DUBAI LYNX ANNOUNCES 2012 JURY LINE-UP

The Dubai International Advertising Festival is pleased to announce the members of the juries responsible for judging and awarding entries into the 6th Dubai Lynx Awards.

A total of 35 international, industry experts will come together in Dubai to judge and debate over the best of the region’s work. Divided into six juries, each led by their own jury president, jury members will this year see entries from 14 categories : Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Media, Direct, Promo & Activation, Interactive, Print & Poster Craft, Film Craft, Design, Integrated and new for this year, PR and Mobile.

“We are delighted to be bringing these international juries to Dubai. As individuals they are knowledgeable and passionate within their fields and together will bring fresh ideas and perspectives in judging. We look forward to welcoming them and seeing which entries they will choose to take home the coveted Lynx trophies,” said Emma Lancaster, Festival Director, Dubai Lynx.

The 2012 jury members are:
Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio and Craft Jury :
Ted Royer, Partner, ECD, Droga5, USA – Jury President
Scott Lambert, Creative Director, Innocean, Australia
Doerte Spengler-Ahrens, Chief Creative Officer, Jung von Matt/Fleet, Germany
Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, India
Ivan Johnson, Executive Creative Director, 140 BBDO, South Africa
Carla Romeu, Creative Director, El Laboratorio, Spain
John Pallant, Regional Creative Director, EMEA, Saatchi & Saatchi, UK

Direct, Promo & Activation, Interactive and Mobile Jury :
Gastón Bigio, Regional CD, Ogilvy Latina & Founder, David, Argentina – Jury President
Nancy Hartley, Executive Creative Director, SapientNitro, Australia
Erik Backes, Executive Creative Director, Wunderman, Germany
Odile Crézé, Executive Creative Director, DraftFCB, France
Chris Baylis, Executive Creative Director, Tribal DDB, The Netherlands
Theo Ferreira, Executive Creative Director/Co-Founder, Hello World, South Africa
Nick Darken, Partner | Executive Creative Director, Albion, UK

Media Jury :
Jacki Kelley, Global Chief Executive Officer, UM, Global – Jury President
John Sintras, Chief Executive Officer, Starcom MediaVest, Australia
Gino Baeck, Chief Executive Officer, Mindshare, Belgium
Jens Erichsen, Managing Director, Carat, Germany
Jasmin Sohrabji, Chief Executive Officer, Omnicom Media Group, India
Niclas Fröberg, CEO/Founder, Tre Kronor Media & Advertising, Sweden
Hugh Cameron, Chief Strategy Officer, PHD Media, UK

Design Jury :
Jonathan Ford, Creative Partner, Pearlfisher, UK – Jury President
Tristan Macherel, Executive Creative Director, The Brand Union, France
Alok Nanda, Chief Executive Officer, Alok Nanda & Company, India
Bruno Stucchi, Owner/Creative Director, Dinamomilano, Italy
Rita Baltazar, Partner, Co-Founder and Creative Director, By, Portugal
Jennifer Ehlers, Creative Director, King James RSVP, South Africa
Catrin Vagnemark, Creative Director, BVD Design Bureau, Sweden

PR Jury :
Richard Millar, Chief Executive Officer, Hill & Knowlton, UK – Jury President
Cyrille Arcamone, Senior Vice President & Senior Partner, Fleishman-Hillard, France
Tobias Schlösser, Chief Operating Officer, EMEA, Ledavi, Germany
Sunil Gautam, Director, Hanmer MSL Communications, India
Giorgio Cattaneo, President, Chief Executive Officer, MY PR, Italy
Catarina Vasconcelos, Managing Director, LPM, Portugal
Christina Saliba, Chief Executive Officer, Weber Shandwick, Sweden

Integrated Jury :
Ted Royer, Partner, Executive Creative Director, Droga5, USA – Jury President
Gastón Bigio, Regional CD, Ogilvy Latina and Founder, David, Argentina
Jonathan Ford, Creative Partner, Pearlfisher, UK
Ivan Johnson, Executive Creative Director, 140BBDO, South Africa
Jacki Kelley, Global CEO, UM, Global
Richard Millar, Chief Executive Officer, Hill & Knowlton, UK
John Pallant, Regional Creative Director, EMEA, Saatchi & Saatchi, UK

There’s still time to enter the Dubai Lynx awards. Entries can be submitted through the website at http://www.dubailynx.com/awards/index.cfm where further information, entry tips and details about the Festival and Awards can also be found.

