http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/07/future-here-londons-design-museum
3D printers, wikihouses and precision robot arms are creating new opportunities for designers and consumers. An exhibition aims to demystify these novel tools
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Omnicom and Publicis - Bigger, stronger, madder?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/07/omnicom-and-publicis
“I’m not sure this is in the best interests of their clients or their talent,” says David Jones, the boss of Havas, a rival agency. “My whole focus at Havas is to get us to behave like a smaller company not a bigger one. I doubt you'll find a single client who says, ‘we wish you were bigger and we were less important to you’.” Quite so. Plenty of top talent has defected over the years from holding companies such as WPP and Publicis to strike out on their own, not least because they disliked working for an impersonal behemoth. Such distaste will probably be widespread at Omnicom, whose constituent agencies pride themselves on their independence. Nor will realising synergies from the merger, which are estimated at $500m and mainly come down to job cuts, improve the mood.
“I’m not sure this is in the best interests of their clients or their talent,” says David Jones, the boss of Havas, a rival agency. “My whole focus at Havas is to get us to behave like a smaller company not a bigger one. I doubt you'll find a single client who says, ‘we wish you were bigger and we were less important to you’.” Quite so. Plenty of top talent has defected over the years from holding companies such as WPP and Publicis to strike out on their own, not least because they disliked working for an impersonal behemoth. Such distaste will probably be widespread at Omnicom, whose constituent agencies pride themselves on their independence. Nor will realising synergies from the merger, which are estimated at $500m and mainly come down to job cuts, improve the mood.
Popular Demand - US Media in Numbers
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/29/business/media/29mostwanted.html?ref=media
Competition among smartphone manufacturers is fierce, as each tries to find that sweet spot where price meets innovation.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Cultural protectionism - Face the music
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/07/cultural-protectionism
The diversification of music television channels may also be important. From its inception in 1981 until 1987, there was only one MTV channel. MTV generally played American and British music, even to consumers in other countries. But beginning with the launch of MTV Europe in 1987, it became easier for people around the world to stumble upon music from their own country. MTV has increasingly customised programming to particular countries. Flying in the face of the prejudices of any self-respecting music snob, the authors argue that MTV is a “force promoting local as well as global artists”
The diversification of music television channels may also be important. From its inception in 1981 until 1987, there was only one MTV channel. MTV generally played American and British music, even to consumers in other countries. But beginning with the launch of MTV Europe in 1987, it became easier for people around the world to stumble upon music from their own country. MTV has increasingly customised programming to particular countries. Flying in the face of the prejudices of any self-respecting music snob, the authors argue that MTV is a “force promoting local as well as global artists”
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Russia faces vodka boycott in backlash against anti-gay law
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/26/russia-vodka-boycott-gay-law
On its Facebook page, the company posted a multicoloured banner reading: "Stolichnaya Premium Vodka stands strong and proud with the global LGBT community against the actions and beliefs of the Russian government."
On its Facebook page, the company posted a multicoloured banner reading: "Stolichnaya Premium Vodka stands strong and proud with the global LGBT community against the actions and beliefs of the Russian government."
Stolichnaya, with its distinctive red-and-white label, was produced by the state in Soviet times and was reportedly the favourite vodka of Boris Yeltsin. After an attempt by the Russian state to regain the brand name in the 2000s, SPI Group, which is based in Luxembourg, has produced Stolichnaya in Latvia using Russian ingredients. Meanwhile, the state-owned Soyuzplodimport produces a nearly identical vodka in Russia.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Blockbusters struggle to sustain fan-base amid 'summer of doom'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jul/26/blockbuster-film-industry-fan-base-box-office
Industry insiders are referring to this season as "the summer of doom" – an overcrowded huddle of big-budget spectaculars, without the audience to sustain them. US box office takings are down 19% on the same period last year, while the studios are smarting from such high-profile casualties as The Lone Ranger, After Earth and the supernatural action-thriller RIPD. While the runaway success of Iron Man 3 and Despicable Me 2 helped soften the blow, major figures claim that the industry needs to adapt quickly or die.
Industry insiders are referring to this season as "the summer of doom" – an overcrowded huddle of big-budget spectaculars, without the audience to sustain them. US box office takings are down 19% on the same period last year, while the studios are smarting from such high-profile casualties as The Lone Ranger, After Earth and the supernatural action-thriller RIPD. While the runaway success of Iron Man 3 and Despicable Me 2 helped soften the blow, major figures claim that the industry needs to adapt quickly or die.
