Former Lands' End Execs Launch Fair Indigo

A new, multichannel apparel company is being launched with the help of four former Lands' End executives.

The company, Fair Indigo, is touting itself as "style with a conscience," and is selling midpriced men's and women's

clothing, along with coffee, tea, and gifts, writes Multichannel Merchant. All items are made by fair trade companies.

Fair Indigo mailed its first catalog in mid-Sept. to 250,000 homes, at the same time the website went live. The second

drop will arrive in homes in Nov., and on Nov. 1 the company will open its first store, in Madison, Wisc.

Related topics: Direct, Integrated/Cross-Media/Convergence, List Marketing...   

ABC Promotes Six Degrees on NYC Streets

Runway models gave out hand-written notes to passers by in New York City this week that said "Remember me? Get in

touch" with an e-mail address. If they responded, they were directed to a promotional site for ABC's Six Degrees, Promo

Magazine reports.

Some consumers were not amused. Gawker.com suggested that such phony friends be "beaten until they confess" to

their ulterior motives.

The campaign included print, online and transit ads.

Civic Entertainment Group, New York, handled street teams. BLT & Associates, Los Angeles, handled advertising

creative, and Weiden & Kennedy, New York, handled media.

Related topics: Entertainment, Outdoor, TV Network, Television, Viral Marketing...   

Higher Your ROI! Lower Your CPC!

Searchfeed.com, a leader in Pay Per Click search advertising, provides a cost-effective and easily tracked method of

generating sales leads.  Advertise on a network that includes thousands of industry-specific websites and portals,

spanning over billions of queries each month.

Lead-In Audience Stays Tuned-In During Commercial Breaks

A new study from Arbitron's Portable People Meter and Media Monitors might dispel the belief among advertisers,

agencies and radio executives that radio loses a considerable portion of its audience during commercial breaks. The

lowest rated minute during an average commercial break is 92 percent of the size of the audience before the spots began,

according to the new data....

Mel Brooks' 'Spaceballs' Coming to TV as Animated Series

Mel Brooks has written a pilot for a television series based on...

Blog Networks Expand Rosters, Ad Offerings

Some major blog ad networks are expanding rapidly, and therefore confronting inevitable growing pains.

Federated Media recently added a new automotive category and some 20 assorted blogs, including Guy Kawasaki's,

boosting the blog network's monthly impressions to "hundreds of millions," Federated's chairman, John Battelle, told

ClickZ (via MarketingVox). However, the recent batch of acquisitions could be the last for a while as Federated seeks to

build the infrastructure needed to support further growth.

Competitor AdBrite is also growing quickly, having recently added the 20,000th site to its network; the company plans to

shortly introduce new demographic planning and campaign management tools. Though the network's roots are in blogs, it

has expanded to other publisher sites, and blogs are now only a small part of the network.

Meanwhile, Henry Copeland's BlogAds network is moving to a more robust platform to accommodate even more sites.

Copeland wants to expand the stable of blogs available to advertisers, and also increase the number of "mini-networks,"

blogs segmented by topic, such as football or politics. He also wants to arrange ad buys on political blogs by state, in time

for the 2008 election.

Research: Blogs a Powerful B2B Presence

An Emerging Media Series study conducted by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann focuses on the role of blogs and

RSS on technology purchasing decisions, gathering data from 4,500 business and IT professionals.

According to the study, Blogs have made inroads into B2B technology companies with more than 53 percent of

respondents saying the content they read in blogs has an impact on their work-related purchasing decisions. Some 80

percent of respondents say they read blogs, with 51 saying they read them at least once a week.

More than half of respondents say they are getting both business and technology information from blogs: 53 percent read

blogs weekly for business information, and 57 percent for technology topics. And a full 70 percent recommend or pass

along content from blogs at least once a month.

Also, 59 percent of business and IT professionals said they are "somewhat" to "very" familiar with RSS, with 31 percent

saying they subscribe to RSS feeds or readers.

The blog/RSS study is the second in a series of joint research studies focused on the effects of new media within the B2B

marketplace. The first study focused on podcasts; the final study will focus on wikis, webcasts and mobile technology.

Related topics: Blogs, Business-to-Business, Interactive, PR, Planning, Search Engine Optimization...   

