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 '


Publish and be branded: the new threat to literature's laboratory

Increasingly fixated on the stars of today, such as Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling, publishers are neglecting the experimenters who could save their industry tomorrow: the mid-list writersThe tickets sold out months ago. Long before the admiring reviews of the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel's... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nathan filer #costa award


The Best Brand Content of 2013

The “brands are publishers now” line has become so ubiquitous in digital media that it risks becoming a cliché. While it is often true that companies are increasingly creating their own content, not all that’s published is created equal. Here’s to the brands that took the time and money to... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #created equal


When will publishers wake up to the challenge of Amazon?

The books industry still underestimates the disruptive power of Jeff Bezos's awesome ambitionSo Amazon are the bad guys, again. At least according to Harper's Magazine they are. For the former Amazon employee James Marcus, Brad Stone "drops the ball" in his biography of Jeff Bezos, The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary culture


Rules that carriers must retain data called incompatible with EU law

The European Union’s top legal advisor ruled on Thursday that laws requiring communications providers to retain all data, even to combat crime, are incompatible with fundamental rights. Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalón of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in a published opinion that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #european union #high court #irish authorities


Annuals sales reveal brand power

The top three bestselling annuals in 2013 are growing year on year both in terms of value and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newsweek to print weekly edition again one year after calling it quits

Editor in chief Jim Impoco announced the magazine will begin producing a weekly 'premium' print edition as early as JanuaryAmanda Holpuch Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A transparent market means rethinking the ways brands advertise

In the transparent marketplace it's what you do, not what you say, that makes the difference, and that's good for sustainabilityIn New York's Central Park recently, an old man was selling "Banksy paintings" for $60 apiece. His booth was right next to others selling everything from second-hand... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google glass


Where Branded Content Dollars Are Going

Marketers continue to be in love with their own content. Spending on branded content is set to reach $1.8 million this year, or 37 percent of marketers’ ad budgets, up from $1.7 million in 2012, per a Custom Content Council survey. The lion’s share of that is going into print. Spending on... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine ads #tv advertising #direct mail #big question #magazine publishers #ad agencies


Russell Brand v the Sun: war of words hots up

Red-top brands comedian a hypocrite, Jack Dee criticises Crewe and Jimmy Carr tells Ross Noble not to knock Mock the WeekThis week's comedy newsThe gloves are off in Brand versus the Sun. On Saturday, the never-knowingly-underexposed comedian wrote a piece for this paper accusing the Sun on... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huge problem


Forbes calls Larry Ellison book one of 2013’s best

The book about Lanai majority owner and Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison’s pursuit of the America’s Cup yachting championship has received rave reviews from Forbes magazine’s editors and writers as one of the “most entertaining and illuminating nonfiction books of the year.” Author Julian... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2013-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oracle corp #forbes magazine #larry ellison


Trinity Mirror data journalism project to be called Ampp3d

Site follows success of publisher's Buzzfeed-style social content site UsvsTh3m, which attracted some 3 million users in OctoberTrinity Mirror's new socially shareable data journalism project, a follow-up to UsvsTh3m, is to be called Ampp3d.Trinity Mirror has launched a Facebook page for the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily mirror #news agenda


Rightster helps brands to cash in on the commercial rewards of online video

Multichannel network distributes, syndicates and matches content creators with online publishersYou may never have heard of Rightster but you have more than likely watched videos it syndicates on YouTube, newspaper websites and specialist live streaming sites like one for the recent... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #increasingly competitive #land grab #maker studios #licence fee


Bauer unveils digital brand The Debrief aimed at 20-something wealthy women

Publisher of Heat says The Debrief will have aggregated news and sex advice for connected, influential readersBauer Media is the latest mainstream UK publisher to jump on the social mobile bandwagon, unveiling plans for The Debrief, a multiplatform digital brand aimed at "constantly connected,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tablet users #mail online #allowing users


Price Cuts Bite Into Korean Book Sales, Fixed Price Considered

Despite a dramatic drop in book sales, Aladin used bookstores have thrived, with some publishers dumping books to boost sales; a fixed-price law is now under debate. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dramatic drop #book sales #boost sales


London Book Fair Unveils New Academic Area for 2014 Show

The London Book Fair has announced it will be featruing a new section in its academic and scholarly zone in 2014 called The Faculty@LBF. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pinterest And Your Personal Brand: 7 Steps To Pinning Your Life, Work, And Way To Success

Whether you're a real estate agent, an advertising executive, or an up–and–coming blogger, now is absolutely the time to start using Pinterest to build your personal brand. Although the image–based social network is still struggling to generate significant revenue, its user base continues to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big brands #canine companions #business partner #news sites


New York Times Ad Chief: Branded Content Units Coming Soon

The New York Times is planning to step off the sidelines and into the world of native advertising online, where a growing list of traditional publishers have thrown their arms around sponsored or branded content.Meredith Kopit Levien, exec VP-advertising, said the Times is planning to introduce... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing list #traditional publishers #branded content #redesigned website #ad products


Check Out the Top 10 Brands on Tumblr

Tumblr has work to do before becoming the next big marketing channel, but that hasn't stopped brands from getting on board with the hip publishing platform. Union Metrics shared a Top 10 list with Adweek after studying a month's worth of Tumblr activity in regards to Interbrand's top 100 ranking... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #global brands #data points


On YouTube, Brand Fans Are Just Like Comic Geeks and Shippers

There are major differences between Beauty Gurus and Sneakerheads. For example, Beauty Gurus have hauls whereas Sneakerheads have pick-ups. But both groups exude the same sort of passion as do Marshmallows, Twihards and Harry/Hermione Shippers. These are just some of the insights revealed in a... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hermione granger #fully formed


NewsCred Turns Brands And Marketers Into Publishers With NewsRoom

Although big media brands like The New York Times and The Economist aren't going away anytime soon, the online publishing industry increasingly includes brands, marketers, and independent journalists. With the launch of a new content network, the tech startup NewsCred wants to be the liaison... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #original content #content marketing #core business #media partners #fast company #entry point