Cynopsis: DIGITAL
07/17/12

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, July 17, 2012, and this is your first early morning digital briefing. If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis editions online, click here.

Marissa Mayer has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo, and will assume the new role today. In a statement, Mayer said, “I am honored and delighted to lead Yahoo, one of the internet’s premiere destinations for more than 700 million users. I look forward to working with the Company’s dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world. Mayer was employee #20 at Google and was most recently VP/Local, Maps, and Location Services at the company. She replaces interim CEO Ross Levinsohn. The New York Times was the first to report the appointment.

Jerry Seinfeld’s new web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, which has been developed in partnership with Sony Pictures Television’s Crackle service, debuts this week on July 19 at 9pm. As the title suggests, the show is an interview series where the comedian drives around and sits down for a chat with fellow comedians and other famous friends. There aren’t too many other details on the web show as to how many episodes will be released or even the length of each episode, just that each one will feature a conversation between Seinfeld and his guest. The list of guests scheduled to appear include Larry David (naturally), Ricky Gervais, Alec Baldwin, and more.

Deepak Chopra and his family have launched The Chopra Well, a new original lifestyle channel on YouTube produced by Alloy Digital’s Generate Studios. Launch series include: Spiritual Solutions, which will offer stories and tips to help viewers find creative solutions to life challenges as well as answer questions from members; Chopra Centered, tips from experts at the Chopra Center; Who Are You?, an interview show hosted by Chopra featuring guests ranging from scientists to celebrities; Holy Facts, which is being described as “Ripley’s Believe It or Not with a spiritual twist”; 30 Days of Intent, a “spiritual makeover show” from Chopra’s daughter Mallika; Ask Deepak, a daily dose of the spiritual expert’s thoughts on current topics; and The Meditator, a daily meditation show. Alloy says more series will be introduced over the coming months.

Singer, actress, and now former American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez is about to embark on the North American leg of her global tour. To provide exclusive content to fans while she’s on this tour, JenniferLopez.com has unveiled a new section on the site, dubbed “ Tour Feed.” On this section, which is free to join for members, fans can access behind-the-scenes content, including performance footage from concerts, rehearsal footage with the dancers, interviews with members of the traveling troupe, set lists, sketches of costumes and dresses, as well as Lopez’s tour diary. The dancers, band, and other tour personnel will also blog/vlog regularly throughout the tour. The website, which was built and is operated by EQAL , also functions as a mini-social network. “Fans get their own profiles and can connect their JenniferLopez.com accounts with their personal Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media applications through the technology ‘Tour Feed’ is built upon,” said EQAL COO Rob Weiss.

Telemundo Media and iVillage have launched iVillage Mujer de Hoy, a new bilingual section on Telemundo.com that geared toward digitally savvy Latinas. The site will have fluidity when it comes to in which language the content is presented. Consistent site monitoring will allow the site to be adjusted to mirror audience usage. English content will prominently show up in red boxes. Telemundo and iVillage have also tapped Adamari Lopez, who hosts a morning show on Telemundo, as the Ambassador of iVillage Mujer de Hoy. In this role she will contribute to the site and feature content from the site on television via two weekly segments. The site will also feature guest blogs from influential Hispanic celebrities such as Maria Celeste, novella stars Eugenio Siller and Maritza Rodriguez, and Ana Maria Polo.

The Cynopsis Sports Media Awards Breakfast takes place on August 9 in New York City. If you haven’t seen the finalists and registered to attend yet, you can do so here.

“Social CRM” provider Dynamic Signal has raised $13.3 million in Series B financing, led by venture capital firm Venrock, with a new investor, Time Warner Investments, joining existing investors like Trinity Ventures and Cox Enterprises in the round. This brings Dynamic Signal’s total amount raised to over $21 million. The company says it plans to use the new funds to further strengthen its sales and marketing efforts, and continue to invest in the overall engineering of services and to grow its “client support organization.” Dynamic Signal says its Brand Amplification Platform identifies high value fans, bloggers, and other influencers, and then recruits them by building one-to-one relationships with them across all social channels. Ideally, by doing this, these influencers would “spread the word” via social content marketing campaigns and branded content.

Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)’s CEO Greg Stuart announced yesterday at MMA’s Mobile CEO & CMO Summit in the Dominican Republic that the association has secured over $1 million in funding to launch a global research project called SMoX.me (Smart Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness). MMA says the aim of the project is to evaluate the ROI that mobile contributes to the marketing mix. To that end, the research will test actual in-market campaigns to determine the relative economic value of investing in mobile as compared to traditional marketing channels. MMA says the results will also better assess the relative value of each type of mobile ad, including mobile display, rich media, video, adutio, email, SMS, and more. Studies are already planned for the US, UK, and Turkey. Participating SMoX.me partners include The Coca-Cola Company, Pandora, The Weather Channel, Velti, AT&T AdWorks, InMobi, and Tremor Video.

Facebook has officially made its premium display ad units, which appear on the right side of the homepage, available via its Power Editor tool, according to AdAge. This means that marketers will be able to buy placement via the social network’s Ads API partners rather than directly from its own sales team. This decision also removes a minimum-buy commitment, which AdAge says could lead to a more democratic premium ad environment on Facebook as the inventory will be available to more brands. Facebook still retains final approval over which ads appear on the page. The social network will also continue to price the premium inventory at a fixed CPM.

The IAB has made the IAB Mobile Rising Stars ad unit specifications open for public comment. The ad units are as follows: Mobile Adhesion Banner, Mobile Filmstrip, Mobile Full Page Flex, Mobile Pull, and Mobile Slider. IAB says brands such as Disney, HBO, Sony, and Verizon, among others, have already experimented with these formats, which are already available in the mobile marketplace. Publishers and mobile ad networks currently serving the units include AOL, Gannett, Google, IDG, Millennial Media, Mojiva, MSN, The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, Time, Viacom, and The Weather Channel. The specs necessary for these units to run across multiple devices and operating systems were created by the winners of the Mobile Rising Stars contest; these include the likes of AOL/Pictela, Google, Jivox, Mediamind, Microsoft, PointRoll, and Yahoo, among others. The public comment period will run through August 16, after which IAB will evaluate the comments received and make any needed changes before making the final version of the ad units available.

NBCUniversal has bought out Microsoft’s half of the Msnbc Digital Network, which includes msnbc.com, TODAY.com, NightlyNews.com, BreakingNews.com, Newsvine.com, EveryBlock.com, and all existing apps and digital extensions related to these properties. With the acquisition in place, NBCU says it plans to combine the Msnbc Digital Network with NBC News’ existing digital businesses, social media channels, and other digital initiatives to form a new division entitled, NBC News Digital. It will be overseen by Vivian Schiller, SVP & Chief Digital Officer/NBC News, while Charlie Tillinghast stays on board to oversee the legacy Msnbc Digital Network properties, reporting to Schiller. As part of this transition, the current msnbc.com has now become NBCNews.com. The new site will complement its regular news and information reporting with access to a new and expanded local news experience via a partnership with NBC’s Owned Television Stations. NBCU says MSNBC TV will launch a new digital home in 2013; until then, its digital content will continue to be available on its current platforms. Per the agreement, some Msnbc Digital Network staff will be co-located at NBC’s headquarters in NY. However, NBC News plans to maintain its presence in Seattle as it builds what it describes as the “NBC News Innovation Center,” focusing “on digital innovation and technology, and incubate new ideas for NBC News and NBCUniversal.” While certainly a separation, NBCU and MSN say that MSN will continue to feature and link to NBC News content via its web properties.

Inergize Digital has partnered with The Associated Press to integrate story text and metadata from the AP ENPS newsroom system in the Inergize Web CMS (content management system). The integration “enables journalists to compose stories within a consolidated editorial environment and quickly move this content into the Inergize Web CMS, rendering and monetizing it for multiple distribution channels,” said Mike Palmer, Director/ENPS Design and Integration at The Associated Press. Inergize Web CMS clients integrating AP ENPS newsroom systems include an array of stations from across the country.

