cause the dreaded actions Bullying Online is worrying about.

This article relates to the thesis because violent media is being used in a manner that could potentially cause a movement to action by the receiving end of this viral marketing campaign. There are great worries by Bullying Online that such an advertising campaign might enrage somebody so much that they might react very violently against the opposing person. Just as The Warriors caused a few kids to act violently due to the violent media being viewed, there is a concern that this viral marketing campaign could cause the same response.

Outdoor advertising | Vive la Velorution! | Economist.com

Outdoor advertising
Vive la Vélorution!

Sep 20th 2007
From The Economist
JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor battle over urban bike-schemes

Horror film : creating and marketing fear / edited by Steffen Hantke.

Horror film : creating and marketing fear / edited by Steffen Hantke. [1578066921 (alk. paper) ] Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.H6 H674 2004

This edited collection of essays has the overarching goal of exploring the horror film genre by paying attention to the technical and industrial aspects of film that distinguish horror films from horror in other media (such as literature or comic books). The two general questions that the essays-to one degree or another-address are: what role does technology play in the production of horror films, and what role does technology play in the distribution, exhibition, and reception of horror films? ("technology" defined broadly to include production equipment, industrial mechanisms, ideological mechanisms, etc.). The first section of the book consists of essays that explore various technologies and formal innovations employed in the production of horror films. The second section of the book deals with issues surrounding horror films in the marketplace (advertising, distribution, and reception). Finally, the third section examines discursive and ideological aspects of the horror genre from censorship to fan discourse.

Philip Simpson's chapter entitled "The Horror 'Event' Movie: The Mummy, Hannibal, and Signs" explores horror films as they are positioned as Hollywood blockbusters. These marketing and promotion of these films often downplay or outright deny the film's association with the horror genre (still often seen as a marginal or low brow genre). Simpson argues that these horror 'event' movies reach a larger mainstream audience by using star actors and high profile directors, high production values, and genre mixing. Simpson distinguishes between major studio horror films and "second tier" cult audience films. While it is true that many of the films that Simpson discusses are marketed as something other than horror (either as thrillers, adventure films, or even supernatural thrillers), it is not clear where the division between A-list productions and "second tier" films lies. He cites the $100 million dollar domestic theatrical gross mark as certifying a blockbuster, but fails to cite many of the low budget, independent, or "second tier" horror films that crossed that barrier such as The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Ring (2002), and The Grudge (2004).

Marketing the Horror Film

In this project I plan to explore the advertising, promotional, and publicity strategies used by studios and distributors to market horror films. I am particularly interested in the marketing strategies employed to market horror in the digital age and will look for both continuities and discontinuities in horror advertising practices across film history. The marketing of horror is, of course, intricately related to other industrial issues such as technology and economic needs, as well as issues related to genre conventions and aesthetics.

Philip Nel - Is There a Text in This Advertising Campaign?: Literature, Marketing, and Harry Potter - The Lion and the Unicorn 29:2

