ESPN is upping its game to get America wild about the World Cup. The World Cup is the biggest sports event worldwide – airing across 214 countries and territories, and drawing an even larger audience than the Olympics or the Super Bowl. This year's tournament is scheduled to take place June 11 to July 11 in South Africa.
While ESPN’s intensified efforts are impressive, the question remains: when it comes to soccer (or football, as it is known internationally), can ESPN build a loyal following and score a ratings hit over rival network Univision?
B2B e-business and e-marketing magazine Inside Digital Media and e-marketing portal Digimedia.be successfully held their second "Mobile Marketing Forum" last April. The Forum, held in Brussels, Belgium, tackled challenges and opportunities in today’s rising mobile ad market. As an Interactive Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterHouseCoopers report noted, mobile ad spending grew 32 percent in 2009. Moreover, recent investments by tech giants such as Google and Apple Inc. further bolstered enthusiasm in the industry — Google with its proposed $750-million acquisition of mobile advertising firm AdMob, and Apple with its launch of iAd, a mobile advertising platform aimed at the world’s 50 million iPhone users.
Conference speakers included Fabian Tilmant, New Media Consultant for media consulting firm Cleverwood and a previous participant at the Advanced Digital Media Strategies (ADMS) program offered by IESE Business School’s Institute for Media and Entertainment (IME). Tilmant shared his “Digital Content Distribution Ecosystem” or “DiCoDE” model. “DiCoDE” is a modified media value chain which takes into account the role of social networks, advertising, user interaction and user currencies. Tilmant’s model was inspired by the “value chain analysis” originally presented by IESE Business School professors Josep Valor and Sandra Sieber at the ADMS program. To view Tilmant’s DiCoDE presentation, click here.
More and more consumers increasingly live their lives online, prompting businesses to either invest in or to re-examine their Web and digital strategies. The Paley Center for Media, program partner of IESE/IME in the Advanced Management Program in Media and Entertainment, hosted a roundtable breakfast with Google’s VP of Americas Operations Dennis Woodside last March, to discuss Google’s role and outlook regarding media, advertising and the Internet. The event, sponsored by global management consulting firm booz&co., was moderated by Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg.
Woodside was optimistic about the myriad opportunities on the Web, and noted that in many cases, the line between direct response advertising (wherein consumers are urged to respond immediately) and brand advertising (wherein the goal is to build brand awareness) is blurring. Google has had success in introducing a new car on YouTube, for example, as well as in getting people to consider alternative options in Google Search.
Local and mobile advertising are also potential goldmines, noted Woodside, especially as location-based services (e.g. mapping, social networking apps like “foursquare,” location-based search results, etc.) become more and more accessible through Web devices and therefore more and more popular with consumers. As economic models are just emerging, however, Woodside cautioned that not all ideas for monetization may necessarily pan out. Likewise, Woodside acknowledged the need for tighter measurements between the time consumers experience an ad and the time they take action — and one possible answer is through “behavioral targeting,” wherein measurable ads are delivered based on a user’s known interests and surfing habits.
Other discussion highlights included:
• Consumer privacy — Woodside believes self-regulation or allowing consumers to “opt out” makes sense.
• The future of journalism — Woodside noted that despite the disruption, consumer demand for news has increased, so the challenge is to monetize that demand using technology.
• An “open” vs. “closed” Web — Woodside claimed that neither approach is perfect, and that having both will create more opportunities for consumers, advertisers and content owners.
• Acquisition vs. innovation — Woodside said that the Web is moving far too fast for Google or any company to rely on just one approach.
Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Hearst Corporation, is the first among an impressive line of C-level speakers to confirm his participation in the Leadership Forums of IESE’s Advanced Management Program in Media and Entertainment (Media AMP), which starts in January 2011. Leadership Forums feature one-on-one conversations with major industry “movers and shakers” and executives who are changing the face of the business.
Hearst Corporation is one of the world’s largest media conglomerates and owner of well-known brands that include Good Housekeeping; Cosmopolitan; Country Living; O, The Oprah Magazine; Esquire; Marie Claire; Seventeen and SmartMoney. In addition to its publishing properties, the company is also engaged in a broad range of broadcasting, cable networking and diversified communications activities. As CEO of Hearst, Bennack oversees 200 separate businesses with approximately 20,000 employees. Under his leadership, Hearst Corporation launched with Disney-ABC three leading cable networks – A&E, History and Lifetime – plus its investments in the ESPN family of networks. On his watch, Hearst also launched some of its best-selling magazines and acquired 11 newspapers, including two of the U.S.'s largest.
Leadership Forums are a key element of the Media AMP, an intensive business education program presented by IESE with industry thought leader The Paley Center for Media. The Media AMP’s Leadership Forums give participants exclusive and unparalleled access to some of the top executives in the media and entertainment industry, enabling them to interact with these top industry leaders in a private, personal setting. Sessions include both “C-suite” leaders from traditional media companies, as well as innovative entrepreneurs who are helping redefine the new media landscape. The program leverages its New York City and Los Angeles locations to bring important industry players to each Leadership Forum.
The Media AMP Leadership Forums’ succeeding lineup of speakers will be announced soon. So stay tuned for updates.
IESE Business School's New York Center is the backdrop this week for the Spring edition of Advanced Digital Media Strategies. Organized by the school's Institute for Media and Entertainment (IME), the program teaches participants how to quickly respond to changes in the media landscape by re-developing and adapting their digital strategies.
The program covers key topics such as understanding the digital media value chain, and how underlying technologies affect the pricing of media products. Led by IESE Prof. Josep Valor, Advanced Digital Media Strategies also features sessions taught by faculty members Luis Cabral, Sandra Seiber and José Luis Nueno.