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According to new research from the IAB and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, 47% of tablet users say they engage with ads on the device more than once a week, and 25% of smartphone users do so as well at the same level of frequency. Once these mobile device users have engaged with an ad, the report finds that 89% of said tablet users and 80% of said smartphone users are likely to “take action.” Focusing more on different consumer behaviors, the study finds that smartphone users consider the device to be essential to their day-to-day lives, with 70% saying that they “never leave home without it.” In comparison, 70% of respondents indicate that their tablets served as entertainment and media hubs. Among consumers who have both devices, 60% prefer smartphones to “look up info on-the-go”; versus 22% who would choose a tablet for such an activity. When asked how they preferred to consume traditional media like print and video on mobile devices, respondents by large chose tablets (69% for print, 68% for video) over a smartphone (9% print, 8% video). Other findings include:

• For smartphone users, the three “most impactful media moments” of the day are the early morning (nearly 20% access social media), mid-day (28% cite “free time” windows that allow them to access media), and primetime evening (IAB says both social media and general media consumption spike during primetime TV viewing hours).
• For tablet users, IAB says waking up stands out as a key social media time; 28% access social media on their tablets first thing in the morning.
• 48% of smartphone owners and 59% of tablet users indicate that they regularly conduct local searches on their mobile devices while at home and in front of the TV.

News is becoming a major type of content available on YouTube, according to a new report from Pew Research Center‘s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Conducted over 15 months (from January 2011 to March 2012), the study found that roughly a third of the most-searched terms each month on YouTube were news related. And this content is not only coming from the news organizations themselves; consumers are actively involved in the process, sharing in content creation with news organizations, per the report. Of all news videos posted to the site during that timeframe, Pew says 39% of news videos originally produced by a news organization was posted on the site by users; while the news outlets themselves published the other 61% of videos that they had produced. Among the other data from the report:

• The three most popular stories over the 15-month period were non-US events: the Japanese earthquake and tsunami (5% of the 260 most-watched videos); elections in Russia (5%); and the crises in the Middle East (4%).
• There is less of a focus on specific individuals or personalities on news videos shared on YouTube: Pew says that not one individual was featured in even 5% of the most popular videos, and 65% did not feature any one person at all. However, within those videos that are centered on people, President Barack Obama was the most popular person (featured in 4% of the top videos worldwide). Videos ranged from speeches to political ads from opponents.
• The lengths of the news videos on YouTube vary: The median length of the most popular news videos was 2 minutes and 1 second. Overall, 29% of the most popular news videos on YouTube were less than a minute; 21% were one to two minutes long; 33% were two to five minutes in length; and 18% were longer than five minutes.

81% of cell phone users would either “definitely” (50%) or “probably” (30%) not allow a social networking app to collect their contact lists in order to suggest more friends, according to the results of a 1,200-household survey from the University of California, Berkley. When asked if they would be okay with a “coupons app” collecting contact lists in order to deliver coupons to their friends, 75% indicated that they would “definitely not allow,” and another 18% said they would “probably not allow” such an app to do that. Location-based advertising practices also don’t escape the ire of Americans, as 70% of respondents say they would “definitely not allow” their cell phone provider to use their location in order to tailor ads to them; another 22% answered they would “probably not allow” this.

 

Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM), Meredith Corporation’s global agency, has promoted Jack Macleod from Interim General Manger to SVP/General Manager for MXM’s Social Practice. In his new role, Macleod will be responsible for setting the strategic vision of MXM’s Social Practice, and leading the teams responsible for its development and execution. He will still be based in MXM offices in Arlington, Virginia.

The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) has named Matthew Eby the new Senior Director/Digital Product Marketing. He will be responsible for developing and executing global brand strategy and marketing for the company’s web and mobile products. Eby will report to Jennifer Anderson Gragg, VP/Brand Strategy and Marketing, and will be based at TWCC headquarters in Atlanta.

