Marvel Comics Target Audience

I recently taped into a friend of mine who works in Marketing for Universal. I found his job to pleasantly interesting. He deals with a lot of the marketing for the website, and digital advertising. He recently showed me an ad Universal placed in a Marvel comic book. He was making note that the ad they placed in Marvel may not be a good source to place an ad. Here is the train of thought behind this concept. The ad was for Harry Potter. He thought why are we promoting Harry Potter in a Marvel Comic book. He stated, he wanted to pull that ad from the comic book and place an ad promoting Marvel Island and the new updated Amazing Spiderman ride in HD 3-D. I was amazed at how marketing in a certain magazine or in this case a comic was important. They needed to focus on their target audience. In this case Marvel comics was a good place to target readers about the Marvel superhero island at Universal Islands of adventure. I thought that was cool.

I did ask him if he thought with a lot of magazines and comic books going digital did he think there would be away to still market the brand. He did say that it is harder to market through digital magazines, however, more and more are doing it. Example, EW and People magazine have digital advertisements. He stated they are working on new ways to do that. It will be an expensive ad if you do it digital and interactive. We then talked about our Mobile device and idevice applications. Most iPhone and android apps for the theme parks are for Halloween Horror Nights and Universal Orlando. He did mention that the company was looking into the iAds apple was offering that when selected on an app it would take them to the website regarding vacation packages and tickets to Universal. Since starting my Digital Marketing class I begun to understand what he does and interesting it is to Market our brand and how we do it in certain and interesting ways. I LIKE IT!

Universal's Halloween Horror Nights Digital Marketing

Every year Universal Orlando begins planning for the Halloween Horror Night event at the beginning of each year. But their most die hard fans wait impatiently for the announcement of each years theme or Icon. Universal does a really good job hyping up the event but they found using social media and their website to track where their fans are searching. Usually by late July the HHN website starts getting hits from fans looking for hints and tips of what is to come. They begin with a tease and a hint on what the theme is going to be. This past year was a speak easy with the icon character being Lady Luck. What they did first is sent out digital advertising to websites showing an eye looking through a peep hole. You clicked on it and it brought you to Universal HHN site with ticket prices and dates. But still no info on what theme was or a map of the park HHN event.

Universal then took to their Facebook by posting a question to it's fans seeing if anyone could guess what the theme would be. This generated more hype. This allowed them to see what people were thinking and how they felt about the event. Most fans posted they bought their tickets or asking each other ticket prices. As always there is a link to the HHN website that brought you to the general information of the event and videos of the past event. Then the company would take to their Twitter account and send out hints and tips of the event. This is still the process of getting the fans to follow of Facebook or Twitter. It looks like the company may utilize PPC on Facebook and or theme park related websites like Theme park insider etc.What these websites do is show you some digital advertising of the event. Once you click on it it takes you to the website with dates, ticket pricing and vacation packages.Universal has used these Social media and advertising and the PPC as part of their KPI. They found what works best for them when generating attention to their site. It is all about the planning before the big reveal. Once the Icon and theme is revealed then the Marketing begins to take of further. I am excited to see and where the advertisements will pop this year. I plan to keep a close eye on their twitter, Facebook, and their website closely. With apples iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Universal is using digital iAds to help generate attention to their website and creating a App for the event as well. More to come on the Mobile and idevice advertising.

Getting Published

When I was younger I always wanted to be a writer. I have so many dreams as a kid but I did a lot of writing. My first year of college I was a journalist major and didn't like what I was doing. I then abondoned that dream. A few years ago, I discovered all my writings and restored them and had them proofread and stored in a file that I kept in a safe place. I started reading these short stories again and they made me smile because I was so happy when I wrote. I had such an imagination when I was younger and I had the good sense to write down what was going on in my head.

Those crazy characters that were in my head started to appear again. I thought and though about having them published but didn't know where to begin. Earleir in the week i was introduced to P.O.D. I begin to look at several sites and then came across Dog ear Publishing. I looked at this site and the good angel and the devil appeared on my shoulder. The good angel was full of encouragement and excitement. The bad angel started in that my stuff wasn't that good and nobody will buy my stuff and he made it clear that it will be a waste of time and money. So I decided to shut them both up and begin to enlist the help of my peers. I wanted someone who didn't know me that well and honest to read a few and tell me what they thought. I took about 10 short stories and piled them together. The bad angel appeared again stating that this will be a big embarrassment. I almost gave in but the excitement to have something published washed the bad angel away.

I distributed my short stories to three people and gave them a few days to get back to me. Monday will be the day of judgement and I can't lie I am extremely excited but worried what they will think and say. In the meantime I looked at the site again and checked out all the offerings and packages they had. I even looked at one other site to help me publish a play on Ibook it that will be possible. I don't think I would go back into writing, but who knows these days. Let's see what happens with reviews from my peers and then the journey will actually fully begin.

I know the good angel and the bad angel are my thoughts and I a sure you I'm not going crazy. However, it is what I always considered my thoughts when good or bad things pop into my head and to do. I am gearing up what could be a roller coaster ride but this excitement has gotten me besides myself.

