Advertising: Robert Murray of iProspect Joins Skyword as President

In another sign of the growing role that content marketing is beginning to play in advertising, Robert J. Murray, global president of a leading digital agency, iProspect, which is part of the Aegis Media division of Dentsu, is leaving to join Skyword, a content marketing specialist, as president, a new post. Mr. Murray is to begin at Skyword, based in Boston, on June 3.

Content marketing — also known as branded content or branded entertainment — refers to editorial content like articles, video clips, movies, television shows, photo galleries and even comic books that is created on behalf of marketers that serve as presenting sponsors. The content is bought in place of traditional pitches like commercials or banner ads.

Content marketing follows the venerable “brought to you by” model of consumer engagement, popularized in the 1930s through 1950s by radio and television, updated for a digital age to encompass platforms that include Web sites, streaming video, search engines and social media.

In a survey conducted among more than 2,000 marketing students in four European countries, which was published this week by the MediaSchool Group, 81 percent said they agreed or agreed strongly that content marketing would be an essential part of their jobs in a decade.

“The content space is incredibly hot right now,” Mr. Murray said in a phone interview from Singapore before the announcement of his new job, scheduled for Friday. “Content is king.”

“Brands need to be part of the conversation,” he added, “and the key is content.”

“Anytime you make a big move like this, it’s a leap of faith,” said Mr. Murray, who is 45. “I had to believe in the product and I had to believe in the people.”

Helping to cultivate that belief, he added, was his experience at iProspect working with Skyword since last summer for several clients, “most notably General Motors.”

Mr. Murray, who goes by Rob, has worked at iProspect for almost 15 years. Before becoming global president in 2009, he held posts that included chief executive of iProspect U.S. and president, and he led the company through its acquisition by Aegis in 2004. (Aegis was acquired by Dentsu in March.) Before joining iProspect, Mr. Murray was a consultant for Bain & Company.

In addition to General Motors, Skyword clients and customers include AutoTrader.com, I.B.M., Iron Mountain, the MarketWatch unit of Dow Jones & Company, TransUnion and United Way. Skyword offers a content marketing platform to produce and promote original content aimed at consumers.

Skyword was founded in December 2010 by Tom Gerace, an entrepreneur who also founded Be Free and Gather.com. Skyword has attracted investors that include the Cox Media Group division of Cox Enterprises; a round of financing that was obtained last week by Skyword, which totaled $6.7 million, was led by Cox Media.

“Creating content is responding to consumer information needs, what they’re searching for and sharing” on social media, Mr. Gerace said in a separate phone interview.

Another reason content marketing is becoming popular, he added, is that “marketers are starting to think about connecting with consumers in the digital space differently” than they do in traditional media.

Mr. Murray’s experience “running a business that spans the globe” will serve Skyword well, Mr. Gerace said, particularly as “our business is becoming increasingly global.”

“I’m headed to London next week, looking at opening our first office internationally,” he added, “and we would likely do that in London.” In addition to its Boston headquarters, Skyword has a technical center in Pittsburgh.

An issue that could slow or blunt the growth of content marketing is concern over how it can blur the line between editorial content and advertising. The worry is not new; in the 1951 movie “Ace in the Hole,” a hard-boiled reporter played by Kirk Douglas asks his young co-worker, “Say, what did you take in that school of journalism? Advertising?”

Mr. Gerace agreed that branded content “can be problematic if it’s not transparent,” describing himself as no fan of “inserting brand-influenced content into existing, respected media properties.”

“Audiences will come to brands if they’re creating great stuff,” he said.

Mr. Murray acknowledged that “there’s definitely an underbelly” to content marketing.” The way to address those qualms is to produce “high-quality, authentic content,” he said, rather than products like advertorials, which consumers often dismiss as ads masquerading as articles.

“We’re trying to work with the world’s biggest and best brands,” Mr. Murray said. “As part of that challenge, you have to maintain the brand standard.”

IProspect has filled the vacancy created by Mr. Murray’s departure by promoting Ben Wood — president for Britain and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region — to global president. And Misty Locke, global chief marketing officer at iProspect, will also serve in a new post, president of iProspect Americas.

“I Have 99 Problems and Now Jay-Z Is One,” President Obama at White House Correspondent’s Dinner

The annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner is typically a light-hearted affair, and this year’s installment was no exception. The Dinner tends to serve as an opportunity for the President to show off his sense of humor and pop culture savvy, and with a President as charismatic as Barack Obama, these events tend to be ripe with entertaining moments.