The Dubai International Advertising Festival takes place from 4-6 March with the Dubai Lynx Awards drawing the Festival to a close on 7 March. Anyone wishing to attend should visithttp://www.dubailynx.com/registration/ for details of delegate packages and to take advantage of the special Early Bird Discount, available until 2 February.

Associating keywords to desired actions key to digital marketers leveraging the buying cycle for optimum results

A new white paper by Software-as-a-Service marketing technology provider, Hydra, highlights how digital marketing specialists can enhance their keyword lists to elicit the desired response from their prospects. In a recent survey of 200 digital marketers undertaken by the firm, 55 per cent said they do not know what words or expressions being used in the market are worth spending time and money on.

Titled “Optimising the Buying Cycle – tying keywords to desired actions” the white paper discusses how search marketing specialists can enhance the effectiveness of their campaigns by extending their lists of keywords and phrases using a combination of their current targets, user-generated suggestions and upcoming trends.

“Understanding the buying cycle and its various stages and channels is important for online marketing success, equally so is tying the keywords used within each to a desired action or outcome. To achieve success, research, prioritisation and management of an extensive keyword set is necessary, as is understanding how they fit into the various stages of the cycle,” says Ruth Zohrer, Hydra’s senior solutions consultant.

Hydra’s paper gives tips and suggestions as to how specialists across the disciplines of natural search, paid search and social media can fine tune the language they use within their campaigns across the different channels to ultimately enhance their effectiveness, increase results and achieve greater success.

The paper highlights the six key areas to consider and evaluate when reviewing keywords and the opportunities they represented with a view to significantly extending reach.

“Website content, product/inventory feeds, paid search campaigns, analytics tools, site searches and social media outlets – all need to be fully explored to ensure an in depth analysis of all keywords and phrases takes place prior to implementing a new strategy,” says Zohrer.

The One platform from Hydra can assist in the process of identifying the language that is being used by prospects at each stage of the buying cycle, and across the differing channels, allowing for effective communication. Its live data reports also uncover the most important search terms and trends to deliver enhanced opportunities to users.

Amazon dominates search and social in consumer electronics retail

More than 1.5 million searches were made for consumer electronics online in November and in terms of visibility, Amazon dominated in both search and social media according to the latest research, ‘Brown Goods – Issue 10’, by leading independent specialist search and social media marketing agency, Greenlight.

Greenlight’s report profiles search behaviour in the brown goods sector, covering cameras & camcorders, DVD players & recorders, entertainment products, PCs & laptops and TVs. The research analyses which brands, retailers and review sites were the most visible in the both natural* and paid media results** and therefore had the greatest share of consideration, when UK consumers searched for brown goods on Google.co.uk. The report also assesses which brands interacted well on social media networks.

Greenlight’s analysis established that in November 2011:
• The keyword ‘iPod’ was queried 165,000 times, accounting for 11 per cent of all searches made for the sector. ‘Laptops’ was the second most popular search term (135,000 searches), followed by ‘iPod nano’ with 60,500
• Combined, searches pertaining to both the PC & laptop and entertainment sub-sectors accounted for nearly 70 per cent of brown-goods related searches (36 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively)
• Amazon was the most visible website in Greenlight’s natural search listings, achieving a 45 per cent share of voice. Likewise in the paid media space, where it secured a 53 per cent share of visibility
• Amazon also ranked at the top of Greenlight’s integrated search league table, as it achieved a dominant percentage share of visibility in both the natural search listings and paid media space
• Amazon topped Greenlight’s social media analysis, achieving a Klout score of 81. It was followed by Dell and Tesco, with a score of 61 and 60, respectively.

Online retail has increasingly been winning the consumer pound over the high street. According to comparison website Kelkoo, UK e-sales jumped 14 per cent to nearly £50bn in 2011 and are forecast to reach £56.5bn by the end of 2012. This highlights the fact that brands and retailers with an online presence need to ensure they are also visible to consumers who go online with the intent to search, find and purchase products.

MSN SEEKS NEW CREATIVE IDEAS VIA CONTENT 360 AT MIPCUBE

CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN
The seventh annual Content 360 digital creativity competition at MIPCube, MIPTV’s new innovation forum, has now opened its call for entries with a new viral video category created by MSN International and a general category for new transmedia concepts.

The 2012 Content 360 competition offers digital media innovators the possibility to pitch their ideas directly to MSN executives or a jury of TV industry decision makers to win development funding and gain international recognition.

The deadline for entering the competition is 24 February 2012

MSN will short-list three projects to be awarded €5,000 each to produce a pilot video in support of the final pitching sessions at MIPCube. Winners will be announced on Saturday 30 March and will be showcased on Day 1 of the MIPTV conference programme, 1 April 2012.

