Brands crash Area 51 parties. And AT&T considers offloading DirecTV: Thursday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our daily newsletter. You can also get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device. Whassup? Now take me to your leader Bud Light is the official sponsor of the Area 51 Celebration happening in Las Vegas tonight, and the brand made extraterrestrial-themed beer cans for the occasion. It also has a fridge of beer stocked just for aliens, should any turn up. But let’s back up, because this requires some explanation. It all started with an internet joke urging a raid on the Area 51 military facility in the Nevada desert; legend has it that alien spacecraft are held there. The joke “quickly grew into a potentially real thing (putting many, including the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, on edge),” as Ad Age’s Ann-Christine Diaz writes. And now there are a few parties happening in Nevada instead; at one of them, Arby’s will hand out “Frying Objects,” aka fries. To recap: A jokey meme about hunting for extraterrestrials led to plans for a potentially dangerous uprising, which turned into an excuse for parties, which opened up possibilities for corporate sponsorship. 2019 is wild. A murky future for DirecTV On a more serious note, AT&T is considering parting with its DirecTV unit, which it bought in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Journal... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-19 10:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #nielsen ratings #kamala harris #incredibly powerful #anonymous tip #nielsen

Other Publishing stories related to: ' Brands crash Area 51 parties. And AT&T considers offloading DirecTV: Thursday Wake-Up Call '


Coates calls for Vaizey to be replaced as culture minister

Former Waterstones’ boss Tim Coates has called for Ed Vaizey to be replaced as culture minister, and for his replacement to “get a really tight grip on what’s happening” with libraries across the UK and help councils. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ed vaizey #culture minister


Publishing industry's 'Super Thursday' to see more than 500 books published

Thursday in October heralds book industry’s major assault on the Christmas marketThe nature of that rectangular parcel under the Christmas tree can now be predicted: it could well be a new cook book by Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, just like last year.Or it might... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hugh fearnley-whittingstall #sue perkins #top gear #chris evans #pop star


Gibbons reissues call for head-to-head debate with Vaizey

Author and library campaigner Alan Gibbons has issued an open letter to culture minister Ed Vaizey, renewing his call for the politician to engage in a full public debate on the future of the public library service as the “situation is critical”. Gibbons first issued a challenge to Vaizey... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #head-to-head debate #open letter


Pearson Set to Offload Economist Stake for 400M Pounds

Pearson is expected to announce the sale of its stake in the publisher of The Economist magazine as early as this week for about £400m, according to people close to the matter.   The De Rothschild family and Exor, the investment vehicl ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #economist magazine


Oh, the Parties You'll Throw: Celebrating the New Dr. Seuss Book Across the Country

Bookstores across the country threw parties to celebrate the release of the latest, never-before-seen Dr. Seuss picture book, 'What Pet Should I Get?' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #seuss book


Starz renews 'Black Sails,' plans Cuba-set drama called 'Havana Quartet' starring Antonio Banderas

Starz has renewed its Michael Bay drama "Black Sails" for a fourth season and announced it is developing "Havana Quartet," a drama based on the Leonardo Padura detective book series that will star Antonio Banderas. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fourth season #drama based


Wattpad's Native Ads Pitch in a TL;DR World? Consumers and Brands Love Long Reads

First the Serial podcast became wildly popular. Then President Barack Obama sat down for an interview with Marc Maron for the comedian's WTF program, and the audio-only format that is podcasting was validated like never before. The developments largely flew in the face of the increasingly... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #decade ago #longer period #short form #follow trends


Chelsea Green Crashing Bernie Sanders Book

The Vermont-based press will be the first press to offer a book-length look at the agenda of native politico and Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The birthday party

On the occasion of its 20th birthday, The Bookseller would like to wish Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos many happy returns. Amazon is a remarkable business led by a remarkable visionary. He may not acknowledge it but Bezos is the natural heir to people such as Sir Allen Lane and Tim... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tim waterstone #20th birthday


Brands Start Hosting Real-Time Video Chats on Facebook

Media brands were quick to adopt video apps Periscope and Meerkat to broadcast live streams, and now Facebook marketers want in on that action. Social platform BumeBox started hosting live Facebook chats for brands like VH1 and Discovery Channel back in October, as an alternative to the Twitter... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PP Call for Stories: Leadership, Europe, Asia and Frankfurt

We're actively seeking great stories about leadership, European and Asian publishing, rights, education and any tied to the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair. The post PP Call for Stories: Leadership, Europe, Asia and Frankfurt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #frankfurt appeared #pp call


Leading authors call for government probe of Amazon's 'damaging' power

Malcolm Gladwell and Ursula Le Guin lead call to US justice department to investigate its ‘monopoly as a seller of books’Authors including Malcolm Gladwell, Ursula Le Guin, Michael Chabon and Ann Patchett are putting their names to a letter attacking Amazon’s “abuse of its dominance in the world... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest initiative #authors united #douglas preston #michael lewis #daniel handler


Study With Major Brands Compares Ad Recall for Mobile and Desktop Promos

If you want people to remember a mobile ad, you're going to have to pay for it, according to new research from digital ad firm Undertone. Last year, Undertone worked with Ipsos ASI to look at how takeover "high-impact" desktop ads affected brand recall. This year, the company looked at how... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #web pages #consumer engagement #brands aren


Throwback Thursday: Scientology Goes Racing

Racing ain't cheap, and teams are seldom in a position to turn down money. This leads to some off-the-wall sponsorship deals. Crypto-currencies. Taylor Swift. Jesus. And, for a few glorious years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, "Dianetics," in a campaign bankrolled by the Church of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #late 1980s #early 1990s #mental health


Authors call on the US to investigate Amazon's book business

Just because Apple is on the hook for allegedly anti-competitive book sales doesn't mean that Amazon is above reproach. As promised, groups representing both authors and booksellers are calling on the US Department of Justice to investigate Amazon fo... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors call #investigate amazon #book business


Authors, Booksellers & Agents Call for DoJ to Investigate Amazon

Days before Amazon celebrates its 20th anniversary, Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the DoJ for an investigation of Amazon, and ABA submitted a similar request on Monday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors united #investigate amazon #20th anniversary


Why Informa Is Putting Events at the Center of Its Media Brands

Publisher merges brands to more closely align with its trade show. The post Why Informa Is Putting Events at the Center of Its Media Brands appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media brands #closely align #trade show


Google's Ebook Logo Combines The Best Of Print And Digital Brands

How do you brand the digital book of the future? 50% old school, 50% new school.From a design standpoint, Kindle books aren't radically different than their print counterparts. Letters are rendered in pixels rather than ink, and are somewhat adjustable. But otherwise, a digital a book is the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital book #print counterparts #traditional publisher #digital brands


‘Look at Me': The first-ever Instagram book is a self-help guide for brands

You’ve read books in print. You might have read books online or on a mobile device. But until now you probably haven't read a book on Instagram. Jason Sperling, executive creative director at agency RPA, today began publishing his new 160-page book, “Look at Me When I'm Talking to You,”... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #brands appeared #mobile device #makes sense


Facebook's Immersive Mobile Ads Finally Give Brands the Creative They Want

After Facebook convinced publishers to go all-in on exclusive content with Instant Articles, it hopes advertisers will do the same. In a presentation at Cannes Lions this week, Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox showed ad buyers mock-ups of a new mobile format that takes over a screen... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv budgets #advertisers today #content users #chris tuff