QVIews

Rebel agency StrawberryFrog just won the Heineken account and is interviewed in the Wall St. Journal. Most of the article is about how agencies need to change, but the StrawberryFrog creative chief makes a telling point about how marketers ought to place their message into media. He says they should look for opportunities to ‘own…

I heard about the Tickle web site and thought, "how cute." Well, it’s growing up into quite the strapping teenager, perhaps soon to grow into a influential media professional. Tickle is now owned by Monster Worldwide, but shows no signs of being absorbed. In fact, the founders are flexing their power and expertise by creating…

Thanks to Tim Manners of Reveries for a heads up on an article about UK retailer Tesco compiling a huge database of British shoppers, their habits and preferences. These activities are the same that Experian and Knowledgebase Marketing are pursuing in the U.S., but everyone thought it was off-limits in the U.K. The big news…

Nationally placed advertising has been a mainstay of newspaper advertising sales for a long time. Now Federated Department Stores is shifting much of its spending to TV and direct mail. Perhaps newspapers will survive by cultivating a local market. Not much margin there, unfortunately. MediaPost Publications – Federated Spending Shift Could Spell Trouble For U.S.…

Here’s why content providers like Bloomberg Television and the Food Network are now signing contracts to feed their programs to the phone companies (through companies like Broadstream), which can use their land lines for TV narrowcasting. You can get one from column A and two from column B, and don’t forget to sign up for…

Now the TV networks are courting the people who love being influential, especially the people who want to be see the first airing of any show and spread the word to their friends. If trying to come up with the most creative advertisement is risky, then trying to control someone who prides themselves on being…

Marketing researchers, including those from Initiative Media, are struggling with how to use observations from chat rooms as a way to predict the popularity of launches for products and shows. It’s not always as easy as it seems. For instance, competition between products, as well as competition among the influencers to be witty and hip,…

The TrendCentral newsletter from Youth Intelligence reports a new type of branded entertainment. You have to sign up to find out where it’s going to be! The Cassandra Report: Flash Concerts Ford Motors, Sony, and Cingular Wireless have created an interesting twist to the “flash mob” phenomenon. Capitalizing on the ultimate VIP desire, Fusion Flash…

Over at the MediaPost newsletter Email Insider, Melinda Krueger shares her wisdom about putting links into your email. Net/net: it’s a good thing when it’s a good deal for your target, but don’t do it just for tracking. Email Insider: What I’ve Learned About Links, Part II by Melinda Krueger Augie Ray, owner of a…

Associated Press has added a new service called "asap" targeted to 18 to 34 year olds and featuring news and experiences in new formats including multimedia, blogs, and wireless text. More than 100 newspapers have already signed up. It’s not just the same old news in a new format. Somehow, I don’t think an old…