“I’m tremendously excited about Sean coming on board to run digital media and social influence,” said John Moore, Chief Media Officer at Mullen. “His Forrester background makes him a unique asset and embeds in Mullen one of the preeminent thinkers in a space that is keeping CMOs up at night. We look forward to Sean creating a new vision and helping our clients navigate critically important channels like social, mobile and gaming, to name just a few.”

“Integrating different media silos is an imperative for marketers to succeed in the digital era,” said Corcoran. “And to do this at Mullen – with its hyperbundled approach to integrating creative, media, and technology, along with its stellar portfolio of clients such as Google, Zappos, and JetBlue – makes the opportunity even that much more exciting.”

Here’s what we won:

• Best Use of Out-of-Home – JetBlue “Taking it to the Streets,” where we introduced JetBlue’s new travel service by converting bus shelters into mini vacation hubs.
• Best Use of New and Non-Traditional Media – JetBlue “Celebrity Baggage,” where we introduced JetBlue’s free baggage service in LA via interactive outdoor media which linked to mobile, by which consumers could bid on celebrity’s travel bags in real time.
• Best Use of Media Research – for Barnes & Noble/Nook
• The Risky Business Award – Zappos “Naked Man,” where we convinced web channel Yahoo, to let our Naked Man (Arthur) run across their homepage.

• The Rising Star Award – Katie Thompson, VP Associate Director, Digital Media, for her work on JetBlue.

The awards were part of Media Innovation Day, hosted by the AdClub of Boston.  It featured speakers from XBOX Live, Yahoo and Mullen client Glenn Kaplan, VP, Creative Director at Barnes & Noble.

Congrats to all the finalists and winners in the Maven Awards and good luck to the AdClub in the kick-off of the big annual Media Auction.

I’m proud to announce that mediahub from Mullen and JetBlue this week won the coveted Adweek Media Plan of the Year Award.  We won it in the “Alternative Media” category for a program called “Celebrity Baggage.”  It ran in the strategically important Los Angeles market and used multiple tools in Mullen’s hyperbundled arsenal – PR/Social, Creative, Media, Mobile, Digital, Experiential.

Background
JetBlue allows passengers’ first bag to fly for free, but research shows the brand was not getting credit for this “differentiation” in LA. Because consumers have high expectations of JetBlue, it raises the bar to deliver an original and less “ad-like” communication plan. Most media campaigns are solved in a :30 spot or a 300 X 250 banner, but we took a contrarian approach and invested our energy in creating something more surprising and more “JetBlue.” Our goal was to develop a “movement” and build support around this experience to fuel conversation and news.

Creative Solution
We created an event in which we asked A-List (Lindsay Lohan, Brittany Snow…) celebrities to donate a piece of luggage that we could auction off for a Los Angeles charity. To promote the auction, we ran full-page print ads in the LA Times, Variety and People magazine. We also ran rich media across entertainment sites/blogs, both online and mobile, that showcased the auction items and time left to bid. The most powerful element was a customized interactive video unit that showcased the celebrity baggage at Santa Monica Place, as well as a QR code that people could capture from their smartphones and be taken instantly to the auction site. Consumers could walk up to the screen, select the celebrity of their choice and then play around with pictures of the baggage.

Results

The campaign gained tremendous press coverage in over 150 media outlets resulting in 68 million bonus impressions. Plus, with celebrity tweets from Brittany Snow and DJ Pauly D, an additional 7 million impressions were garnered via Twitter. Social discussions about the brand increased over 200% while the campaign was running and we raised over $44K for DoSomething.org.

Most importantly, we got “buzz” in LaLaLand and firmly established the JetBlue brand in this important market.

note: Katie Thompson, Marissa Curcuru and Dustin Johnson contributed to this post

Mullen's Brendan Marrese with the stars of "How I Met Your Mother"

For those unfamiliar with this mob scene, the Upfronts is that time of the year when television network executives host the start of important advertising sales periods, attended by both press and major advertisers. We are subjected to an endless onslaught of self-promotion, sometimes interminably interspersed with Fall Television trailers. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow marketers to buy commercial airtime “upfront,” or several months before the television season begins in the Fall.

After three days, 44 new trailers and ever-escalating hyperbole, what truly distinguished this year from seasons past? A few themes emerged:

Social media is television’s friend – BFF, in fact – the mantra of the week. As ratings were not as affectionate this past year, many of the networks kept touting their number of Facebook “Likes” and Twitter followers – social media is now the new “water cooler.”