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A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CABLEFAX

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The AV Club last week launched a new animated series on its website called Stand Down. The publication basically is inviting stand-up comedians to tell a personal story about one of their worst on-stage moments during their careers. The AV Club then recreates this moment with animation. So far only one episode is available, featuring an especially funny anecdote from comedian Patton Oswalt. This week brings one from Maria Bamford, so be on the lookout for that as well.

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Editor for Cynopsis Digital
07.17.12

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JOB OPENING: ASSOC. DIR., COMMUNICATIONS/Nat Geo/DC: Temporary position Aug.-Dec. 2012. 5-7 years of TV publicity experience. Excellent media contacts. Strong writing skills. Send resumes to [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: FREELANCE PUBLICIST/MTV2/NYC: Develop & implement press strategies for MTV2, MTV’s male-targeted sibling network, for original programming & tentpole events. 2+ yrs experience. Resume: [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: SR. MGR AD SALES MKTG MGR/ DISCOVERY/NY : Plan, execute multi-platform mktg partnerships. Creative aprch to on/off air mktg. Ops for adv is a must. Apply: https://careers-discovery.icims.com/jobs/5459/job. (7/24)

JOB OPENING: SPECIALIST, STRATEGIC SLS SVCS/DISCOVERY/NY: Resp. for sales analysis . BS/BA req.+ 3-5 yrs. ad sales, media buy’g, finance exp. a+. apply: https://careers-discovery.icims.com/jobs/6060/job (7/24)

JOB OPENING: EXEC IN CHARGE OF PROD/Pilgrim Studios/LA: Oversees multiple productions. Requires strong multitasking, budgeting, scheduling, and management skills. Min 5 yrs exp as LP/EIC. Resume: [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: DR/SDR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION/NYC: Drive Revenue growth & distrib by developing/negotiating deals across platforms. 5 yrs exp, 2 yrs digital/mobile. MVPD, broadcast TV, deal terms & contracts. [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: SR MGR, MKT & MEDIA RSRCH (COMM)/NASCAR/CHARLOTTE: 8 plus yrs exp PR, Comm, Consumer & Media Rsrch. Knwldg of primary rsrch & working w/Nielsen/Scarborough/Simmons, etc… data a plus. Apply: www.employment.nascar.com (7/24)

JOB OPENING: AE CABLE-SYND SALES/MARATHON VENTURES/NY: Aggressive, disciplined AE to sell DR for cable nets and syndication. 5 years experience selling multiple networks, dayparts, demos. Apply: [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: PRICING PLANNING DIRECTOR/MARATHON VENTURES/NY: Manage network/syndicated inventory. Detail oriented with team management experience.  5 years pricing/planning background. Apply: [email protected] (7/24)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCTION ASST/HarperCollins Publishers/NYC: seeking a Production Asst to join the team that creates its enhanced e-books. Shooting/editing exp. required. View jobs/apply: http://www.harpercollinscareers.com (7/24)

JOB OPENING: VP MTV BUS & LEGAL AFFAIRS/Santa Monica CA: Mng high vol dvlpmnt/prod. agreements for scripted dvlpmnt as well as reality, doc & animation. 7+ yrs of exp ent law firm or studio/ntwrk. Click here. (7/24)

JOB OPENING: DIR CLIENT SOLUTIONS/CHI: Manage execution of integrated marketing programs across all div., partner with Gannett sales. 10+ years exp in marketing. Agency exp + Res: [email protected] (7/21)

JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH ANALYST/ABC Burbank: Min 2 yrs exp in Digital & TV research and software, strong written, PC & analytical skills, college degree req. Apply: www.disneyabcjobs.com (ID 54406BR) (7/21)

JOB OPENING: HEAD OF SALES/CABLEready/NY: 5+ yrs experience selling to TV nets outside US; NYC based; will oversee int’l sales staff and sell. Multilingual preferred. Cover letter, CV to [email protected] (7/21)

JOB OPENING: MOBILE MARKETING CONSULTANT/NY: Ideate and implement strategic on-brand innovative mobile platforms and franchises that are both saleable and executable. 4 mth project/W2 only. Res: [email protected] (7/21)

