84ºWest, Leap Media Group Form Strategic Partnership for Interactive TV Advertising

Cross-platform creative company, 84ºWest, says that it has formed a strategic partnership with digital TV media planning and implementation company, Leap Media Group. According to the companies, the partnership will see Leap Media--whose areas of focus include interactive TV spots, VOD messaging and EPG ads (note: in November, the company announced that it had appointed high-profile interactive TV advertising industry figure, Tim Hanlon, to its board of advisors--see the article published on itvt.com, November 16th)--tapping into 84ºWest's "original content engagement capabilities for advertising clients interested in scaling video creative across television properties." The partnership will also see 84ºWest introducing its clients to Leap's media planning and research capabilities, the companies say.

84ºWest is headed up by high-profile designer, Dewey Reid (who was previously executive creative director at Microsoft and whose designs include the Emmy-winning "cross-hairs" interface of the Moxi DVR), and his wife, Cindy Reid. The pair, whose expertise includes designing digital advertising, commercial TV, movie special effects, animation, branding and packaging, interactive multimedia and virtual worlds, have garnered several Emmys between them, and have worked with such clients as Scripps Networks, Fox Television, the American Film Institute, Vulcan Portals, Yahoo! and Microsoft. Leap Media Group--which was founded by Chris Pizzurro, Courtenay Harry and Stuart Lipson--bills itself as offering media planning, creative, research and new business services to advertising agencies that are looking to maximize the benefits of digital TV advertising for their clients. The company, which defines digital TV advertising as "any ad unit on TV beyond the traditional commercial spot," says that it works with agencies to understand their clients' ad campaign goals and objectives, and then delivers a media plan that meets those goals by assembling digital TV inventory opportunities from multiple inventory providers, including cable and satellite operators and targeted content providers. Next, the company says, it manages the execution of the resulting campaign and provides a post-campaign report. Agencies that work with the company have the option of white-labeling its services to their clients. "This new venture is based on our vision to enhance the way in which brands and audiences communicate across digital media platforms," 84ºWest's Dewey Reid said in a prepared statement. "Businesses find it difficult to keep up with the constant flow of technology advances fueled by social networking, cloud computing, augmented reality, the proliferation of rich media across all devices, and the coming of age of digital TV and digital advertising. This partnership will help them navigate that complexity by providing a complete solution for advertising on digital TV." Added Leap Media's Lipson: "We understand that agencies and clients need best-of-class creative execution across many diverse platforms and destinations. We are thrilled to be working with Dewey and Cindy Reid, acknowledged and recognized leaders in the creative community. We believe that together we will be able to demonstrate the full potential of these television innovations and raise the bar on what agencies deliver for their clients on digital TV."