In this essay Philip Nel argues that when analyzing the Harry Potter series one must separate the literary text from the “marketing juggernaut” that surrounds it. The first third of the essay, then, is an account of why one need not conflate the Harry Potter books and J.K. Rowling with the marketing campaign surrounding it, and the final two-thirds of the essay focus on the literary merits of these texts. So, in Nel’s attempt to separate the Potter books from the extraordinary marketing campaign surrounding it, he employs two basic arguments. Firstly, Nel claims that the books have generated so much marketing attention simply because of the way American copyright and trademark law works. Secondly, Nel asserts that Rowling is not really a part of the capitalist marketing regime surrounding her books because she donates a lot of money to charity. (Seriously, that is his argument.) Then the essay shifts to the literary merits of the Potter books, which are, bafflingly, almost as naïve and uninteresting as the arguments already mentioned. He begins this roughly twenty-page defense of the literary merits of Rowling’s books with a paragraph briefly describing the criticism that has been raised against the aesthetic merits of the works (this is by far the most interesting paragraph in the entire essay). Nel then says that these critics have simply not read “slowly” enough, and proceeds to tell us what we will find were we to read more slowly. I will not go through all the reasons he cites for why the Potter books have literary merit, but I will mention a few. One is that Rowling claims to have read Jane Austen’s Emma “at least 20 times,” and as a result shares Austin’s satiric charm and “narrative misdirection.” Also, Nel claims that Rowling’s series are “anti-rascist novels,” and he defends this claim by comparing them to boarding school novels written in that late eighteenth-century through the mid nineteenth-century. He points out that these novels were blatantly racist, whereas the Potter books once criticized the notion of “pure-bloods,” thus making them anti-racist novels. (Again, these are really the arguments Nel employs.) Another reason the Rowling books possess literary merit is the names that are used. As Nel points out, Rowling “uses names to connote character traits, as do Austen, Dickens, and Tolkein.” She then points to a few significant names as evidence of this, and concludes that this is further proof of the literary merit of these works. Nel provides a few more arguments in defense of the literary merit of the Potter series that I will not go into here (one is based on the fact that Rowling uses a lot of prime numbers, which are “mystical”), but I think the overall thrust of the essay has been captured. In order to do justice to the Potter books it is imperative that we separate them completely from the marketing surrounding them.

Laurie Cubbison - Anime Fans, DVDs, and the Authentic Text - The Velvet Light Trap 56:1

This essay hinges upon Roland Barthes’s distinction between work and text, proposed in his essay “From Work to Text,” in which he distinguishes a work as a “fragment of substance” (i.e. a tangible item, like a book, DVD, etc.) from a text which is “experienced only in an act of production” (i.e. the content of a book, DVD, etc.). This is an oversimplified description of exactly what Barthes means by these two terms, but it does represent the ways in which Cubbison employs these two terms. These terms are important for Cubbison because she wants to understand how a work (in the case of this essay a DVD or VHS) can alter the text (the program contained on the work). Further, she wants to examine how fans, particularly anime fans, are able to influence the work, and thus in turn influence the text. Finally, she wants to relate all of this to a notion of an “authentic text,” a notion that she feels is bound up with fans, the form of a work, and ultimately the text. This essay, then, looks closely at how hard-core anime fans, known as otaku, are able to dictate the form that a work takes through debates on “authentic” modes of viewing anime, and how this fan intervention ultimately effects the text. All of this technical cant may seem a bit austere initially, but this is really a very simple, coherent essay. Put most simply, Cubbison thinks that anime fans exert influence on how their anime commodities are produced, and this in turn influences the content of these commodities.
This is a somewhat informative essay, particularly if one is interested in the production and distribution of anime films, but the argument it makes is an exceptionally simple one (although it dons the clothes of profundity). Cubbison’s essay basically wants to say that form effects content, and that now consumers are allowed to dictate (to a certain, very limited extent) form. She also adds that the form consumers desire is based on an idea of authenticity, but this aspect of the essay is only explored through the relation of a few contrasting anecdotes and resulting in the conclusion: nobody is really certain what an authentic text is but there are lots of opinions about what it may be. To get back to form, content, and consumers, though, one must admit that her argument is not a very novel or complex one. Form and content have always been interrelated, and have always been seen to mutually affect one another. Cubbison’s argument that anime fans have some control over the form (or work) of the anime VHS or DVDs they buy is interesting, but as she herself admits, the debate over what form the work takes is moot at this point since DVDs are now able to provide dubbed and subtitled, original and edited versions of any given work (whereas before VHS had to make formal judgments that often upset fans). DVDs have rendered the debate amongst fans about the most authentic form an anime work can take irrelevant because they can now offer every potential “authentic text.” Anyway, this essay is an interesting look at the way that anime fans have been involved with the distribution of anime films historically, and how these debates have been waged over “authentic” anime texts, but as you will find if you read this essay the tensions and squabbles surrounding the distribution of anime films has been squelched by the capacity of DVDs to provide all possible “authentic texts.” So, for a historical glimpse of the debates about form amongst anime fans definitely read this article, but beyond this the essay is little more than a rehashing of a now dead debate.

