TV Production in NYC on the Upswing

From CrainsNewYork.com:

"The mayor announced Thursday that 2011 was New York's busiest year ever for television production, growth the city credits to the state's 30% tax incentive, as well as the city's own initiatives to make the five boroughs production friendly. According to the mayor's announcement, 23 series are currently filming in the city, compared with nine in 2002."

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120126/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/120129904#ixzz1l3IcOBbU"

A Brief Reflection As We Celebrate Six Years

Six years ago today I took a leap.  Having worked in radio and television for some time, and then spent almost five years running a PR shop in New York, it was time for a new challenge.  Torn between heading to a larger firm, or going out on my own, I decided to start CityCast Media. Having started listening to some Podcasts, I quickly realized how nascent the medium was, and thought about the opportunity to communicate online and how this new medium could very well tie into many PR & Marketing plans.  So, I started spending my evenings putting my thoughts together and thinking about what a company could offer clients to leverage the new space.  

Reading Between the Lines; Movie Rentals Come to Facebook ** Updated **

After thinking about the news that movies are going to be available for sale and rent on Facebook, I think there's a new battle brewing in the content distribution business.  Sure this is just one announcement by one studio, but rest assured Facebook is seeking to identify and develop similar relationships with other movie studios and music labels. 

For Facebook, this is a natural fit, because so many of today's social interactions about pop culture are held on the social networking site.  So, why not establish relationships with the content owners, and monetize those discussions.  The relationship between Warner Brothers and Facebook does just that, it places movies in close proximity to the dialogue by Facebook's users about them.  For example, a user can comment that they saw a movie and loved it; while another can disagree, but in-line with that discussion and available for all users can be a simple one-click option to purchase the content.  Gone are the barriers of now heading to a brick & mortar location, or searching for the content on another site.  This relationship provides for a simple integrated experience.  Further, Facebook can foster those conversations and extend it's relationship with it's users while keeping them on the site longer.

In a sense, with this news Facebook is reverse engineering the immensely popular iTunes store…where Apple is trying to build-out a social network with it's Ping offering, instead Facebook is bringing the content purchasing experience right into their site.  In an age old chicken or the egg type of debate, we're left to wonder which will prove to be the winning strategy: first establishing the leading social network website, or first building the number one online destination for audio and video content? 

It would only seem natural that Facebook will look to build on this news, in which case this could be the sign of an interesting paradigm shift.  In time, will a Facebook partnered with other studios and music labels give iTunes a run for it's money (or should we say your  money!)

Finally, regardless of the long-term outcome, what I like most about Warner Brothers bringing their films to this new platform reflects something I often share with clients: it's best to extend your message beyond any particular platform.  In order to meet the needs of today's segmented audiences, it is important to offer multiple opportunities & distribution avenues with your message.  In that regard, whether iTunes or Facebook battle it out, this is a brilliant move for the studio in adopting a strategy that makes the purchasing of their content platform agnostic.

Update 3/11/11:

Fresh on the heels of Warner Brother's announcement earlier this week, it looks like other industry heavyweights are also realizing the potential of Facebook as a media distribution mechanism.  Specifically, according to AllFacebook.com, Sony Music is also considering distribution on Facebook.  The site spoke with Sony's John Calkins, at the 2011 Digital Hollywood Media Summit in New York, who said the organization is looking into platforms like Facebook, since they could potentially be a powerful distribution option.  Check the link below for the full story on AllFacebook.com.

On the Web:
Warner Bros to offer movies through Facebook

Sony Mulls Video Distribution On Facebook

Is @CharlieSheen A Modern @HowardStern

In the 1980's Howard Stern enjoyed tremendous success on the radio, and as portrayed in his 1997 film Private Parts, a lot of that had to do with people tuning in because they wanted to hear what was next.

Fast-Forward to today where the paths of communication have expanded and outlets like Twitter give everyone a platform through which to speak. In terms of large-scale movement and attention, sure there was the Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) vs CNN (@CNNbrk) experiment to see who could reach a million followers first.  And it has become commonplace in this current landscape to hear tweets from celebrities quoted in media coverage.  But until now we have yet to witness a breakout personality that has moved both the online conversation, as well as traditional press coverage.  That's changed with @CharlieSheen in the past week.  Sheen's Twitter fueled campaign has been rather divisive, yet it has attracted so much attention across online and off-line platforms, it begs the question: is Sheen a modern Howard Stern?

