Football, Football, Football!

That time of year has finally come when Americans everywhere will be glued to their television sets every Sunday watching countless hours of football. That’s right! The NFL season started this past Wednesday night when the Dallas Cowboys journeyed to Met Life Stadium to take on the defending Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants. Despite their past success against the Cowboys, the Giants were defeated 24 to 17.

For many, this has been a highly anticipated season. Leading up to the 2011 NFL season, talks of the NFL lockout were still lingering. ESPN Analysts were unsure of how players and teams would fare with such a shortened preseason. During the lockout, no team was allowed to have any formal type of meeting or practice. For teams like the Philadelphia Eagles who brought in several new players during the shortened pre season, there may not have been enough time to find that team chemistry they were looking for.

With a busy off-season and even busier preseason, the highly anticipated 2012 season is here.  This also starts the 2012 Fantasy Football season.  Fantasy Football is where friends can create online leagues to manage professional football players on their own custom drafted teams. Each week teams compete using a scoring system based on how players on their teams perform in games. For example, a quarterback who throws a touchdown would receive 5 points. A running back who scores a touchdown may earn your team 6 points.

Fantasy Football also allows team managers to change their starting line ups weekly, drop players, add players from waivers, and also trade players with other members in your league. In 2009, Jason Ankeny wrote in article titles The Reality of Fantasy Sports, where he stated an estimated 27 million American adults play fantasy sports. 85% of those people participate in fantasy football. 

The Dark Knight Rises - The Wait Is Almost Over

         This summer marks the release of the highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises. This film will round out Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The film includes many returning actors such as Christian Bale. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, etc. For the first time we will be introduced to new characters such as Bane and Catwoman played by Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway.

         The storyline picks up eight years after Batman captures The Joker. He returns to Gotham after a new terrorist leader, Bane, begins causing mass destruction across the city.

This movie is the most anticipated film of the year and is expecting to break box office records. Batman Begins, which was released in 2005, brought in $205,343,774 domestic and $372,710,015 worldwide. The Dark Knight, which came out in 2008, brought in $533,345,358 domestic and $1,001,921,825 worldwide. The Dark Knight Rises is predicted to make well over $500 million domestic and beat The Dark Knight for worldwide sales.

         The studio is hoping all of the hype is true because this has also been the most expensive Batman film that Nolan has made. Batman Begins had an estimated budget of $150 million. The Dark Knight had an estimated budget of $185 million. If any one has seen The Dark Knight, they know what an amazing movie it is. Some would even question how it could be beat. Christopher Nolan plans on beating it with The Dark Knight Rises, which has an estimated budget of $250 million.

If one thing seems to be certain, it will most likely be the best superhero movie of the year. Currently The Avenger's hold the record for domestic lifetime gross in the superhero movie's category. It has currently made $600,377,080. Another anticipated superhero movie being released this summer is the remake of the Spiderman series. The Amazing Spider Man will hit theaters every where July 3^rd but does not seem to be in the ranking to top either The Avengers or Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight Rises will be in theaters worldwide July 20^th. 

Cannes, France - Distribution Mania!

         Among all of the film festivals around the world, the most prestigious and publicized is the Cannes Film Festival. The festival was founded in 1946 and is held annually in Cannes, France. Filmmakers, directors, distributors, buyers, and enthusiasts travel from all over the world to Cannes to take part in the crème de la crème of film festivals.    

        

         This past years 2012 festival took place from May 16th to May 27th. Every year a jury is elected to act as judges for the major films being shown at the festival. This years jury was led by Nanni Moretti. Moretti was voted best director in the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. In 2001, his film The Son's Room, won the Palme d’or, which is the most prestigious award one can get at the festival. Other members of the jury were made up actresses and directors from around the world. Some of these include:  Hiam Abbass, Andrea Arnold, Emmanuelle Devos, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Diane Kruger, Ewan McGregor, Alexander Payne, and Raoul Peck.

         

        Besides the major films, which are premiered at the festival, hundred of films are shown every day in over 50 theaters set up around the town of Cannes. This films range from small $1,000 budget projects to large scale, studio backed films.

         

        If you have ever attended the Cannes Film Festival, you know that it is all business by day and party by night. Every day of the film festival is full of hundreds of thousands of small meetings trying to make the next big film. Buyers who represent studios will go to a festival to try and find a film they feel that can make a lot of money. From there the buyer will meet with the film crew who owns the rights to the movie to discuss money and terms of contract. After this process a movie is then shopped around until a distribution deal is made.

         

        For independent filmmakers, the festival is an amazing way to promote and network their film. Every day there are different film corners, happy hours, and events for filmmakers to come together and network. For those who are lucky, their films will be discovered and they may be able to sign a distribution deal. A distribution deal is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for independent filmmakers. These deals are what they go to festivals all around the world for. If one thing is for sure, the Cannes Film Festival is the place to be for all advocates of film.

        

            

Wes Anderson's Use of Limited Distribution

It has been a few years since we have seen Wes Anderson’s name appear back on the big screen. His last movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, was released in 2009 and used very unique animation to retell Roald Dahl’s famous story. The last movie Anderson wrote and used real people in was Hotel Chevalier, which was released in 2007. For five years now, the public has wondered what will Wes Anderson’s next original film be and when will we see it? And to any true Wes Anderson fan; will Bill Murray be in it?

