That’s the way to go, Wash Po | Advantage social

September 6, 2010 1 Comment

New York, New York. Newsroom of the New York T...

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Metrics are the one thing that can keep your dream alive. Esp if you are a newspaper in the face of an onslaught of new technology and waning interest in old tales..

Sounding upbeat on analytics definitely makes us a miniscule minority, but then if you read thru this NY Times copy, you can see what is behind the enthusiasm to read those boring graphs and irritating red dots. After all, getting to instantly correct something in your approach is a tangible win and gets results too.

Looking to the public for insight on how to cover a topic is never comfortable for newsrooms, which have the deeply held belief that readers come to a newspaper not only for its information but also for its editorial judgment. But many newsrooms now seem to be re-examining that idea and embracing, albeit cautiously, a more democratic approach to serving up the news, particularly online.

“How can you say you don’t care what your customers think?” asked Alan Murray, who oversees online news at The Wall Street Journal. “We care a lot about what our readers think. But our readers also care a lot about our editorial judgment. So we’re always trying to balance the two.”

Editors at The Journal, like those at other large newspapers, follow the Web traffic metrics closely. The paper’s top editors begin their morning news meetings with a rundown of data points, including the most popular search terms on WSJ.com, which articles are generating the most traffic and what posts are generating buzz on Twitter.

At The Washington Post, a television screen with an array of data — the number of unique visitors towashingtonpost.com, how many articles those visitors view and where on the Web those visitors came from — is on display for the entire newsroom. A red or green marker designates each data point, indicating whether the Web site’s goal for the month on that particular metric has been met. About 120 people in The Post’s newsroom get an e-mail each day laying out how the Web site performed in the closely watched metrics — 46 in all.

Feb 7 WaPo Front Page: Stimulus Bill Compromis...

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The Jay Leno Show and Nielsen

April 5, 2010 1 Comment

Tv is back. Where did it go, you ask me? Well ask their accountants and they’ve had some sordid tales to tell these last few years. Not to mention the confusion over network signing up cable channels and disowning them even when big days like Oscars were around. Takeovers of NBC by a Cable Company. Fraud at another. superbowl sales being watched like a hawk for tell tale signs of recession. GM not signing some of its sports sponsorships again. Banks out of their favorite sports sponsorships. They all dealt a huge blow to Tv even as the side show on Pay walls continues to fuel the game of ad revenues versus content sponsorship..the latter being a concept we all want but with no way to monetize it. From the days of Buddy Holly when Cadillac Records showed the World how to mint money from music, everything else and music have been on show on Tv, on the networks. You reach audiences of 40 million across runs, re-runs and DVR recordings for time shifted viewing.

Jay Leno got ahead of Conan simply because the audiences wanted to call it a day earlier and now by September Conan will be back…$30 million a year for another Saturday Night Live..Viewers outside the US fall for Soap and Sports but also more business news content thant Stand up comedy, but that just shows they haven’t seen enough Tv yet..And then there is a dozen of those reality TV shows like American Idol and $6 billion from CBS to broadcast NCAA Basket ball for 11 years for ..behold.. 96 teams.

Here’s the amazing takeaway from a piece of Nielsen History

When Arthur Nielsen introduced the Audimeter (his first metering device) in 1936, there were only about 200 television sets in use worldwide. When the Nielsen national TV measuring service was established in 1950, the average American household that owned a television had only one set and received three network telecasts.

Also these American only contnet or Indian only Content all spliced by one You Tube and one google.com..enough ofr a lifetime of internecine fighting and back biting..with Jay Leno at 10 p.m. Content will win, not advertising.

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Oscars are coming to Town

February 11, 2010 Leave a Comment

People wait in line to buy tickets on the opening day of the 60th Berlinale International Film Festival on February 11, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The 60th Berlinale will run from February 11-21. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) People wait in line to buy tickets on the opening day of the 60th Berlinale International Film Festival on February 11, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The 60th Berlinale will run from February 11-21. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Online video viewership

February 5, 2010 Leave a Comment

These could simply be live streaming numbers in a couple of years?

Online video viewing is more ubiquitous than ever. According to comScore, in the month of December 178 million people watched 33.2 billion videos, with the average viewer watching 187 videos per month in the U.S.

