Tag: IPG-Emerging-Media-Lab

Netflix’s crowdsourced victory

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Netflix's crowdsourced victory (Netflix)Three years and one million dollers later, Netflix has an improved ratings and recommendation system, and months of free advertising in the lead up to a jubuilent conclusion for the BellKore Pragmatic Chaos team. Thousands of teams from across the world submitted their ideas, ultimately leading to a final round of mergings which brought team BellKore across the finish line 20 minutes before their primary competitor, Ensemble.

The experiment is a three-fold triumph: For Netflix (the company’s stock has been steadily climbing over this year and was up .30 on Monday when the results were announced); For the wider technology community who will get to benefit from the winning team’s algorithms–publishing methods was one of the stated requirements of the competition; and for the infinite possibilities of crowdsourcing–both as a problem solving and a marketing tool. Continue reading “Netflix’s crowdsourced victory”

Emmys acknowledge role of digital platforms

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Emmys acknowledge interactive (Academy of Arts and Sciences)This year I sat in on the blue ribbon panel for judging the final winners of 2009 Emmy Awards for Creative Achievement in Interactive Media for Fiction and Non-Fiction.  As a member of the executive committee for the Interactive Media Peer Group for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, it’s been a big year for interactive plays in all television content.

As announced earlier this summer, below are the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominees for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media: Continue reading “Emmys acknowledge role of digital platforms”

Deca: Online audiences are “tribes”

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Deca TV on the future of online content (Momversations/IPG Lab's Content Tuesday)This week as a part of an ongoing webinar series on online content opportunities, the IPG Emerging Media Lab welcomed Michael Wayne, President and CEO of DECA (Digital Entertainment Corporation of America). DECA is not about big splashy production, or name Hollywood talent – instead they are successfully delivering content that is “of the Web, by the Web, and for the Web.” Their programming model is focused on creating information based formats that leverage already established web talent in verticals like Moms and Cooking. We see DECA as a leader in the emerging content space and great partner for brands that are looking to dip a toe or jump head first into the waters of emerging content.

We are asking Content Tuesday presenters to answer a set of questions about their business and the emerging content industry. We think each of these POVs will be a valuable resource as we look to collectively shape best practices and bring solutions to our clients. After the jump, hear from Michael about what DECA is doing in the online content space, and what the company sees for the future of online video. Continue reading “Deca: Online audiences are “tribes””

From moon landings to media labs

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Moon landings, new media, and black plastic frame glasses (iStock)This week marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. I remember that event vividly: in my classroom huddled around a small portable television our teacher rolled in on a wobbly TV cart; those fuzzy pictures, the network anchors explaining what was going on in space with small plastic models, scenes of NASA engineers all wearing geeky black plastic-framed glasses ( which now have somehow come back into style). At the time as I sat there watching this incredible event happening, I thought that I was the luckiest kid in the world.

It was also the first major multimedia moment of my life. I remember my parents later talking about the TV in the classroom, and marveling about the opportunity that this new technology offered for my future. If only they had known how prophetic that conversation was. Continue reading “From moon landings to media labs”

Reflections of a Zen Tech Warrior

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Alicia weilds a wind-up flashlight.
Alicia wields a wind-up flashlight.

I’ve been interning at the IPG Emerging Media Lab for the past few months.  Little did I know that in addition to my killer subject line (Your Tech Savvy Intern), my resume pegged me as a Zen Tech Warrior.  (This was before I had read the Lab’s 2009 Digital Trends and learned what a “Zen Tech Warrior” was).

Here are 4 things that this Zen Tech Warrior learned at the Lab:
Continue reading “Reflections of a Zen Tech Warrior”

Tweeting for the Man: A Twitter Strategy Guide

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twitterbird (DryIcons)Twitter has exploded over the past two years. In March, the site doubled its unique users to reach 9.3 million. In terms of Google searches, Twitter has become more popular than Britney Spears, and is just about even with Barack Obama. The micro-blogging site has gone mainstream. Many of us have started our own Twitter accounts, our moms and uncles and co-workers and parent companies are all on it. (Which has some asking if its star has already begun to fade).

