Cynopsis: DIGITAL
12/22/11

Good morning. It’s Thursday, December 22, 2011, and this is your first early morning digital briefing. If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis editions online, click here .

Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia, the latter two in a joint proposal, all have recently considered bids to purchase Research In Motion. Citing unidentified sources, Reuters reports that Amazon had hired an investment bank over the summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but did not follow through with a formal offer. In the same vein, The Wall Street Journal‘s sources reveal that Microsoft and Nokia came close to a joint bid for RIM in “recent months” before ultimately deciding against such a purchase. RIM’s market value has dropped close to 80% in the last 12 months to about $6.5 billion, which has made it an enviable target for purchase, according to both reports. However, even though interest from possible suitors has waned, sources indicate that RIM will likely not consider a bid to be bought just yet. It most likely wants to wait for the late 2012 launch of BlackBerry 10 before considering such a decision.

Tribeca Films has partnered up with several cable operators to promote the on-demand release of filmmaker Edward Burns‘ latest project, Newlyweds, via Facebook. On January 3, at 8 pm ET, Burns will participate in an interview with film critic Caryn James that will be streamed live on the cable partners’ Facebook fan pages and Tribeca Film’s livestream page. Viewers will be able to send in questions to the director/actor via the cable operators’ Facebook pages. MSO partners include Charter, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable. Newlyweds will be available on-demand nationwide starting December 26, via cable, satellite and telco VOD providers, iTunes, Amazon Prime and Vudu.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is tapping the Shazam for TV offering to provide Glee fans extra content, reports Mobile Marketer. In conjunction with the Blu-ray and DVD release of Glee: The Concert Movie, viewers can tag the Shazam logo that will periodically appear on the screen. After making the tag, users will be taken to a page on their mobile devices where they can view additional content, such as lyrics to the song that is currently being played in the movie, exclusive merchandise, behind-the-scenes videos, photos and trivia questions from the cast. The tag will even remain archived in the app for later access.

Starting early next year, Facebook will begin rolling out Sponsored Stories inside users’ news feeds to increase interaction with the ad unit. Sponsored Stories take a user’s friends’ interactions with a specific brand or product and repost them as ads, currently as display ads on the right side of your Facebook page. The ad units can re-publish a variety of user actions, including “likes,” posts on pages, check-ins, games played, apps used and other interactions. The news feed versions of Sponsored Stories will look similar to regular user posts, except for a “sponsored” label in the bottom right-hand corner designating it as such. According to Facebook, users will initially see at most only one Sponsored Story ad per day and will only see stories about friends and brands you already like.

The CMO Council and social CRM firm Lithium asked both marketers and consumers what it meant when a customer “likes” a brand online, according to a report from eMarketer. 57% of marketers indicated that “likes” meant the content was “agreeable,” while 41% responded that it meant customers wanted to be heard. In addition, 33% of marketers thought “likes” equaled a customer’s desire to receive rewards. Interestingly, while 24% of marketers responded that a “like” meant that the customer was a loyal fan, 49% of Facebook-using consumers said they “like” a brand because they’re already loyal customers. In either case, the report points out that this still leaves ample opportunity for brands to tap social media in order to build loyal followings.

Fandango and PayPal have partnered up for an integration that allows users to purchase movie tickets via the Fandango mobile app using their PayPal account. After selecting PayPal as a payment option, users will be directed to log-in to their PayPal account to complete the purchase. The ticket will then be delivered directly to the user’s phone, eliminating the need to stand in line. The integrated service is available on both Apple and Android mobile versions of Fandango. The movie site says that it saw a 73% year-over-year increase in mobile ticket sales in 2011.

The latest Mobile Mix report from Millennial Media focused on the impact Amazon’s recently released Kindle Fire has made so far. It finds that impressions on the Kindle Fire have grown at an average daily rate of 19% since the launch. In fact, the Fire has so far outpaced the impression numbers from the launch of the iPad in 2010. Other interesting data from the report includes:

• The iPhone remains the top individual phone on Millennial’s platform, growing 8% month-over-month in November.
• In terms of mobile device operating system share, iOS grew 7% month-over-month.
• Impressions generated via a Wi-Fi network increased 11% month-over-month, and accounted for 39% of total impressions. Of these impressions, 62% came from smartphones and 38% from other connected devices.

LG Electronics has unveiled a new remote control for its CINEMA 3D connected TVs called the Magic Remote, which is designed to facilitate the browsing experience for users. The new accessory features voice-recognition technology, motion and gesture-based controls, a wheel for scrolling and a “Point-and-Click” function that allows users to point the remote at the TV and drag the on-screen cursor. A button is also provided to enable one-click conversion from 2D to 3D viewing. As of now, no indications have been given on availability or pricing.

SPIRIT DSP, a provider of voice and video over IP services, has announced an upgrade to its TeamSpirit cross-platform video and voice engines. The TeamSpirit platforms a set of software development kits (SDKs) that enable service providers, app developers and OEMs/ODMs to launch HD voice and video services for consumers across desktop and mobile devices. Upgrades to the suite of TeamSpirit services include support for the latest versions Apple’s operating systems (both iOS and OS X), as well as dozens of Android handsets; support for Google’s open source video codec; the ability to videoconference on multiple mobile platforms with several participants; virtual camera interface for custom video streaming from mobile devices; improved sound quality and more.

