Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2, 2016 i Adweek

In pulling together our annual Video Issue this year, which we publish on the first day of the fifth annual Digital Content NewFronts, I had to gut check our coverage plan several times as news hit during the weeks just before deadline that altered and elevated digital video’s place in the media and marketing landscape. Facebook, for example, continues to shape the future. Video is definitely a priority for the social giant, and Facebook Live video content is being created by a wide array of publishers, including Adweek, and viewed there at growing pace and volume. And at its F8 conference earlier this month, Facebook dropped a considerable amount of new innovation into the marketplace that will have a material effect on video and pretty much every modern media form.…

‘We now have the opportunity to really make this the new standard.’ Alex Debelov, CEO, Virool Not so long ago, it was taboo to turn horizontal video on its head, as marketers grappled with doing more for mobile than merely refitting TV spots for smaller screens. But today, vertical video, once seen as a Snapchat anomaly, is gaining traction and providing publishers and advertisers with perhaps another way to win over the ever-growing mobile audience—with some 163.7 million Americans owning smartphones by the end of this year, per eMarketer. Virool, a programmatic video distribution company, is planning a vertical video ad unit called Vertical Reveal. Using a portion of the $12 million in venture capital it recently raised, the San Francisco-based firm is betting on a format that, as Virool…

When you’re a television marketing executive, is it possible to be too consumed with pop culture, media and entertainment? Don’t ask Stephanie Gibbons, who set up TVs in nearly every room of her house, binge-watched Game of Thrones late at night during a work trip to Budapest and rear-ended a fellow motorist while gawking at a competitor’s bus ad in Los Angeles recently. “I love having eyes and ears,” said Gibbons, president of marketing, digital media marketing and on-air promotions at FX Networks, “but I’d plug it all directly into my veins if I could.” Her obsessions inform her work, she says, for which she and her team have amassed more than 250 industry accolades over the past few years, including Clio Key Art Awards, for campaigns around critically hailed…

What’s been the biggest difference between working at an agency and working at Rec Room? Rec Room is a startup. I’ve been filling a bunch of different roles. Day-to-day what I’m learning is that things move really fast on the entertainment side. Once an idea is pitched and somebody in the room likes the idea, then it’s green-lit. Coming from the agency side you spend a lot of time deck building and in meeting after meeting. There’s more freedom in the entertainment industry. So do you think traditional agencies are struggling to keep up with the pace of change? I do, but we are seeing a lot of other agencies start to make that turn. Sometimes it’s not a comfortable turn, because there’s so much revenue coming in from the…

Just how popular are esports? Major League Gaming’s most recent live broadcast—Counter-Strike:Global Offensive Major Championship (CS:GO Major)—set new records for viewership. The broadcast from March 30 – April 3 generated 71 million video views and the audience watched 45 million hours of live broadcast with a record of 1.6 million concurrent viewers. This is a social media-savvy audience: there were more than 16 million users on Facebook during the content timeframe for 70 million impressions and 6.6 million views.…

In addition to a number of new shows coming at the NewFronts, PopSugar is also bringing back its franchise editorial series that embody inspiration meets action. Class FitSugar is a weekly workout show and one of the most popular online, and Eat The Trend uncovers the latest food crazes and how to make them at home. Also returning are Hannahgram (host Hannah Bronfman on the hottest trends), We Spy Style (weekly style trends through a pop culture lens) and Beauty Junkie (beauty tips and tricks from influencers and makeup pros).…

With the release of Altitude ARENA, Altitude Digital announced it has received an additional $17.5 million to fund the further expansion of the platform and increase publisher adoption of its technology. This latest round comes from Multiplier Capital and Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank. “Our partnerships with Multiplier Capital and Bridge Bank come at the perfect time as we begin delivering this innovation to the publishing community,” says Jeremy Ostermiller, CEO of Altitude Digital.…

Zefr’s Mindset Marketing connects advertisers with consumers when they are in the mindset most open to hearing their message. The company recently completed a year-long quantitative study, working with IPG Media Lab, on the efficacy of mindset marketing vs. traditional types of YouTube targeting. The results? Mindset Marketing delivered a 63 percent lift in purchase intent vs. average of channel and demo-based marketing. And 73 percent of consumers found that mindset marketing complemented their overall video experience.…