Perhaps previously an unlikely candidate for this role, Charlie Sheen has captivated audiences, who are simply wondering what he'll do next…and now that he's shown the ability to build an audience and keep us on the edge of our seats.  So with that in mind, could Sheen become the next hot media personality? 

How does Sheen capitalize on this success, perhaps with a multi-platform approach unlike anything we've seen before?  Maybe a certain satellite radio provider would be enticed to offer Sheen a show, he could continue to use the web to encourage new subscribers to sign-up, while continuing to build awareness via Twitter, and providing some best-of version as a free Podcast for download.  This would offer Sheen a broader platform, it would monetize his new-found success at keeping us tuned in, and allow for the use of social media to highlight and grow his audience, while providing content for traditional media outlets to pickup on for their own stories.  Most importantly, of course, this would provide several new avenues for advertisers build on his momentum and reach audiences through this multi-channel distribution model.

What @CharlieSheen Can Teach Communicators About #Winning

In looking beyond the circus that has surrounded Charlie Sheen's every waking move this past week, there are actually some lessons that communicators can take away. 

Despite Sheen's unique and controversial tirades, his campaign was carried out via an on-slaught of traditional broadcast interviews, married with his adoption of Twitter, and then the use of online video technology.  The combination was uniquely powerful and successful in both engaging the audience and feeding today's never-ending news cycle.  Now, while these lessons don't include adding #tigerblood to your campaigns, they highlight the opportunities that can be leveraged for your campaigns & provide some strategies to consider as you plan your next outreach efforts…

Go Social – It seems hard to turn in any direction these days without seeing a mention of Twitter or Facebook, Sheen's outbursts are a vivid reminder of both the importance and extent to which social tools can help disseminate a message and propel a story.  At one point over the weekend Sheen related hashtags took over 4 of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter.  While the initiatives that many work on day-to- day may not be as polarizing or generate this extraordinary level of traction, the lesson is still valuable and reminds of the importance of integrating and promoting social components to PR & marketing campaigns, as there is power in these avenues to disseminate our messaging and reach new eyes & ears along the way.

Tell Your Story With Video – In broadcasting live on Saturday night, in what was dubbed Sheen's Korner, the actor was able to take the steering wheel and control the conversation without the invasive and pointed questions of the media.  He was able to leverage the medium and tell his story, sharing insights from his home in Hollywood with viewers across the world, all with full control of his message.  For communicators, this is an important reminder of the power of video, and the new opportunities that exist with tools that allow live streaming online, or the ability to produce a wide variety of video content to distribute via campaign websites, and leading rich media directories such as iTunes and YouTube.

It's About Tone – As communications professionals, in this new media age, we have to look at the tone in which we tell stories.  With the advent of new avenues to tell stories, and the ability for audiences to interact both with campaigns, as well as the fact that the day's newsmakers are often readily available through Twitter and Facebook for conversing with in a casual and conversational manner; we have to think about how we compose our messages and take a cue from the success of Charlie Sheen's efforts.  Regardless of how we feel about Sheen personally, he's managed to captivate audiences by speaking directly and conversationally while circumventing many of the traditional barriers to disseminating a message such as a radio show host or television reporter.  This conversational tone is an approach that we need to keep in mind when producing audio, or video content, or outlining a social media strategy for a particular client.  Regardless of the tactic, the bottom line is to engage and carry out an open dialogue, not just talk to (or at) our audiences with pre-scripted and canned messages.

#Winning in the New Landscape – While Sheen's version of winning may be centered around a series of lifestyle choices, for PR & Marketing professionals winning is about coming up with the best strategy and mix of traditional and new media tools to tell stories.  In some regards competing in, and telling client's stories in this environment means thinking differently.  That may translate into supplementing traditional tools such as the press release, or the media tour, with new options whether they be professionally produced video segments showcasing spokespeople that can be distributed through new media channels such as Facebook and Twitter; or Audio Podcasts that targeted audiences will seek out and carry with them on their iPhones and iPads…

Regardless of the tactics at hand, thinking differently and taking a cue from @CharlieSheen will help you #win in this new landscape.

