Interactive TV News Round-Up (IV): GoldRun, A&E, HBO, IAB, ANA, 4A's

Submitted by tracyswedlow on March 3, 2011 - 11:50pm

--GoldRun's Augmented Reality Platform Powers "Catch A Con" Promotion for New A&E Series

--HBO Significantly Expands Programming Line-Up of its HBO Go "TV Everywhere" Service

--IAB, ANA, 4A's Team on Cross-Platform Digital Media Measurement Initiative

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been busy this week working on the TV of Tomorrow Show 2011, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. We anticipate that it will take us a couple of days to catch up with all the news we plan to cover: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

A&E and its marketing and promotions agency, Civic Entertainment Group, are using GoldRun's augmented reality platform to power a new "Catch A Con" sweepstakes that promotes the network's new drama, "Breakout Kings," via a virtual manhunt. "To bolster interest in the premiere of the new A&E series, which centers on an unconventional partnership between the US Marshals office and a group of convicts, the 'Catch A Con' promotion invites iPhone users to hunt down augmented-reality fugitives hiding out in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco," GoldRun states in its press materials. "Enlisting the GoldRun iPhone app as their crime-fighting guide, participants can locate and capture virtual escapees who are laying low in areas such as New York's Union Square, Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Row and Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Certain super sneaky cons might also ditch their big-house jumpsuits for more stylish gear at the nearest Kenneth Cole, Brooklyn Industries and OMG Jeans retailers. Upon capturing any of the escaped prisoners, participants can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win cash 'rewards' ranging from $500 to $2,500, view the 'Breakout Kings' trailer, and share images of themselves nabbing cons on Facebook. GoldRun images of participants apprehending cons will be featured on the A&E Facebook page." The sweepstakes runs through March 31st. "GoldRun is designed to support just this type of premiere," the company's VP of business development, Shailesh Rao, said in a prepared statement. "What sets us apart from other mobile and AR marketing efforts is how we can quickly and affordably implement customized campaigns that bridge brand values with the user experience. In the case of 'Catch A Con,' pulling people directly into the plotline of 'Breakout Kings,' with participants literally chasing down and apprehending cons."
HBO has announced that it has expanded its "TV Everywhere" service, HBO Go--which now offers over 1,400 titles (it previously offered around 600). "With the new content model, HBO Go now gives online viewers immediate access to virtually all of HBO's programming inventory," the company states in its press materials. "HBO subscribers can instantly watch every episode of classics like 'The Sopranos,' 'Sex and the City' and 'Deadwood' and current award-winning series like 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Entourage' and 'True Blood' as well as blockbuster theatricals--where they want, when they want." HBO Go is available to authenticated customers of Comcast, Verizon FiOS, Cox and AT&T U-verse who subscribe to HBO, and it can be accessed from any US broadband connection.
Three advertising-industry trade groups--the IAB, the ANA, and the 4A's--have announced an initiative to "lead the industry in developing digital metrics and cross-platform measurement solutions, with the goal of enhancing marketing and media management decision-making." Dubbed "Making Measurement Make Sense" and designed to address the fact that "the absence of a consistent approach to measuring and assessing the effects of digital media has resulted in a cacophony of competing and contradictory measurement systems, contributing to a complex and costly supply chain for the industry," the initiative is billed as having three main objectives: "1) Define standard metrics and measurement systems that are transparent and consistent to simplify the planning, buying and evaluating of digital media: a) Analyzing the current digital measurement situation from a business perspective; b) Defining a common currency for measuring online exposures; c) Developing generally accepted standards for brand impact measurement online; d) Creating an effective methodology for cross-media measurement. 2) Drive industry consensus around the solutions: a) Gaining stakeholder input and driving consensus around the solution; b) Engaging industry leaders to champion the measurement process. 3) Establish a measurement governance model which encompasses: a) Creating a structure for an ongoing measurement governing body; b) Establishing a governance and standards-setting process; c) Developing an implementation plan for the roll-out of metrics, standards and management structure."