MISSION ZERO: because Power is nothing without control...

!!!!!!! TARANTINONESQUE !!!!!!
(click to watch the film)

You said Communitainment ?

INCREASINGLY, CONSUMERS ARE AIDING AND abetting the melding of communication, community, and entertainment in a trend dubbed "communitainment" in a new report from Piper Jaffray.

In the 425-page report entitled "The User Revolution," the investment bank describes the emergence of "communitainment," a trend involving consumers moving communication beyond a mere exchange of information to facilitate an exchange of content, ideas, and entertainment within an online social context.
As Internet consumption continues to steal time spent with other media, advertisers need to learn how to tap into online communities to reinforce their brands.

"Communitainment" is a type of content consumption that is new to the Internet, says report author Safa Rashtchy, who researched developments supporting the phenomenon for nearly two years. Rashtchy is managing director/senior analyst of the investment bank's Internet Media (IM), Commerce and Marketing practice.

The report suggests that "Communitainment" will at least partially replace other forms of content--i.e., TV, magazines, and even big Internet sites in favor of niche content sites.
Piper Jaffray projects that one-half of all content consumption will be "Communitainment" over the next decade driven by IM, social networking, photo and video-sharing sites--up from around 30% in 2006.
(...)
"Communitainment" and time spent on the Internet and on so-called Usites such as YouTube, Heavy.com, Facebook, Yahoo Answers, Google Video, and MySpace has radically redefined content consumption patterns, in the process "creating confusion for advertisers and agencies alike. In a way, we believe Usites are the Internet's democraticized version of the reality TV trend with users placed in control of content creation," the report states.

The implications of "Communitainment" are profound.
"Not only are these consumers not available to see commercial messages from other [media] channels," Rashtchy said, "but they're also heavily engaged in activity that they would not like to be distracted from by commercial messages."

When consumers watch TV, he observed, there remains an unwritten contract that they get commercials in exchange for free programming. Of course, this contract is subverted on a daily basis by DVRs.
With "Communitainment," Rashtchy noted, "there is no such contract available. Content is created and shared by users. It's a closed system and advertisers have to find a way to get into it. But once you get in, you're actually part of the family." Part of the family, that is, if advertisers can indeed gain consumers' trust.

The report suggests that advertisers need to become more integrated in the activities in which consumers engage, offering free content and services to align themselves with consumers' interests: "If done successfully, this type of advertiser engagement could have a significant long-term impact as consumers will be willing and eager distributors of the advertisers' message and brand to the rest of the community."

In addition, the report states: "The importance of the Communitainment trend is not just in shifting traffic patterns but, more importantly, in the way users view content as a free-flowing part of the communication spectrum. As such, many participants in communitainment view content such as music or video as an integral part of their experience and not as a distinct entity for which they have to pay," the report states, qualifying: "Of course, beyond communitainment, there are other contexts in which users are willing to either pay for content or, at a minimum, receive an advertisement in exchange for the content."

Source : OnlineMediaDaily

Mini Builds Expansive Campaign Around Quirky Webisodes

Taking a lesson from parent BMW, Mini USA is introducing a series of online short films that track the adventures of a character named Hammer and his sidekick Coop, a Brit-speaking Mini.

The "Hammer & Coop" project, directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School" and "Starsky & Hutch"), is also spun out across various nontraditional media: 15-second video-on-demand spots for mobile handsets, "Find Coop" contests in Second Life, a "Hammer & Coop" MySpace page, iPod video downloads and a red-carpet movie-premier-type event in Manhattan's Union Square.

Hanging from billboards
There's also a quirky outdoor campaign in three major markets: a mannequin of Hammer "parachuting" in and hanging from billboards and a life-size, fiberglass version of Mini. More traditional billboards in 80 markets will show the two characters under headlines such as "Kick Some Asphalt."
(...)
Trudy Hardy, marketing manager of the Mini, said the "Hammer & Coop" campaign for the redone 2007 Mini is aimed at men 25 to 54 years old. "But this will have a very broad appeal."

