NASA is the latest to take on additional social networking tools for the purpose of attracting more users. With about 1 million unique views per month, NASA is catering directly towards the Facebook crowd, in so many words–the 18 to 25 year olds, with a new MyNASA tool at the helm of the makeover.
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12/3/07
Sony Buys Into Virtual Movie Theaters; Invests in Gaia
Gaia, the avatar-filled virtual world, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Sony Pictures. You may be wondering why. It appears to be, in part, for building out Gaia theaters, where users can congregate in virtual rooms for the purpose of viewing video clips.
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11/26/07
Study Analyzes Social Engagement Marketing
JupiterResearch recently analyzed the European market for social and engagement marketing, which highlights key findings about how marketers and their agencies measure the effectiveness of engagement in marketing campaigns.
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Social Gaming Company Aims To Snag Brand Dollars Via New Acquisition
Cambridge, Mass.-based GuildCafe has acquired Uberguilds, a network of high-profile gaming communities that connect players of online games like Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Warcraft" and Sony's "EverQuest" series
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11/16/07
'Jena Six' case sparks march on DC
I'm still not sure why there is a march on Washington over this. 6 black kids beat up 1 white kid. Only 1 kid stood trial. "His convictions were later overturned and the case sent to juvenile court. 5 others were charged but all charges were reduced or sent to Juvie Court. Oh yeah, someone hung a noose from a tree and it's called a hate crime!
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10/26/07
10/25/07
People Register In Droves To Work At 'The Office'
Since then, the show's site has attracted over 800,000 unique users--100,000 of whom decided to enlist in the company's virtual workforce --along with eight million page views.
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Google Prepping Big Brand Marketing Dashboard
GOOGLE IS WORKING ON A "fully functional marketing dashboard" that will integrate data from advertisers' search, display and offline marketing efforts, allowing them to "look across assets, metrics and user engagement cycles," Tim Armstrong, president of advertising and commerce for North America, told analysts during an Analyst Day session.
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10/18/07
Facebook Issues Warning About Sexual Predators In NY AG Settlement
On the heels of an independent review showing that MySpace isn't as dangerous as the government or schools would like you to believe, we find that Facebook isn't crime proof either. Big news: a public space, whether real or virtual, is open to all types of people good and bad.
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10/17/07
Kellogg's, ESPN Create Kids' Sports Site
KELLOGG'S FROSTED FLAKES AND ESPN are partnering on what it calls the first-ever kids sports Web site written by kids.
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10/16/07
Advergaming
Did I just coin a new term? Maybe not, but it will become a popular one. Parks Associates just released their forecast of Game Advertising Spending. Expect 400% more ads around games by 2012 and 15 times more ads in-game. Comes with a nice, 2-color chart.
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10/10/07
Aggregrating the Aggregators
Some of the smartest new companies on the Net are those that are doing the content collectors one better.
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10/3/07
Turner Partners With Kaneva On Virtual World Extensions
TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM, INC.'S NEW Products Group has signed a one-year deal with Kaneva to build and test virtual world extensions of its entertainment properties.Each Turner Web community and corresponding virtual space inside Kaneva will contain video players for video streaming of select Turner network content.
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Connected Consumers Love Web 2.0, But Not On Mobile
I don't wonder why. With a lack of Wi-Fi and even the "real" Internet that iPhones offer (minus Flash which is somehow not part of what they consider "real"), surfing the web is still a chore on mobile.
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9/19/07
Multimedia Battle Ushers In XBox 'Halo 3'
BRANDS AND REAL-WORLD PRODUCTS RUSHING headfirst to put virtual versions of themselves in the digital universe had better step aside for a locomotive headed in the opposite direction: Xbox's "Halo 3" is exiting the digital world, with a global campaign paradoxically aimed at making the world of the game tangible--as in 3D--with the conceit that the
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9/17/07
Heinz Can't Get Enough Consumer-Generated Ketchup Ads
HEINZ IS GOING BACK FOR more consumer-generated ketchup spots with Take Two of its "Top This!" TV Challenge. Viewers watching Sunday night's Emmy Awards show saw the round one winner from Andrew Dobson of Wheelersburg, Ohio, who runs a one-man production shop. The spot's tagline: "The Kissable Ketchup."
