AT&T Stankey & Chernin Discuss Mobile Entertainment: Keynote Conversation

Solutions, Business

Article | July 7, 2022

At opposite sides of the globe, two top-flight international football events have kicked off over the last week. In semi-vaccinated Europe the month-long Euro 2020 tournament began on Friday June 11th, with 11 countries hosting the competition across Europe. On Sunday June 13th in Brazil (a country which had now lost nearly half a million lives to COVID-19) the 2021 Copa America kicked off, with the final taking place on July 10th2021. While Euro 2020 is taking place in front of reduced capacity crowds of fans in stadiums, the Copa America is being played behind closed doors with entire participating national delegations required to be vaccinated, and delegations limited to 65 members. Euro 2020’s official motto ‘Live it. For Real’ can be taken as a declaration of intent to host a top-flight mass sporting event as close to pre-pandemic conditions as feasibly possible. The criteria for live spectator participation for UEFA (the event organisers) was key to this. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin confirmed the importance of live spectators at matches in an interview back in March where he stated "We have several scenarios, but the one guarantee we can make is that the option of playing any Euro 2020 match in an empty stadium is off the table. Every host must guarantee there will be fans at their games."

Media and Broadcasting, Business

Article | August 4, 2022

At 5+ million units sold, Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) is thought to be the most successful VR headset on the market. The kit’s had a great run since launch in 2016, but should you buy a PSVR in 2020? Just under two years ago, we stated that you should “definitely” buy a PSVR in holiday promotions. The price, paired with a growing library of games, made it an easy recommendation. But this industry moves quickly and there are a lot of new factors that complicate the question of if PSVR remains a worthy purchase.

Technologies, Business

Article | August 3, 2022

As films evolved into the popular medium that they are today, brands followed suit. They took advantage of a large network of new ways to market, from print media to radio to television. Product placement, a part of branded entertainment marketing, became more common from the 1980s. Today, every moviegoer is familiar – sometimes painfully – with paid product placements. And every marketer has heard commentary on both good and bad B2C product placements. But what about B2B movie placements? Ever heard of those? If you are a B2B enterprise looking to try it out, here are some major differences between B2C and B2B movie placements: Impress the producers Create an enticing pitch for the producers, which can influence them enough to bring them to the creative department. Sell your brand or product to them (indirectly) to help them understand how it will improve the realism of their scene or set. Make them realize how your product or service can help them. Placement isn’t always ‘placement’ Prospective B2B buyers aren’t going to squint their eyes to find your product while watching a movie. However, they might actually remember your brand if you host pre-opening events around the world for them and their families to watch a popular movie. If they enjoy the movie and establish an emotional connection with it, they will definitely think of you while making any kind of purchase decision. Things might not work out No matter how hard you try to show your brand in a good light in a certain scene or situation, sometimes things happen that you can't control or ignore. In such cases, you might have to get all the branding out instead of settling for negative publicity, which could be a viable option for a B2C brand. B2B Movie Placement: A Success Story FLIR, a client of Hollywood Branded, is the leading provider of thermal military camera equipment. It co-starred in one of Warner Brothers' biggest hits of 2018, Rampage. FLIR connected with the right member of the production team and ensured that the brand was pictured in a positive light. FLIR shared its technology with the filmmakers and got advertised to its business customers, mostly film-loving decision-makers, through the movie and the way it was shot. The film earned $427M at the worldwide box office.

Article | April 11, 2020

Ever since the adoption of VR gaming to the gaming market, it sure has seen upheavals—disruption by significant players in the industry like PSVR, Rift, and the Vive. PSVR has been the best-selling VR headset ever since its launch, selling over 5 million units on December 31st, 2020. While these numbers portray PSVR as successful, its hardware is lacking behind, and still, no sign of upgrades has been hinted by Sony. Speaking of which, a lot of gamers have long been waiting for a hardware upgrade or a hardware sequel—PSVR 2—from Sony, but very little or nothing has been said on this matter.