Among a myriad of pick-ups by Fox was Running Wilde. Previously called Wilde Kingdom, the comedy is the latest from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz.
The comedy is set to star Will Arnett, who played Job in Arrested Development and helped co-write the pilot for Running Wilde. Arnett will play an egocentric guy from Beverly Hills who falls for a big-hearted hippie (played by Keri Russell) who is repulsed by his lifestyle and values.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
HTC Corporation today announced that it has issued an official complaint against Apple. They’re taking legal action to try and get the United States International Trade Commission to block sale of the iPad, iPhone and iPod in the U.S.
As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible, said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of North America, HTC Corporation. We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones.
The five patents being cited relate to mobile phone directories and power management methods. Apple was also recently sued by Nokia over patents relating to the iPhone and iPad.
Danica Patrick is one of the superstar personalities of motorsports, so landing her for a promotional video for Blur is kind of a big deal. She describes the basic elements of the games, and basically makes it sound a lot like Mario Kart.
Anyone with fond memories of playing with toys or of Cartoon Network will love this. There’s great dramatic build up and somewhat black humor for a TV network ad.
The viral marketing machine has been in full effect for Super 8 and now the trailer has officially hit the web. If you haven’t seen Iron Man 2 (the trailer first aired over the weekend attached to Iron Man 2) you’ll definitely want to check out the video below.
The marketing universe is pretty crowded almost no matter where you look. While it’s hard to stand out using conventional methods, more creative marketers have an opportunity if they’re willing to explore new methods. For Splinter Cell: Conviction, for example, gamers would receive a code for an in-game weapon if they texted WEAPON to 44144. Ubisoft nearly doubled its mobile subscriber list on the first day, and more than tripled it in the days that followed. Plans have already been made to implement similar offers for the new Prince of Persia game. We talked with Matt Silk, SVP of Waterfall Mobile, and Dan Morrill, Manager of Loyalty and CRM at Ubisoft, about the campaign.
Matt Silk: Waterfall Mobile is the leader in digital messaging and CRM for enterprises. The company’s products, Msgme and AlertU, have revolutionized the way companies manage communications with their end users. The Msgme platform empowers carriers, brands, agencies and technology companies to manage digital messaging and subscribers across mobile and social channels, including SMS, MMS, mobile apps, voice, Facebook and Twitter. Msgme enhances these channels by coupling seamless integration of mobile web, video, coupons and QR codes, with direct targeting tools such as location, demographic and user preferences. Some of our customers include Anheuser-Busch, Nokia, Ubisoft, and Participant Media.
Waterfall Mobile was founded by a team of experienced Silicon Valley entrepreneurs interested in the challenge of eliminating the upfront costs, administrative complexity and slow deployment timelines that hobbled the first-generation of U.S. mobile interactivity applications. The company’s technology and management team includes top talent from E*TRADE Financial, BEA, Oracle and eBay.
Dan Morrill: Our internal CRM team wanted to utilize our new unique key system that unlocks in-game content. We use the keys across various mediums (in pack, web registration incentive) but wanted to test to see what kind of response we could get if we offered it via SMS.
DM: We think that definitely played a part. Our fans tend to be pretty tech savvy, so something like SMS is a pretty basic concept for them. But even more so we believe the offer for the campaign is what really made it stand out. An exclusive in-game weapon just for texting in is something you don’t see every day in the video game marketplace.
MS: The most common way to engage a brand’s mobile subscribers and key targets is to offer mobile coupons on future items. (“Join the exclusive mobile fan club and get 10percent off your next purchase today!”) However, with an engaged community of die-hard the possibilities are endless–advanced updates on upcoming titles or expansion packs, access to exclusive merchandise, contest entries, etc . . .
Mobile has also proven to be an extremely effective way to poll and engage a community on an ongoing basis. Interactive campaigns keep gamers engaged by allowing them to vote on what exclusives and special features expansion releases will include or if they prefer the next in-game content code to be for a new gun or rocket launcher. Through simple yet effective interactive messaging users feel engaged with the brand and part of the game itself.
The most important part of anything a brand offers is to make sure that content is highly relevant to the audience and marketing goals of the brand.
DM: Our social network channels played a big part in getting the word out about this promotion. Using both our Splinter Cell and Frag Dolls twitter accounts we were able to get the message out to over 1.4MM followers. Facebook was also a great platform to spread the word to the Splinter Cell community, and provide a great offer to our loyal Facebook fans.
DM: We can’t share exact numbers but with this single campaign we have increased our mobile following 400 percent with an excellent redemption rate for the in-game weapon.
DM: We will be offering an exclusive in-game skin and offering the keys on PS3, 360 and PC beginning next week.
Judge Dredd will be returning to the big screen very soon. After two years of negotiating, DNA Films acquired the rights to the film, which will be financed to the tune of $45 million by Reliance Big Pictures.
Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) will produce the film, while Pete Travis will direct the script written by Alex Garland. Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner will be a creative consultant, while owners of the comic brand Rebellion/2000AD Jason Kingsley and Chris Kingsley will co-produce along with Michael S. Murphey (District 9).
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Sony today announced that the latest version of its Walkman W Series, model NWZ-W252, will release in a new camouflaged version styled after Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The MP3 player has 2 GB of maximum capacity with a wearable, lightweight and water-resistant frame and a full battery life of approximately 11 hours.
The Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker themed Sony Walkman W Series will come pre-loaded with the soundtrack from the game. It will also be offered in a limited edition version, which comes with a coupon code, allowing gamers to unlock original designed characters and special Walkman apparel.
The Sony W Series Walkman branded with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be available in June for around $60.
Microsoft is launching their new Office 2010 software with both a press conference and a virtual launch in 60 markets, in 38 different regional variations comprising 26 languages. This is being done to emphasize a new part of Office called SharePoint 2010.
Doing so means that Micrsoft will be able to be more social with the site than they could with a previous version of the software. “If we went with (SharePoint) 2007 we probably would have cut corners a little bit,” said Carol Matthews, a senior marketing manager in Microsoft’s information worker team.
Doing this also helps Microsoft save on launch events around the world, allowing to focus on one main location. “Those were very expensive,” said Matthews.
Office is a cornerstone for Microsoft’s core business, and this demonstration might help push it to be the fastest adopted Office ever, also thanks to enthusiasm surrounding Windows 7. The move should help them combat Google’s online apps, which have been slowly cutting into Microsoft’s mindshare.
Source: Cnet
Ubisoft is ramping up the promotional efforts for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and they’re going back to the series’ roots to do so. A new Flash adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands has released with parts similar to the original Prince of Persia 2D platformer.
The Flash game also includes elements from the full Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands game, including bosses, the four elemental powers and the rewind move. Also, players can unlock a Malik skin for the PS3, PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game.
Check out the Flash game at prince-of-persia.com or www.facebook.com/princeofpersia.