In its category “Videos that Create Global Buzz,” MSN is looking for creative ideas on short on-line video productions that are fun and consumer-friendly when shared with friends around the world. Typically less than 3 minutes, videos can be either film or animation with focus on humour that can appeal in MSN’s 50-country market. In parallel to this, projects should respond to MSN’s desire to reinvent its offering via Social, Real-Time, Search and Multi-Platform infusion. The final winning project will be coached by MSN in order to secure sponsorship from an advertiser for an entire production season.

The second category “New Transmedia Concepts” calls for innovative transmedia concepts that mix video storytelling with gaming, live events, mobile applications, integrated marketing, dual screen content or any additional techniques for enriching the story and the user experience. Contestants are asked to submit their ideas in a Quick-Fire presentation format (maximum 20 slides) to explain the concept, target audience, story, characters, platforms and budget. Finalists will present using the same format during the Content 360 final pitching sessions in Cannes.

“Interactive producers are forging new forms of content using video every day and audiences for these projects are growing as consumers watch more and more video across a variety of devices and take in stories across more and more platforms. At MIPCube, we are looking to recognise the projects of tomorrow that will do this best,” says
MIPCube Executive Producer, Sarah Hemar.

Vivendi, the world leader in music and video games, international leader in telecoms and French leader in pay-TV, is the creative partner and global sponsor of MIPCube 2012.
MIPCube Website
MIPCube on Facebook
MIPCube on Twitter
For more information about MIPTV, visit www.miptv.com

CANNES LIONS LAUNCH BRANDED CONTENT & ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORY

AVI SAVAR OF BIG FUEL APPOINTED INAUGURAL JURY PRESIDENT
Setting the benchmark for creative excellence in communications, the International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions – will reward creativity in branded content & entertainment, defined as the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand. Avi Savar, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Big Fuel, a full-service global social media marketing and communications company based in New York that takes brands from content to commerce, will chair the inaugural Branded Content & Entertainment Lions jury.

The purpose of branded content and entertainment is to deliver marketing messages by engaging consumers via relevant content platforms rather than traditional advertising methods.

Entrants to the Branded Content & Entertainment Lions category will demonstrate how a brand has successfully worked independently or in association with a content producer or publisher to develop and create (or co-create) entertaining and engaging content for their audience. This could be either by creating original content or programming for a brand or by naturally integrating a brand into existing formats by partnering with a publisher or media partner.

Entries should demonstrate how consumer insight successfully integrated into original content drives audience engagement and creates synergy across paid, owned and earned media.

Entries to Branded Content & Entertainment Lions might leverage a single media channel, such as web video or broadcast, but may also use multiple platforms to deliver content to audiences across various channels, including: radio, magazines, books, gaming, music, video, mobile, social, community, blogs, experiential events, and more.

Since the use of branded content & entertainment differs from one country to another, entrants will be required to describe the current situation around branded content & entertainment in their country where the campaign appeared, including any restrictions or regulations imposed by TV stations, broadcasting companies, government or other regulating body.

The first Branded Content & Entertainment Lions jury will be chaired by Avi Savar, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Big Fuel, who will lead nine branded content & entertainment experts from around the world. Avi launched Big Fuel, a pure-play social media agency designed for the needs of large brands, in 2004. What started as a one-man “branded content studio” has today grown into the largest social media agency in the world – with clients that include: T-Mobile, Sherton, Westin, Starwood Preferred Guest, The Children’s Place, Nurtisystem, Bacardi, Gore-Tex, Citi, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Philips. In June 2011, Avi led Big Fuel to a successful acquisition by French media giant Publicis Groupe thus giving Big Fuel a global footprint and making it the most dominant social media agency worldwide.

Avi Savar has spent his professional career connecting with and motivating audiences through content. He has created highly stylised programming for companies such as USA Networks, Fox, USA, Columbia Tri-Star, and Showtime Networks. Prior to launching Big Fuel, Avi served as a Producer for ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ before being tapped to create and develop breakthrough entertainment-based programming for both MTV Networks and VH1.

The Branded Content & Entertainment Lions winners will be announced on Saturday 23 June, in Cannes, alongside the Film, Craft, Titanium and Integrated winners. Additional information on Branded Content & Entertainment Lions will be available when entries open on 26 January.

Branded Content & Entertainment, together with the already announced new Mobile Lions section, brings the total number of Cannes Lions awards categories to 15.