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Analysts To Time Warner: Sell AOL
TIME WARNER'S HONEYMOON WITH AOL seems to be over, as some analysts are strongly suggesting that the media company should make major moves concerning the online service. The problem? AOL has not presented a clear strategy in the higher competitive Internet advertising market.
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9/14/07
Nielsen: Yahoo, Veoh Way Up In Video; MySpace Trumps Facebook
NIELSEN//NETRATINGS RELEASED INFO ON AUGUST'S top 10 U.S. social networking and video sites, finding that last year's leaders for the month--NewsCorp.'s MySpace and Google's YouTube--retained the top spots.
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9/13/07
Salesforce Launches New Facebook Tool: FaceForce!
Web-based CRM software provider Salesforce.com has launched a Facebook application for connecting data from the two services. Appropriately named Faceforce, the application allows you to see things like your contact record (which is kept in your Salesforce.com account) side-by-side with a user’s Facebook profile, assuming they are list as a friend.
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9/12/07
Once Considered a YouTube Rival, MTV Does Away With IFilm.com
Viacom acquired the site -- once a resource for everything from movie trailers to footage of Anna Nicole Smith's latest drunken ramblings -- in October 2005 in hopes of making it a user-generated YouTube rival.
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USAToday Offers User Widgets
USATODAY.com widgets allow you to view, read, and interact with your favorite USATODAY.com content on your social network, blog, personalized page, or Web site. A widget is a free, quick, and easy way to have USATODAY.com content available on the Web sites you visit most often. Through the convenience of a USATODAY.com widget, you can read the most
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9/5/07
FUSE/Ideas Expands With Snip-its
Boston-based ad agency Fuseideas has taken on hair-care franchise Snip-its, a salon dedicated to hair cuts for children in an entertaining environment that includes video games, make-over parties and fun cartoon characters. Snip-its currently has 52 franchise locations in the U.S. including Boston, Florida, Texas, 7 new and 3 coming soon locations
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8/21/07
Flash finally on my iPhone
That's right, no more watered down version of the Internet for me. I finally, after months of bitching, have Flash on my iPhone.
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8/10/07
The Day the Music (Television Network) Died
The MTV site was down tonight. Must not have been any news about Paris Hilton.
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7/7/07
Live Earth Not Live on iPhone
Don't have Flash on your iPhone? Don't worry, Live Earth is being broadcast using Quicktime. Oops. iPhone doesn't have that either!
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6/27/07
Study: Increased Internet Usage Raises Teen Risks
Great new scare headline showing kids that use the Internet more are more likely to get harrassed. They're more likely to have eyes and fingers too...
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6/19/07
Fuseideas adds Sports Marketing Executive
Scott Willard, an experienced sports marketing executive, joins Fuseideas as Account Executive, according to Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner. Mr. Willard will be responsible for the account service and marketing strategy of key agency account groups, including sports and higher education.
“Scott’s background in sports marketing and higher education makes him an ideal fit for our company,” Franczak said. “We work with so many clients in those two vertical markets, we need someone who has been on client side to help provide us with another perspective.”
Prior to joining Fuseideas, Scott had been consulting with sports marketing companies in Boston (Boston Athletic Club), Las Vegas (Elite Pro Group, Tarkanian Basketball Academy), Costa Rica (International Flag Football Federation & World Cup), and Chicago (Paragon Marketing Group).
Scott began his career at the Gazelle Group in Princeton, New Jersey working as an account executive charged with sponsorship sales, marketing implementation, promotions, advertising, and on-site coordination for NCAA nationally televised college football and basketball events.
“Scott’s background in sports marketing and higher education makes him an ideal fit for our company,” Franczak said. “We work with so many clients in those two vertical markets, we need someone who has been on client side to help provide us with another perspective.”
Prior to joining Fuseideas, Scott had been consulting with sports marketing companies in Boston (Boston Athletic Club), Las Vegas (Elite Pro Group, Tarkanian Basketball Academy), Costa Rica (International Flag Football Federation & World Cup), and Chicago (Paragon Marketing Group).