It doesn’t matter if Twitter has gone from geeky to hip and back to geeky just because everyone is doing it; what matters is how we use it, how it evolves, and what role it can play in connecting us to each other, our clients, and consumers. Continue reading “Tweeting for the Man: A Twitter Strategy Guide”

iPhone 3.0

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(iStock)Tuesday came a significant announcement from the mobile world: The leader in emerging mobile technology, the Apple iPhone, announced the new features.  And in “new” features, they were essentially playing catch up.

Copy and Paste has finally been added to the device, after much lamenting by users. MMS was another addition – a feature even basic handsets have had for years. The new integrated search is a clear preemptive strike at the Palm Pre, as that “quicklaunch” integrated search was a feature for which Palm received much praise.

The promised Push technology will finally make an appearance, allowing apps to run in a pseudo-background, still getting updates but not consuming as much resources. This too staves off competitive offerings, bringing functionality that most other smartphones offer.

There was little that stood out as unique when viewed individually. However, viewed in aggregate, this update does a great deal in patching up holes in the iPhone’s defenses that competitors on the horizon would have eagerly attacked. Continue reading “iPhone 3.0”

Six hot media trends in 2009

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IPG Emerging Media Lab's 2009 Digital TrendsEach year the IPG Emerging Media Lab issues its picks for the top trends in emerging media. Particularly for marketers, its an easy, painless way to get a finger on the pulse of a constantly changing landscape.

How we come to these trends is a journey in and of itself. There are endless brainstorms, weeks of handwringing, then drafts and more drafts. Ultimately, what emerges is a brain trust of sorts–one that comes out of spending a lot of time with new media, and an eye to the future…but not too-distant future, or we couldn’t call them 2009 trends.

You can download a copy of the IPG Emerging Media Lab’s 2009 Digital Trends, or check out this abridged rundown…cause this is where we’re placing our bets and putting our energy this year:

Continue reading “Six hot media trends in 2009”

Top 10 reasons CES matters

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The Lab team is heading to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week to roam the showrooms and take part in the massive gadget brain-exchange. We’ll be blogging live through the weekend–and here are 10 reasons you should stay tuned:

1. It’s like Paris’ Ready-to-Wear event of the year–but instead showcasing gadgets in Vegas. While there will be far more geeky men than hot models in pretty get-ups (I’ve already heard that a fellow digerati femme was one of only 10 women on her plane to Vegas), this is the place to look for what technologies and consumer electronics are coming down the line in ’09. THIS is the place where dreams are made, battles are won, hearts are broken. Okay, perhaps I’m pushing it. But, if you have any desire to keep abreast with technology, stay tuned (preferably here) for all the latest and greatest advances in consumer tech.

2. We might finally learn if this is the year the Internet will kill the TV star. (Check out the WSJ’s round up of reasons how it might). It likely won’t–but this year even a scaled back CES promises some amazing new solutions for watching video and TV via the Internet including two of my favorite new devices: New player ZeeVee is presenting their ZvBox which turns computers into an HDTV channel on your TV set; WhereverTV allows consumers to watch hundreds of international television shows on your television via the Internet (sign me up!)

Stay with me, I’ve got 8 more reasons CES is THE consumer event of the year: Continue reading “Top 10 reasons CES matters”

Emerging Media, Barack Obama, and the Future of Political Campaigns

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Beth Rankin via FlickrWith the 2009 Presidential Inauguration approaching, we wanted to share our findings on how Barack Obama and other presidential candidates made use of emerging media.

In the 2008 election, Presidential contenders across the political spectrum utilized new media platforms to reach out to voters in unprecedented ways. And voters responded, participating online, via mobile, and across social networks in historic numbers.

What were some of the most notable emerging media triumphs from the 2008 election? And what was the emerging media strategy behind Barack Obama’s campaign? What was John McCain's best emerging media tactic in the race to the White House?

Click here to view IPG Emerging Media Lab's research into the uses of new media in this year's election–and how it has changed political campaigning for good.

Photo courtesy of Beth Rankin via Flickr