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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
‘Pitchmen’ Future in Limbo NEW YORK—The sudden death of Billy Mays has left the future of the Discovery Channel’s series “Pitchmen” in limbo. Indeed, Discovery Channel officials aren’t yet talking about the fate of the series, which followed Mays and Anthony (Sully) Sullivan as they evaluated new products to pitch on TV. “We’re just focusing on trying to support the family,” a Discovery spokeswoman said Monday. Discovery has a dozen episodes of the series and the finale is scheduled to run tomorrow at 10 p.m. following a planned marathon of all episodes, getting underway at 11 a.m. “To celebrate a man who was larger than life, the network will run tribute promos honoring Billy Mays and never-before-aired moments throughout the day,” the network said in a statement. An on-screen graphic noting his passing will be added to the finale. Discovery is also planning a special tribute show. “Pitchmen” was well received and followed the two partners as they took on new products that were pitched by Mays in countless infomercials airing around the country. The show launched earlier this season and went a long way toward legitimizing Mays, a ubiquitous figure on the small screen who was best known for his boisterous voice and striking image. “Pitchmen” has also been a strong performer for Discovery. Wednesday’s original episodes averaged 1.45 million viewers, up about 42 percent over what the network did in the time period a year ago. And it also increased the network’s performance with key demographic groups by double digits over a year ago. It also expanded Mays’ reach beyond infomercials, according to the New York Daily News.
Supreme Court Allows Wider DVR Use WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a blow to the television networks when it declined to hear a case about a digital video recorder technology, opening the gate for wider use of DVR systems, according to The New York Times. The case began in 2006 when Cablevision Systems, the New York-area cable operator, announced plans for what is called a network DVR system. With it, a customer would use a remote control to digitally record a program like “60 Minutes” but instead of storing the show in the customer’s at-home DVR box, the technology would store the show on a faraway Cablevision server. The technology would let Cablevision convert set-top boxes into boxes with DVR capabilities without requiring an installation or new equipment. Patrick Ross, the executive director of the Copyright Alliance, an industry group that includes the Motion Picture Association of America and Time Warner, said a recording stored in a network was different from one stored in a consumer’s set-top box. “This appears to be a very clever way for a licensee of creative works to develop new distribution methods that, it would argue, do not require licenses,” says Ross, whose group filed an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs. Besides the licensing issue, programmers are generally opposed to anything that makes DVRs more pervasive, because consumers using DVRs tend to skip advertisements. Cablevision said the decision would help make DVRs more accessible. Cablevision has argued that DVRs are not necessarily bad for advertisers, saying programmers and advertisers could, for example, sign agreements allowing Cablevision to insert new ads into recorded content.  Jackson, Fawcett, McMahon Were Ad Icons, Too LOS ANGELES—While Hollywood mourns the loss of three stars that span generations, Madison Avenue is mourning the loss of three commercial icons. Michael Jackson, 50, who died Thursday, became a global sensation with his pop songs that were revamped to run in two Pepsi campaigns to promote the soft drink as the choice of a “new generation.” The message became the new marketing to replace what had long been its message: the Pepsi generation. Farrah Fawcett, 62, died earlier Thursday of cancer. The actress, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, got her start in a slew of commercials in the 1970s. She appeared in ads for Noxzema shaving cream with NFL great Joe Namath, an ad for the Mercury Cougar, Ultra-Brite toothpaste her own line of shampoo by Faberge. Ed McMahon, 86, passed away Tuesday. He made a name for himself in ads for the American Family Sweepstakes. In ads, he showed up with a giant check at the homes of winners of Publishers Clearinghouse. He also appeared in a Super Bowl ad in February when he appeared with MC Hammer to promote Cash4Gold, according to USA Today.