• Of all the networks that sang this tune, only the CW – the smallest of all five – “showed,” rather than “told.”  It introduced an innovative collaboration with mobile LBS app Shopkick, featuring special giveaways when viewers activate its Sound Print technology and view commercials live on the CW Networks. The CW also thought up Cwingo: where viewers can play the game during a live broadcast, either on Facebook or cwtv.com, and have the opportunity to reap rewards by watching ads embedded in the game itself. This was an excellent effort to address engagement concerns.

• Ironically, Social Media also led to the premature leaking of all schedules on Twitter, in advance of the announcements – this, the networks blithely disregarded.

Conan O'Brien on stage at the 2011 broadcast upfronts

The Hollywood talent pool needs a strong dose of bleach: As in years past, some themes (or memes) never die:

• Familiar Period Pieces: ABC’s Pan Am, and NBC’s The Playboy Club hearkened the look and feel of AMC’s successful Mad Men franchise. ABC’s Charlie’s Angels epitomized the ’70s – likely the most visual, one-trick show that ad buyers secretly suspect will bomb (along with ABC’s cringe-worthy Bosom Buddies remake, Work It).
• Fairy Tale/Fantasy: Forget anemic ratings and aging demographics. Attendees were transported into the land of the twee (NBC’s Grimm,  ABC’s Once Upon A Time, CW’s The Secret Circle). More mature attendees enjoyed  various “Lost” doppelgangers (FOX’s Alcatraz, FOX’s Terra Nova, ABC’s The River, CBS’ A Gifted Man).
• Why outsource when you can “in source”: Networks – NBC, in particular – shamelessly shilled shows by stars with franchises across their properties – Chelsea Handler on NBC Primetime (Mid-Season) and E!; NBC’s Playboy Club, again with franchises on both nets; the TBD Brian Williams Show, featuring reporters from NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC.
• Women are now worthy: This year, there’s a bumper crop of shows with female leads. Kudos.  Prime Suspect; Whitney; Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea; Charlie’s Angels; Two Broke Girls; New Girl; Revenge, etc. Some are even strong characters – better yet, some shows were even good.
  

  Christina Aguilera performs at the 2011 broadcast upfronts

• Music is BIG: With The X-Factor on Fox leading the charge, NBC’s The Voice returning in mid-season, after making viewers endure a quarter of Sing-Off, and the new musical drama Smash, the Glee effect is now utterly ubiquitous.
• Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams are this season’s Jerry Bruckheimer, with shows on every network.

mediahub’s Prognostications:

• With an unprecedented amount of new programming in development, the networks are clearly hedging against a high failure rate.
• CBS will continue to dominate amongst all viewers, especially the older ones.
• FOX will continue to win amongst the key advertising demos.
• First to Go: ABC’s Work It (awful beyond words); Charlie’s Angels (just because Hawaii Five-O is popular does not make this vapid remake of slow-motion visuals a guaranteed success).
• Definite Winners: The X-Factor and Terra Nova on FOX are undisputed triumphs. That said, buzz on mid-season shows has been great, and NBC’s “Sliding Doors” — like Awake, and FOX’s Kiefer Sutherland vehicle, Touch seem to have warmed some cold, cynical hearts.
• The One to Watch: Two & A Half Men, with Ashton Kutcher – it may yet work, and his Twitter following could bring the median age of CBS down by at least 30 years.

1.) Media, technology and the innovators dilemma
Consumer demand for access to content may just win out against corporate territorialism.  Sensing the pressing need to align, media and tech executives are devising a number of alliances in order to keep consumers watching, interacting and buying. One of the more promising burgeoning relationships to watch is News Corp & Samsung under which the two hope to provide access to Fox TV programming to tablets and Smart TVs. Other heavyweights in these discussions include Verizon, Motorola, NFL, Vizio, ABC and Google. The sticking point across all of these strategic partnerships lies in content control and compensation. Until a business model is developed that will satisfy both sides the media and technology battle will wage on.