Dish Network, Reebok Launch Interactive, Direct-Response Ads

EchoStar Communications Dish Network and Reebok have launched an interactive ad during ESPN's Monday Night

Football. Later this season, the ad will allow viewers to purchase football jerseys by entering credit card information via

their remote control devices.

The ad campaign, titled When Did I Know, began on Monday, when Dish began inserting commercials with an interactive

element which allowed consumers to click through to the interactive ad, writes Multichannel News. Via an interactive

screen, viewers can watch long-form interviews with the Reebok National Football League star of the week and can play

trivia games. Later in the campaign, viewers will be able to order replica jerseys.

The ad was designed and enabled by BrightLine Partners, The Media Group and Ensequence.

 TV Viewers Purchase HSN Products via Remote Control

 Interactive TV Reaches Tipping Point

 Time Warner Interactive TV Soon to Hit NYC

 Interactive TV Polls NYC Viewers

Toys 'R' Us Launches 'Deal or No Deal' Campaign

Toys "R" Us is launching a new campaign based on NBC's Deal or No Deal game
show.

Starting Sunday, October 1 and continuing for four consecutive weeks, more than
140 million Toys "R" Us newspaper circulars will include a game piece featuring
two briefcases: one for "Deal" and one for "No Deal." Each week, customers can
bring their circular to any Toys "R" Us location to select either the "Deal" - an
automatic 10 percent off any one item - or take their chances and choose "No
Deal" and try their luck to win $1 million or hundreds of thousands of other prizes.
If the briefcase comes up empty, customers will still receive an in-store discount.

Deal or No Deal's host, Howie Mandel, will make an appearance at Toys "R" Us
Times Square on September 28to kick off the national promotion. The new season
of Deal or No Deal debuted this week.

Toys "R" Us will publicize the marketing initiative with 30-second television spots
and a teaser campaign airing on NBC and cable stations across the country, as
well as 30-second national radio spots and one month of exposure in the
company's weekly newspaper inserts. The program will also be promoted on
Toysrus.com.

Related topics: Demographics, Entertainment, Integrated/Cross-Media/Convergence, Newspapers, Outdoor,

Print, Promotions, Radio, TV Network, Television...   

'Philadelphia Tribune' Launches Extensive Ad Campaign
The Philadelphia Tribune launched a print, broadcast and outdoor ad campaign featuring the tagline "The

Philadelphia Tribune ... only when you want the truth about issues in the African-American Community."

The Tribune is the nation's oldest black-owned and -oriented newspaper, and the campaign is the most extensive

in its 122-year history, according to Editor & Publisher.

The campaign will focus on the paper's "122-year legacy of black journalistic leadership, its extensive African

American readership, its unique black-focused political perspective, its positive coverage of black business

issues and its unique website content," according to a statement.

The Tribune publishes every day except Monday and Saturday. It also publishes the Tribune Magazine on the first

Sunday of every month.

Related topics: African American, Campaigns of Note, Newspapers, Outdoor, Planning, Print, Radio, Television...
U.K. Ad Display Monitors Frequency by Bluetooth

A new advertising display in the school of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton University in the U.K.

monitors Bluetooth wireless transmitters in the vicinity and displays ads most relevant to those consumers.

The display detects the presence of Bluetooth cell phones and PDAs; software agents then bid against each other to

determine which ads will be shown, writes New Scientist Tech. The screen, 58 centimeters wide, displays a mix of ads

about upcoming seminars, items of interest from the University's website and video streams of lectures within the

department. As the individual device is recognized, the screen builds a record of the ads people have seen previously, so

that the messages are not repeated too often.

When multiple people are in front of the screen, the system "chooses" the material seen by as few of the current audience

as possible. Software agents, each with fixed advertising budgets, bid against each other depending on the number of

new exposures the ad is likely to get, while the agent with the highest bid wins.

While the system is currently limited by the fact that the Bluetooth device has a range of only about 10 meters, and that

the devices must have their Bluetooth functionality switched on, there are future possibilities. Users could, for example,

add profile information that would allow the display to offer more personalized ads.

Advertisers are perhaps just beginning to tap into the possibilities available with Bluetooth wireless technology. As they

do, privacy concerns may begin to be a bigger problem, in part because consumers do not necessarily know what their

Bluetooth devices are capable of.