Scott began his career at the Gazelle Group in Princeton, New Jersey working as an account executive charged with sponsorship sales, marketing implementation, promotions, advertising, and on-site coordination for NCAA nationally televised college football and basketball events.
Andrew Keen says the Internet is Ruining Everything
Author of "The Cult of Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture" says that Web2.0 user-generated content is threatening existing culture standards. He rips apart user-generated video, news, music, etc. and that record labels and major film studios do a fine job. If that's true than why is the public so hungry for User Generated Content?
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6/18/07
Radzikowski Joins FUSE/ideas as Vice President and General Manager
Boston, MA - Alec Radzikowski, an experienced operational executive in the advertising industry joins FUSE/ideas as Vice President and General Manager, according to Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner. Mr. Radzikowski will be responsible for the account service and daily operations of the agency, specializing in integrated advertising and interactive marketing.
“Alec’s prior agency experience handling multiple projects with tight deadlines makes him an ideal fit for our company,” Franczak said. “We work with so many clients on multiple projects, we need someone who can keep track of it all.”
Prior to joining FUSE/ideas, Radzikowski was Operations Manager at the Allen Roche Group, a full-service advertising agency in Boston. He began his marketing career as a proofreader for Prime Communications and was promoted to Account Manager within 6 months. Radzikowski graduated from Northeastern University with a journalism degree and interned at the Boston Globe, where he served as a correspondent covering high school and college athletics. During that time Radzikowski freelanced for the Dallas Morning News, Newark Star Ledger, and the Raleigh News & Observer. He also worked with award-winning sportswriter Will McDonough on his book about Bill Parcells, “My Final Season.”
FUSE/ideas is an advertising and new media marketing agency that uses new media and social networking combined with traditional creative and promotions to help clients in industries such as cable television, sports and entertainment, retail and consumer, higher education and business-to-business.
“Alec’s prior agency experience handling multiple projects with tight deadlines makes him an ideal fit for our company,” Franczak said. “We work with so many clients on multiple projects, we need someone who can keep track of it all.”
Prior to joining FUSE/ideas, Radzikowski was Operations Manager at the Allen Roche Group, a full-service advertising agency in Boston. He began his marketing career as a proofreader for Prime Communications and was promoted to Account Manager within 6 months. Radzikowski graduated from Northeastern University with a journalism degree and interned at the Boston Globe, where he served as a correspondent covering high school and college athletics. During that time Radzikowski freelanced for the Dallas Morning News, Newark Star Ledger, and the Raleigh News & Observer. He also worked with award-winning sportswriter Will McDonough on his book about Bill Parcells, “My Final Season.”
FUSE/ideas is an advertising and new media marketing agency that uses new media and social networking combined with traditional creative and promotions to help clients in industries such as cable television, sports and entertainment, retail and consumer, higher education and business-to-business.
Fuseideas works with 3 companies on FORTUNE magazines most Admired List
Fuseideas has learned that three of their clients, Disney, Univision and McGraw-Hill, have made Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies list. The complete list is available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/03/19/8402372/index.htm.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to work with such great companies,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner for Fuseideas. “I can see why they are on this list. The people we work with are wonderful and they are great partners. It’s an honor to be associated with them.”
Fuseideas provides a number of services to these companies including advertising, direct mail, integrated marketing as well as sweepstakes and promotions.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to work with such great companies,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner for Fuseideas. “I can see why they are on this list. The people we work with are wonderful and they are great partners. It’s an honor to be associated with them.”
Fuseideas provides a number of services to these companies including advertising, direct mail, integrated marketing as well as sweepstakes and promotions.
Fuseideas works with 3 companies on FORTUNE magazines most Admired List
Fuseideas has learned that three of their clients, Disney, Univision and McGraw-Hill, have made Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies list. The complete list is available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/03/19/8402372/index.htm.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to work with such great companies,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner for Fuseideas. “I can see why they are on this list. The people we work with are wonderful and they are great partners. It’s an honor to be associated with them.”
Fuseideas provides a number of services to these companies including advertising, direct mail, integrated marketing as well as sweepstakes and promotions.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to work with such great companies,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner for Fuseideas. “I can see why they are on this list. The people we work with are wonderful and they are great partners. It’s an honor to be associated with them.”
