There's No App. for This

If you have had access to a television for any amount of time over the past three months, you have seen the constant and heated struggle between Verizon Wireless and AT&T regarding 3G coverage with their respective wireless devices. What started as a virtually necessary move by Verizon to combat the staunch opposition they met with the release of the iPhone and its ever growing popularity has turned into a substantial turning of the tide.

Verizon Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton admitted that the iPhone was the most groundbreaking device to ever enter the market and ultimately became "very disruptive" in Verizon's overall marketing strategy. Because of this, Verizon made the decision to abruptly throw out the pre-planned holiday advertisements with the "Maps" campaign. (Stratton can be seen explaining why the "Maps" campaign was necessary while providing an overview of Verizon's nine-year marketing history at http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?title=53522445001) Add this with the release of the brand new "Droid" smartphone, and you've got a formula for disaster for AT&T. This decision has led to a tremendous score for Verizon on many levels and couldn't have come at a better time.

Verizon took a bold step in launching the "Maps" campaign, and in the process led to an even larger victory with AT&T responding with countless lawsuits and counter-ads that have done nothing to combat the original claim: Verizon has more expansive 3G coverage. The impact has been seen in many different forms, but most notably in an article I came across that reported that according to YouGov marketing claims. The report stated that Verizon's awareness among individuals age 18-30 has grown from a dismal 40% to an astounding 62.2%, surpassing and actually taking a bite out of AT&T's awareness rating weighing in at 54.4%. (A link to this study will be attached at the end).

In sum, AT&T's rebuttle has been received as whiny and overly-defending. While the iPhone my have an application available to buy movie tickets or even sing like T-Pain, they don't have an app. that can outdo what Verizon has done and will continue to do with their marketing efforts.



Here's the study of awareness ratings previously mentioned:
http://www.electronicista.com/articles/09/12/15/may.be.building.on.droid.success/

The iPad

I really don't have much to say except for "I want one... Now, please."
Check out the article at the bottom to get a good look at Apple's newest technology.
They're gonna take over the world with this thing.

Apple iPad

Newsday "boasts" 35 subscribers for online version...

I came across this article and was absolutely amazed at the number of subscribers. 35!!? I would guess that a good portion of the subscribers are actually employees trying to bump up their numbers. They will not sell much digital content with such horrible numbers! I question the ability of a company to profit if they do not have much in-house generated content... things that one can only get at their publication. Why would someone pay to subscribe if they are getting the same AP/Reuters generated content they can get somewhere else free?

I think companies have to get creative in their content and create new and interesting content the public can only get there, such as more investigative journalism.

35 subscribers @ $260 per year = $9,100 per year. Does that cover the utility bill for the servers?

Doomsday for Newsday?
In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?

So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?

The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.

That astoundingly low figure was revealed in a newsroom-wide meeting last week by publisher Terry Jimenez when a reporter asked how many people had signed up for the site. Mr. Jimenez didn't know the number off the top of his head, so he asked a deputy sitting near him. He replied 35.

Michael Amon, a social services reporter, asked for clarification.

"I heard you say 35 people," he said, from Newsday's auditorium in Melville. "Is that number correct?"
Continue reading article here...

Google v.s. China

It seems that Google has decided to branch out into yet another market, foreign affairs. Google, while great at data transfer, organization, and storage, is not the personification of the definition of diplomacy. Admittedly, I agreed with Google's lifting of search censors. But like Google, I shouldn't be meddling in the relationships of global super powers. At this point, we can use as many political allies on the global scene as we can get. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the U.S. highlighting the cyber-attacks on Google "damages U.S.-Sino relationship." What does this mean for the global political climate? And should a .com really have this much pull in the universe?

CNN on China

Youtube Rentals

So Youtube announced on their blog today that they are going into the movie rental business. Five films from the Sundance film festival (2009 and 2010) will be available on the Youtube rental site over this coming weekend.
Their deal seems interesting, especially for fledgling, independent movie makers because they promise complete control over the distribution of their films on the site down to the price and rental duration.
So what do you think? Is Youtube the next big challenger for the movie rental throne? Do they have enough to seriously compete with Netflix or RedBox?
Discuss...

An entertainment buyout

Conan O'Brien and his staff will be paid $44 million dollars as part of a severance package with NBC. O'Brien gets $32 million; his staffers split $12 million.

Is this just the cost of doing business for NBC? I have not seen a recent price estimate for network spots during Tonight, but I would guess a spot probably costs $25,000 - $40,000 each for a :30 spot.

In a one hour program, show content probably runs about 44 minutes. This leaves 16 minutes for ad/promotion insertion. 16 minutes x 2 (for two :30 spots) yields 32 commercial availabilities.
Let's guess that the network generates revenue from about 70% of these spots. Some are dedicated to network program promotion and others go to the affiliates.
32 x 70% = about 22 commercials
If the average price is $31,000, a single program episode generates $682,000 in revenue.
Five days per week, the revenue is $682,000 x 5 = $3,410,000
52 weeks per year, the revenue is $3,410,000 x 52 = $177,320,000

Before you get too excited, remember that Leno and staff must be paid also! If the recent turmoil has driven away viewers and they don't return, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will draw fewer viewers and generate lower ad prices--there's a ripple effect on total revenue. Still, a $44 million payoff may just be the cost of doing business.

Here's an NYTimes article about the severance package.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/21/business/AP-US-TV-Conan-Leno.html?_r=1&emc=na
Or: http://bit.ly/757heY