Which Came First the Apple or the App?

With today's pending launch of the iPhone on Verizon, beyond the hardware windfall for Apple, there is a little golden nugget that comes with each phone sold: the App store.  As the iPhone continues to land in more hands both in the US and around the world, the software sales generated by the App store will mean big bucks both for Apple's bottom-line as well as the developers who have applications in the store.

As a matter of fact, just last week Apple took the App store concept to the desktop, and launched the App store for Mac. It's a brilliant concept – a curated centralized destination for the purchase and download of virtually any kind of software a user can imagine.  On the mobile devices this made the concept and practice of downloading programs both streamlined and reliable.  Prior to the App store concept installing software on a mobile device was a fragmented and disconnected space.  On older devices before the iPhone essentially everyone lost; for consumers it was hard to know what would work on what device and platform, while developers were tasked with the challenge of selling their software as there was no easy promotion and distribution network.

However, with the release of the iPhone, it's advanced capabilities, and ease of use there was a new-found opportunity and a natural desire by both users and developers to tap into the power of the iPhone platform. Yet, upon it's initial release Apple did not offer any type of access to the operating system for developers, at first only offering the ability to make icon-styled bookmarks that could live on the home screen.  These web apps, as Apple branded them, offered limited functionality in that they could only live in the browser, which left many asking for more.  It wasn't until Apple offered the second iteration of their software did the company comply with those requests and offer developers the ability to create native apps.

Now, in retrospect the App store has been genius, and we have all benefited; whether it be as end-users from a usability standpoint, as developers selling Apps, or as Apple providing the infrastructure.  That said, the question that I pose is did Apple see this golden opportunity a long time ago and hatch this strategy on a white board in Cupertino, or did Apple simply stumble upon this pot of gold in responding to external pressures after the iPhone launched?

Thinking, Saving, & Communicating Green

Today marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set-aside for citizens of the world to take a moment and think about important topics such as global warming, ozone depletion, & our own interaction with the planet.  These are some weighty issues to say the least, especially as we seek to preserve the Earth for future generations.  So, for those of us in the field of PR & Marketing, as we go about our daily activities today, there are any number of ways that we can contribute to help on these fronts.

Specifically, as communicators we can each play a vital role in Earth Day in a number of ways:

1)   We can use our skills to showcase what our clients are doing for the environment: Use this as a story angle to help your clients get more press, showcase the efforts that they make locally to improving the environment & being a good corporate citizen; while earning points with their target audiences.

2)   Make our own businesses Green: There are a range of things that we can do in our own offices to help with the environment.  From maintaining a paperless office, to using recycled materials, adopting new energy efficient equipment, turning off our computers at night, & sorting our trash into recycle bins.  While each of these are small modifications, together they can add up to help make a difference in the overall well-being of the environment.

3)   Introduce Green communications tactics: By using new tools that allow you to communicate online, you can tell your story directly to target audiences with rich audio & video content through tools such as Podcasts and Webcasts.  These tactics can help to reduce the number of trips spokespeople or executives need to make, in the process reducing carbon emissions, & reaching broader audiences with your message.

Of course, there are many ways to go Green, do you have other tips for folks in PR & Marketing to consider adding to the list?  Just go ahead and share your ideas in the comments section below!

Understanding The Rules of Online Media

Here’s the long and short of it: there are no rules with online media.

Sure, take a moment to digest that because it goes against just about everything we’re typically conditioned to think.  We’re used to “best practices” and guidelines.  Think about it in terms of traditional media where there are a wide variety of rules & guidelines.  For instance, typically newspaper articles are a few hundred words in length; for television outlets the news department always tries to find a local angle on a story; while in the land of radio stories are usually told these days by a reporter, often syndicated, that at best feature a quick sound bite.  And accordingly, with each of these different arenas there are certain rules of the game if you will for for gaining traction for your particular story; however in the online space we have a blank platform through which to tell our stories.