2.) Television revolution 2.0

The sale of 3D and Internet connected TVs has not taken off the way television manufactures had hoped. In an effort to jump start slowing sales and get consumers excited, this year is a full court press on “Smart TVs.” The new models have computer like functionality, tablet design, and are fully equipped to run customized applications at faster speeds. Games will be front and center in the new Smart TVs  across all manufactures and may threaten the likes of Sony PS3 and Xbox.  Players on all sides are jumping into the fray, with new comers like Cisco aligning with Cable companies in an effort to circumvent the Rokus, and TiVos of the world. Given the skyrocketing appeal of tablets, it is a fair assessment to say that Smart TVs are an inevitable trend. Consumer demand is slow, but rising – 21% of televisions sold last year were Internet enabled and that number is forecast to jump to 50% in the next three years. Despite all of the momentum, there are still hurdles to overcome before you find the latest “Smart TV” at a Best Buy near you. Boot up time, remote control complexity, and uniform operating platforms plague developers and frustrate consumers.

3.) 4G has arrived

Verizon, Sprint, RIM, and AT&T are all in the fight for 4G supremacy. Sprint is taking the lead in the war of affordability as it unveiled its first 4G under $200, far lower than other available models. With the finalization of Motorola’s corporate split, Motorola Mobility is now poised to be more nimble in the aggressive cell phone and tablet game, and T-Mobile announced it too will lower price points on 4G offerings. The competition is heating up, and it will absolutely accelerate the adoption of 4G among consumers. Efforts abound with manufacturers scrambling to provide 4G options and some like Motorola are offering “upgrade” contingencies whereby consumers who buy their Xoom 3G tablet will be able to get a technology upgrade to 4G in the near future.

4.) Tablets are the rage
Apple was a no show at CES (no news here), but make no mistake – this was the year of the Tablet, the star of CES.  Though still in its nascence, the adoption rates for tablets are high, and steadily climbing. Forrester is now projecting that 82 million Americans will own a tablet by 2015. It seems that everyone is looking for a seat at the tablet table – Motorola Mobility debuted its version, Windows is developing a new OS for the device, and Comcast announced they will soon enable streaming capabilities. Even the most traditional media platforms are seeking a reinvention as Rupert Murdoch hopes to breathe new life into the newspaper business through his tablet newspaper (dubbed the Daily). Though the growth of the device is not in question, not everyone agrees on the real usability of tablets. Toshiba announced it will take a different approach and offers its tablets without a wireless carrier under the assumption that tablets will be used more like laptops than cellphones.

5.) Autos and Apps – a perfect marriage

Not to be left out of the App craze, automakers are quickly launching a plethora of applications across different vehicle models. From the comfort of your car you can book a reservation at your favorite restaurant, update your Facebook status, or even book movie tickets. Toyota, Ford, GM and Hyundai are all racing to develop the most customized and futuristic in car entertainment systems in their new models. Voice activation is the key to these applications allowing both the driver and the passengers to interact safely. The new systems not only have entertainment value, some will also have intrinsic safety value allowing users to keep closer tabs on their car’s health and predicate when services will be needed. As with all the other aspects of our lives, Internet connectedness will become the standard.

So as you can see, there is lots to watch for in 2011 and beyond. CES continues to grow in scale and importance as it influences the work we deliver for our clients, and the way all consumers will be engaging with content in the future. I’ll be sure to post a recap six months from now to check the progress and the prognosis of all the major topics.

We’ll be sharing the stage with a group of outstanding agencies, including Wieden+Kennedy, which is cleaning-up with its Old Spice work, and our sister IPG shop HUGE.

mediahub’s award for best media planning and buying comes as a result of the strategic planning done in the process of winning JetBlue and activating the You Above All campaign, as well as the innovative use of alternative media platforms for Olympus.

This honor is certainly a nice way to start the year, particularly as the group of agencies being recognized is, in the words of OMMA editor John Capone,”one of the strongest in recent memory when it comes to our criteria of innovation and industry leadership, perhaps owing to the fact that as budgets sagged and the ground shifted beneath their feet, the fleetest ruled the day.”

John Moore - Ad Age Media Maven 2010

Mullen’s commitment to keeping media and creative closely connected has been rewarded as our Chief Media Officer John Moore has been recognized as an Advertising Age Media Maven.  As you’ll see in the Ad Age report, John was given this prestigious award based on his passion for media innovation, his major contributions to the agency’s new business success and innovative media executions that our mediahub group created recently for Olympus, Timberland and Zappos.

John joins a group of 18 media luminaries selected by Ad Age including, Brandy Ruff from Mullen client Alberto-Culver, Christopher Batty from Gawker, Ian Tait from Wieden & Kennedy, Brian McMahon from IPG’s Orion Trading, Seth Kaufman from Pepsico, David Levy from Turner Broadcasting and Colleen Fahey Rush from MTV Networks.

