Bum Rush the Charts seeks to make a loud statement next month--one they hope will be heard by music industry executives. On March 22nd, the podcasting community is going to take an indie podsafe music artist to number one on the iTunes singles charts as a demonstration of our reach to Main Street and our purchasing power to Wall Street. The track we've chosen is "Mine Again" by the band Black Lab. A band, mind you, …
Pop Ups Popped By Feds
The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. reg.) examines the latest fine levied against an adware firm. A company that caused Internet pop-up ads to appear on consumers' computers has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission, the agency said Friday. The FTC charged that Direct Revenue LLC, based in New York City, and its four principals illegally downloaded advertising software, …
When Paradigms Collapse…
After letting 250 employees go last week, The New York Times looks at MTV Network's attempts to adapt to the modern media marketplace. MTV has been madly programming screens of all sizes and looking to engage consumers on whatever device they choose, but it has been slow going. Rising above the clutter was a lot easier when we were all staring into the same campfire. “It’s true that our viewers are telling us that …
Beme Me Up
The term "meme" was first defined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 as "a unit of cultural information" spread from one mind to another. In other words, it's a viral idea that eventually becomes common knowledge. Now, Silicon Valley marketing guru, Tom Hayes, updates the viral lexicon with a new term, "beme." A meme is old media, a beme is new media. A meme takes off by accident, a beme by design. A meme can take years to …
AGs to A-B: “Underage Drinkers Can’t Click With Bud.tv”
I took note of an Ad Age article from last week about Bud.tv's "Walled Beer Garden." The piece questioned the effectiveness of the site. No matter how good content is, it has to be shareable, and that's where the venture falls short. In Bud.tv, A-B and DDB, Chicago, have essentially created a walled beer garden of content that, though free, is just about as antiviral as you can be in the digital age. I took note …
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Virtually Edwards In ’08
Former North Carolina Senator, John Edwards, has a virtual Presidential campaign headquarters in Second Life. According to ZDNet, Jerimee Richir, whose avatar is called Jose Rote, paid-for and developed Edwards' virtual headquarters, and, on a voluntary basis, is managing the in-world campaign. Irascible adman, George Parker, doesn't like the development. The news that Senator John Edwards has opened a campaign …
PBR = WOM
Adweek reports that PBR has assigned creative duties to a small New Jersey agency. Pabst Blue Ribbon has tapped The Sawtooth Group as its agency of record for media and creative tasks. Sawtooth's inaugural effort will unfold in U.S. test markets by May, marking the beer's first major campaign in five years. Pabst Blue Ribbon's U.S. ad spend was a slim $500,000 last year, down $100,000 from 2005, per Nielsen …
Investment In Online Intel Soars
Washington Post looks at New Media Strategies--a company of 70 people who scour the web each day to track what's being said about their clients' brands. As the explosion of blogs, social networks and video-sharing sites has driven big companies to recognize the role of Internet image in protecting their bottom lines, traditional media companies and private investors are seeking to buy Web-savvy start-ups that have a …