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

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What brands and publishers need to know about Facebook’s developer conference

Facebook is positioning itself to become the data, media-consumption and content-sharing backbone for the entire digital media industry. Between making user data available in its video ad network LiveRail, making its video player embeddable on publishers' websites, growing its number of... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #convincing brands #developer conference #messenger app


Europe's universities call for end to 'double dipping'

Europe's research universities have called on the academic publishing sector to stop double-dipping when charging researchers and their institutions for subscriptions and fees for processing contributed articles.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #double dipping


Why Digital-Facing Brands Stick Around for SXSW Music

The interactive portion of the South by Southwest festival in Austin may be over, but that doesn't mean that digital media brands have packed up their bags. Several digital-facing companies and publishers have decided to activate outside the traditional period reserved for their wares, further... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unique opportunity #critical component #credit cards #mobile space #share content


France, Germany, Italy and Poland call for ebook VAT to be reduced

The French, German, Italian and Polish culture ministers today released a joint statement calling for the European Commission to propose immediately legislation to allow VAT on ebooks to be levied at the same reduced rate as print books.    Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook vat #reduced rate #poland call #european commission #print books


PRH to launch Penguin-branded consumer site

Penguin Random House UK is to launch a multi-million pound Penguin-branded consumer website in the second half of this year, but chief executive Tom Weldon reiterated the company's view that it had no plans to become a retailer, claiming that it would be "quicker for PRH to burn the money". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Branded Content Is Poised to Take Over

As more publishers launch branded content divisions, native advertising is taking over a larger part of digital marketing. Adweek caught up with Peter Minnium, the Interactive Advertising Bureau's head of brand initiatives, to talk about the trend, which was the topic of a panel he recently... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #holy grail #commercial space #media property


Legality of Spotify’s lyrics feature called into question

The real-time lyrics feature that Spotify added to its desktop app this past week hasn’t impressed the U.S. karaoke industry. Joseph C Vangieri, the CEO of DigiTrax, has called it “unfair competition for us American ‘Karaoke’ companies.”Lest you think that he has a beef with Spotify, know that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unfair competition #music publishers #publishing industry #open letter #leading lights #music world #led zeppelin


Bestselling author Erik Larson garners rave reviews for his upcoming book 'Dead Wake'

'Wake' centers on the sinking of the British ship the Lusitania in 1915. The book will be released on March 10. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #upcoming book


Authors call for PLR to be applied to remote e-loans

Authors have called for Public Lending Right (PLR) to be extended to all ebook loans from libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors call #public lending #ebook loans


Money, mobile and maturing brands: What else is keeping publishers up at night?

As part of Digiday's Publishing Summit Europe, held in February in Monaco, Taboola hosted a town hall for publishers. At once excited and nervous about the industry's digital-first future, several dozen industry veterans weighed in on the challenges they face. Chief among them? How to manage... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #town hall #digital world #longer apply #sponsor content


London's Calling for Foreign Pubs Who Want New Harper Lee

Andrew Nurnberg, the British agent who represents Lee, is taking an unusual approach to selling the foreign rights to her forthcoming novel, 'Go Set a Watchman.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harper lee #andrew nurnberg #unusual approach #foreign rights


Identity Crisis at Gawker? Nick Denton's Blogging Empire Working with Branding Agency Redscout

Gawker Media, which is battling heavily financed digital publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox for audiences and ad dollars, is working with brand-strategy agency Redscout, according to two people familiar with the matter. The relationship began last summer, one person said.Former Gawker employees... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital publisher #brand strategy #american express #media companies


Stagnito Buys Canadian Brands From Fulcrum Media

Deal includes 5 trade shows and 5 magazines. The post Stagnito Buys Canadian Brands From Fulcrum Media appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the Wake of Tragedy: Voltaire Hits the French Bestseller Lists

Voltaire’s Treatise on Tolerance is a bestseller again in France 200 years after its publication as people try to understand the Charlie Hebdo murders. The post In the Wake of Tragedy: Voltaire Hits the French Bestseller Lists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Delhi Calls: A Look at Publishing in India

The first major trade book fair of any new year marks an important date in most publishers' calendars. Things get rolling this year in New Delhi, where one of the year's first international trade publishing shows gets underway on Saturday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year marks


Your 2015 Guide to Every Upfront Pitch and Party

TV networks are gearing up for their flashy upfront presentations, which represent the kick-off to negotiations with advertisers over fall prime-time programming.While some like Discovery are skipping the glitz altogether, others like Turner Broadcasting are combining their network presentations... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv networks #tv budgets


Penguin is PRH's 'biggest social media brand'

Consumer-facing book and author related content from Penguin Random House UK will move to Penguin’s social media channels from the end of today because it is the company’s “biggest brand on social media”. Corporate news for audiences such as the press, authors and agents will be shared on new... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #corporate news #twitter channels


PRH shifts consumer social media to Penguin brand

Penguin Random House is to use the Penguin brand for its consumer activity across social media, The Bookseller has learned. From the end of tomorrow (4th February), the various Penguin social media channels will carry news about "books and authors”, with corporate news to be shared on Penguin... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #penguin brand #corporate news #twitter channels #random house


Car Brands Are Starting to Get the Marketing Data They've Always Wanted

The car industry isn't slowing down when it comes to employing more data for everything from vehicle malfunctions to marketing. In fact, in terms of digital advertising, the category looks like it's putting the pedal to the metal, as tech vendors, publishers and other players increasingly roll... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #specific product #short order #general motors #real time


When They Got the Call: PW Speaks with the Newly Minted Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz Winners

PW speaks with the three big winners of the ALA's Youth Media Awards, about what they were doing when the committee placed the call that changed their lives. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pw speaks #printz winners #big winners