British newspapers are becoming more American
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21582275-british-newspapers-are-becoming-more-american-decent-proposal
The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times,Guardian, Independent and Times and their Sunday sister papers, which collectively account for about a fifth of overall newspaper circulation, are all pushing subscriptions, with some success. Between December 2008 and May 2013 the proportion of circulation coming from subscriptions for these papers jumped from 26% to 41%, according to Enders Analysis, a research firm. The Daily Telegraph, which has concentrated on subscriptions for longer than most, is giving away a Kindle, an e-reading device, to people who subscribe for a year. Others are offering heavy discounts off the cover price and “bundling” print and digital editions for a higher charge.
The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times,Guardian, Independent and Times and their Sunday sister papers, which collectively account for about a fifth of overall newspaper circulation, are all pushing subscriptions, with some success. Between December 2008 and May 2013 the proportion of circulation coming from subscriptions for these papers jumped from 26% to 41%, according to Enders Analysis, a research firm. The Daily Telegraph, which has concentrated on subscriptions for longer than most, is giving away a Kindle, an e-reading device, to people who subscribe for a year. Others are offering heavy discounts off the cover price and “bundling” print and digital editions for a higher charge.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Guardian Viral Video Chart: Prince George, Bill Clinton and Bruce Willis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/26/viral-video-chart-prince-george
1. John Oliver Tears Apart Royal Baby Media Coverage
On her majesty's secret cervix
On her majesty's secret cervix
2. Bill Clinton Singing Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke
You know you want it
You know you want it
3. Bruce Willis chats to Magic 105.4 about Red 2
Better dead than Red?
Better dead than Red?
4. Man Utd players star in awful advert for Japanese juice
Hard to swallow
Hard to swallow
6. The Most Awkward Rave Ever!!!
The wrong pitch
The wrong pitch
7. Cristiano Ronaldo Breaks A Boys Arm With This Free Kick (July 2013) CR7
Wristy business
Wristy business
8. How German Sounds Compared To Other Languages
In with a shout
In with a shout
9. Underwater Bullets at 27,000fps - The Slow Mo Guys
Shoot to thrill
Shoot to thrill
10. Judy Murray gives Greg an ice bath
Ice maiden
Ice maiden
Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 14:00 on 25 July 2013. The Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately 2m blogs, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Emerging economies - When giants slow down
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21582257-most-dramatic-and-disruptive-period-emerging-market-growth-world-has-ever-seen
The most impressive growth was in four of the biggest emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China, which Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, acronymed into the BRICs in 2001. These economies have grown in different ways and for different reasons. But their size marked them out as special—on purchasing-power terms they were the only $1 trillion economies outside the OECD, a rich world club—and so did their growth rates (see chart 2). Mr O’Neill reckoned they would, over a decade, become front-rank economies even when measured at market exchange rates, and he was right. Today they are four of the largest ten national economies in the world.
The most impressive growth was in four of the biggest emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China, which Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, acronymed into the BRICs in 2001. These economies have grown in different ways and for different reasons. But their size marked them out as special—on purchasing-power terms they were the only $1 trillion economies outside the OECD, a rich world club—and so did their growth rates (see chart 2). Mr O’Neill reckoned they would, over a decade, become front-rank economies even when measured at market exchange rates, and he was right. Today they are four of the largest ten national economies in the world.
Thinking twice about price
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21582232-age-austerity-businesses-need-get-better-charging-more-thinking-twice-about-price
WHEN bosses promise to make their companies more profitable they usually say they will do so by increasing sales or cutting costs. But a third road to profits is rarely mentioned: putting prices up. Managers often fail to ask how they might do better at plucking the goose to obtain the most feathers with the least hissing. The spiel from the management consultants who advise companies on pricing—whether specialists like Simon-Kucher or giant generalists like PWC—is that it is now more vital than ever to be smart at it. In today’s austere age many businesses cannot depend on rising sales volumes to lift their profits. As for cutting costs, most have already pared them to the bone. Prices are all that is left. And a business can do a lot with clever pricing, to boost its share of the limited spending-power that is out there.
WHEN bosses promise to make their companies more profitable they usually say they will do so by increasing sales or cutting costs. But a third road to profits is rarely mentioned: putting prices up. Managers often fail to ask how they might do better at plucking the goose to obtain the most feathers with the least hissing. The spiel from the management consultants who advise companies on pricing—whether specialists like Simon-Kucher or giant generalists like PWC—is that it is now more vital than ever to be smart at it. In today’s austere age many businesses cannot depend on rising sales volumes to lift their profits. As for cutting costs, most have already pared them to the bone. Prices are all that is left. And a business can do a lot with clever pricing, to boost its share of the limited spending-power that is out there.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
What the Share a Coke campaign can teach other brands
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/jul/24/share-coke-teach-brands
In the last few months there has been a growing trend for friends and colleagues to spam Twitter and Facebook feeds with pictures of Coca-Cola bottles and cans. As you probably already know, the world's largest beverage company has replaced its usual branding with 150 of the UK's most popular names. Each of these carried the hashtag #shareacoke to encourage users to promote the brand online.