MASHABLE

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Oscar Nominations crowd the school | LA Times

February 2, 2010 Leave a Comment

With love from Tom and Pete? No Matt Damon again..none of them have really sold more than $20 million in new merchandise or related material yet

“Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” have been duking it out all awards season. Now, the two films face their final showdown: They enter the 82nd annual Academy Awards prizefight with nine nominations apiece.

The films – which, coincidentally, are by former husband-and-wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow – couldn’t be more different. “Avatar” is an eye-popping 3-D science-fiction studio extravaganza: It is the most expensive film ever made

and has gone on to be the most successful film ever, earning more than $2 billion so far, worldwide. By contrast, “The Hurt Locker” is a gritty, low-budget, independent film about a bomb-disposal unit in the Iraq War. Though it has earned plenty of accolades this awards season, it has yet to crack the $13-million mark at the box office.

The films are two of the best picture nominees announced Tuesday morning by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, among an eclectic mix that included another sci-fi hit, “District 9,” another war film, “Inglourious Basterds” and the animated hit “Up,” which is only the second animated film ever to receive a nod in this category.

Other top nominees Tuesday morning were “Inglourious Basterds” with eight, “Precious” and “Up in the Air” with six apiece, and “Up,” which, in addition to its best picture nod also earned four other nominations, including best animated film.

The nominees for best director were as expected. They included: Cameron for “Avatar,” Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker,” Lee Daniels for “Precious,” Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds” and Jason Reitman for “Up in the Air.”

But two of the nominees were nonetheless noteworthy: Bigelow, who won the Directors Guild of America Award over the weekend, is only the fourth woman to earn a best director nod. Daniels is just the second African American filmmaker to earn that honor.

In the acting categories, the academy followed in the footsteps of the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The only real surprise was Maggie Gyllenhaal for best supporting actress for “Crazy Heart.” She had largely been overlooked this awards season.

The nominees for best actress included two veterans who had previously won in this category, as well as three newcomers to the fold: Sandra Bullock, earning her first-ever Oscar nomination for “The Blind Side,” and first-timers Carey Mulligan, nominated for “An Education,” and Gabourey Sidibe, nominated for “Precious.” They will compete with Helen Mirren, for “The Last Station,” and Meryl Streep, for “Julie & Julia.” With this nod, Streep has earned an unprecedented 16 Oscar nominations over the last 31 years. She has received two Oscars: best supporting actress for 1979′s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and best actress for 1982′s “Sophie’s Choice.”

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iPad vs Kindle: MacMillan loses the plot

January 31, 2010 1 Comment

In a move reminding of the precipitate ways of the Music Industry, Macmillan seems to have argued with Amazon over increasing the price of ebooks in the fledgling market. Amazon, rightly moved Macmillan off its shelves, thus causing tremendous losses to MacMillan.

We can tell you as customers that even $9.99 is not going the whole way for market development of the e-books market. Apple’s iPod had revolutionalised the music industry by making songs available for $0.99 ea. However, Apple had avoided the public spat and convinced publishers to go along with it.

The pecuniary advantages of negative reinforcement may well be limited. Apple’s ibookstore is planning to price titles at a steep $12.99 and $14.99. However, amazon’s action may also be compromised if it resricts the ban to only e-books from MacMillan Titles and should go the whole way.

On the flip side, even if MacMillan sells half its inventory thru Amazon, it will lose out on those markets in the next year or so and sales will surely dip by aleast 8-10% from the defranchising. Amazon’s model may not dissuade from bestsellers or any titles already preselected in the customer’s mind but when it comes to browsing and selecting purchases and gifts based on Interests, an immediate negative impact is likely on those not available at the site.

C-NET published this shocking piece of news yesterday

Amazon.com has pulled books from Macmillan, one of the largest publishers in the United States, in a dispute over the pricing on e-books on the site. The publisher’s books can be purchased only from third parties on Amazon.com. A person in the industry with knowledge of the dispute, which has been brewing for a year, said Amazon was expressing its strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books. The person did not want to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the matter. Macmillan, like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of e-books to around $15 from $9.99. Macmillan is one of the publishers signed on to offer books to Apple, as part of its new iBookstore on the iPad tablet unveiled earlier this week.

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The Draft: Cadbury’s Sponsorship budgets, Obesity and ANZ

January 18, 2010 1 Comment

Time Out, Cherry Ripe and Dairy Milk

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This post is draft

1. in the midst of the sale

at advantages.us

2. 2012 London Olympics

The Independent (After Lehman)

The confectionery giant Cadbury is to be one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics.