While Obama obviously poked fun at himself and at those right wing media outlets who consistently have derided him throughout his two terms in office, he made sure to offer up enough hip-hop references to have the community talking for quite some time. Prior to the President stepping to the podium, the crowd in attendance was treated to DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win.” Obama clearly enjoyed the moment, even synchronizing his hand gestures to match the chorus.

“How do you like my new entrance music?” Obama jokingly asked the audience, waiting for those assembled to sit back down before going right into the rest of the speech.

Later on, Obama had the chance to take a slick jab at Jay-Z, who caused a media frenzy with his visit to Cuba and subsequent “Open Letter.” Talking about issues that he has to deal with that are out of his control, Obama said, “It’s unbelievable… I have 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one of them.” Interestingly enough, the President does not appear to be as concerned about Beyonce, who also went on the trip with her husband and created her own controversy at the recent inauguration by apparently lip-synching the National Anthem.

With the President entrenched in office for three more years at least, will the President continue to embrace hip-hop as openly as he did tonight, albeit in a joking manner? Is there any way Hov can offer up an appropriate response to Obama’s comments? More importantly, has the President discovered that Khaled’s ad-libs provide the self-confidence boost one needs to win a grueling election?

Bits Blog: Cyberattacks a Topic in Obama Call With New Chinese President

Feng Li/Getty Images Xi Jinping, the newly elected president of China.

Cyberthreats featured prominently in President Obama’s congratulatory call to the new Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.

The president used the occasion to discuss the loss of United States intellectual property from cyberattacks. The mere mention of cyberthreats is a step forward for an administration that has been reluctant to confront Beijing on Chinese military attacks even as billions of dollars’ worth of trade secrets have been stolen.

But a spate of recent headlines about Chinese cyberattacks on The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and others have thrust the issue on the diplomatic stage.  A report by Mandiant, a computer security firm, tying hundreds of attacks back to one Chinese military unit, made the issue even harder to ignore.

Mr. Obama has been increasingly vocal about cyberthreats, but has not gone as far as to call out China by name. In his State of the Union address, he was careful to omit China when he said “we know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets.” And when the Obama administration sent the nation’s Internet providers a confidential list of Internet addresses tied to a hacking group that had stolen terabytes of data from American corporations, it failed to mention that every single address could be traced to the Chinese military cybercommand.

But privately, administration officials have said they plan to tell China’s new leaders that the volume and sophistication of Chinese cyberattacks have become so intense that they threaten the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

“In any discussion with China, the U.S. needs to have three agenda items: One, cybersecurity; two, cybersecurity; and three, cybersecurity,” Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview.

China has long denied that it is responsible for cyberattacks on American companies and has said that it too is a victim of such attacks. And in discussions with American officials, Chinese representatives often refuse to discuss economic espionage.

“They say that the topic of economic espionage is ‘embarrassing’ for them,” said James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has participated in such discussions. “They say, in the U.S. cyberwarriors are treated as heroes but those who participate in economic espionage are treated like criminals. In China, the line is not so clear.”

President Obama Reveals What Advice He Gave Jay-Z

Friday, Oct 19, 2012 3:45PM

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

United States President Barack Obama recently revealed some fatherly tips he gave Jay-Z in light of raising his first-born daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

According to President Obama, he told Young Hov to help Beyoncé and mother-in-law Tina Knowles with the baby duties.

"I've gotten to know these guys over the first several years. They're good people," President Obama said in an interview. "Beyoncé, [she] could not be sweeter to Michelle and the girls. So they're good friends. We talk about the same things I talk about with all my friends. ... I made sure that Jay-Z was helping Beyoncé out [with the baby], and not leaving it all with Beyoncé; and the mother-in-law." (Z107.9)

Last month, Bey talked about raising her first child with the help of Jigga.

"It just gives you purpose and all of the things my self-esteem was associated with, it's all completely different. I've realized why I was born and more than anything, all of the things I want to pass on to my child and the best way of doing that is not by preaching or telling her, but showing her by example, which is one of the reasons I'm here. I sing nursery rhymes and I'm mommy. Today was the first time she saw me perform in rehearsal. She was very confused. [What nursery songs do I sing?] I make up a lot of crazy, corny songs. I'm not singing it, unless you do 'Single Ladies.' [laughs] [Changing diapers, my husband,] he's very good. I love changing diapers. I love it. I love every moment of it. It's so beautiful. I really do. I love changing diapers. I love it all." (Anderson Live)

Recently, Jay addressed the perception of Blue Ivy only experiencing wealth and not coming up through the same environmental struggles he endured as a child.