Google tipped to overtake Yahoo to become king of display advertising in 2012

Leading specialist search and social marketing agency, Greenlight, expects search giant Google to overtake Yahoo and become king of display advertising by the end of the year. Greenlight also predicts 2012 will be will be the year of social link building and that social media sites will take on a multi-faceted identity.These alongside others from Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, are some of the firm’s predictions in the latest quarterly edition of Greenlight’s monthly magazine which accompanies the firm’s independent research.

Paid Search – Google will overtake Yahoo to become king of display
2011 was a busy year for the Search Industry with Google acquiring Invite Media and Teracent. In early December, Google officially launched its DoubleClick Search V3 platform – DS3 – a bid management programme which combines Yahoo and MSN into an AdWords type interface. Google is making significant investment in the DoubleClick platform, specifically DoubleClick for Advertisers (DFA) and the Exchange.
So will online advertisers really need to invest elsewhere when Google is pretty much geared up to be the one-stop-shop?

“Google’s noteworthy acquisitions and investments in 2011 combined with the mighty AdWords suggest that by the end of 2012, not only will 90 per cent of advertisers’ Search budgets be in AdWords, but also that this trend is set for display,” says Hannah Kimuyu, Paid Media Director, Greenlight.

2012 – The year of Social Link building
Adam Bunn, SEO Director at Greenlight, says the confluence of user signals influencing search engines’ perception of brand strength, and everyone being on the “social media helps us build links” bandwagon, will make 2012 The Year of Social Link Building.

What users search for can tell search engines about the strength of a brand, because the strength of the brand directly influences those searches. As such, Bunn argues that now, social media is the best means of influencing brand perception online. At the same time, more and more marketers are cottoning on to the fact that social media can dramatically catalyse search engine optimisation (SEO) campaigns, by increasing the speed of accrual and the volume of natural links pointing to a site.

“It is time to stop thinking of SEO as a bubble, time SEO becomes more than SEO, more than just links.” says Bunn. “It is SEO=Digital PR. SEO=your brand. This year, marketers who think like that when planning their campaigns will win, and those who do not, will be “also-rans.”

2012 – The year social media starts taking on a multi-faceted identity
According to Anna O’Brien, Social Media Director, Greenlight, social media as it currently stands does not support myriad different relationships and personalities we have. While sites like Reddit and 4chan appeal to the user who wishes to share information, cloaked in anonymity, Facebook provides a mass audience live feed. However, while these sites thrive, they live at opposite ends of the spectrum and both only currently provide a single use view.

“Somehow these mainstream sites will evolve to allow you to become more multi-faceted. This is more than Google circles or Facebook friend groups. Those cater to organisation of content rather than the accurate portrayal of multi-dimensional identities.”

comScore Introduces Validated Campaign Essentials‏

A Holistic Measurement Solution That Validates Advertising Impressions and Audiences Reached with Digital Advertising Campaigns

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, has announced the launch of its Validated Campaign Essentials™ (vCE) product, a new measurement solution for validating digital ad delivery. vCE enables a holistic view of campaign delivery and a verified assessment of ad-exposed audiences via a single, third-party source.

Unlike existing single-point solutions, it provides an unduplicated accounting of impressions delivered across a variety of dimensions, such as ads delivered in-view, in the right geography, in a brand safe environment and absent of fraudulent delivery. A U.S.-based vCE Charter Study involving 12 national premium brands found that, in many cases, ads are delivered but not in-view or on target and therefore never have a chance to make an impact.

The full version of the press release is available at: http://www2.comscore.com/e/1552/-Validated-Campaign-Essentials/2xjgtz/456834749

First ‘Live’ Online Staring Contest in Singapore Launched by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care

To kickstart the new year, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Singapore has introduced a new through-the-line campaign for 1•DAY ACUVUE® MOIST®, themed ‘Look Life in the Eye’.

The highlight of the campaign is the launch of Singapore’s first ever online Staring Contest in Singapore, where participants pit their staring skills against each other, all in the name of realising their dream activities. The contest, titled ‘Blink-Off’ is an application on Facebook (www.acuvue.com.sg/facebook) that uses technology based on movement detection.

Activated from 5 January to 3 February 2012, ‘Blink-Off’ will see participants telling ACUVUE® what their dream is before taking on their friends and other challengers in a ‘live’ online staring contest. At the end, ACUVUE® will then help three lucky winners get one step closer to their dreams through a sponsorship, as well as give each of them the opportunity to be the next ACUVUE® Personality.

StarHub to Launch Singapore’s First HD News Channel

Sky News and StarHub TV announced plans to launch Singapore’s first High Definition (HD) news channel, Sky News HD airing today on StarHub TV Channel 757 at 6.00 am. Here they will be able to access all the benefits of HD; live video feeds from developing stories, rich graphics that enhance Sky News coverage, and real-time text analysis from Sky News specialist correspondents during live speeches and events.