The organising committee for the Games (Locog) said the firm would be a “Tier Two” partner by adding £20m to the £410m of private money already secured to finance the event.

The company, based in Bournville, Birmingham, will provide all the confectionery and ice creams sold at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. In recent years, it has sponsored the Sydney Olympics, in 2000, and the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, in 2002, and Melbourne, in 2006.

3. Coronation Street on ITV worth $18 bilion

Cadbury’s logged out in Nov. 2006 after 10 years with the 45 year old Granada mainstay
The independent

The on-air sponsorship ..start(ed) in September (1996) , to coincide with the introduction of a fourth episode of Coronation Street. The deal concludes months of negotiation by Cadbury for the right to be associated with the 35-year-old soap.

Cadbury’s longest Brand ‘Pillars’ (Singles since 1905)
10 out of 20 brands are leaders

The Chocolate Epic

Chocolate Hall of Fame
Many famous Cadbury brands have enjoyed considerable success. While Cadbury Dairy Milk® chocolate remains the most popular moulded chocolate bar in Australia, other rising stars are always joining the Cadbury Hall of Fame.
Cadbury Dairy Milk® (1905)
Cadbury Dairy Milk was launched in 1905 after more than four years of research and the introduction of new production processes. Cadbury had been determined to develop a new chocolate to challenge the competition from European manufacturers.
Its delicious new recipe using fresh milk, had a unique flavour and smooth, creamy texture. With its now famous glass and a half of full-cream milk in every 200gms, Cadbury Dairy Milk contained far more milk than any previously known chocolate.
By 1913, Cadbury Dairy Milk had become the company’s best selling line in Britain and in the mid-1920s became the brand market leader, a position it holds today. Cadbury Dairy Milk sales are valued at around $85 million per year.
Despite advertising and label changes and considerable strides in manufacturing techniques, the recipe for Cadbury Dairy Milk is still basically the same as when it was launched more than a century ago.
Cadbury Milk Tray™ (1915)
Cadbury Milk Tray has maintained its popularity in a changing world since the milk chocolate assortment made with Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate was first introduced in Australia in the early 1930’s.
The name ‘Tray’ is derived from the way in which the original assortment was delivered to the shops. Originally Milk Tray was packed in five and a half pound boxes, arranged on trays from which it was sold loose to customers.
The half-pound deep-lidded box with the traditional purple background and gold script was introduced in the late 1930s.
Milk Tray has been available in a various pack sizes from 125g-750g. In 1998, six new Milk Tray pack designs were introduced in all sizes – including a heart and stars – marketed as gifts for all occasions.
Cadbury Roses® (1938)
Designed to compete in the ‘twist-wrap’ chocolate market, Cadbury Roses is the current number one boxed chocolate brand in Australia.
Within a year of 1938 launch the Roses milk and plain chocolate assortment became one of the company’s most important confectionery lines.
With its eye catching blue packs and tins, distinctive red and yellow roses and range of twelve different attractively wrapped chocolates, Cadbury Roses continue to capture the imagination of chocolate lovers of all ages.

Chocolates fighting obesity

NZOC

Cadbury New Zealand today announced it has become the official treat provider of the New Zealand Olympic Teams for Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

This sponsorship partnership will also provide financial support for our Olympic Teams and enable the New Zealand Olympic Committee to athletes by taking care of costs such as travel and training so they can focus on becoming the best they can be and put in sensational performances inprovide athletes with the resources they need at Games time to excel. 2010 and 2012.

Cadbury New Zealand Managing Director, Matthew Oldham, said Cadbury is incredibly excited and proud to be a Partner of the New Zealand Team for the upcoming Winter and Summer Olympic Games.

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December 27, 2009 Leave a Comment

Wishing all our readers from around the world a very happy new year for 2010. Esp our readers fom Russia, Eastern Europe, China, India, the Philipines and Australia

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Isn’t pricing key to new markets?

December 16, 2009 Leave a Comment

Paying for Online Content

Google had recently reached an agreement with the newspapers to provide limited access after a fixed number of searches. And the music companies are inventing pricing models and new partnerships every day. But more about pricing music later.. The one we are saying is tough for the media giants to survive is the one where they have to choose what to charge for their web edition.

I think it was more productive when it was a lower all you can eat charge and common sense dictates that this price be the same across all web channels. But WSJ and NYT are hell bent on creating a bad taste in the readers’ mouth with separate charges when you try to use your Kindle then iPhone and even for e-readers.