Bluetooth technology has three states: off, open to communicate with devices they've been paired with, and "fully

discoverable." Marketers have been taking the third option to mean consumers are open to marketing, but users may not

know these options are available or what they mean.

VOD Ads Hit 'Watershed Moment' with Real-Time Insertion

The video-on-demand advertising space faces a significant hurdle in the fact that ad insertion platforms have been unable

to swap ads in and out of the content in anything close to real time. In fact, until now, most ads have been "baked in" to

the content, which made it impossible for the ads to change until the content itself changed.

Now, however, Sunflower Broadband - which services 30,000 homes in and around Lawrence, Kansas - is inserting

ads for the movie Jackass: Number Two from Paramount Pictures into Comedy Central VOD programming on the fly. It is

also able to swap the ads in and out within hours, according to Mediaweek.

The system will view data and analyze the effectiveness of each ad. MTVN will be able to gauge viewership and adjust

the ad message as the film is released and in the days after it hits theaters, writes Multichannel News.

The campaign is being handled by Mediaedge:cia.

"This is a real watershed moment for VOD advertising and what MTV Networks can offer its clients," says Carolyn

Everson, senior vp, ad sales strategy and biz dev, MTV Networks. "Sunflower's test allows for almost real-time ad

insertion, and allows us to give our clients something they've wanted since the beginning - timely, highly targeted VOD

advertising opportunities."

Comcast was the first operator to offer an active VOD ad-insertion program, and is working on trials that will allow it to

move content in and out in a matter of days.

Last year, VOD advertising accounted for only $50 million of

advertising's total media spend.
NYT Launches Mobile Site, Microsoft Sponsors
Click to enlarge
The New York Times has launched an ad-supported mobile
site, with Microsoft as the first sponsor.
The mobile.nytimes.com mobile site makes available
NYTimes.com top-level sections, articles and photos, as well
as the seven-day news archive, without requiring that users
register, reports paidContent (via MarketingVox). The site is
sponsored by Microsoft, which is running a banner ad for
Windows Mobile. NYTimes.com worked with Starcut USA to
develop the mobile site, the company said.
Microsoft Windows Mobile is the debut advertiser. All pages
on the mobile site (except the login page) will have a banner
ad at the top and sponsorship of article tools. New tools are
planned, including allowing access to weather, stock prices,
sports scores and movie show times; each tool will provide a
new sponsorship opportunity.
Users of web-enabled mobile devices, including phones and
PDAs, can gain access to the site; they can email articles,
but must first register to do so. To use the News Tracker
alert and Times File tools, users must purchase the
TimesSelect premium-content offering.
"The NYTimes.com mobile site reinforces our commitment to
offer readers the high-quality journalism of The New York
Times across all platforms," Vivian Schiller, SVP and general
manager of NYTimes.com said in a statement. "We will
continue to take advantage of all digital technology to
provide our readers with Times journalism where, when and
how they want it," she said.
Related topics: Demographics, Direct, Integrated/Cross-
Media/Convergence, Interactive, Newspapers, Planning,
Print, Signs of What's to Come, Wireless...   
Radio Disney Reaches On-the-Go Consumers via Mobile Phones

Radio Disney has joined forces with mSpot to launch the radio network on mobile phones, Radio Disney announced

yesterday. This is another step in Radio Disney's efforts to reach listeners as they pursue a more active, on-the-go

lifestyle, particularly important as consumers are currently spending more time out of their homes than any generation

previously.

mSpot partners with movie studios, music labels and media corporations to
produce and deliver music, radio and video services for mobile phones.
Currently, mSpot Radio streams nearly 100 channels to mobile phones.

Related topics: Buying, Demographics, Entertainment, Interactive, Planning, Radio, Signs of What's to Come,

Wireless, Youth...   

http://www.mspot.com/index.html
Golf Tee Mats Used for Advertising

Another alternative to traditional advertising has recently hit golf courses nationwide, as...