The campaign was originally trialled in Australia in 2011 and produced some impressive results. Young adult consumption increased significantly, up by 7%. The campaign also earned a total of 18,300,000-plus media impressions, and traffic on the Coke Facebook site increased by 870%, with page likes growing by 39%.
In the last few months there has been a growing trend for friends and colleagues to spam Twitter and Facebook feeds with pictures of Coca-Cola bottles and cans. As you probably already know, the world's largest beverage company has replaced its usual branding with 150 of the UK's most popular names. Each of these carried the hashtag #shareacoke to encourage users to promote the brand online.
The campaign was originally trialled in Australia in 2011 and produced some impressive results. Young adult consumption increased significantly, up by 7%. The campaign also earned a total of 18,300,000-plus media impressions, and traffic on the Coke Facebook site increased by 870%, with page likes growing by 39%.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Jules Verne to Star Trek: Does sci-fi show the future?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23169444
"We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters."
"We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters."
Speaking to the BBC in 2010, Mr Thiel said the 'collapse of science fiction' since the 1950s and 60s is a big reason for this.
"There was a great deal of literature about the future and what the world would be like, the future history of the world, and that has really dissipated," he said.
Instead most mainstream sci-fi is about technology gone bad. So do scientists and technologists need sci-fi to inspire new products?
Why was Alexei Navalny released on bail?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/07/russian-politics-0
Few doubt that instructions to release Mr Navalny temporarily from police custody came from the Kremlin—just as the instructions to put him in jail earlier. The idea seems to be to give Mr Navalny a chance to participate in the Moscow mayoral elections on September 8th as the main opponent and a sparring partner to Sergei Sobyanin, the incumbent. Mr Sobyanin has called elections abruptly last month as a means to gaining political legitimacy. (At the moment he is a Kremlin appointee.) To make the elections meaningful he needed an opponent who would be recognised as a genuine opposition figure. Mr Navalny, one of the Kremlin’s main critics who had labelled its ruling United Russia a party of “thieves and swindlers” suited this role not least because he was way behind Mr Sobyanin in opinion polls for the mayor’s job which is widely considered an administrative rather than a political post.
Few doubt that instructions to release Mr Navalny temporarily from police custody came from the Kremlin—just as the instructions to put him in jail earlier. The idea seems to be to give Mr Navalny a chance to participate in the Moscow mayoral elections on September 8th as the main opponent and a sparring partner to Sergei Sobyanin, the incumbent. Mr Sobyanin has called elections abruptly last month as a means to gaining political legitimacy. (At the moment he is a Kremlin appointee.) To make the elections meaningful he needed an opponent who would be recognised as a genuine opposition figure. Mr Navalny, one of the Kremlin’s main critics who had labelled its ruling United Russia a party of “thieves and swindlers” suited this role not least because he was way behind Mr Sobyanin in opinion polls for the mayor’s job which is widely considered an administrative rather than a political post.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Russia’s American empire - How the east was lost
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21581967-when-tsarist-empire-reached-california-how-east-was-lost
Rezanov is the central character in Owen Matthews’s enthralling account of Russia’s great misfire: its attempt to colonise America. Many know that Russia sold Alaska to America, rather cheaply, in 1867, fearing it had become indefensible. But few know how it became Russian in the first place. Had history gone a little differently—if gold had been found a little earlier, or if Russia had not been so extraordinarily unlucky in its rulers—California’s Russian River might be a geopolitical reality, rather than a toponymic echo.
Rezanov is the central character in Owen Matthews’s enthralling account of Russia’s great misfire: its attempt to colonise America. Many know that Russia sold Alaska to America, rather cheaply, in 1867, fearing it had become indefensible. But few know how it became Russian in the first place. Had history gone a little differently—if gold had been found a little earlier, or if Russia had not been so extraordinarily unlucky in its rulers—California’s Russian River might be a geopolitical reality, rather than a toponymic echo.
Popular Demand - US Media in Numbers
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/22/business/media/22mostwanted.html?ref=media
Album sales are down 5.6 percent through June 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Daft Punk sold more digital than physical copies of “Random Access Memories.”
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Renault's YouTube ad banned for 'portraying women as sexual objects'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/17/renault-youtube-ad-banned
Renault UK said that the ad was a parody of French culture and that the dancers were a reference to Moulin Rouge, a "rhythmical send-up of the burlesque style", and were not overtly sexual. It added that the video had been watched more than 3m times on YouTube and it was unaware of any other complaints.