What’s the first information you consume in the morning? The time. My iPhone is my alarm clock. What are your go-to social media platforms? Probably Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. I can’t go too far past that because it already takes so much effort and energy to consume those three. I’m not savvy enough to be able to include Snapchat or Periscope or all the other ones. For me, it’s like a little game to see how much I can include in a 15-second [Instagram] video. If you’re clever, you can tell a lot of story in a very short amount of time! After the music video for your character Titus’ song “Peeno Noir” went viral, you actually launched your own Pinot Noir wine brand. How did that happen? If…

When NBCUniversal announced last week it will acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, the deal was mostly perceived as a play by NBCU’s parent Comcast to rival media giant Disney’s film and video interests. Disney, which owns both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm as well as broadcaster ABC, is also in the short-form, millennial-focused multichannel network space with Maker Studios. Now, NBCU will be, too. Under the terms of the proposed deal, DreamWorks Animation will separate its controlling interests in MCN AwesomenessTV and tech company Nova into a new group called DreamWorks New Media, which will be chaired by DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. The move puts NBCU in business with Verizon and Hearst. Each owns a 24.5 percent stake in AwesomenessTV, which produces and distributes videos aimed at preteens and millennials.…

With marketers and media buyers putting social stars PewDiePie, Lilly Singh and Logan Paul into heavy rotation, multichannel networks now are incubating the next wave of talent through a host of development programs such as Maker Studios’ Spark initiative, which is funding some 30 different creator projects. The bonus in doing so, say buyers, is having greater control over emerging brands. “When you go really big, you have less creative control,” explained David Lang, president, Mindshare Content+Entertainment. “When you work with up-and-coming influencers, they may have less followers, and they still make it on their own, but the brand may have a little bit more creative input.” Lang believes brands should be working with lesser-known as well as more-established influencers to give them more well-rounded campaigns, and many networks are…

The popular media industry narrative has always revolved around a war between worlds. Television and video duking it out for primacy, especially around the NewFronts and upfronts season. Mobile and PC have long been pitted against each other, in spite of their complementary nature. Before that, it was print versus the internet, broadcast versus cable, and going back even further, radio versus print. But video is making this new versus old storyline antiquated and simplistic. Video is bringing all media together, unified behind digitally driven consumer behaviors, to compete in one giant, consumer-centric marketplace. The best part? Whoever produces the best content wins. The lineup of the 2016 Digital Content NewFronts, which kicks off this morning, Monday, May 2, provides a clear example of this shift. This year, print media…

Newsy joins the IAB Digital Content NewFronts with an event from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 9. Attendees will meet the content producers behind Newsy’s most popular series and get a sneak peek at editorial programming along with native and sponsored content opportunities slated for summer 2016 and beyond. Newsy’s expanded content series feature multi-part, sponsored editorial videos created to support brand and consumer affinities through the topics and stories that resonate with millennials. To learn more, email newfronts@newsy.com.…

Returning to the NewFronts for the third year running, Time Inc. has some impressive video viewership figures to share. Consider this: Since last year’s NewFronts, its sites have generated 2.1 billion streams, more than double the year-earlier figure. In 2015, the company produced 23,000 pieces of original video content. Time Inc.’s rapid growth and success has been fueled by its understanding of consumers’ passions and its knowledge of how to deliver content to them via their preferred channels and platforms. The scale of its digital and social channels plays a huge role in its ability to ensure that its premium content rises above the noise. This year, Time Inc. will be producing video content in different formats that align with the various ways people now consume culture—long-form, short-form and live/social…

In addition to high quality video content on its various sites, Yahoo offers some of the best native and programmatic video ad solutions in the market via BrightRoll and Yahoo Gemini. It is the combination of Yahoo’s unique data, technology and world-class programming that is driving results for advertisers. With the most complete set of data signals from sources including mail, search, content, mobile app usage and social, Yahoo is helping advertisers find the right audience wherever they spend time online.…

YuMe continues to innovate and expand its global audience reach and impact. It launched its full-stack programmatic video marketplace, and has added an Outstream solution so publishers can monetize non-video content. YuMe has also paved the way in thought leadership for the industry, conducting global research studies that further the understanding of key issues in the business including: driving multi-screen effectiveness, ad lengths and engagement. YuMe’s product suite was created with multi-screen audience reach in mind from the get-go, so its programmatic offering and product evolution is truly an extension of that philosophy.…