None of us finally minds paying for online content. For those that need it, there are student subscriptions, library subscriptions and corporate subscriptions. But paying for the same thing twice is kind of a revenue dampener. And invasive online advertising isn’t going to pay either. The customer will never get used to this new model. The Advertiser might but he should not be confused as the reader. The advertiser is getting a different segment on the e-readers and the Kindles if it makes any sense for him to go there. But the reader is the same And this serious business reader is powerful to stop you in your tracks by removing his credit card information despite your efforts at scamming him or her into giving away all control of his paying activity. These practices will be heavily penalised on this new continent and the Googles are much ahead in making sure they provide all content in web searches to give access.

Creating a brand online is not going to be easy, but you cannot break down your readership with challenges like these. You have

I will pay for your content, once

| Rafes Radar

I consider it a professional courtesy to pay, even handsomely, for excellent work. What I wont do is pay for twice. Unfortunately, thats what the WSJ wants me to do:I recently downloaded the iPhone app for the WSJ, and discovered that getting access to the stories that Im paying for already on the Web was going to cost me another $52 a year. And thats the discounted rate for existing subscribers. iPhone and BlackBerry app access is $78 a year if you dont already have either a Web or print subscription. Its only if you subscribe to both the Web and print editions of the WSJ that you get iPhone app access for “free.”No, I dont think so.Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNETThis is madness. Im paying for online access to the stories. Why on earth should the publication charge me for it twice, or differently, just because I want to view that content, sometimes, on another connected device?

via Dear newspapers: I will pay for your content, once | Rafes Radar – CNET News.

Some of our regulars would feel a little disoriented by this extract, if only because the web has seemed so mature an d in tune with the print editions as far as the newspapers are concerned. The truth is the web editions and now the Kindle and the iPhone editions are being touted as different channels by most places, with the Kindle even charging without any recourse to another edition be it print or web. The NYTimes even charges separately for e-readers and Kindle

The Financial Times has had a much more robust pricing model for all its electronic editions. These simple things have distinguished its prominent position from the academic positions for Euromoney and WSJ publications and the same case study does hold true even now.

Even as Brian Moynihan takes over at BofA under Walter Massey, Kenneth Lewis’ impact is still likely material in Bank Am’s social world. And even if less people Google for Bank of America today or for any other bank for that matter, the social media might easily keep BofA alive and winning because in its social practices its just noe that ‘vitriolic’ that the mdeia would try to make it out to be. And you can’t force the social media participant to ignore social opinion. The BofA brand will survive and grow stronger as long as it is  feeding the social groups in  a consistent manner Similarily the press and the networks would have to adopt the social way to win hearts. Shouting from the rooftops and relying on the price message will also accelerate the negative impact of such foolhardy decisions.

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Playdom, Zynga To Make $200 Million This Year

November 27, 2009 1 Comment

zyakaira notess: Early mid year estimates had indicated $100 million for Zynga of “Farmville”, Texas Hold’em and Mafia Wars across facebook and myspace. Now this is likely to be revised up by a few percentage points for zynga alone…Now you know why Tweetmeme and Twitterfeed are so conjoined with  Twitter. Let’s hope this pans out ‘socially’. Other animation/gaming players like Rock you and Zynga and Playdom all have $100m each in funding and by current engagement rates are likely to fare equally well for the PE involved in each case…long time to go before natural selection burns a few holes..

Even if the Virtual world envisaged with Dubai World comes to a nought, facebook and twitter are not doing so badly after all. Tweetmeme and Twitterfeed to name a few would have an even more significant overlap with the base ‘platform’ of twitter than the seemingly conjoined but really technology independent gaming networks and they are also on spinal tap.

 

Facebook Games Maker Zynga To Make $100 Million This YearNicholas Carlson|May. 1, 2009, 3:12 PM |

Mark Pincuss social gaming startup Zynga, which makes multiplayer games like the popular Texas Holdem for social networks Facebook and MySpace, is growing faster than you think.We reported in January that it closed $50 million in sales during 2008. Now BusinessWeeks Sarah Lacy says the startup has “annual sales of about $100 million, according to several people close to the company.”Most of that money comes from “the 2% to 10% of users who pay $1 an hour to play premium games or buy virtual goods.”Sarah says the other hot startup in social gaming is Playdom, which generates about $50 million a year in sales.

via Facebook Games Maker Zynga To Make $100 Million This Year.

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