Cellfire Launches Mobile Coupons Nationwide

Cellfire's free mobile coupon service is now available to cell
phone users across the country. The company just concluded a
beta launch of the service to California customers using
Cingular Wireless.
Cellfire provides coupons from and national retailers within the
user's geographic region. To browse current offers, consumers
click on their phone's Cellfire icon and scroll to the discount of
their choice. To redeem the coupon they press "Use Now" and
show the coupon to the cashier. Because the application resides
on the handset it eliminates the need to connect to the Internet
during the transaction.
"There's been talk for years about integrating location with
mobile commerce -- allowing cell phone subscribers to directly
benefit from discounts and promotions at the stores they most
often visit," said J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., principal analyst with
MobileTrax. "Now, Cellfire offers cell phone subscribers the
ability to opt-in to promotional programs that provide instant,
brand-name coupons in many retail store locations."
Cellfire says tests had coupon redemption rates between 15 and
25 percent, MarketingVOX reports. Its system is based on a
downloadable Java application, distributed via Motorola's
HelloMoto.com, Cingular's mobile site and Cellfire.com; it is
being promoted via an online ad campaign and is compatible
with 43 phone models
Current advertisements include rent-one-get-one-free from
Hollywood Video, a free appetizer at T.G.I. Friday's, as well as
discounts from retailers such as 1-800-flowers.com, Carlson
Travel and other local retailers.

Related topics: Buying, Demographics, Interactive, Outdoor, Planning, Promotions, Signs of What's to Come,

Text Ads, Wireless...   

Atlas Joins with VOD Partner

Advertisers who use video on demand now have a new tool that will help them plan, buy, executive, optimize and

measure their campaigns, according to Atlas On Demand. Atlas, an operating unit of aQuantive Inc., has announced a

partnership with Tandberg Television to integrate and market their respective on-demand advertising campaign

management services.

Tandberg Television's AdPoint platform provides cable operators and programmers with production, management, and

placement of non-linear advertising, and is compatible with all major VOD streaming servers. Because it runs as a single

comprehensive advertising platform, the technology can support advertisers, ad agencies, brokers, cable networks and

MSOs in one collaborative environment, according to the company. Atlas On Demand provides advertising campaign

management and measurement for on-demand television. The two will be combined in a way that will "remove the

technical hurdles to on-demand advertising," the companies have said.

These hurdles include multiple sellers and data standards, long lead times for creative, limited copy rotation and only

program-centric metrics, which limit the amount of media spending in the category.

Atlas, clearly moving wanting to move into the VOD space, recently conducted a study that indicated that longer VOD

ads are more effective than shorter ads.

Related topics: Agencies, Buying, Interactive, Measurement/Analytics, Planning, Research, Television...

Sony's New Musicbox Site Syndicates Videos - Free
Click to enlarge

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has launched its new, ad-supported Musicbox Video site - which offers videos, artist

interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and other material from Sony artists - and is encouraging fans and bloggers to link

to and provide the video content on their own sites, reports CNET (via MarketingVOX). The videos, in Flash, can't be

easily pirated. Advertisers DreamWorks Animation SKG and Hewlett-Packard have signed for the launch.

Using code provided by Sony, users can add content to their sites, mixing and matching to create web pages focused

around certain artists - from Shakira to Springsteen - who are featured on the Musicbox site. Sony has partnered with

Brightcove, which hosts the service, sells the ads and provides the code that allows individuals to link to the material.

"The media organizations are starting to embrace the idea that their library of assets can be exploited through thousands

of touch points," Brightcove founder Jeremy Allaire is quoted as saying. "It is an opportunity to embrace that urge among

consumers to post videos."

Related topics: Buying, Entertainment, Interactive, Planning, Viral Marketing...   

African Americans Still Few and Far Between in Advertising

"There's not a lot of desire by [general market] agencies to become more integrated," says Don Richards, senior vp-

agency diversity at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, in an AdAge article about racial diversity in the ad

business. In fact, were it not for pressure on agencies by government authority to fuel diversity, most agencies would be

unlikely to take action, according to the article.

Last week at an event sponsored by Black Enterprise magazine, CEO Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. called the advertising

industry "one of the most racist" in the country.

In September 2004, under threat of government investigation into hiring practices, the Four A's launched Operation

Success, a diversity initiative program intended to help agency members improve their minority hiring efforts. And

Shedon Fischer, CEO of consulting firm GodenKnock/Pipeline International - who is also chairman of the diversity

advisory board recruitment subcommittee and an adviser to Operation Success - is quoted as saying blacks "aren't

wanted. Though these agencies are enormous in terms of their global impact, they are small shops politically. They hire

from among their own: there is nepotism and politics."