COMPANY NOTICES Northern Lights Named DRTV AOR for SickKids Foundation TORONTO—After a formal RFP process, SickKids Foundation has appointed Northern Lights Direct Response as its direct response television (DRTV) agency of record. Northern Lights will provide DRTV strategy, media planning and buying, creative and production services for SickKids Foundation, the fundraising organization for The Hospital for Sick Children. “We want to build a long-term relationship with an agency to ultimately help us grow our donor base and maximize our ROI,” says Noelle de la Mothe, director of acquisition, annual giving. “Northern Lights was selected for their extensive experience in the non-profit sector and the full suite of services they bring to the table.” SpongeTech Engages Omni Direct for Latin America NEW YORK—SpongeTech Delivery Systems Inc. has announced that the company will begin marketing and advertising its products in Latin American. The company will establish a direct response television marketing program in various regions of Latin America. The widespread acceptance of SpongeTech’s products in the U.S. marketplace and the exceptionally high reorder rate from existing customers and new customers has resulted in the expanding of SpongeTech’s marketing efforts into Latin America. The company has retained Omni Direct Inc. to lead the marketing campaign in Latin America. Omni Direct Inc., located in Miami Beach, is owned and operated by Hispanics and is a leader in direct response marketing to Hispanics. Omni will initially perform a DRTV market test, which will identify and assess market demand for SpongeTech’s product as well as retail distribution opportunities in Latin America. AmazingMail Web-to-Print Engine Now Open for Business PHOENIX, Ariz.—Smartphone developers wanting to take advantage of on-demand digital printing as part of their applications need look no further than AmazingMail.com, Inc.’s online web-to-print service. Developers can integrate with AmazingMail’s on-demand printing services to send personalized direct mail directly from hand-held devices, including the ability to spontaneously send postcards composed from “in-the-moment” smartphone photos. Two iPhone developers have already taken advantage of Phoenix, AZ-based AmazingMail’s web-to-print capabilities. Kampyle Integrates With Google Analytics to Answer Why Your Web Visitors Do What They Do RAMAT GAN, Israel—How effective is knowing that a user from California referred from Bing abandoned their shopping cart with $283 of merchandise after visiting 12 web pages over six minutes if you have no clue why? The Kampyle – Google Web Analytics integration solves the challenges associated with web analytics while providing the only website feedback solution fully integrated with Google Analytics API. Kampyle, the pioneer of online feedback analytics, enables websites to collect, analyze, manage, act on and respond to user feedback in real time through the company’s feedback forms. Kampyle is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that can be implemented onto any website in minutes and enables gathering and analyzing actionable, feedback from users. To close the feedback loop, Kampyle includes the option to respond directly to a user’s feedback. Bid4Spots Cable TV Ad Marketplace Increases Revenue by 40% ENCINO, Calif.—Bid4Spots has announced a 40-percent increase in total ad revenue generated in its online marketplace for cable television advertising, from the first to the fourth auction. To date, the roster of participating cable operators reaches an aggregate total of 8.37 million households in most DMA markets nationwide—including nearly every Top 50 market. Many say they participate in part because Bid4Spots is a no-risk, cash transaction for the cable operators—advertisers pay in advance. Billy Stewart, business development director of Viamedia, provides advertising sales systems for cable partners nationwide, including Verizon FIOS, RCN, WOW, Grande and others. “We see a huge opportunity in monetizing our unsold inventory, and Bid4Spots’ platform allows us to do that very efficiently. Bid4Spots lets us turn unsold inventory around quickly—within a few hours, we know what we’ve won. This represents a constant incremental revenue stream, from week to week, which is easy to manage,” says Stewart. “We’re doing something that’s never been done before—we’re able to give advertisers local markets at the same cost-per-thousand viewers (CPM) that they’d get at the national network level. This gives national advertisers a cost-effective way to tailor their ad buys to specific local markets—which in turn gives local cable operators a chance to tap the vast revenue potential of national advertisers,” says Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots founder and CEO. Conduit Launches Open Platform to Increase Cooperation Among Publishers and Deliver More Content Choices to Consumers SAN MATEO, Calif.