Renault UK said that the ad was a parody of French culture and that the dancers were a reference to Moulin Rouge, a "rhythmical send-up of the burlesque style", and were not overtly sexual. It added that the video had been watched more than 3m times on YouTube and it was unaware of any other complaints.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Study: users don't click on online ads
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10191765/Study-users-dont-click-on-online-ads.html
An academic study concluded that brand adverts in internet searches have “no short-term benefits”, and added that “returns from all other keywords are a fraction of conventional estimates.” The study’s author Byron Sharp, Professor of Marketing Science at the University of South Australia tweeted, “Google won’t like this”.
An academic study concluded that brand adverts in internet searches have “no short-term benefits”, and added that “returns from all other keywords are a fraction of conventional estimates.” The study’s author Byron Sharp, Professor of Marketing Science at the University of South Australia tweeted, “Google won’t like this”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study concluded simply that as users become more familiar with the web, they get savvier at avoiding adverts. “New and infrequent users are positively influenced by ads but existing loyal users purchasing behavior is not influenced by paid search,” he found. With much of the web funded by advertising, and more advertising needed to make mobile pay, it seems that web business is becoming even more difficult.
Lucy Kellaway’s History of Office Life
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/ea605bd2-ed32-11e2-ad6e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2ZaEXBShZ
When I started working in an office in the early 1980s, we smoked cigarettes at our desks, banged out articles on heavy typewriters and at lunchtime decamped to the office canteen or the pub for a hotplate of shepherd’s pie. Everything I’ve written since then about modern offices – the wireless, smokeless, noiseless places where we now work – has been coloured by my memory of how things used to be.
When I started working in an office in the early 1980s, we smoked cigarettes at our desks, banged out articles on heavy typewriters and at lunchtime decamped to the office canteen or the pub for a hotplate of shepherd’s pie. Everything I’ve written since then about modern offices – the wireless, smokeless, noiseless places where we now work – has been coloured by my memory of how things used to be.
But now I find my sense of history is all skewed. I’ve just finished making a series for Radio Four about the past 250 years of office life, and have discovered half the things I thought of as new fads turn out not to be new at all; while many things I took to be eternal facts of office life are actually rather recent. There are, however, some constants – like lust and boredom – as well as some things that have gone for ever. The tea lady isn’t coming back.
The future of the British tabloid
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/83c6e680-ef48-11e2-bb27-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2ZaEXBShZ
The tabloids are facing a “potentially mortal blow” from the internet. So in this struggle, they dare not be hobbled in their desperation to hold on – for at least a few years longer – to a business model which depends on flexibility in defining the public interest and the invasion of privacy. This existential anxiety is the main reason for the present dispute between the political parties and the majority of newspapers on the shape of a Royal Charter which will set the framework for a new press regulator.
For a century or more, Britain’s popular newspapers have fought guerrilla skirmishes, pitting popular choice against establishment taste and decency and formal, BBC-type standards of truth and balance. They are bought, in paper form even now, by about 7 million people every day as against the 1.5 million sales of upmarket (tabloid people like to say “unpopular”) papers. The past few years have seen a full-blown war, fought on the field supplied by Leveson and prompted by the tabloids’ own desperation for more intimate content. Ironically, they may, against the initial odds, be about to win this war or at least fight it to a draw. But they are losing the core strength, their hold on the market, and must embark on the uncertain currents of the internet, which will give them a much more modest existence or might even drown them.
The tabloids are facing a “potentially mortal blow” from the internet. So in this struggle, they dare not be hobbled in their desperation to hold on – for at least a few years longer – to a business model which depends on flexibility in defining the public interest and the invasion of privacy. This existential anxiety is the main reason for the present dispute between the political parties and the majority of newspapers on the shape of a Royal Charter which will set the framework for a new press regulator.
For a century or more, Britain’s popular newspapers have fought guerrilla skirmishes, pitting popular choice against establishment taste and decency and formal, BBC-type standards of truth and balance. They are bought, in paper form even now, by about 7 million people every day as against the 1.5 million sales of upmarket (tabloid people like to say “unpopular”) papers. The past few years have seen a full-blown war, fought on the field supplied by Leveson and prompted by the tabloids’ own desperation for more intimate content. Ironically, they may, against the initial odds, be about to win this war or at least fight it to a draw. But they are losing the core strength, their hold on the market, and must embark on the uncertain currents of the internet, which will give them a much more modest existence or might even drown them.
