Industry News

  • Fri, 18 May 2012 22:12:46 +0000: Nascar, Twitter Turn Hashtags Into Pit Stops - Adweek : Technology

    The hashtag’s basic function is to serve as a content filter on Twitter. While useful, hashtags can also be uninspired. So Twitter is converting the hashtag into a content destination in its own right through a unique partnership with Nascar announced Friday.

    Starting with the Pocono 400 the weekend of June 10, consumers who click on the #Nascar hashtag will be directed to a not-yet-live Twitter page that will aggregate tweets and photos related to the race to create what Nascar svp and CMO Steve Phelps called in a statement a “complementary live race experience.”

    “When sports fans around the world see a hashtag displayed on the air during a game or race, that’s a signal to them that there is a bigger conversation happening on Twitter,” said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo in a statement. “Between the talented Nascar personalities on Twitter and the fact that they have some of the most loyal fans in the world of sports, they were a natural choice to partner with as we experiment with ways to create the best experience on Twitter during a big event.”

    Up until now when users click on a hashtag, they are shown a page littered with tweets which have included that particular hashtag. But in Nascar’s case, Twitter will curate those tweets through an algorithm, and by hand to give users a behind-the-scenes look at the race.

    The partnership appears to be part of a broader initiative by Twitter to take channel sports fans heavy usage of the platform during live games. Earlier this week Twitter announced a partnership with ESPN to launch during the NBA Finals that will have users tweeting their game faces with the #gameface hashtag. 


  • Fri, 18 May 2012 20:37:02 +0000: Facebook's $38 IPO at End of First Day of Trading Worth ... $38 - Advertising Age - Latest News

    Facebook hovered near the initial public offering price in its trading debut, following a record IPO.


  • Fri, 18 May 2012 20:14:01 +0000: Days After Quitting Facebook Ads, GM Swears Off the Super Bowl - Advertising Age - Latest News

    Is General Motors making a point or acting under new pressures?


  • Fri, 18 May 2012 19:50:12 +0000: Adult Swim Brings Funk, T.I. Brings Noise - Adweek : Television

    Adult Swim typically throws the best party of the upfront season, as much for the decor as for the entertainment. This year at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the top-ten primetime network brought in southern rapper T.I., who played a full two-hour set for the packed crowd. The bar was set pretty high—last year the company brought in Jay-Z and M.I.A. headlined the event in 2010, so people expect to have a good time when they show up.

    The network has a mammoth slate set for next year. Upcoming series include Before Orel, a prequel to Dino Stamatopoulos's darker-than-dark claymation comedy Moral Orel; a blaxploitation animated comedy called Black Dynamite (based on the movie), and a Robot Chicken special with DC Comics. Stamatopoulos (you know him as Starburns, Community fans) also has more Frankenhole coming up on the network, and on May 26, the network will bring back Toonami, its popular anime block. It's a wonder more networks don't do this, by the way—it's a wildly popular genre and if you can market it correctly, young people flock to it.

    The real juice was in the development slate, though. Upcoming cartoons include a project from Community creator Dan Harmon and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies writer Seth Grahame-Smith, and a Harold and Kumar show. There's also Freestyle Love Supreme from Tony-winning In the Heights star/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.

    But seriously, the decor. Guys and gals in giant owl, rabbit and cat masks wandered around posing with people and simulating sex (fully clothed—overly clothed, even) in the peep show booth. Again, this is part of the Adult Swim's new arms race with itself. For M.I.A., the peep shows were hilarious/frightening taxidermy dioramas. Now we have furry sex. There was also quite a bit of neon around the room—signage with blinking dollar signs or messages like "FREE HOLE," a Muppet-pelt orifice through which prizes were dispensed.

    Harmon, SNL cast member Abby Elliott, Kristen Schaal, Seth Green and perhaps a dozen other comedians attended; by the end of the evening there was a little knot of comedy writers and performers in the back of the room, drinking and dancing. The funniest piece of gossip gleaned at the party? Apparently there's a loud contingent at Adult Swim that wants—no fooling—to bring Dolly Parton to play next year.


  • Fri, 18 May 2012 18:52:46 +0000: Top 10 Twitter Trends of the Week: 'Little Monsters' Multiply and Pop Grips the Chart - Advertising Age - Latest News

    Pop stars command the five largest followings on Twitter, so a pop-heavy list of trends should be no surprise this week -- or any week.