Variety.com - MPAA tries to remove NC-17 stigma

Variety.com - MPAA tries to remove NC-17 stigma: Glickman takes a hard look at ratings

Sat., Mar. 10, 2007

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

This Variety article discusses MPAA chairman-CEO Dan Glickman ongoing attempts to fine-tune the movie-ratings system. The issue is that many theaters and video stores will not carry NC-17 rated films (or the original rating "X" which fell into disuse after pornography began using "XXX"), but at the same time parents and other groups believe that the R category has become too vague with many films (especially horror) falling into what is unofficially called a "hard-R" category. The article states that studios are weary of altering the ratings as they "consider the R rating restrictive enough, with its marketing limitations (e.g., no TV ads before 9 p.m.) and a proviso that kids aren't allowed in without an adult." Studios--and presumably theaters--make the majority of their profit (over 50%) from PG-13 rated films. This is why many horror, sci-fi, and action films strive for the PG-13 rating in order to maximize theater audience and profits. The criteria of the rating system have major implications on the types of films that get made, their content, their distribution and their reception. This is particularly true of genres which tend to contain graphic depictions of sex and/or violence.

It has always been in Hollywood's best interest to self-regulate. As the article points out "the ultimate fear is that watchdog groups and Washington lawmakers could try to exert political pressure on the industry -- precisely the reason Valenti started the system in the 1960s."

Variety.com - Fox Atomic brings new twists

Variety.com - Fox Atomic brings new twists: Genre Label Adds to Conventional Tactics.

Tue., Feb. 20, 2007

by Steven Zeitchick

The article discusses the creation of Fox Atomic--a division of Fox Film Entertainment dedicated to genre films and youth markets. However, Fox Atomic doesn't want to just create and market movies, rather "it wants to create entire worlds around those movies." The Fox Atomic website enlists current trends in digital culture to reach out to young, tech savy audiences. The studio has a presence in Second Life called "Fox Atomic Island, a virtual movie studio where citizens can pick up and play with avatars from all its leading pics." It also holds mashup and machinima contests, includes movie related video games on its website, as well as user forums and information on forthcoming releases. In addition, Fox Atomic has created a comics division that will release comics based on movie properties that are not adaptations of the films, but rather engage in "cross-media" storytelling. Current and upcoming film releases include The Hills Have Eyes 2, 28 Weeks Later, and Touristas.

Although other film studios and distributors have a web presence and engage with digital culture, few have ventured quite as far as Fox Atomic. The article remains skeptical as to the success of this strategy as it is still unproven in its ability to generate ticket sales, but this sort of "web 2.0" interactivity and media convergence may be something that film studios can ill afford to ignore.

Ghouls, gimmicks, and gold : horror films and the American movie business, 1953-1968 / Kevin Heffernan.

Heffernan, Kevin. . Ghouls, gimmicks, and gold : horror films and the American movie business, 1953-1968 / Kevin Heffernan. [0822332027 (alk. paper) ] Durham : Duke University Press, 2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.H6 H45 2004

Heffernan’s book seeks to investigate the economic and industrial aspects of the horror film genre that many scholarly accounts (which typically focus on cultural and/or aesthetic issues) fail to adequately consider. The book focuses on the postwar period (1953-1968); a period comprised of drastic changes in the film industry (i.e., Paramount decree, TV, technological innovation), and charts some of the functions or positions that horror genre pictures filled during this time period. He argues that this period—which is book-ended by 3D technology and the adoption of the MPAA rating system—saw a major cultural and economic shift in the production and reception of horror movies. This was partially due to the Supreme Court’s Paramount decision in 1948 which required the break-up of Hollywood’s vertically integrated system of production, distribution, and exhibition. As Hollywood studios began producing fewer films, independent distributors and exhibitors needed more product to fill out their schedules including B-pictures for the bottom half of popular double-feature bills. Heffernan argues that “low” genres like horror and sci-fi played an important part in the testing and development of new technologies and methods of production, distribution, and advertising to accommodate various changes including suburbanization, the growth of television, new youth markets, and the new economic and business structures of the film industry. Although written as a “corrective” to scholarship which focuses solely on culture and aesthetics, Heffernan avoids “economic determinism” by deftly intertwining the exploration of various aesthetic and formal changes of the horror genre during this period including greater psychological realism and, of course, graphic gore.