Friday, July 19, 2013
TV everywhere - The travel channels
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21582024-pay-television-executives-hope-hang-customers-letting-them-watch-shows-their
ALFRED HITCHCOCK once compared television to indoor plumbing. “It didn’t change people’s habits,” said the master of cinematic suspense. “It just kept them inside the house.” If television chained entertainment-junkies to the couch, online video has now released their shackles. Faster broadband, the rise of mobile phones and tablet devices, and services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube that stream shows to people anywhere with an internet connection have freed viewers to watch programmes wherever they wish.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK once compared television to indoor plumbing. “It didn’t change people’s habits,” said the master of cinematic suspense. “It just kept them inside the house.” If television chained entertainment-junkies to the couch, online video has now released their shackles. Faster broadband, the rise of mobile phones and tablet devices, and services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube that stream shows to people anywhere with an internet connection have freed viewers to watch programmes wherever they wish.
Pay-television executives have also chosen to take part in this liberation movement, by offering their subscribers “TV everywhere”. Their companies give their customers an access code that lets them watch channels streamed live—or individual shows on demand—on their mobile devices, much as they can on Netflix or Hulu. These days almost every TV operator in America, and many elsewhere in the world, offer subscribers something along these lines, says Ben Reneker of SNL Kagan, a research firm.
Viral Video Chart: Carly Rae Jepsen, Cory Monteith and Arsenal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/19/carly-rae-jepson-cory-monteith-arsenal
2. The Running Man - Arsenal Tour 2013
In need of a football coach
In need of a football coach
3. Cory Monteith top 5 best "Glee" performances as Finn Hudson
Cory tribute
Cory tribute
4. DJI Phantom Video Contest - Niagara Falls
Take the plunge
Take the plunge
5. Just Jumpy the dog
Happy tail
Happy tail
6. Gavin Henson knocked out by Bath RFC team mate
Playing dirty
Playing dirty
7. 10 Man Pool Basketball Alley-Oop
Team work
Team work
8. Twitter Party
How to make a hash(tag) of a party
How to make a hash(tag) of a party
9. German Shepherd Tries To Pounce On His Own Shadow
Spooked pooch
Spooked pooch
Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 14:00 on 18 July 2013. The Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately 2m blogs, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Popular Demand - US Media in Numbers
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/15/business/media/15mostwanted.html?ref=media
Summertime apps offer insider information — on the nearest bathroom,tracking the lines, concert schedules — to make the best of a day at the beach, amusement park or state fair.
Simple tests can overstate the impact of search-engine advertising
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21581715-simple-tests-can-overstate-impact-search-engine-advertising-ad-scientists
Establishing cause and effect in offline advertising is hard. Ads are difficult to target: space on billboards and in newspapers is seen by lots of shoppers. Some of these eyeballs are worth spending money on; others, either because they belong to existing customers or to people who never will be, are not. And even when big ad campaigns are followed by strong sales, the intuitive conclusion—that rising sales are the result of good ads—can be misleading. Advertising budgets often rise in good times so that spending and sales grow together, even if the advertisements are useless. The ads and the sales have a common cause—strong demand—but may have no causal link.
Establishing cause and effect in offline advertising is hard. Ads are difficult to target: space on billboards and in newspapers is seen by lots of shoppers. Some of these eyeballs are worth spending money on; others, either because they belong to existing customers or to people who never will be, are not. And even when big ad campaigns are followed by strong sales, the intuitive conclusion—that rising sales are the result of good ads—can be misleading. Advertising budgets often rise in good times so that spending and sales grow together, even if the advertisements are useless. The ads and the sales have a common cause—strong demand—but may have no causal link.
Shopping - The emporium strikes back
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21581755-retailers-rich-world-are-suffering-people-buy-more-things-online-they-are-finding
The future shopscape will be emptier, but more attractive. Shoppers can expect new rewards for simply showing up. Shopkick, a mobile-phone app, gives American shoppers points that earn them goodies like iTunes songs just for stepping across the threshold of a participating store. Inspired by Apple, shops promise “experience” and hope that sales will follow. Germany’s Kochhaus claims to be the first food store organised around recipes rather than grocery categories. The ingredients are strewn across tables, not stacked on shelves. Some shops will opt to sell nothing at all on the premises. Desigual, a Spanish fashion merchant, has shops in Barcelona and Paris that carry only samples. Shoppers are helped to assemble them into outfits that they then buy online.