Fuseideas provides a number of services to these companies including advertising, direct mail, integrated marketing as well as sweepstakes and promotions.
Fuseideas announces Boston Breakers
Fuseideas has been selected to develop a series of ads for the Boston Breakers, the new women’s professional soccer team that will launch in 2008. The Boston Breakers are part of the as-yet-unnamed women’s professional league currently running under the Women’s Soccer Initiative.
“Our background in sports marketing and soccer in particular, and the fact we worked with the previous incarnation of the league make us an ideal partner to help re-launch the brand,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner of Fuseideas. “We also have pre-existing relationships with the Breakers staff which makes for a seamless partnership.”
As part of the re-launch, Fuseideas will work with the Boston Breakers to develop an advertising campaign designed to encourage people to “Come on back!” as a nod to their previous incarnation. Ads will run in various publications throughout the year.
“Our background in sports marketing and soccer in particular, and the fact we worked with the previous incarnation of the league make us an ideal partner to help re-launch the brand,” said Dennis Franczak, president and managing partner of Fuseideas. “We also have pre-existing relationships with the Breakers staff which makes for a seamless partnership.”
As part of the re-launch, Fuseideas will work with the Boston Breakers to develop an advertising campaign designed to encourage people to “Come on back!” as a nod to their previous incarnation. Ads will run in various publications throughout the year.
Online 'Scoop' Game Gets Players Free Ice Cream
Boston interactive marketing agency FUSEideas has created an online game for Boston.com's promotion of the Brigham's Ice Cream Scoop campaign which offers coupons for free ice cream to those that play the online game. Running from September 12 to 17, the game will also incorporate a "Vote for the Wildcard" flavor which will then be served on the last day of three Scoop promotion. The game itself calls for players to move ice cream cone, Coney, from side to side on the screen and catch as many scoops of ice cream as possible.
Written by Steve Hall
June 14, 2007
play the game now
Written by Steve Hall
June 14, 2007
play the game now
6/15/07
Fuseideas WINS 2 BELL RINGER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
The Publicity Club of New England honored Fuseideas with two Bell Ringer Awards at the 38th Annual Award Ceremony on Monday, June 11. The awards lauded Fuseideas for its professional excellence for Product Publicity and Crisis Communications for client Decathlon Sports, the world’s third largest retailer and manufacturer of sporting goods and equipment. The Bell Ringer Awards are the area’s most prominent public relations recognition program. The competition includes “titan” agencies that dominate the region by years, size and billings.
"We’re very proud at Fuseideas to be recognized for our work and for building a client’s brand success in the United States. To ensure a winning campaign, we put together an 'A-team' comprised of the best partners in the business,” said Dennis Franczak, Fuseideas' President and CEO. “Even during our client’s most difficult of times, our team provided superior counsel to protect their reputation and forge for consumer safety.”
The PR effort for Decathlon Sports was managed by Fuseideas' Maryanne Keeney and Clarity Communications Group’s Loring Barnes. Decathlon's "2 Second Tent,” an award-winning designed outdoor product, was promoted to parents and outdoor enthusiasts nationwide and was featured on NBC's Today Show and in numerous other national media outlets. Print and broadcast impressions reached more than 20 million consumers. Together with the public relations campaign and support by Fuseideas and its branding partner FORGE Worldwide, sales for the 2 Seconds Tent jumped dramatically during the camping season. BusinessWeek recognized the 2 Second Tent as one of the Best Ideas in 2006.
The Fuseideas pr team initiated a crisis program for Decathlon after a secondary manufacturing flaw was discovered in the tents which led to a recall. The public relations team hoped for a “best of” win in the crisis program, but were up against campaigns managing Boston’s largest outbreak of measles and a hospital board facing a 36-count criminal indictment.
“Clearly, this crisis award demonstrates how we gauged the situation and helped Decathlon defuse it immediately,” said Franczak.
Fuseideas is an advertising and new media marketing agency that uses new media and social networking combined with traditional creative and promotions to help clients in industries such as cable television, sports and entertainment, retail and consumer, higher education and business-to-business.