Innovative mag effort
In addition to the outdoor and online components, there's also a heavy old-media presence, albeit with a new twist: The car that was once a Playboy centerfold took its case to publishers in seeking their help in developing "Hammer & Coop" tie-ins that fit their books, Ms. Hardy said. Rolling Stone and Premier have created "fake" front covers on their back covers that promote a fictitious "Hammer & Coop" movie. The 10 or so pages in the back of the magazines will integrate each title's normal features, written and designed by their staff, but with editorial about "Hammer & Coop." In certain areas, Premier will put the "back" cover facing buyers in magazine stands.

Men's Health will integrate "Hammer & Coop" exercises on its monthly workout poster. The March issues of Maxim, Stuff and Blender will contain an eight-page fashion spread of Hammer and Coop shot by Maxim's fashion director, Stan Williams.

Ms. Hardy said the six online episodes will eventually be available on DVD, along with a mock music video of Asia's 1980s hit "Heat of the Moment," which is featured in the final webisode.

A teaser movie trailer, which appeared to be promoting the "Hammer & Coop" action flick, broke in 1,000 theaters earlier this month and encouraged viewers to visit hammerandcoop.com, where the same trailer was shown (Mini wasn't named in the trailer).
(...)

Source: AdAge.com

Is Bud.tv a case study for Branded Entertainment ?

Clamor Over Site Shows That Marketers Who Own Media May Be Playing Under Tougher Rule

Are marketers who create channels to disseminate their own branded content subject to a different standard than standard-issue advertisers?
After the attorneys general of 21 states told the No. 1 U.S. brewer that, as a media owner, it is playing by a different, more stringent, set of rules, the notion of a higher standard for branded-entertainment ventures could have a chilling effect if it's applied broadly.

Source : Madison&Vine

Ad-Supported New Yorker Cartoon Animations To Be Podcast

A NEW ITUNES PODCAST WILL turn New Yorker cartoons into short ad-supported animations.

Created by startup RingTales, which has the exclusive license to animate and distribute New Yorker cartoons, the clips will each be 15 to 30 seconds long, and will be available via www.ringtales.com/podcast.

Subscribers to the free podcast will get three new animations a week. The company plans to syndicate the New Yorker animations widely across the Internet and mobile devices.

Source: OnlineMediaDaily

IAC moves into online video

Barry Diller and IAC/InterActive Corp. has purchased Manhattan-based CollegeHumor.com, originally a content creator/UGC destination for videos of frat parties and wet T-shirt contests.
However, IAC plans to focus solely on the creation of original programming, uploading one or more comedy video shorts per week.
The site will be edited by Daley Haggar, a comedian and writer who has worked on "South Park" and NBC's "The Apprentice."

The UGC movement has captured most of the buzz around online video, but Diller believes professionally produced, high-quality ad-supported video can generate a bigger audience.
The idea is to create an online alternative to "Saturday Night Live" or Comedy Central's "The Daily Show", beginning first with a multimedia comedy news program called "23/6" (a spoof on the phrase 24/7). The program is partnered with the left-leaning blog The Huffington Post.

Source : The Wall Street Journal

MySpace offers £1m directing job

Social networking website MySpace is running a competition to win the director's job on a £1m feature film.

Site users and experts including directors Anthony Minghella and Kevin Macdonald will choose the winner from short films submitted to MySpace.
Production partners Film4 and Vertigo Films will then help develop a project.
MySpace users will be able to contribute to the script and audition for roles in the film, due to be completed by the summer of 2008.

Film fans

The MyMovie MashUp project, which launches on Wednesday, is open to all UK residents - from established film-makers to industry newcomers.
Film4 executive Peter Carlton told Variety magazine: "Until you know what sort of director you're going to get, it's difficult to know if a British thriller or an improvised comedy would be more appropriate."
The project will also involve MySpace users in development, casting and marketing decisions.
The finished film is expected to be released almost simultaneously in cinemas and on MySpace and Film4.