The future shopscape will be emptier, but more attractive. Shoppers can expect new rewards for simply showing up. Shopkick, a mobile-phone app, gives American shoppers points that earn them goodies like iTunes songs just for stepping across the threshold of a participating store. Inspired by Apple, shops promise “experience” and hope that sales will follow. Germany’s Kochhaus claims to be the first food store organised around recipes rather than grocery categories. The ingredients are strewn across tables, not stacked on shelves. Some shops will opt to sell nothing at all on the premises. Desigual, a Spanish fashion merchant, has shops in Barcelona and Paris that carry only samples. Shoppers are helped to assemble them into outfits that they then buy online.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Google invests in YouTube studio in LA
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3f4c846a-e9c1-11e2-bf03-00144feabdc0.html#slide0
At Google’s vast new complex in LA, an entertainment revolution is under way. The cream of YouTube talent is shooting their crowd-pulling videos and creating a fusion of old and new media
At Google’s vast new complex in LA, an entertainment revolution is under way. The cream of YouTube talent is shooting their crowd-pulling videos and creating a fusion of old and new media
The channel strategy seems to be working. An ad-buyer told me a couple of years ago that some brands were wary of YouTube because the content was unpredictable and often poor quality. In the past 12 months brands such as Unilever and Dodge have begun buying spots and today the top 100 advertisers in America use the site. YouTube’s ad rates are still well below those for a spot on primetime TV but Kyncl has faith that that will change. He says the total global ad market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. “We are this small . . . ” he pinches his thumb and forefinger together “ . . . compared with the market we are playing in. As long as users are consuming video, the business will follow.”
The Sochi Olympics - Castles in the sand
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21581764-most-expensive-olympic-games-history-offer-rich-pickings-select-few-castles
Sochi has already set one record. At an estimated cost of $50 billion, these will be the most expensive games in history. When Russia placed its bid in 2007 it proposed to spend $12 billion, already more than any other country. Within a year the budget had been replaced by a seven-year plan to develop Sochi as a mountain resort. Most of the money is coming from the public purse or from state-owned banks.
Allison Stewart, of the SAID Business School at Oxford, says that Olympics tend to have cost overruns of about 180% on average. For Sochi the overrun is now 500%. But Russia made clear that money was not an issue, says Ms Stewart. She also notes that relations between the government and construction companies appear closer in Sochi than in other games. Large construction projects often have a side-effect of corruption. But in Russia corruption is not a side-effect: it is a product almost as important as the sporting event itself.
Viral Video Chart: impala escapes cheetahs, Dustin Hoffman, Biffy Clyro
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/12/andy-murray-dustin-hoffman-biffy-clyro
1. Cheetah Chases Impala Antelope Into Tourists on Safari
Getaway car
Getaway car
3. Biffy Clyro - Victory Over The Serve
Murray minted
Murray minted
5. Largest Paintball Battle - Living Legends 6 x HK Army
Shoot to thrill
Shoot to thrill
6. Girl Learns to Dance in a Year (TIME LAPSE)
Making moves
Making moves
8. Power Rangers Morph Through 20 Years!Child's play
9. 4th of July DUI Checkpoint - Drug Dogs, Searched without Consent, while Innocent
Taking the law into their own hands
Taking the law into their own hands
10. Honda "Hands"
Creative drive
Creative drive
Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 14:00 on 11 July 2013. The Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately 2m blogs, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Minority Report moves step closer as Lord Sugar launches face recognition adverts
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/10170020/Minority-Report-moves-step-closer-as-Lord-Sugar-launches-face-recognition-adverts.html
The media company has launched OptimEyes, which will be used in more than 6,000 of its screens to target over 50m people in the UK, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, UAE, Oman, Kenya, Angola and South Africa.
However, the majority of the screens, some 3,561, are in the UK in doctors' surgeries, hospitals, convenience stores, petrol forecourts, Halifax banks, airports and train stations.
Echoing the 2002 film Minority Report, in which Tom Cruise is beseiged by adverts that are tailored just for him, the OptimEyes system works via an inbuilt camera in each screen that detects individuals even when they are not looking at the advert. This can then be relayed to the advertiser to ensure it shows an advert best suited to passers-by.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Popular Demand - US Media in Numbers
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/08/business/media/08mostwanted.html?ref=media&_r=0
The fastest-moving search terms included prominent names like “Monica Lewinsky,” some of whose belongings were put on auction, and “Nelson Mandela” and “Paula Deen.”
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Autumn/winter 2013 fashion ad campaign round-up
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/TMG10138646/Autumnwinter-2013-fashion-ad-campaign-round-up.html
Kenzo paints a surreal picture, while Miu Miu's models hit the coast line for some standout autumn/winter 2013 campaign imagery.
Kenzo paints a surreal picture, while Miu Miu's models hit the coast line for some standout autumn/winter 2013 campaign imagery.