This platform extends beyond the simple press release or website, but today expands into the mobile space and allows any organization to create rich media that is on-message and helps to tell its story.  This is vastly powerful space – organizations can now share video of their events, conversations with executives, and insights from their latest research with global audiences with ease.  A pretty powerful development that has come of age in the last few years, but as organization’s go to implement these types of tools they are often faced with questions in regard to the “right” way to do things…which is where we enter new & uncharted territory.

That said, the online space brings with it a double-edged sword because on one hand there are no rules, and on the other hand well, there are no rules.  Since there are no right or wrong way ways to leverage this space, it is most important that you think strategically about how to integrate these outreach efforts, how to brand them accordingly, and how to keep them professional and polished – just like you would do with any other piece of marketing collateral.

The bottom line is online space can be a powerful new venue to tell your story.  While there aren’t any rules per se, you’ll be able to think of plenty of new ways to include these types of options in your PR & marketing plans, and find opportunities to leverage your efforts and tell your stories.

The Shift: From Pitching to Producing

The PR business is changing from an industry that once relied on traditional content producers, into a field that is leveraging new tools and crafting unique audio and video content itself.

Prior to the internet boom, if you had a story you wanted to tell you had a variety of options from local & network television, to radio, newspapers, and a wide variety of periodicals.  So, your best bet was to craft a news release and start pitching to the respective outlets that you were targeting.  Along the way you would find a number of different reactions from the standard “We’ll get back to you…” to the “That’s not something we would be interested in,” or “Send me more information.”  Ultimately, if your story was accepted by an editor or a reporter, the final message was in their hands.  You could only provide them with the information and coordinate an interview – from there it was up to them what would make the final cut.

While those were the rules of the game, for professionals who pride ourselves on helping our clients to tell their stories that created a pretty vulnerable and uncontrolled situation.  Now, before I go on, of course I recognize that that type of situation still exists and that there are many talented individuals that still pitch and provide great results for their clients.  However, with the advancement of the internet, the ubiquity of an internet connection from the PC to the cell phone and new gadgets such as the iPod and the iPad, a new channel to reach audiences has emerged.

It is this new channel, via the internet, that has ushered in the winds of change for the PR profession.  Certainly, many have dealt with the client’s website, and added outreach efforts such as e-newsletters, and promotional e-mails for campaigns.  But today, with the plethora of digital devices that allow consumers to easily download & tap into content, new avenues have emerged that allow us to directly distribute unique audio and video content that tells our stories.

In the process, PR professionals have gone through the shift from pitching & booking to creating & producing.  The result is that our industry has become revitalized & exciting new opportunities have presented themselves to help tell our stories and reach niche markets.  From iTunes, to YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, PR pros are the ones that are navigating the new online space and making sense of it for organizations and their initiatives.

Why Apple Should Thank The Kindle & Nook

So, I just had a chance to try the Nook for the first time at Barnes & Noble, and I have previously used The Kindle, as well as Kindle for the iPhone. Actually, since Kindle came out with their App I have begun reading quite a bit more, since my books are so much more accessible.

Well, anyway back to my point at hand the Nook – how haphazard and confusing. Do I press the arrows on the side or use the graphical icons on the touch screen, but I can’t touch the e-ink screen, right? Wow just poor UI development & implementation.

But despite the design flaws – as early adopters; what have Amazon & Barnes & Noble done well? They have educated and primed the reading public for what e-books could be, offered us a taste of how accessible and easy it could be to have our favorite newspapers delivered electronically, or to immediatly download a best-seller.

Well, if past experiances are anything to go on, then Apple owes the two retailers a huge Thank You. Why? Because they have done a tremendous job in letting the public know what the e-book is and how it works. And while Apple will have forgone any sort of first-mover advantage, when their iBooks store debuts in a few short days, the hard work will have been done and we’ll know what to expect. Further, we can bank on the fact that Apple will bring their signature touch to UI to books, which will ensure an ease of use for just about anyone. Coupled with the versatility of the iPad, Apple will have helped build-on and championed the revolution of another industry. Now, I recognize that not everyone is a fan of e-books and that’s fine; there will always be a place for print editions just like there are Tellers & ATMs.

Another sign of trouble for B&N’s Nook and the opportunity that lies ahead for the iPad; I have typed this entire post from my iPhone using AT&T’s free in-store hot spot service.