At the last minute, I remembered to ask after his family, "Oh, my family's amazing." And the baby? "She's four months." Marcy raised me, and whether right or wrong/Streets gave me all I write in the song. But what will TriBeCa give Blue? "I actually thought about that more before she was born. Once she got here I've been in shock until maybe last week?" Her childhood won't be like his, and this fact he takes in his stride. "We would fight each other. My brother would beat me up," he says, but it was all in preparation for the outside. "I was going to have to fight, I was going to have to go through some things, and they were preparing me." He smiles: "She doesn't have to be tough. She has to love herself, she has to know who she is, she has to be respectful, and be a moral person." It's a new day. (New York Times)

A few weeks ago, President Obama attended a funraiser by Jay and Bey.

"Jay-Z now knows, you know, what my life is like. We both have daughters. And our wives are more popular than we are ... So we've got a little bond there. It's hard, but it's okay. Beyoncé could not be a better role model for our daughters because she carries herself with such class and poise. And has so much talent ... We're on the brink of an election, but more importantly, we're on the brink of moving America in a direction where we're going to be more just, more fair. The economy's going to grow in a way that includes everybody, an America that's respected around the world because we're putting forward our best values and out best ideals." (New York Times)

President Obama Speaks On Nicki Minaj And Mariah Carey

President Barack Obama has a message for Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey — GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!!!!!

The war at the “American Idol” judges’ table was escalated all the way to the Commander In Chief this weekend when POTUS appeared on Michael Yo’s radio show.

“I think that they are going to be able to sort it out,” Obama said … “I am confident.”

Obama continued, “I’m all about bringing people together, working for the same cause. I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that they’re moving forward and not going backwards.”

And when asked who’s his favorite, Obama actually picked a side — replying, “Mariah. She’s actually done some events for us. I’ve gotten to know her and Nick [Cannon]. She’s a wonderful lady.”

He added … “Nicki, I don’t know, but I’ve got her on my iPod.”

Jay Z New Commercial For President Obama

With the presidential election just a few weeks away, rap mogul Jay-Z continues to show support for President Barack Obama by appearing in a new campaign advertisement.

In the ad, titled “Power of Our Vote,” Jay stresses the values President Obama has instilled into Americans

Barack Obama - 99 Problems (Mitt Romney Diss)

Bits Blog: One on One: Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, discussed the new Wii U gaming console this week in New York.

In an event in New York this week, Nintendo had demonstration booths where people could play with its new Wii U, a game console that can be operated with a touch-screen controller. It also introduced Nintendo TV, its new online video service that is intended to make its Wii U competitive with set-top box systems like the Apple TV, Google TV and Roku.

Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, sat down to explain the company’s goals with the new television service and Wii U. An edited transcript of the interview follows.

You introduced the Wii U, the next-generation Wii with a touch-screen controller, last year. What’s new now?

This week we pull it all together. We’re showing more games and unveiling the Nintendo TV service and how we’re approaching the entertainment space. Nintendo TV is the one place that will have all of your video entertainment in one place. If you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime plus your cable box — if you’re trying to watch an episode of “Modern Family,” you might have to go to three different places to try to find out what’s available. This service puts it all in one place, so you can literally sort by titles, sort by actors and directors, and the service aggregates all of your viewing options. That’s the Nintendo TV service.

Why is Nintendo getting into TV?

We’ve found that Nintendo consoles tend to be hooked up to that big screen TV in the center of the living room, and we want people to pick up our GamePad controller as often as possible and interact with our product. We found that video entertainment is a key part of that proposition. Today the Wii is the No. 1 device that connects the TV to the Internet. For us, any time that consumer picks up that GamePad is an opportunity to interact with them. We’ve found that Netflix on Wii, for example, has been a great opportunity to the consumer.

So you acknowledge, then, that your competition goes beyond game consoles? There’s Amazon, Apple and all these players who make set-top boxes.

We’ve always viewed our competitors in a broader entertainment landscape because we compete for time. I compete for your time minute by minute. Getting a consumer to spend time with us doing a combination of fitness and fun builds our brand and builds our business.

Nintendo’s earnings have been lower than in past years, and many believe it’s because of mobile games for Apple and Android devices. Do you view those as a threat?