At Wimbledon with Gordon Forbes - By Simon Kuper
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/baaf57ae-e444-11e2-91a3-00144feabdc0.html#slide0
When Gordon Forbes first played at Wimbledon in 1954, the South African farm boy was so overcome to have got there that he cried on court. “I dropped my first service game due to burning eyes, and finally lost the match,” he writes in A Handful of Summers, widely considered the best tennis book ever. Forbes has come a long way since. Now 79, but still with darkish hair and the athlete’s straight back, he leads me around a Wimbledon where he knows every cranny.
When Gordon Forbes first played at Wimbledon in 1954, the South African farm boy was so overcome to have got there that he cried on court. “I dropped my first service game due to burning eyes, and finally lost the match,” he writes in A Handful of Summers, widely considered the best tennis book ever. Forbes has come a long way since. Now 79, but still with darkish hair and the athlete’s straight back, he leads me around a Wimbledon where he knows every cranny.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Россияне не идут в кино
http://www.vedomosti.ru/companies/news/13863451/rossiyane-ne-idut-v-kino
В кинотеатрах продолжает происходить некоторый отток зрителей, соглашается заместитель гендиректора сети «Каро фильм» Ольга Чирихина, частично это связано с репертуаром: в этом году было много крупных премьер с амбициозными планами по кассе, которые не смогли привлечь массового зрителя (конкретные фильмы она назвать отказалась). Впрочем, были и обратные ситуации: «Иллюзия обмана», «Великий Гэтсби» и, конечно, «Легенда № 17» стали настоящим прорывом. Кроме того, в этом году вновь хорошо поработала анимация. Мультипликационные фильмы помогут кинотеатрам собрать хорошую кассу этим летом, рассчитывает Чирихина, в прокат выйдет несколько интересных проектов. По ее словам, еще одна заметная тенденция года в том, что люди меньше ходят на фильмы со средним бюджетом, их интересуют только дорогостоящие блокбастеры.
Viral Video Chart: Andy Murray, Orlando Bloom, and One Direction
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/05/andy-murray-one-direction-orlando-bloom
Guardian Viral Video Chart. Compiled by Unruly Media and tweaked by Janette
Guardian Viral Video Chart. Compiled by Unruly Media and tweaked by Janette
1. Andy Murray takes the 2013 Live @ Wimbledon Quiz
Quick-fire round
Quick-fire round
2. One Direction - 1D: This Is Us – Movie Trailer
One way or another
One way or another
3. Goodbye Orlando
Orc-ward moments
Orc-ward moments
4. Baby Swims Across Pool
Water star
Water star
5. Rory Vs the robot
Who will get rinsed?
Who will get rinsed?
8. Glastonbury Festival 2013 in 60 seconds
Just a minute
Just a minute
9. GEICO Hump Day Camel Commercial – Happier than a Camel on Wednesday
Camel lights up your day
Camel lights up your day
10. Public Prank – Broken Camera Prank
Getting snappy
Getting snappy
Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 14:00 on 4 July 2013. The Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately 2m blogs, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
The Oculus Rift - Goggles for gamers
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/07/oculus-rift
WHEN in August 2012 Palmer Luckey, the inventor of the Oculus Rift, a virtual-reality gaming peripheral, asked for financing on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, he was hoping to raise just $250,000. Instead, nearly 10,000 people gave him a total of $2.4m to get his device ready for the mass market. Now Mr Luckey has even more cash to play with: his company recently announced it had raised a further $16m of funding from venture capitalists.
WHEN in August 2012 Palmer Luckey, the inventor of the Oculus Rift, a virtual-reality gaming peripheral, asked for financing on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, he was hoping to raise just $250,000. Instead, nearly 10,000 people gave him a total of $2.4m to get his device ready for the mass market. Now Mr Luckey has even more cash to play with: his company recently announced it had raised a further $16m of funding from venture capitalists.
That money will allow Mr Luckey to hire more engineers to work on the Rift, which not only avid gamers have welcomed as a potentially transformative technology. From the outside the peripheral does not look like much: a set of thick black goggles attached to a headband. Yet slip the Rift over your head and effect is rather impressive: you become immersed in virtual reality.
Cathedrals to internet age rise across globe
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/cathedrals-to-internet-age-rise-across-globe-googles-kings-cross-hq-is-among-outlandish-designs-by-online-giants-8686189.html?action=gallery&ino=1
Apple
The 2.8 million sq ft “Spaceship” campus, due to open in 2016, has drawn comparisons with the Death Star in Star Wars. It will house around 14,200 employees and cost an estimated $5bn (£3.25bn) to build. It will also contain a 1,000-seat auditorium, a gym and 300,000sq ft of “research” space.