“We are proud to be the first in Singapore to debut a dedicated news channel in High Definition. As the country’s leading pay TV operator, we delight in exceeding our customers’ ever-increasing expectations for quality programming,” said Ms Sandie Lee, StarHub’s Vice President of Content. “To mark the occasion, we will be offering a free preview of the channel to our World News Basic Upsize Group customers until 30 June 2012.”

As part of a premium service, the new HD channel brings together Sky News’ world class journalism with sharp picture quality using a widescreen format to show more details about the key stories of the day. Sky News HD is supported by HD studios and field resources, while HD graphics create a striking on-air look to deliver a clear, crisp and compelling television experience for the Singaporean audience.

Mr John Ryley, Head of Sky News said, “Sky News HD has been a huge success and we are proud to be leading the way once more by launching Singapore’s first ever HD news channel. It is fantastic more and more viewers globally can experience the sharper picture and enhanced services Sky News HD provides.”

Ms Yvonne Tay, Vice President and Territory Head of FOX International Channels Singapore said, “FIC is a leader in the HD space in Singapore and we are proud to once again, set new benchmarks for the News channels with the launch of Sky News HD. We are pleased that Singaporeans will now be able to enjoy world-class news with better picture quality.”

CANNES LIONS 2012

DELEGATE REGISTRATION OPENS

From today, the 59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is open for delegate registration. Taking place from 17 – 23 June in Cannes, France, delegates wishing to attend can now register online at www.canneslions.com – choosing from 3-day, 4-day and full-week registration packages. Dedicated student and young creative packages are also available.

All Festival attendees are eligible for the lowest available rates on accommodation with the online accommodation guide offering possibilities for all budgets and preferences; it can be viewed at http://www.canneslions.com/the_festival/accommodation.cfm.

Set to be the busiest Festival to date, delegates will be able to learn and take inspiration from over 50 seminars, 25 forums, 20 workshops, screenings, exhibitions, four awards ceremonies and two galas as well as benefiting from a number of networking possibilities.

NEW: A new stream of content – Forums taking place from Monday to Friday, with a different theme every day. The 60 minute forums will be part presentation, part discussion, a great way for delegates to interact with speakers and be involved with content. The five themes for the Forums are Creativity in Mobile Advertising; Creativity in Branded Entertainment; Creative Talent Management; The Creative Future of Media; and Consumer Insights and Understanding People.

The full programme will be released at the beginning of March.

NEW: A brand new Cannes Lions networking opportunity; The Cannes Connect Bar. Open daily throughout the Festival, with a complimentary bar running for a limited time in the evenings, it will provide an opportunity for attendees from across the globe to meet up, network and relax. The Cannes Connect Bar will be situated on the Riviera Terrace of the Palais des Festivals, a unique setting with views over the bay and port of Cannes.

Complementing this, Cannes Connect will once again provide an online tool for delegates, helping them to get in touch with one another and facilitate meetings between like-minded people.

NEW: The inaugural Young Creative Academy will see an intensive, week-long programme designed to develop rising talent by offering 35 young creatives the opportunity to expand their personal creativity through a bespoke learning schedule. This will run alongside the existing Creative Academy for Young Marketers and the Roger Hatchuel Academy for students.

At the 2012 Festival, Cannes Lions and the Berlin School of Creative Leadership will once again run the Cannes Creative Leaders Programme. The intensive two-week programme offers executives who are currently in or designated for leadership positions in the creative industries, a rich learning experience headed and taught by leading academic and industry experts. Around 30 places are available; further information, including details of fees, will be released soon.

The popular ‘How to Cannes’ will also make a return this year. The daily morning talks offer newcomers to Cannes Lions the chance to maximise their Festival experience by listening to tips and guidance from a Cannes Lions veteran and Festival official.

The Cannes Lions 2012 marketing campaign builds on the theme ‘Great Stories Start in Cannes’. Featuring Festival anecdotes and personal insights from industry greats such as Sir Martin Sorrell, Sir John Hegarty, David Droga, Jeff Benjamin and Jonathan Mildenhall, the campaign highlights the importance of the Festival and the undeniable magic that it holds in making just about anything possible. All of the ads were shot in Cannes and photographed by Dean Dorat, www.deandorat.co.uk.
To view the first available selection of ads, visithttp://www.canneslions.com/stories/.

Cannes Lions 2011 was attended by close to 9,500 delegates from 95 countries.
Entries will open on 26 January 2012.