As I said before, our competition is everything from time watching movies to time reading magazines to time surfing the Net and time playing a game on a mobile device. That’s all competitive time that takes away from our opportunity to have a consumer play a game on our device.

So with that as the context, why are Nintendo earnings down? The reason Nintendo earnings are down is the Wii home system is on the downward part of its life cycle, so we’re not selling as many home systems. We were transitioning from the Nintendo DS, which was the best-selling piece of hardware of all time, to the Nintendo 3DS. The Nintendo 3DS for its launch time period didn’t present the consumer value that we needed it to, so we had to reduce the price, and we actually had to reduce the price below its cost.

So that’s why our earnings took a hit last year. As we look to the future, how are we going to build our business back? It’s Wii U, and now that we’re selling more 3DS devices, we’re now actually making money on that.

The Wii U is basically a tablet. Is that Nintendo’s answer to the competitive mobile market?

The Wii U is not a tablet. It’s a two-screen experience. And so you have this unique GamePad that gives you a different way to have a gaming experience. We’ve got a range of different examples that we can show you. It’s everything from the three of us can be playing the game, and I’m using the GamePad to maybe try and attack you with a space ship. We’ve got an attraction called Metroid where literally I’m playing against the two of you, using a space ship trying to shoot you, you’re shooting up on the ground, so we’re playing the same game but having a fundamentally different experience and that all happens with the GamePad. So it’s a controller with this screen built in that allows us to create content that shows different ways to play together but have fundamentally different experiences.

But if you’re saying everyone is your competitor in entertainment, then why not just turn that second screen into a general-purpose device like a tablet?

Through our GamePad you’ll be able to surf the Internet — it comes with an Internet browser. You’ll be able to watch video content on it. So it will do many things that a stand-alone tablet can do, but in addition, because it’s connected and it’s integrated, our second screen can do a lot of things that a tablet can’t do.

So as an example with our Nintendo TV service, imagine we’re watching a sports game. The sports game is on the main screen. On my GamePad I’ve got all the up-to-date stats, scores — something happens immediately. It’s immediately on my GamePad. I can tap into social networks, comment on it. I can go further back into the game. All of this is done because my GamePad is seamlessly connected to my TV experience. That’s not something you can do with a smartphone or a tablet — there’s a lag. There’s latency built in because the systems aren’t talking to each other and they’re not connected.

So in the short term you want to sell some new Wii hardware. What’s the long-term strategy? Are you migrating toward becoming more of a media company as opposed to a game company?

We are becoming more and more an entertainment company. We’ve always been an entertainment company. Our history is making playing cards in Japan. What we recognize is we own that most desired space in the home, and it’s the big screen TV in the living room. We own that because of the games that we offer that are targeted toward multiple players in the household sitting down and having fun together. By owning that big screen TV we can branch out to other services like Nintendo TV and continue to really solidify our footprint.

Do you foresee a business model where you make more money from digitally distributed content instead of from selling hardware and games?

There will be revenue made from that, but we won’t make the content. Companies will make that content. There will be companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime that aggregate that content. We’re going to make it seamless for the consumer to view it, find it, share it and talk about it. Our goal is to monetize that experience in addition to monetizing the game.

There’s a range of different ways we can monetize. We have a relationship with service providers like Hulu Plus, Netflix and Amazon Prime. In this Nintendo TV network, we’re showing examples where if you’re watching a live TV show and there’s someone wearing a dress, we can highlight that through Amazon, for example, “Hey, you can buy that dress through Amazon.” Is there an opportunity for us to get revenue from that transaction? Sure.

What are some of the challenges ahead for Nintendo?

In the end, given the way we view the world and the way that we view ourselves as an entertainment company, our biggest challenge is creating content and creating services. Excite people. We were fortunate we were able to do that with the Wii. How do you continue creating that compelling content? Whether it’s games or services, how do we create this ecosystem that gets people excited and talking about it? It’s really tough to do. Android may be the most installed operating system on mobile, but how often do you hear people talking about Android? Get really passionate about it? That’s the biggest challenge.

Isn’t Nintendo late on forming a robust media ecosystem?

Ecosystems are constantly being created and constantly going away. What we’re trying to do is create the next significant ecosystem. Because the one we created for Nintendo DS was great, but it’s going away. The one we created for Wii was great, but it’s going away. Talk to the people over at Facebook. What’s our next ecosystem? Talk to the people at Zynga. If you just sit on what you’ve created, chances are you’re not going to be around much longer.