The program is aimed at mid-level to senior-level executives responsible for digital media strategy, marketing, advertising, distribution, syndication, content creation, innovation and product development in media and entertainment businesses.
Executives from companies like Procter & Gamble, Bertelsmann/Random House, CNBC, WE tv, and others participated in the program's Spring session. Participants came from various countries, including Bahrain, Belgium, Iceland, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, UK and USA.
The program marks the third offering for executives to be held at the school's new Manhattan location since it opened its doors in March.
Highlights of the 3-day program will also be posted at IME's Twitter account. Follow IME at http://twitter.com/imenewyork
The Financial Times has ranked IESE No. 1 in Europe and No. 2 in the world for its open enrollment executive education programs. The ranking takes into account factors such as the quality of the faculty, participant satisfaction and the international character of the school. It ranks the top 50 business schools around the globe.
The top five schools for open enrollment programs according to the ranking were:
1. Darden, University of Virginia
2. IESE
3. IMD
4. Harvard Business School
5. Thunderbird School of Global Management
You can download the full rankings chart
here
IESE's positive results in the ranking demonstrate the effectiveness of the school's educational approach, said Josep Valor, the school's associate dean, who also teaches the Advanced Digital Media Strategies program at IESE's Institute for Media and Entertainment in New York.
"There are two key aspects of the school's international dimension," he said."The first is IESE's network of associated business schools and alliances around the world. The second is the international make up of the students and faculty."
The school also earned high marks in the area of custom programs, taking 8th place in Europe. In the overall ranking, IESE finished 5th in the world and 4th in Europe.
The ranking is based upon questionnaires, interviews and school statistical data.
The cable television industry may be in for a makeover, whether it likes it or not. One possible role model could be Apple Inc., notes a February 2010 article from The Wall Street Journal. Here’s why:
Currently, TV networks provide shows and channels to cable operators for a fee. Cable operators then bundle the content together as part of a cable TV package, and recoup their expenses from consumer subscriptions and in some cases advertising.
The problem is, consumers aren’t happy paying for packages that include shows on networks they don’t really watch or even want in the first place. In fact, media research firm Nielsen estimates that in 2008, households only viewed 18 channels on average, out of the 130 that come with their cable TV subscription.
Likewise, the Internet is a growing threat to the cable television industry’s current distribution model. Not only can viewers now watch shows for free or at a low cost online and on web-enabled devices, but the ubiquity of the Internet could also increase the risk for pirated shows, especially as consumers look for cheaper alternatives.
One possible solution, notes The Wall Street Journal, is for cable operators to ditch their role as content middleman and to simply focus on selling access to their pipes, allowing TV networks to then sell content directly to consumers. This, notes the paper, is similar to how Apple Inc.’s new e-book store for the iPad (dubbed “iBooks”) operates — by acting as a storefront (or a dumb pipe) for publishers to sell their books, in exchange for a fee.
To read the full Wall Street Journal article, click here.
Businesses are increasingly using social media to connect with consumers and enhance brand awareness. However, according to a 2009 global study sponsored by technology giant Cisco, few businesses have formal processes and policies in place to govern social media use, and this lack could lead to improper disclosure and misrepresentation.
The Cisco study, the first of a two-part series, is based on in-depth interviews with 105 participants from 97 organizations in 20 countries. It was carried out by IESE Business School in Spain (an operating partner of the Institute for Media and Entertainment), the E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S., and the Henley Business School in the United Kingdom.
According to the study, social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter are becoming a key part of business initiatives in areas like marketing and communications, human relations and customer service. However, only one in seven of the surveyed companies had a formal process to implement social media tools, and only one in 10 involved their IT departments in their social media strategies. What’s more, respondents admitted that they find it difficult to create and adopt policies that strike the right balance between the personal nature of social networking, and proper corporate oversight.
As companies integrate social media in their operations, the study suggests that the following issues be addressed: When, how and what initiatives are to be launched (and not launched); how the enabling technologies should be managed; and how employee use of these technologies should be managed.
For study highlights and additional information, you can read the full Cisco news release here.
In January 2010, Apple Inc. finally launched its long-awaited touchscreen tablet — the iPad. It can surf the Web, play music and videos, send mail, display photos, read e-books and publications, and run thousands of applications from the App Store. Indeed, Apple CEO Steve Jobs says it will put “the whole Internet in the palm of your hands.”
Already, the iPad has gotten attention from consumers and industry players alike. While some analysts expect it to “ignite” sales of tablet computers, some have also pointed out its deficiencies, such as the device’s failure to run Adobe’s Flash player, its inability to support multitasking capabilities, its lack of a built-in camera, and so on.
To simply focus on the pros and cons of Apple’s latest offering, however, may be to miss the crucial point, says Sandra Sieber, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Information Systems at top-ranked IESE Business School, an operating partner of the Institute for Media and Entertainment (IME). Sieber also teaches the Advanced Digital Media Strategies executive education program at IME.
And what exactly is the point? A likely price war on Internet data plans, leading to increased Web use and consumption of content, says Sieber. This is because unlike the iPhone, the iPad has no exclusivity contract with AT&T. Consumers are free to choose which telecom operator to work with, opening the field wide for competition. So while the iPad could likely boost bandwidth use much like the iPhone did, telecom operators may not find it as lucrative, as they would likely have to cut profit margins and offer economical data plans to win their share of the market.
The likelihood that iPad owners will consume more content, however, is good news for content distributors and developers. “It will still imply that content distributors will have to find good ways to monetize content, but with this new proposition, Apple directly attacks the access hurdle,” says Sieber. “As (Apple Inc.) said on the iPad presentation event, they have 75 million iPhone users. What they did not say is that they are all paying hefty data plans. How many users may they have if the mobile Internet becomes cheap?”
To read Sieber’s detailed analysis on the subject, published on the IESE Technology Blog, click here.