Amazon
The 65,000sq ft, five-floor ‘Bio Dome’ will be filled with plants chosen for their ability to thrive in a microclimate comfortable for humans. Standing in the centre of Seattle, it will include a variety of botanical zones “modelled on ecologies found around the globe”.
Facebook
Mack Zuckerberg’s company hired architect Frank Gehry to design its West campus extension in California. The 420,000sq ft campus – essentially one large open room of 10 acres – will be home to Facebook HQ’s 3,400 engineers.
Samsung
Samsung’s new Silicon Valley complex, due for completion in 2015, will hold 2,000 employees. Comprised of two 10-storey buildings connected by bridges, the design is supposed to encourage collaboration between employees.
Google
The internet giant submitted plans last week for a London office described as a “groundscraper”. The Kings Cross development will sit in a 2.4-acre site and cost 650m. The site is expected to include a 20,000sq ft area for bike parking.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Zynga's woes - An out-of-the-box boss
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/07/zyngas-woes
To succeed, Mr Mattrick will have to pull off a tricky hat-trick. First, he must show that he can work smoothly with Mr Pincus, who may find ithard to give up control. He will also have to help Zynga, which grew up as a desktop-gaming specialist, adapt faster to a world in which more and more games are being played on mobile devices. And he will have to fend off competition from a burgeoning number of rivals such as King.com, whose Candy Crush Saga is winning rave reviews from gamers. Even Facebook, whose vast online platform helped propel Zynga to the top of the casual-gaming leaderboard, is exploring how to boost the number of companies developing games for it.
To succeed, Mr Mattrick will have to pull off a tricky hat-trick. First, he must show that he can work smoothly with Mr Pincus, who may find ithard to give up control. He will also have to help Zynga, which grew up as a desktop-gaming specialist, adapt faster to a world in which more and more games are being played on mobile devices. And he will have to fend off competition from a burgeoning number of rivals such as King.com, whose Candy Crush Saga is winning rave reviews from gamers. Even Facebook, whose vast online platform helped propel Zynga to the top of the casual-gaming leaderboard, is exploring how to boost the number of companies developing games for it.
Are international football tournaments curse or boon?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/07/euro-2012-one-year-0
AS BRAZILIANS took to the streets to protest against overspending on the 2014 World Cup, Poles and Ukrainians were celebrating the anniversary of another soccer tournament that also required a huge investment from their respective government: UEFA Euro 2012. Today a year ago the tournament ended in glory for Spain, and, supposedly, for the two host nations.
AS BRAZILIANS took to the streets to protest against overspending on the 2014 World Cup, Poles and Ukrainians were celebrating the anniversary of another soccer tournament that also required a huge investment from their respective government: UEFA Euro 2012. Today a year ago the tournament ended in glory for Spain, and, supposedly, for the two host nations.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Popular Demand - US Media in Numbers
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/01/business/media/01mostwanted.html?ref=media
The coming weekend will offer two strong contenders to join the top-grossing Independence Day weekend films: “Despicable Me 2,” the sequel to the 2010 film, and “The Lone Ranger,” which stars Johnny Depp.
As TV ad budgets slowly move online, those making the jump are impressed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/jun/28/tv-budgets-online-advertising
The majority of online video spend in the last 12 months is coming from budgets previously reserved for TV advertising according to Be On. Although TV is considered a key awareness driver, 78 per cent of respondents in Europe and 58 per cent globally said they could achieve greater engagement and scale with online video.
The majority of online video spend in the last 12 months is coming from budgets previously reserved for TV advertising according to Be On. Although TV is considered a key awareness driver, 78 per cent of respondents in Europe and 58 per cent globally said they could achieve greater engagement and scale with online video.
However, another report by PwC gives a much more modest growth trajectory for online video cannibalisation of TV ad spend. Here'sPaidContent's verdict on their findings:
In the future of television land, everyone from AOL to the Wall Street Journal will be making awesome online shows and sponsors will ply them with ad budgets once reserved for TV. And why not? After all, online audiences are growing fast and might provide much better marketing opportunities.There's just one problem – it won't happen anytime soon.According to consulting firm PwC's annual media report, online video will increase from $2.3 billion in 2012 to $5.9 billion by 2017. The figure represents 9% of future online ad spending, but this is still a small amount compared to TV ads – which PwC predicts will pull in $81.6 billion, or 37% of all ad dollars in 2017 (the figure includes ads "around broadcasters' TV content", so adjust accordingly.)
However, PWC does concede that globally, digital media will account for 37% of advertising revenues by 2017, up from 26% in 2012 which is a clear shift. A lot of that is likely to also be new money and not cannibalizing from TV sources.
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