Once I hear from my peers I will post their e-mail response and make my decision.

Entertainment Law Industry Podcasts

I was recently tasked to search for a few podcasts that focused with Entertainment Law. During my search I subscribed to two podcast and found a wealth of information regarding a few cases that peaked my interest. One case I heard about briefly and two others that made my jaw drop.

The first podcast was done by two guys by the name of Jonathan Arnold, Esq and James Harrell. The name of the Episode was called, "Don't sign that! Standup Comedy". In this podcast they discussed copyright on jokes and standup routines or acts. Jonathan explained that the copyright protects the expression not the idea. As Jonathan explained more in detail, it can be difficult to copyright a joke a comedian tells. For example, one comedian can tell a joke about flying. Then another comedian can tell a joke about flying as well and that can't be protected. If a comedian has a routine sketch or act, then it can be copyright. Whoopi Goldberg does a standup act as Fontaine. Fontaine is a junky and tells her story and adventures to the audience. Whoopi has become this character and can copyright Fontaine and her story. I found this to be very informative. I've heard comedians get annoyed about other comedians stealing their jokes and passing them off as their own. Jonathan suggested the advice he gives his clients, and that is to record your shows that you do, to help protect yourself from theft of joke or act stealers. This can be a good way to copyright your act.

http://www.dontsignthatpodcast.com/

Another podcast I listened to was Entertainment update. I listened to a few episodes that really caught my attention. Gordon P. Firemark, Esq hosts a entertainment law update once a month where he discusses recent copyright and trademark infringement cases in the entertainment industry.  In Episode 23,  he talked about the case Warner Bros V. X One X Productions lawsuit over the Wizard of Oz.  The Wizard of Oz was written by Frank Baum in 1900. The book is public domain since it was written in 1900. X One X productions was taking old posters from the movie version of the Wizard of Oz and making lunch box,s wallets etc.  When the company was brought to court over the copyright infringement by Warner Bros, their defense was that the characters from the Wizard of Oz were public domain. However, the court showed favor to Warner bros as they currently hold the copyright to the movie version which X one X productions were using the movie poster images to make their product. This made my jaw drop, as I never thought about  WB owning the rights to Wizard of OZ the movie. With so many new remakes coming out and the use of these characters, it will be interesting to see how the copyright would play for these future release.

Episode 23: Http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/podcast-logo.png

The next episode that I enjoyed and took note on was episode27. This was a year in review of 2011. I recently watched the movie Hangover 2 and enjoyed laughing at some of the sick tactics this movie showed. In one scene one of the characters wake up in Bangkok with a tattoo on his face. It wasn't until later in the movie when Mike Tyson appeared that I realized it was like the exact copy of his tattoo on his face. I didn't think anything of it until I was reading Entertainment magazine that WB was being sued by the original tattoo artist who did Mike Tyson's tattoo.

As Gordon explained the case, he stated that S. Victor Whitmill brought a lawsuit against WB stating that this was his work of art that they copied and he wasn't given any credit or paid for using his art. However, it is clear that the tattoo was a replica of the one on Tyson's face. As part of  Whitmill  lawsuit against WB he wanted to stop the release of the movie until the lawsuit was settled. The judge did allow the case to go forward, but did not stop the injunction of the films release. WB stated that they would digitize the design out of the movie when it was released on dvd. However, in June 2011, WB settled with Whitmall. The terms of the lawsuit was never made public.

Episode 27: Http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/podcast-logo.png

Apple's Liabilities

Since the release of Apple Inc. Iphone and Ipad, Apple has faced a lot of legal battles over patents. One big battle Apple is involved with is Samsung. Apple has been in court and legal battles over Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet 10.1. Apple states that Samsung has duplicated their Ipad 2 platform and has asked that Samsung halt selling and releasing the tablet. So far Apple has won the battle in Australia and at the time has stopped production of the tablet. These rulings are hurting Samsung’s tablet sales and the company was worried it would not be able to sale their tablet during the holidays. Already banned to sell their tablet in Australia and Germany, Samsung decided to release the tablet a little different and change the outer shell of the tablet. This was called the Galaxy tablet 10.1N. Apple then tried to ban this unit, still in germany. However, the german courts ruled that the change was significant  change to rule against Apple. This allowed Samsung to release the tablet for the holidays. A Minor win for Samsung. However, the battle still continues all over the world as Apple continues to Ban the Tablet in other countries. In South Korea, the battle continues to heat up and not looking good for Apple.