Ape Entertainment and Classic Media have launched the new Richie Rich digital comic book app in the Apple App Store. Free to download, the app makes digitally restored copies of classic Richie Rich comics available for purchase (at $0.99 each), as well as new issues of a new adventure series, Rich Rescue (at $1.99 each). Ape Entertainment is the North American publisher for several popular comic properties such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and The Penguins of Madagascar. Classic Media’s portfolio of entertainment brands includes Casper and Where’s Waldo?

Matt McLaughlin will become the Chief Operating Officer, a new position, at DoubleVerify, an online advertising verification and compliance services company. In his new role, McLaughlin will be responsible for leading DoubleVerify’s team of nearly 200 employees, as well as overseeing client relations between the company and its hundreds of global customers.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

I’ve found that one of the best ways to discover new music is through the music you’re already listening to. When I say this, I don’t necessarily mean services such as Pandora, which provide you with playlists of similar genres and artists. Don’t get me wrong, they are great. However, there have been many occasions where I’ve listened to a song, enjoyed it, but have found myself especially intrigued by a particular sound or beat it samples. It leads me to look up info on that track, and in doing so, opens up doors to new artists and music. With that in mind, here’s a cool new site called Who Sampled, which facilitates the discovery of music that is sampled and used in the music you’re currently bumping. Hopefully, its database of over 124,000 songs and 47,000 artists will help you beef up that new playlist you’ve been putting together.

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Reporter for Cynopsis Digital
12.22.11

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JOB OPENING: SALES EXECUTIVE/RLTV/NY: Revenue goals, new bus development and sponsorship sales. Strong decision maker relationships, strategic, creative, 7+yrs direct selling experience. Send to [email protected] (1/4)

JOB OPENING: MKTG COMM MGR/Weather Channel/NY: Exp Mktg Comm prof w/ ext creative/tech & prof presentation develpmt skills. Req excep written/verbal skills. Understanding of media rsrch & media exp a +.Resumes: [email protected] (1/4)

JOB OPENING: AE AFFILIATE DIST/GSN Santa Monica: 5+yrs cbl network exp. BA/BS in related field. Strong comm, hvy travel, dig/integrated campaigns. Send res + CL to [email protected] (1/4)

JOB OPENING: DIR, DIGITAL AD SALES MKTG/Syfy/NYC: Oversee Digital Ad Sls Mktg campaigns across all platforms including On Air, Web, Games, Mobile and Social. Min 10 yrs Ntwk/Web exp. To apply, click: http://bit.ly/rIZd3i (1/4)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, MEDIA AD SALES RESEARCH/NY-Warner Bros. Media Sales: (Syndication) strong analytical and presentation writing skills. Adept w/Nielsen systems, MRI and Simmons. Email: [email protected] RE: UCTC/128416BR (12/24)

JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/nuvoTV/LA: Nielsen rating analysis, collect/evaluate audience & market research data, 3+ years TV media research experience, familiar w/American Latino market+, EOE/M/F/D/AAP [email protected] (12/24)

JOB OPENING: MANAGING DIRECTOR CONTENT ENTERPRISES/Owings Mills MD: Responsible for production, development, funding, distribution and marketing. BA/BS: Mass Comm. or related field. Email Resume and cover letter with the title to: [email protected] (12/24)

JOB OPENING: VP, BUS & LEGAL AFFAIRS/RHI Entertainment/NYC: Neg. & draft documentation for variety of TV program/content. Knowledge of TV dev, prod & distrib. transactions. J.D. & 10 + yrs exp in the entertainment industry. CV & cover to: [email protected] (12/24)

JOB OPENING: CLIENT SRVCS MGR/WN/Queens NY: Mng client prod launches; provide training, acct mgmt & strategic support for clients; 2-4 ys exp in client services, acct mgmnt, project mgt or sales support. Apply: [email protected] (12/23)

JOB OPENING: DIR, MULTICULTURAL DIG SALES/NBC News/NY: Lead Sales efforts on behalf of theGrio.com and our new English language Hispanic News Website 7 yrs exp. To apply, visit:  http://www.nbcunicareers.com/search_nbc/ Job#3250BR (12/23)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network/LA: 1-2 yrs exp in TV Research, detailed oriented, knowledge of Star & NPower required. Apply at: http://careers.own.tv/ (12/23)

JOB OPENING:  DIG. RSRCH ANALYST/LAS VEGAS: Track/analyze perf of company’s official website & digital dist. Proficient w/ Google Analytics. Exp w/ content mngmnt system reporting tools a +. More info/Apply to: www.ufc.com/jobs (12/23)

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected] .

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  NON-FICTION TV DEV INTERNSHIP/NYC: Major TV Prod Co seeking creative interns interested in reality TV and motivated to research, write and develop new ideas for TV series. Res/cov let: [email protected]  (12/23)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected]

SITUATION WANTED: Jeanne Intile Burns, VOICE-OVER ARTIST/VOICE COACH, Cell: 845-721-9681, E-Mail: [email protected], Web Links: www.castingnetworks.com/jburns, http://jburns.voices.com, www.allegro-music.com (“American Biographies”) (12/24)

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