Source : BBC World

Les opérateurs mobiles préparent une offensive contre les géants de l'Internet

L'hégémonie de Google dérange. Obligés de composer avec le moteur de recherche numéro un sur Internet, les grands opérateurs de téléphonie mobile sont tentés de réagir. Le congrès 3GSM de Barcelone, raout annuel des acteurs du marché qui se tiendra du 12 au 15 février, sera l'occasion de réunions "secrètes" pour décider de la future politique Internet à mener sur les mobiles.

C'est le Sunday Telegraph qui le dévoilait dimanche dans ses colonnes : une rencontre devrait réunir les principaux opérateurs de téléphonie mobile en marge du congrès. Cingular, France Télécom (Orange), Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia (TIM), Telefónica et Vodafone devraient participer à ces "pourparlers secrets de haut niveau".
La finalité serait évidemment de "garder une plus grande part des revenus publicitaires" sur portables en proposant des annonces plus ciblées et mieux adaptées aux mobiles. De plus en plus de clients de ces grands opérateurs consultent Internet via leurs mobiles, d'autant qu'ils disposent maintenant d'une technologie et d'une ergonomie mieux adaptée à la navigation sur le Net. Selon un cadre interrogé par le journal britannique, "c'est un moment important pour les moteurs de recherche sur mobile, nous devons être présents et faire évoluer nos options à très haut niveau".

YAHOO! ET GOOGLE, CONCURRENTS OU ALLIÉS ?

Google et Yahoo!, les deux géants de l'Internet principalement visés, sont déjà implantés dans ce secteur et ont des accords de recherche par mobiles : Google opère avec Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3 de Hutchinson et China Mobile, tandis que Yahoo! a notamment passé des accords avec Vodafone et 3 de Hutchinson. Ce dernier pratique d'ailleurs l'ouverture tous azimuts puisque après avoir passé différents accords de téléphonie gratuite avec Skype ou de messagerie instantanée avec Microsoft, il vient d'annoncer l'ouverture en Grande-Bretagne de son réseau 3G à Internet. Côté constructeurs, Google est associé avec les mobiles BlackBerry, BenQ, Motorola et Sony-Ericsson, alors que Yahoo! a signé avec Nokia, Motorola, RIM ou encore Samsung. Et des rumeurs vont bon train quant à la fabrication d'un téléphone mobile signé Google et Samsung, censé concurrencer directement l'iPhone d'Apple, et sur un projet de moteur de recherche destiné aux plateformes mobiles sur lequel les deux géants de l'Internet plancheraient ensemble.

Pour l'heure, c'est un marché à peine émergent, constitué pour l'essentiel de SMS que captent les opérateurs. Mais avec plus d'un milliard de téléphones portables vendus en 2006 pour plus de 600 millions de clients, la généralisation de la 3G, qui accélère sans cesse les débits et la qualité de consultation, c'est un marché très prometteur que visent les géants de la téléphonie et du Web réunis.

Source : Lemonde.fr

La France au travail !

les petites pépites du net ...

Allez, rendez vous avec le 3è Homme de la campagne présidentielle, l'ultra libéral Marc Maillard, dès le 12 Février, sur www.lafranceautravail.com

Toyota Harnesses Mobile Video For FJ Cruiser

TO PUSH ITS NEW OFF-ROAD FJ Cruiser, Toyota has enlisted the help of Saatchi & Saatchi LA and mobile services firm The Hyperfactory for a cross-channel marketing blitz.

The campaign blends text, banner, mobile TV and video advertising, while making use of Hyperfactory's recently launched Mobile Media Network--an integrated 3G branded mobile platform.

Users will be driven to branded video--documenting the FJ Cruiser racing team competing in the Baja 1000--with banner ad takeovers of the Sprint Wireless Web Sports home page and ESPN Mobile immediately following Super Bowl Sunday, as well as an exclusive two-month takeover of Go2's sports mobile channel, Go2WinterSports.

The campaign will also use MobiTV's new offering--which launched last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas--allowing viewers to click on branded "Two Roads to Baja" clips. The mobile media program will use MobiTV to display branded content as advertising, including videos, screen savers, driver-blogs, stories and images from the race.