"We’re very proud at Fuseideas to be recognized for our work and for building a client’s brand success in the United States. To ensure a winning campaign, we put together an 'A-team' comprised of the best partners in the business,” said Dennis Franczak, Fuseideas' President and CEO. “Even during our client’s most difficult of times, our team provided superior counsel to protect their reputation and forge for consumer safety.”
The PR effort for Decathlon Sports was managed by Fuseideas' Maryanne Keeney and Clarity Communications Group’s Loring Barnes. Decathlon's "2 Second Tent,” an award-winning designed outdoor product, was promoted to parents and outdoor enthusiasts nationwide and was featured on NBC's Today Show and in numerous other national media outlets. Print and broadcast impressions reached more than 20 million consumers. Together with the public relations campaign and support by Fuseideas and its branding partner FORGE Worldwide, sales for the 2 Seconds Tent jumped dramatically during the camping season. BusinessWeek recognized the 2 Second Tent as one of the Best Ideas in 2006.
The Fuseideas pr team initiated a crisis program for Decathlon after a secondary manufacturing flaw was discovered in the tents which led to a recall. The public relations team hoped for a “best of” win in the crisis program, but were up against campaigns managing Boston’s largest outbreak of measles and a hospital board facing a 36-count criminal indictment.
“Clearly, this crisis award demonstrates how we gauged the situation and helped Decathlon defuse it immediately,” said Franczak.
Fuseideas is an advertising and new media marketing agency that uses new media and social networking combined with traditional creative and promotions to help clients in industries such as cable television, sports and entertainment, retail and consumer, higher education and business-to-business.
6/14/07
Fuseideas goes Second Life
Fuseideas has created their own presence in Second Life, a 3-D virtual online world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown exponentially and today is inhabited by a total of 6,213,327 people from around the globe.
“Fuseideas is always looking for new ways to leverage technology to enhance the strategies that we develop for our clients,” Durwin said. “This opportunity is of course not a good fit for all of our clients, but for many it provides a unique way to interact with their customers, even their own staff. I believe that virtual worlds are the next evolution in user experience, combining the best of real world interaction experiences with the best of online experiences. It’s obvious when you see what Mercedes, IBM and the NBA have done that companies are looking for more channels in which to extend their brand, and based on its 6 million registered users, it’s obvious that Second Life is a ripe field of opportunity.”
Inside Fuseideas’ virtual building is the small portfolio of work as well as the opportunity to interact with the Fuseideas staff, who all have characters in Second Life. Future efforts include a Fuseideas island which could then be rented to clients to use for virtual meetings, events, and advertising. Fuseideas can also create custom islands for larger investment in Second Life, as well as partnering with existing users and land owners for billboards, street teams and event-style advertising.
You’ll need to visit the Second Life site to download the software for free. Once installed simply open this link in a browser and click on the Teleport Now link to visit Fuseideas' virtual office.
Check out this video tour of Fuseideas' Second Life office space and some other notable locations in Second Life:
“Fuseideas is always looking for new ways to leverage technology to enhance the strategies that we develop for our clients,” Durwin said. “This opportunity is of course not a good fit for all of our clients, but for many it provides a unique way to interact with their customers, even their own staff. I believe that virtual worlds are the next evolution in user experience, combining the best of real world interaction experiences with the best of online experiences. It’s obvious when you see what Mercedes, IBM and the NBA have done that companies are looking for more channels in which to extend their brand, and based on its 6 million registered users, it’s obvious that Second Life is a ripe field of opportunity.”
Inside Fuseideas’ virtual building is the small portfolio of work as well as the opportunity to interact with the Fuseideas staff, who all have characters in Second Life. Future efforts include a Fuseideas island which could then be rented to clients to use for virtual meetings, events, and advertising. Fuseideas can also create custom islands for larger investment in Second Life, as well as partnering with existing users and land owners for billboards, street teams and event-style advertising.
You’ll need to visit the Second Life site to download the software for free. Once installed simply open this link in a browser and click on the Teleport Now link to visit Fuseideas' virtual office.
Check out this video tour of Fuseideas' Second Life office space and some other notable locations in Second Life:
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