May 9 Media All-Stars A salute to this year’s media mavens... and the rising star to watch. Featuring DATA - MARKETING BY THE NUMBERS May 16 TV Upfronts Coming soon to your screen – What TV’s top producers have in store for next season. May 23 Power List Editorial picks of those who wield the power behind the power in advertising, marketing and media. SPECIAL SECTION CAUSE MARKETING AWARDS June 6 Food A look at the hottest marketing trends in the industry, centered around the inaugural list of the 30 Most Influential in Food Media & Marketing. June 13 Cannes Lions An inside look at the happenings on the Croisette during the biggest fête of creatives in the world. SPECIAL SECTION AUDIENCE TARGETING GUIDE June 20 CMO Report 2…

JeromeASF / MCN: Machinima Main platform: YouTube / Followers: 4.04 million Minecraft gamer Jerome Aceti, aka JeromeASF, created the web series The Bacca Chronicles for Machinima, which follows a security force tasked with maintaining fair play and justice on a Minecraft server. Lele Pons / MCN: AwesomenessTV Main platform: Vine / Followers: 10.9 million The Venezuelan-born Vine star has a huge following with her comedic videos that feature jokes on her friends, her family and even herself, with posts like “How clothes look on Mannequins vs. on me.” She recently launched her YouTube page, which amassed 50,000 subscribers in its first day. King Keraun / MCN: Maker Studios Main platform: Instagram / Followers: 1.5 million A former felon for robbery and credit card fraud, Keraun Harris gained his 1.5 million…

Hulu continues to offer a full slate of original content. Already this year, it has premiered a number of critically acclaimed original programs including: 11.22.63, executive produced by J.J. Abrams and starring James Franco; The Path, a series starring Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan; and the latest season of The Mindy Project, all exclusively on the streaming service. New seasons of original hits such as Casual and Difficult People are set for the coming months. And in the fall, Chance, starring Hugh Laurie, and Shut Eye, with Jeffrey Donovan, will debut.…

Earlier this year, Time Inc. closed its acquisition of people-based ad tech platform Viant. The acquisition will enable Time Inc. to combine its premium content, subscriber and visitor data and advertising inventory with Viant’s first-party data, targeting and measurement capabilities to bring substantial value to clients of both platforms. The combination will accelerate Time Inc.’s strategy of activating its user base across its portfolio of media brands and delivering the right audiences across all their digital devices while measuring real outcomes.…

If you want to reach millennials, you need to be able to hit the key over-the-top services. That’s why NCC has secured exclusive rights to the millennial targeting capabilities of online video provider Otter Media, further increasing its ability to reach consumers across all screens. Through this partnership, NCC can insert non-skippable ads in some of the most popular networks focusing on the millennial audience. NCC can target consumers across the most popular YouTube channels and stars with Fullscreen. Crunchyroll and Rooster Teeth present opportunities to reach fans of anime, gamers and comedy fans. This partnership reaffirms NCC’s position in the marketplace and capacity to deliver consumers across generations and devices.…

THAT VOICE The inimitable voice of Marge belongs to actress Julie Kavner, a Tracey Ullman Show regular who was called into the recording booth on a fluke and got cast. THE COLOR Why are the Simpsons yellow? “When you’re flicking through channels ... and a flash of yellow goes by, you’ll know you’re watching The Simpsons,” Matt Groening has said. THE MAN The epitome of the slothful American male, Homer (inspired by Groening’s real father) is actually Canadian, Groening revealed in 2003. On May 15, Fox will air a special episode of The Simpsons in which Homer will select questions that fans tweet to him and then respond at the end of the show. That’s right, kids—Homer live. And how will a drawn character pull off such a feat? “We’re…

Now that Hulu is already a decade old, the company is essentially a founding father in the latest tech boom. Although it may be old guard, Hulu is still paving the way in the industry with innovative original series, groundbreaking deals like last year’s Seinfeld acquisition, and even its Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters. In 2013, the Hulu HQ underwent a massive redesign, adding space for more employees while also taking special care to tailor the new digs to current employees. “Before moving into this building, we conducted months of surveys and gathered data on everything from seating to office location to make sure the space was a true reflection of the Hulu team values, which include embracing work and play,” said Hulu workplace experience and facilities director Sara Mailloux. Now…