Using Philadelphia as his test market, Heffernan chronologically traces the distribution and exhibition patterns of various horror films across both theatrical and television venues. He begins with the early 1950s cycle of 3D horror films arguing that the narrative and stylistic norms of the horror genre could best negotiate the conflicting demands of “attraction” (the gimmick shots) and narrative integration of the classical Hollywood model, and also detailing the challenges faced by small theater owners to equip theaters to show 3D. Heffernan continues through the 50s and 60s exploring the impact of Hammer’s color saturated and bloody Gothic updates of the classic Universal monsters, how shortages in production from majors caused independent distributors and exhibitors to get into the production business, how the rise in art theaters utilized both exploitation/genre films and art cinema (i.e., “paracinema”), and the rise of “adult” horror in the late 60s. Overall, Heffernan’s book is well-researched, clearly written, and provides a wealth of knowledge for film scholars interested in the economic side of the industry—especially those interested in genre film. The only quibble is with the brief conclusion “The Horror Film in the New Hollywood.” It feels not only tacked on, but somewhat dismissive of the horror film post-1968. He also makes some broad—and I believe incorrect—claims such as that in the 1980s horror film spectacle overwhelms narrative. This comment flies in the face of the convincing arguments he lays out in discussing the intricate relation between technology and genre film of the 50s and 60s (such as horror’s ability to navigate 3D and narrative).

Bowl Advertisers Drop the Ball Online

    This article discusses how Super Bowl advertisers did a poor job managing the post-game viewing of their ads. Apparently people are using an “array of video sites and blogs” to view the Super Bowl ads after the fact, and relatively few are actually viewing them on the sites provided by the advertisers themselves. This is due to entertainment sites and bloggers using these ads to “capitalize on ad revenue generated from the traffic,” and essentially being more successful at making the ads accessible. A major flaw of the Super Bowl advertisers, as the article points out, is that they did not provide search advertising for terms like “Super Bowl ads.” The article mentions that this is not necessarily a bad thing, since the advertisers are still reaching millions of people, but that in the future they need to work with aggregator sites in order to “build relationships and promote their content” in more effective ways. Finally, the article mentions that one advantage the aggregator sites had was that they allowed for feedback, a feature that the article suggests that marketers employ on their own sites in the future.
    This piece seemed to lament the fact that the Super Bowl advertisers were not able to monopolize traffic to the ads post-game. It sympathizes with the disappointment these giant companies must be feeling over only getting several hundred thousand hits (instead, presumably, of the several million which they no doubt deserved). Then the article goes on to give the companies tips for how to increase traffic next year, and strategies they should employ if they want fully capitalize on the online branding opportunity. This article testifies to the corporate interests of many media outlets, and can only be of interest if read for what the article is doing, not saying.
    For my project, though, this piece is very relevant. It shows the way that commercial interests are sometimes subverted, and how in order to “set things right” (i.e. stop subversion of corporate interests) plans are being made to integrate the very thing that was the cause of subversion. Thus we see how the article calls for the companies to “work with” (i.e. subsume) those aggregator sites that so wickedly usurped their web traffic. This, then, is another example of how commercial interests appropriate more independent forms of media distribution.

Wired News: YouTubers to Google: Now What?