Short-form video clips and clickable mobile TV ad-units will run throughout MobiTV, while another exclusive takeover on Versaly's video-on-demand channel, Fast Lane, will attempt to drive users to the Toyota FJ Cruiser mobile microsite. (The Fast Lane channel is available for free on Channel 61 to all Sprint Power Vision Subscribers.)

The campaign marks Toyota's early efforts to "market to our customers using the power of mobile communications," according to Kim McCullough, corporate manager, marketing for Toyota FJ.

Saatchi and Saatchi also created a YouTube page for the campaign. As of Friday, a short "Two Roads to Baja" video illustrating the FJ Cruiser in off-road action had been viewed over 600,000 times since being posted on Jan. 23.

Said John Lisko, communications director of Saatchi & Saatchi, of his relationship with Hyperfactory: "We worked closely together to ensure there were hours of extra snack-sized footage and material from the program to leverage across the mobile arena."

Others clients who have tapped The Hyperfactory for mobile marketing include Coke, Motorola, and Vodafone.

The Hyperfactory in partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi LA created a fully integrated, branded mobile campaign for the Toyota FJ Cruiser and the mobile launch of its "Two Roads to Baja" branded entertainment show.

Backed by cross-carrier mobile media support, the program encourages users to click through and engage with branded content. Like the TV show, the mobile program attempts to connect with viewers.

Source: MediaPost Publications

Super Bowl Ad Watch : Top spots

Les slots les plus chers du monde pour les meilleurs spots ?

Have a look !

iVillage Hosts Second Life Fashion Show

AIMING TO BOOST ITS REAL-WORLD popularity, NBC Universal's iVillage Monday will host a "fashion show" in the simulated world Second Life.

The initiative, coinciding with the start of Fashion Week in New York, will mark the third time since December that iVillage has held an event in Second Life, where it aims to connect with the Internet-savvy Web users who frequent the site.

"If we can get this group of women--who are chatty, who look to one another, who frequently are bloggers themselves--that's a great way to market ourselves in a new form of media," said iVillage Chief Marketing Officer Linda Boff.

Monday's show will feature virtual clothing and accessories designed by fictional Second Life-only companies. Second Life residents who go to the event will be able to "teleport" to the designers' game-world stores, where they can use Linden dollars to outfit their avatars with the featured items.

iVillage has hired Electric Sheep to launch its area in Second Life, the iVillage Loft; for the fashion show, iVillage tapped a virtual modeling agency, Boff said.

Yet, for all the work that has gone into the event, no more than 400 avatars will be able to attend in Second Life due to technical limitations. Boff said iVillage is investigating streaming the event elsewhere on the Web.

Source : Online Media Daily

Disney cartonne sur Itunes

Downloads of Walt Disney films on the iTunes platform have risen sharply to more than 1.3m after only three months on sale, putting pressure on other Hollywood studios to join Apple’s digital service.

Disney began selling its new movies on iTunes in October. But other studios have resisted its lead, partly because of fears that they will upset retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, which are responsible for most DVD sales in the US.

Target has expressed concerns about the effect of downloading on DVD sales and pricing. But in an exclusive video interview on FT.com, Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said digital distribution was “creating more consumption of media”. He added: “The message that we deliver to our traditional [retail] partners is that the pie is getting bigger.”

He dismissed fears that digital downloads would cannibalise DVD sales, pointing to record sales of Cars, a Disney animated movie, and of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which is on course to be the biggest selling DVD ever.

Mr Iger said retailers’ concerns were to be expected but Disney had to sell content on digital channels. “If we don’t put our content on these platforms, which the consumer has obviously embraced, other entities will create content and fill that void.”

The launch of Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars on iTunes helped push Disney download sales through the 1m barrier, with the total number of Disney downloads sold on iTunes doubling over the Christmas period.

Disney also put its TV programming on iTunes a year ago and has sold more than 20m downloads.

The company’s buoyant DVD sales come as the media industry braces itself for a DVD slowdown. After several years of growth, the market is maturing.

Source: Financial Times