Clients reportedly aren't helping the matter. "Absolutely, if a client asked for more African-Americans on their accounts,

agencies would respond," Richards says.

On the other hand, some in the industry claim that the interest from African Americans in the industry is low. There's a

small percentage of African Americans who have graduated from college in advertising. Competition for them is strong

and they have options, Richards points out.

Related topics: African American, Agencies, Demographics, Direct, Feature, Interactive, Outdoor, Print, Radio,

Research, Television...   

Florida City Park Opts for Solar Scoreboards

Solar Night Industries, a manufacturer of solar products, has formed a partnership with Scoreboards-US to create,

install, and market The Solar Sports Scoreboard to stadiums, parks, and other sporting venues throughout the United

States, the companies announced today. The Solar Sports Scoreboard will be installed during the third week of June at

the Miramar City Park in Miramar, Florida. The Miramar City Park Solar Sports Scoreboard will service teams on two

cricket pitches, a football field, and four dual use soccer and baseball fields.

The City of Miramar had invested $65,000 on their 6 solar scoreboards for the new sports fields at the City Park.

Scoreboards-US has provided scoreboards for the practice fields of the NFL's St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins, and

for the stadium at the University of Pittsburgh. More municipalities are demanding wireless, alternative energy solutions

for outdoor display technology needs, according to Jason Loyet, president of Solar Night Industries.

Related topics: Entertainment, New Tech, Outdoor, Planning, Signs of What's to Come...   

Phoenix Area to Sport Own 'Times Square'

Clear Channel Spectacolor, a high-tech division of Clear Channel Outdoor, is building a giant complex of outdoor

advertising in a Phoenix satellite city that will be second only to Times Square when it comes to a collection of signs and

billboards, MediaPost reports. The complex, with 30 signs of various sizes including some that will be 100 feet tall, will be

built into the "City Center" of Westgate, Arizona; City Council members hope that the development will help settle
Glendale's sparsely populated Yucca district and attract up to 22 million visitors a year to the 6.5 million square feet of

retail space.

The Center will include an 18,000 seat sports arena, movie theaters, dining, offices, hotels and residential space, and the

central hub - containing the sports arena, Clear Channel's signs, and 500,000 square feet of retail and loft space - will be

completed this fall.

Clear Channel Spectacolor's Branded Cities business unit will be responsible for sales and development of the properties,

which will be visible at night from two major U.S. interstate highways - the intersection of the two is one of the most

congested in the country, with daily traffic jams and long commutes - and from Arizona Routes 60 and 101.

TNS Media Intelligence is predicting a 7.70 percent growth in outdoor this year. The medium has become more

attractive to media buyers and planners in part because of technological advances such as digital billboards.

Related topics: Buying, Demographics, Feature, Media Department, New Tech, Outdoor, Planning, Signs of

What's to Come...   

Nielsen to Track TV Viewing Online and on Mobile Devices

As people increasingly watch TV shows outside the home and on computers, mobile devices and cell phones, TV
audience tracking firm Nielsen Media Research and sister company Netratings on Wednesday announced plans to
track TV viewing online and on mobile devices, as well as in restaurants and bars, reports Reuters. The move may have
a serious impact on ad spend and advertising revenues.

KMC Releases Competitive Tennis Players List

KMC Marketing Inc. announced today that it has a new list available for client usage and rent, through list manager NAI

Inc., made up of 25,000 active competitive tennis players from 40 states. Over 90 percent of the players maintain a USTA

rating between 2.5 and 5.5, according to the company.

KMC specializes in the affluence category; other available lists include private country club golf members, private age

55+ golf community members and marathon and competitive distance runners.

Related topics: Account Service, Agencies, Buying, Demographics, Direct, List Marketing, Planning, Wireless

Vibrant Media Launches IntelliTXT Video

Vibrant Media is adding 15- and 30-second video clips to its sometimes-controversial IntelliTXT in-text contextual
advertising unit, reports ClickZ. The clip appears when users mouse over a targeted keyword on a site's content. The
advertiser's message, along with a link, will remain next to the video. "IntelliTXT Video allows us to marry contextual and
brand advertising," according to Doug Stevenson, Vibrant's CEO.