    This article came out in Wired magazine (perhaps simply in the online version, I am not entirely certain) shortly after Google bought YouTube. Naturally this was big news for a magazine such as Wired, as well as for millions of users of the YouTube site. The article discusses a small array of differing perspectives on Google’s acquisition, from mildly skeptical YouTube devotees to supremely confident YouTube and Google marketers. Some think that the shift in ownership may strip YouTube users of the “freedom” they once enjoyed on the site, while others feel that Google is a “cool” company that will undoubtedly support the “freedom” some are already lamenting. The article also discusses the fact that YouTube has already made deals with companies such as CBS, Universal Music, BMG Music, NBC, and Warner Music, which allows these companies to actively distribute marketing videos on YouTube. The article perceives this as a positive thing, because it “lets amateurs stand on equal footing with the professionals.” Finally, the article concludes with the concern that Google will allow advertising to take over the YouTube site. It mentions the fact that the YouTube homepage is already selling “top front page real estate” to advertisers, and the question then becomes: how much advertising will “YouTubers” tolerate? This question is not answered in the article.
   This article is an interesting, albeit dated, piece. It brings up some relevant concerns about what happens when community based sites like YouTube are bought up by giant corporations, and does a mediocre job of reporting the ambivalence surrounding this issue. On the other hand, this article lacks a good deal of information that seems critical for understanding exactly what it means that Google has purchased YouTube. For example, it mentions that YouTube is already selling homepage space to advertisers, and this will only increase under Google’s control, but it does not explain what space it is talking about. Are these advertising videos parading as user generated content, or simply banner ads asking you to join Match.com or other such ubiquitous internet advertisements? This would be good information to know since advertising is such a protean, mutable form. Also, the article mentions that YouTube has already made deals with several other large companies (e.g. CBS, NBC, etc.), but does not explain what these deals entail. Do these companies post fake user generated videos that are truly advertisements, or do they simply get to advertise on YouTube in some other manner? So, while this article does touch upon some interesting issues surrounding both the dot.com universe and marketing, it also fails to provide sufficient information to make it a truly useful document.
   This article relates to my own project in its focus on corporate conglomeration and marketing. Similar to how Google subsumes a digital community like YouTube, companies like Dorito’s are appropriating the work of independent, non-professional individuals. While this article expresses some fear about the implications of a company like Google buying YouTube, my project will express a good deal more skepticism about what happens when companies like Dorito’s start soliciting user generated content.

A CBS Take on the YouTube Madness - New York Times

This article is about how CBS is now attempting to incorporate user generated content as a means to attract fans to its website. For the upcoming NCAA Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness, CBS is inviting fans to produce videos that support their favorite team and/or denigrate other “rival” teams. The article then goes on to list other companies that are incorporating this type of user generated content, citing the Dorito’s Super-Bowl commercials that were created by consumers and the Unilever ad that ran during the Academy Awards and was also created by consumers. Also, the article mentions Anheuser-Busch and their efforts to create a promotional program that will allow consumers to create their own commercials which can then be posted on their website. Finally, the article concludes with a description of CBS-created “sample commercials” that are supposed to serve as a model to March Madness fans who want to create their own videos. CBS is hoping to attract and instruct consumers through these sample ads, and the article concludes by mentioning how this will attract more online advertisers for this year’s basketball tournament.
While this appears to be a fairly innocuous article about the future of user generated content and the marketing that companies are putting into attracting consumers to create their own video content, there are many insidious implications in this piece. For one, the article mentions how YouTube will soon be providing “branded channels,” which are essentially user generated video channels that are intended to attract consumers by allowing them to create advertisements for a certain company. Companies see this interactive opportunity as a great way to raise “brand loyalty.” Also, the article mentions the six “sample commercials” that CBS created, which are intended to “be as close to authentic” as possible. Authenticity, then, simply becomes something that can be created and produced by companies like CBS. Finally, the article mentions how CBS will be screening every video submitted “for language and appropriateness of content.” The article assures the reader, though, that CBS will “preserve their [the videos] reality and spontaneity.” There are many troubling things about this form of tacit (sort of) censorship, one being that CBS is now the arbiter of what is and is not “appropriate.” Also, the notion that “reality and spontaneity” need to be screened for is blatantly contradictory, but ultimately very telling about this so-called democratizing force known as user generated content. Read this article with skepticism and ire (i.e. critically), though, and it can be very illuminating. For this reason I think it can be useful for my project that deals with exactly what this article addresses (although approaches it from a much different perspective).