It’s been a couple of great weeks for mediahub, which also picked up a series of awards for media innovation from The AdClub recently. However, all is not rosy for John, as his beloved Boston College Eagles got wrecked by Virginia Tech over the weekend.  Hopefully being named an Ad Age Media Maven will ease the pain.

mediahub's AdClub award haul (photo: Bethany Acheson)

The annual flurry of media related awards is starting to roll out. Next week, Ad Age announces its Media Mavens. Mediaweek just published its Media 50. Later this fall, the MediaPost Creative Media Awards will be handed out.

Here in Mullen’s hometown of Boston, The AdClub just presented its second annual award winners as part of a day devoted to media innovation and creativity. The AdClub had a five-fold increase in entries this year. Happily for us, Mullen’s mediahub had a big day, picking up six total, four for our client work and two for individuals in the group who were recognized as Rising Stars and Media All-Stars respectively.

The awards were as follows:

• Best Use of Digital Media: Mullen mediahub, Zappos
• Best Use of New Media: Mullen mediahub, Olympus
• Best Use of Media Research: Mullen mediahub, JetBlue
• The Media Responsibility Award: Mullen mediahub, Timberland
• Rising Star: Brenna Hanly
• Media All-Star: Katelyn Nugent

At Mullen, we have a credo that hangs in the media department that reads:

• Ideas Count
• Inventiveness counts
• Curiosity counts
• Intrepidness counts
• Awards count

It’s cool when you can live-up to your motivational messages. Thank you to our clients and colleagues and everyone who contributed to these awards. Congratulations to all the winners at the AdClub event and all of the winners soon to be announced nationwide. There’s amazing creative-media fusion happening in every corner of our industry.

Brenna Hanly, Mobile Catalyst

It’s been a little over a week since mediahub from Mullen officially launched a new dedicated mobile practice and now we’re starting to roll-out content from the group. Mobile Catalyst Brenna Hanly has a story posted on Mobile Marketer with guidance on how to maximize mobile app downloads. Please have a look and let us know your thoughts. Thanks to Mickey Alam Khan at Mobile Marketer for being such a strong advocate for the mobile channel.

Also, please have a look at Kunur Patel’s story in Ad Age today about how various agencies are working on where to locate mobile in their organizational structures. The question is whether to orient mobile with media, creative or both? We prefer the latter approach.

Brenna Hanly, Mobile Catalyst, mediahub from Mullen

Earlier this week, mediahub from Mullen formally announced the creation of a new mobile media practice that closely aligns our resident emerging media specialists with the agency’s integrated creative teams. This new mobile unit is the latest manifestation of a fast-growing capability. We’ve developed and implemented several successful mobile media and creative campaigns, and are seeing an increasing allocation of client resources into this fast-growing channel. To date, Mullen has produced integrated mobile campaigns for Timberland, Timberland PRO, Ernst & Young and Foxwoods Resort Casino, among others. The agency’s mobile app and tablet computer creative portfolio includes work for Olympus, Stanley, Century 21, Victorinox Swiss Army and MassMutual.

The mobile media-creative fusion effort will be led by Brenna Hanly, who takes on the newly created role of Mobile Catalyst. Hanly was originally an Emerging Media Specialist at Mullen and more recently operated in a hybrid role as a media planner with cross-channel expertise in both online and offline media.

“With mobile ad spend expected to increase by 10 times over the next 3–5 years, this is the right time to create a dedicated mobile practice,” said John Moore, Chief Media Officer at Mullen. “Brenna’s background in emerging media, coupled with her metrics-focused digital experience, is critical to success in the mobile space. And, by embedding our mobile practice in Mullen’s creative group, we will have a significant impact on the content we create in this exciting channel.”

“Within five years more users will be accessing the Web through mobile phones than PCs,” said Hanly. “While in many ways mobile is the new Web, we believe that mobile requires special, dedicated thinking because of the unique nuances of location and personalization that are endemic to this medium.”

Mullen’s mobile media practice will be focused on the creation and distribution of mobile apps, banners and tablet creative, as well as mobile commerce, campaign metrics, activating offline campaigns and working with the creative group in order to inspire and ideate within this new and exploding universe.

We’ve had some great response to the announcement from mobile, media, advertising publications and blogs. Mobile is clearly the new frontier and we look forward to sharing future news about new campaigns and inventions from this team.