—Conduit, enabling web publishers to distribute their offerings directly and through its global network of publishers, announced the Conduit Open initiative. This initiative reflects Conduit’s vision to bring the spirit and opportunities of the web to the browser toolbar. As part of this initiative, Conduit has launched several new solutions that open new channels for distribution and sharing of web publishers’ content and applications. Conduit is the inventor of the SaaS platform that allows web publishers to create and distribute their content and products on a custom community toolbar. The free, powerful platform has proven so popular that over the last four years, Conduit has amassed a network of more than 200,000 web publishers who distribute their offerings to more than 60 million users. Web publishers will now have direct access to the entire network of more than 60 million users via the new Conduit Marketplace. Bravestorm Announces Corporate Name Change to Bold Software WICHITA, Kan.—Bravestorm announced that it has changed its name to Bold Software, LLC. The change became effective June 15, 2009 and comes at an exciting time in the history of the company. “We offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for online retailers looking to enhance their customers’ experiences, as well as increase conversion rates,” says Bold Software President and CEO Steve Castro-Miller. “However, we reached a point where we didn’t feel our name conveyed that. The company name—Bold Software —acknowledges our legacy under the BoldChat brand while providing a larger umbrella for all our offerings. This includes everything from a stand-alone small business click-to-call product to complete website communications suites for enterprises.” Atlantic Theater Company Partners With eWayDirect Inc. for its eMarketing and Social Networking Needs SOUTHPORT, Conn.—The Atlantic Theater Company has chosen to partner with eWayDirect to develop and implement an innovative emarketing strategy, providing multiple customer touchpoints as subscribers and donors interact with the theater company. “I’m very excited to partner with eWayDirect on our emarketing initiatives,” says Ryan Pointer, marketing director of the Atlantic Theater Company. “The tools they provide will allow the Atlantic to engage with our patrons like never before. We will not only be increasing sales, but also developing new ways to keep the conversation going with customers well after they leave the theater.” ERA Members with Musical Talent Needed for D2C Live Stage! ARLINGTON, Va.—The Electronic Retailing Association is proud to announce that for the first time ever, its own members will perform as a rock band during the 2009 ERA D2C Opening Reception Sunday, September 13, outside on the pool deck of the Paris Hotel from 6:00 -7:30 p.m. All performers in the D2C Live Stage will have their names and pictures printed in ads promoting the event in Electronic Retailer magazine, on the ERA website, as well as separate ERA e-mail blasts. This will be a “pay for play” event that will require each performer to help sponsor this event. (Sponsorship contributions will be determined by ability to pay and the amount you play.) What Kind of Talent Are We Looking For?
PLEASE NOTE: We will be playing very simple blues and pop progression songs so there’s no need to worry about being good enough to play. Everyone has full-time day jobs, after all! The chosen players can submit song choices that they’d like to perform or, choose from a list of approved songs. Once accepted as a band member, each player will be provided sheet music (notation, tablature, chords and words). There will be one rehearsal on Sunday prior to the Opening Reception. Please contact Jeff Meltzer at jeffmeltzer@earthlink.net or (212) 868-4600 no later than July 7th, so we can start practicing now! CALENDAR 2009 OMS Regional Tour May 5th – July 2nd 11-City U.S. Tour For more information, visit http://onlinemarketingsummit.com/agenda/ Electronic Retailer subscribers use discount code retailing20 for 20 percent off! eComXpo 2009 July 8-9, 2009 Free. Online. Virtual. Event for eCommerce and Affiliate Marketers. For more information, visit www.ecomxpo.com ERA L.A. Networking Reception July 21, 2009 Beachbody Offices Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, visit www.retailing.org. Sponsored by Beachbody, Hydra ERA D2C Convention Electronic Retailer News Direct is a weekly electronic newsletter that provides readers with the most up-to-date news, events and market research pertaining to the direct response marketing industry. Electronic Retailer magazine and Electronic Retailer News Direct are publications of the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA). Copyright 2009. | Privacy Policy
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