JOB OPENING: SALES MNGR/Orbitz|Away/NYC: Natnl sales pro for travel media network, 3+ online ad exp, excellent agency contacts, proven closer, travel and media sls exp a + Resume to: https://careers-orbitz.icims.com/jobs/2613/job (7/21)

JOB OPENING: MEDIA SCHEDULER. The Hub, Burbank CA: Reqmnts: BA. Min 2 yrs exp. GripIT, 2E, Gabriel, detail oriented, traffic coord. Apply www.hubworld.com (7/20)

JOB OPENING: DIR, CURRENT PROG/AMC/NYC: Seek new non-fiction prog. Take pitches, find new projects. Work with LA team. Oversee/advise on unscripted current series. Submit res http://bit.ly/NmDDyM (7/19)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR-DIGITAL MEDIA ANALYTICS & INSIGHTS/ATL: Develop data-driven insights; seeking 6+ years in Digital Research with an emphasis in media analytics. Resume: [email protected] (7/19)

JOB OPENING: SR RSRCH ANALYST/LA: Produce analysis & presentations for synd properties. 2 yrs exp in TV rsrch related to synd TV pref’d. – brdcst & cable exp a +. Bach deg. Galaxy Explorer and WRAP a must. Resume to: [email protected] (7/19)

JOB OPENING: MGR AD SALES RESRCH/Discovery/NY: Have a strong understanding of Nielsen, MRI & Simmons and proven exp. developing sales positioning materials; 5+ yrs. of TV research exp.; http://careers.discovery.com/ #5769 (7/18)

JOB OPENING: SR MKTG MGR/AT&T/NYC: Plays key role in bringing to mkt innovative advrtsng products across AT&T’s U-verse IPTV platform & AdWorks TV Audience Ntwrk. BA-Marketing or Bus. pref. For a detailed job description click here (7/18)

JOB OPENING: MGR, DIG SCHEDULING/A+E Networks/NY: Responsible for all aspects of sched for A&E/BIO/CI dig platforms. Full Info/Apply: www.aenetworks.com/career.html (7/18)

JOB OPENING: DISCOVERY KIDS FRANCHISE MGR/Miami: Partner w/AdSales, Licensing Bus Dev in creation of franchise strategy & bus obj for Dkids characters 5+ yrs exp in marketing/product/brand management exp- www.Discovery.com (7/18)

JOB OPENING:  DIR PROGRAMMING/GSN/Santa Monica: 5-7 yrs exp in non-fiction TV. Strong production and contacts. Pre-prod/studio prod, budgeting, digital programming initiatives, casting and dev. Send resume to [email protected] (7/18)

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].

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: Summer Intern (NYC/LI). Outgoing college sr.w/strong credentials. Comm.Major exp.TV editing,sports announce/writing. Seeks position w/possible career potential. Resume on request. [email protected] (7/24)

SITUATION WANTED: AFFIL SALES/MKTG: 10+ yrs as Sr Dir/Dir building relationships & generating increased sales & results. Available for domestic & international travel/relocation. www.LinkedIn.com/in/paulzulkoski & [email protected] (7/21)

SITUATION WANTED: DOCUMENTARY RESEARCHER/CONTENT DEVELOPER: Researcher, interviewer, and project/content developer w/ exp. in TV, indie film, and major prod. co. seeks full/part-time, also projects. 347-313-4335. (7/21)

SITUATION WANTED: EXPERIENCED MARKETING PROFESSIONAL: MBA grad seeks marketing position. Previous experience in sales, account management, retail marketing and theatrical distribution with the NBA and film studios. [email protected] (7/19)

SITUATION WANTED: Experienced reality producer, researcher, writer and highly skilled interviewer. Investigative reporting, true crime, paranormal. I uncover amazing stories and can find almost anyone. Top references. [email protected] (7/18)

SITUATION WANTED:  Looking for a STAR? LA Media & Entertainment Partnerships Exec for Iconic Brands. Sales, Mktg & Branded Content pro – Major TV/Cable, Prod Co, Label, Agency, Digital, Docu, Non-Profit. MBA. [email protected] (7/18)

E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 888.702.3858 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

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