User Generated Content and Marketing

MIT Advertising Lab: future of advertising and advertising technology

Like reading ad age again...fun.

MIT Advertising Lab Blog

"Well Meant Warning Was Fine Advertising" Philadelphia Inquirer. Dec. 6, 1931.

An article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer that explores whether producer Carl Laemmle’s “no children, unless accompanied adult warning” issued for Frankenstein was an elaborate publicity stunt or a genuine advisory note. By Conor Fitzpatrick

Leading National Advertisers

Leading National Advertisers Report, published by Advertising Age.

Where can I find a list of advertising agencies

Look at the Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies (the Red Book), a print source at the Lippincott Reference Desk. Also try an industry search (NAICS 541810) in the D&B Million Dollar Directory.

Where can I find a list of advertising agencies

Look at the Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies (the Red Book), a print source at the Lippincott Reference Desk. Also try an industry search (NAICS 541810) in the D&B Million Dollar Directory.

Audience economics : media institutions and the audience marketplace / Philip M. Napoli.

Napoli, Philip M. . Audience economics : media institutions and the audience marketplace / Philip M. Napoli. [0231126522 (cl. : alk. paper) ] New York : Columbia University Press, c2003.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HF6146.T42 N364 2003

Audience Economics by Philip M. Napoli is a look at how a media company determines its audience and thus its content. The book opens with an explanation of the audience market place and how it is comprised and studied. Napoli describes the four components of the audience market place as the media content providers, the audience measurement organizations, the advertisers and the consumers. Content providers include TV, radio, Internet, newspapers and magazines among other things and the growing amount of content providers, Napoli says, complicates determining an audience. Napoli then discusses the reciprocal influences between the consumers and the advertisers in relation to the audience marketplace. Napoli also explains the concepts of the predicted, measured and actual audiences. In the second chapter takes a closer look at the predicted audience. The first section of the chapter deals with buying the predicted audience. He stresses the importance of forecasting media audiences and the necessity of accurate forecasts. The rest of the chapter deals with handling the uncertainties within the measurements of audiences and predicting an audience in different situations. The third chapter deals with the measured and actual audiences. In this chapter Napoli looks at the inefficiency of audience measurement as well as how these measurements affect media institutions. He writes about sample size and how it is used to determine the actions of a larger audience. The two issues brought up are sample size and sample representativeness. In chapter four, the way advertisers place value on the media audience is discussed. The way market, media and demographic factors affect the value of the audience is the first section of the chapter. The rest of the chapter is a case study on radio and a minority audience. Chapter five outlines the effect of new technology on the audience product and marketplace. The first part of the chapter takes a look at audience fragmentation and autonomy and the pros and cons of these issues within the audience marketplace. The second part of the chapter is about the challenges of new media to measuring an audience and how these issues are dealt with. The final chapter of the book deals with the future of the audience marketplace. It is a brief look at how content evolves with the marketplace.
The book was complex if you do not know a lot about advertising. At times it was hard to follow and a bit dense, but overall, it provided an interesting look at how the market is determined in entertainment media as well as how new media and technology effect the audience market.

Seeing through movies / Mark Crispin Miller, editor.

Analysis of many aspects that influence the film industry and how it influences others, such as theaters, current events, blockbusters, color, and advertising.

Media Economics, Theory and Practice

This is a very good introduction to both economics and each of the major media industries, namely the Daily Newspaper Industry, Book and Magazine (Print) Industry, the Broadcast Networks, the Cable Industry, Hollywood, Radio, the Recording Industry, the Advertising industry and burgeoning Online Media.

