AT&T casts sponsorship spell over new 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' game

AT&T is now part of Harry Potter lore as the first brand to ink a sponsorship deal with the new augmented reality game about the wizarding world. AT&T stores are incorporated into the landscape of the game, called “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” which is by Niantic, the creator of “Pokémon Go." AT&T acquired Time Warner last year, in a deal that included Warner Bros., the studio that owns rights to Harry Potter. AT&T and Cricket Wireless, which it owns, appear to be the only sponsors in the game so far, which debuted Friday after a soft launch on Thursday. An AT&T spokeswoman confirmed its involvement in the game but declined to reveal financial terms of the integration. The game includes "inns" and "fortresses" that can be accessed when playing from inside more than 10,000 AT&T and Cricket Wireless retail stores. The Inns and fortresses allow players to recharge their energy, find challenges or encounter other virtual wizards and magical creatures. The promotion started today for AT&T and will kick off on July 15 for Cricket. The game is positioned to tap into the raging fandom of the Harry Potter books and movie franchise while replicating the success of “Pokémon Go,” which showed the possibilities of augmented reality in mobile games. Starbucks and Sprint became the first U.S. sponsors in “Pokémon Go” six months after it was released in July 2016. Their logos appeared in the game map, in a move to lure players to visit their physical... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-21 21:00:51 UTC ]
News tagged with: #virtual space #in-app purchases #$2 million #senior vp #digital marketing #nielsen #time warner #harry potter

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‘They’re telling us how the Web should work': The publisher view of Google’s AMP

While AMP, Google is making a big push to speed up how fast publishers' content loads on mobile screens. That's good for Google, publishers and most of all readers. But others have reservations about the scheme, which they say ignores Google's role in slowing down sites through its own ad tech.... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google AMP battles ad-blocking, Apple and Facebook by cutting load times

Search company unveils Accelerated Mobile Pages in bid to work with publishers, ad companies and rival platforms Google is attempting to counter the threat from ad-blocking and rivals Facebook and Apple by radically improving the loading speed of web pages on smartphones and tablets.Accelerated... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To compete with Facebook and Google, publishers step up their ad-targeting game

Traditional publishers, tired of competing with Facebook and Google for digital ad dollars, are taking steps to get more personal with their advertising. Among the big topics discussed during Advertising Week was how media companies like News Corp and Condé Nast are getting into the ad tech... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Units Up 2% Through September

Unit sales of print books rose 2% in the first nine months of 2015, compared to the similar period in 2014, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan, which records about 80%–85% of all print sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quarto Gets Into Custom Cookbook Game

Over the past three years, Quarto Publishing Group has channeled efforts to growing its cookbook catalogue, tripling its list from 35 cookbooks to more than 100, all while adding a personalized cookbook program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Game of Thrones : 'Zombie' George R.R. Martin signs book from beyond the grave

Game of Thrones fans can rest assured that even the impending zombie apocalypse won't stop George R.R. Martin from delivering eagerly awaited future instalments of the book series. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audiobook Casting News for September 2015

Whoopi Goldberg talks relationships, Dick Van Dyke reads his book on aging, and more updates from audiobook publishers this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harris: 'TV book shows could help BBC survive'

Novelist Robert Harris has said that developing dedicated TV books programming is one of the ways in which the BBC can fight back against funding cuts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert Harris: Interview

Novelist Robert Harris is feeling a mix of relief and sadness, he says, at the prospect of parting ways with a figure who has been part of his life for the past 12 years. His acclaimed series on the life of Ancient Rome’s great orator Cicero, which began with Imperium (2006), reaches its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dashner promotes The Fever Code with Twitter game

James Dashner, author of the Maze Runner series, is offering his fans the chance to see their name in his next book The Fever Code via a new twitter competition, launched today (7th September). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Combines Mobile Gaming, Fantasy Fiction to Lure Readers

Alane Adams worked for years as an accountant at her family’s business, but she always believed that one day she’d get back to her first two loves: reading and writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad blocking could spell the end of the intrusive ad

Revenue-hungry publishers have been cramming more high-impact ads onto their sites, but the growing spectre of ad blocking could be the nail in the coffin for some of those obnoxious units. Early data from Moat Ad Blocking Analytics suggests 10 to 15 percent of all premium publishers’ desktop ad... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors United asks DOJ for Amazon probe

Campaign group Authors United has written to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to ask it to investigate Amazon, which it says has “gained unprecedented power over America’s market for books”. The letter, signed by 575 authors including Scott Turow, Nelson DeMille and Nora Roberts and submitted... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adult Fiction Print Units Bouncing Back in 2015

Since ebook sales exploded in 2009–2010, the adult fiction category has seen the steepest drop in print units of all the major book segments as readers migrated to digital formats, particularly in such fiction genres as romance, mystery, and science fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Games Meet Books at Gamescom Cologne

Gamescon Cologne and the Frankfurt Book Fair invited rights pros from book publishing, video games and others to meet and discuss rights and licensing. The post Games Meet Books at Gamescom Cologne appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Soup’s On, For a Cause: Big Time Authors Unite for Syrian Refugee Food Relief

Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, and Yotam Ottolenghi are among the cookbook authors who contributed recipes to 'Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Game of Thrones app from HC UK

HarperCollins UK has teamed up with George R R Martin and digital product studio Reason to produce a new Game of Thrones app. Released today (30th July), the free app is designed as a "bridge product" for fans of the TV series who have not yet read the books. The app asks users where they are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oculus founder responds to flak over 'exclusive' games

Oculus VR came under fire last week after its CEO said the company will fund development of about two dozen “Oculus-exclusive” games for its virtual reality headset. The company has now responded to the complaints, saying some of those games may eventually come to other VR platforms.The spat... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch 'The Flash' cast react to the news that Jay Garrick will be joining the show

The finale of the CW's "The Flash" strongly hinted that the original speedy comic book superhero Jay Garrick was somewhere lurking in the DC Entertainment ether. The comic book character's famous silver-winged helmet was spotted in the final episode. And now it's confirmed: The original Flash... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Game of Thrones' takes on Comic-Con, and we are there

If you think capturing the Iron Throne with an army of the Unsullied and a couple of dragons takes planning, imagine taking a dozen "Game of Thrones" cast and creators through the madness of Comic Con! For the first time ever, Los Angeles Times Television Critic Mary McNamara and her 17-year-old... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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