In My opinion, this battle should have ended long ago when Samsung offered to pay Apple patent and licensing fees to end this war. Apple is still trying to protect it’s patent and is appealing the german courts ruling. As an Apple Employee, I really didn’t see the big difference but wished this war would end soon. 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/241829/battle_between_samsung_and_apple_heats_up.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/02/01/samsung-finally-wins-patent-battle-against-apple/

Another Legal battle Apple was involved in was with HTC. The case against HTC was regarding 20 odd patents. Some of the patents were the unlocking of the screen, Touch base screen, and multi-tasking. I’ll have to admit reading some of the patents that are listed in this case I had no idea was patented. During this battle it was speculated that Apple was after HTC to take down Android which was rumored that Apple was at war with. So, with the battle going on Apple the ITC allowed only 4 to hold up in court. Out of these four rulings, apple had a victory of one of them. This ban from their phones will start on April 19, 2012. So, what was the patent ruled against? It was Patent 647, which relates to the technology when a user clicks on a phone number in an e-mail and or text it calls the individual. 

So this battle went from 20 to 4, and apple only won 1. HTC said they will take that design out of it’s phones and considers it not a big deal. Once again, in my opnion, it wasn’t a big victory in Apple’s favor, but hey sometimes it’s always good to protect your gold.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/6169441/Apple-in-narrow-win-in-suit-vs-HTC

The last battle Apple is going through now is Motorola. Currently apple lost this legal battle over patent infringement in Germany. The ban circles around 3G patent related. This has caused Apple to remove the sale of the Iphone 3G, All Ipad 3g models and Iphone 4. With the win on the 3G patent, Motorola has filed suit again seeking an injunction against the Iphone 4S and the ICloud. The lawsuit cites six patents which Motorola used against other Apple devices in the same court. Because of the time frame of the release, Motorola could not include it in it’s first suit. 

This is lawsuit is bad news. The ban of 3G model phones and IPads will hurt Apple’s sales for sure. Now Apple can redesign it’s phone to match or pay fees to Motorola to continue the sale of it’s product. At the current time Apple is appealing the ban but it could end up paying out. In my Opinion, pay out Apple!

http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/12/09/motorola.gets.german.win.blocking.iphone.3g.ipads/

When the Manager Tweets!

I have been following some of my favorite artist on twitter and found something interesting. Some artist managers tweet what their artist is doing or currently working on. I always find it fascinating when they do.  Guy Oseary, Madonna's manager took to twitter when her single leaked on the internet. He expressed that they are pleased to see that so many fans took to single and wanted to hear it, but was upset that someone leaked the demo of the song. This is not the first time this happened to Madonna, but I never seen to where the Manager of the artist spoke out. I understand his anger as this can sometimes hurt the performer. Guy has played a huge part recently in Madonna's success. With her new movie, W.E. Madonna was persuaded by her manager to write and sing the title song for the movie. This recently won Madonna an Golden Globe for the song. I started to think, if I was artist, would I want my manager tweeting what I was doing? Then I discovered another one of my favorite artist tweeting back and forth with her fans. Then a tweet popped that confused me. My first reaction was, uh oh, Miss Britney has been hacked. This wasn't the case at all. Her manager Adam Leber was tweeting from her twitter account.

This raised a red flag for me. I started wondering if the artist was at all doing their own tweets. I've always heard that some have someone doing their tweeting for them, but I never actually thought the manager would log on and tweet from the artist account. I did however, notice that he did identify that he was the manager tweeting. So I paid close attention to Britney's tweets to see who was doing the tweeting. I noticed her manager tweeted, to tell her fans about her tour dates, or catch Britney's new video. I became more of a believe that Britney was doing her tweets when she posted a video of her two boys playing Xbox Kinect.

So the morale of this post is, I found it interesting how more managers are stepping up and showing support of their artist with Social media, but also speaking to the fans as well. Two different scenarios but how they play a huge part in their Artist lives and not only being their manager but it is almost like a best friend to the artist.

Artist Cut Ties!

                                http://theybf.com/2011/07/15/mathew-knowles-says-he-beyonce-no-longer-speak-after-theft-allegations-firing-says-roc-na

We always here about artist cutting ties with their managers. Michael Jackson cut ties with his dear friend Frank Dileo when his "Bad", album didn't sell the records he expected. But when your manager is your blood relative, it can make a persons jaw drop when you hear that it happens. In March, Beyonce Knowles announced that she would no longer be represented by her father Matthew Knowles. Matthew Knowles has managed Beyonce's career since she was a little girl. He helped her get her record deal in the girl group  Destiny's child and her solo career. In the statement Beyonce released, she made it clear that she had separated from her father from a business level. That he is still her father and she loves him dearly. Matthew Knowles stated that the decision  was mutual and that he and Beyonce did great things together over the years. Some speculated that it had to do with Beyonce's parents getting a divorce. Those speculations were changed shortly after claims surfaced that Knowles was stealing from Beyonce. Live Nation reported that Matthew Knowles had taken money that wasn't rightfully his. Reports state that Beyonce had her law firm do an audit and it came back that he did indeed pilfered money from her.Knowles other two performers, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams respectively parted ways from Matthew Knowles in 2009 and 2010. This news came at a time where Beyonce was wrapping up on her last album "4". Business is business and if indeed Matthew Knowles stole from his daughter Beyonce did what any other artist would do and fire her manager, even though he is her father. Matthew Knowles decided he will focus on his spiritual group and artist. Matthew manages artist like Trin-I-Tee 5:7 and his other daughter Solange.