This volume defines all important introductory economic concepts and terms. It explains why most mergers are unsuccessful (pages 14, 22, 38, 82 and 234), why joint ventures are so common and profitable (page 40), and all of the individual revenue streams of each of the different mediums listed above. This volume is accessible and very interesting. Moreover, when read in conjunction with Baker’s two books, it helps illuminate some of his points, specifically how conglomerates can be in the best interest for consumers in some ways while simultaneously detrimental to them as well. Namely this book gives a fair description of the state of the industry and allows one to draw his/her own conclusions. It portrays the situation without making overtly normative judgments.

Advertising and a Democratic Press

Baker takes certain ideas touched upon in Bagdikian’s book, The (New) Media Monopoly and analyses them in much greater depth (Bagdikian has published many versions of his book, the first of which appeared when there were 50 major players in the media business… there are now only 5). He uses economic analysis to determine the efficiency of the current system (or lack thereof), and makes various policy arguments for remedying the current problem within our press. The structure is as follows: he illustrates the problem, proves it economically, introduces a policy proposal, compares it to programs implemented around the world, and then discusses the constitutionality of going forward with his recommendations.

Implicit throughout his book is that the media serves a distinct role in society and that given the current influence that advertisers can exercise, they prevent the media from fulfilling the needs of a democratic society. This idea is developed in greater depth in his book Media Markets and Democracy where he analyses a democratic society’s requirements of its press according to 4 different theories of democracy. He values diversity and that the media should work harder to meet the desires of its readers through content rather than from its advertisers by delivering the right readers.

Another key point of Baker’s argument is that advertising disproportionately hurts the poor. He points to the example of an English newspaper that had larger circulation than the other major newspapers combined, but not withstanding this fact, because the newspaper was read by people without a substantial disposable income, there were few (if any) advertisers who would subsidize the paper. Thus, the paper had to be profitable with only subscription revenues, and it eventually failed. Baker gives the case study and then explains why this is so on theoretical grounds and that this phenomenon most likely occurs rather often—advertisers seek a wealthy audience, and thus media products are disproportionately catered to their tastes, in terms of political leanings, interest pieces, and other editorial content.

Lastly, another interesting argument is that “objective” news in the sense that we currently read it has some insidious consequences, insofar as it removes (or tends to) partisanship and controversy from public discussion and mass media. Though this may not seem accurate with regards to magazines, when reading mainstream newspapers and news outlets (notwithstanding Fox News), this certainly seems like a rather valid argument.

Like the Show? Buy the Book. And the Earrings. And the ... - New York Times

Arms, Charms and Sexy Peril: Spy Novels and Pin-Up Book Covers

Danielle St-Laurent explores the evolution of spy novel covers, grounding the essay in an anecdote explaining the intrigue of first seeing an attractive man pick up a thriller with a pin-up girl on the cover. St-Laurent examinesthe critical shift in the roles of women on the covers of spy novels over the course of the 20th century.

She references Klimt and Muncha as marking "the beginnings of the use of women in advertising and, by extension, on the covers of spy novels" (277). Many early spy novels covers featured men as the primary subject, with women in various states of undress relegated to the background. Even as women came to the fore of the covers in the 1930s and 1940s, a clear subjugation of the female gender remained; hieratic ideals (with their roots in Egyptian iconography) such as larger and darker-skinned male figures continued to be employed.

Over time, the covers evolved further, with women depicted in minimal clothing, and, often, fully nude [N.B., St-Laurent examines covers in French Canada, where there is less prudity regarding nudity]. A number of other conventions come into play as well: almost all the women are young (under 30), white, depicted frontally to emphasize primary sex characteristics. Furthermore, the women, almost without exception, are depicted with a gun, and gaze beyond the scope of the cover, thus enlarging the pictorial space to envelop the viewer.

St-Laurent makes a compelling argument that "The cover pinup image here is actually a part of the way one reads the novel" (278). For example, a darker-skinned cover girl indicates an exotic locale. The adherence to visual conventions makes the departures all the more striking, thus serving as an effective marketing tool. The cover and the text are inextricably linked.