This year Anderson’s new movie, Moonrise Kingdom, hit select theaters around the country. It is the story of two young lovers who run away from their New England town, which causes a search party to go out looking for them. The movie has a star studded cast which includes but is not limited to; Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel, and of course the one and only Bill Murray. Murray has appeared in 5 or Anderson’s last 6 films, which has indirectly turned him into an iconic piece of a true Wes Anderson film.

Moonrise Kingdom was the opening film in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film teamed up with the indie distribution Focus Features who is owned by NBC and Comcast. Upon the film’s release on May 15^th, it was only shown in four theaters. Two theaters in New York and two theaters in Los Angeles were the only theaters in the country to release the film. According to Box Office Mojo, Moonrise Kingdom earned $167,250 per screen. For comparison, Men in Black 3 earned $16,478 per screen. Although overall numbers are much different, Focus Features states that Moonrise Kingdom’s box office was the highest per theater for a non-animated film of all time. Focus Features’ goal is to create as big of a buzz as they can for the film before it is released worldwide. Behold the powers of limited distribution!

The Film has also teamed with Swedish Distribution Company, NonStop Entertainment for the release across Scandinavia. NonStop Entertainment will own the rights to distribute in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, as well as Norway.

Conan O'Brien Buys Mashable.com In April Fool's Day Prank

In an April fool's day prank, talk show host Conan O'Brien announced he has bought Mashable.com from current CEO Pete Cashmore. Conan expressed his hatred for scouring the Internet looking for any news about technology and what big gadget or devices will be coming out next. He also expresses how great a gadget rating system would be because no one else has one. His aggravation reached a point where Conan felt the need to do something about it.

After seeing the atrocious job Mashable's CEO Pete Cashmore was doing, Conan called him up and told Pete, "You're out! Get out! You're through Cashmore! Through! Get Out!"  Conan bought the website right out from under him for a mere thirty-five hundred "smackeroos." That's right, you read correctly, thirty-five hundred smackeroos. Conan announced to the world that there will be a lot of changes to Mashable and to watch for his Tweets and stay tuned because he is now the man in charge. 

At least this is how Conan O’Brien is telling the story. What really happened is Conan and Mashable have teamed up and are now working together. Conan expressed he is tired of searching the Internet for the latest news on technology and would love to see a website that offers gadget and device rating system. This is actually EXACTLY was Mashable does. Mashable has a portion of their website dedicated specifically for technology news. They offer the latest information in Apps & Software, Development & Design, Gadgets, and Design. Mashable does not only offer news on technology but they also offer the latest news in Social Media, Business, Entertainment, US & World, and popular Videos.

As of now, Conan will be in charge of all content for Mashable. As of today if you go to Mashable.com, the top of the page reads “Mashable, Powered by Conan O’brien.” Conan has also posted a video titled, “Exclusive: Mashable CEO Conan O’Brien Steals and Tests Apple iTV.” It is another April fools day gag that is guaranteed to get a good laugh. We are not sure how long this will continue for, but as long as Conan O’Brien is in charge of all content for Mashable, there should be more laughs to come.

Diamond Deals

In the entertainment world fashion has become more than a trend, it has become a lifestyle. Every one wants to know what each celebrity is wearing, who is the designer, and where it can be bought. It does not stop with clothes, accessories and jewelry have given celebrities new, unique ways to brand themselves and create an image. In October, 2011, an up and coming jewelry line, Henry Designs, bust into the entertainment scene when Zac Efron was spotted wearing one of Henry’s signature Sting Bracelets. Henry Designs was again featured in the January issue of Elle Magazine.

Henry Designs is a family based company that was started in 1976 by Henry Perelstein. As of this year, Henry appointed his long time employee and son, Sean Perelstein, as CEO of the company. Sean travels all around the country meeting with jewelry stores and buyers striking deals for them to sell his line. Since Henry Design’s publicity outbreak with Zac Efron and Elle Magazine, Sean has been working harder than ever to help build his company name and brand. He recently took the time to talk with me about what goes into a negotiation between him and each jewelry story.

When trying to make a deal with and jewelry store or buyer, the first thing Sean discuss’ is the company itself, what they stand for, and the quality of the jewelry they make. He then transitions into explaining what sets his line of jewelry apart from all the rest. “This is very important to me and my company” Sean stated, “I try to differentiate Henry Designs from all other brands that are being sold in the store and show the owner what makes us so unique”. As leverage, Sean shares sales rates of other stores who carry and sell his brand. Not only does this prove that his jewelry is selling, it proves that his jewelry is desired and sought after. By showing the success his company has with other stores he is able to appear credible and honest.

When Sean’s line is being sold at a store, both the store and Sean receive a percentage of the sale. When asked if stores ever try to take advantage of Sean or play dirty tricks to receive more money from his sales, Sean stated there are always people out there who try to take advantage. Many stores will approach Sean with a “We are doing you a favor by selling your line” attitude. To counter this, Sean approaches every potential deal with the same mind set and attitude, “I want you, but I don’t need you”.  In the circumstance where a store is asking for a larger percentage off the top, Sean will negotiate with the store to increase their order size.  This is a tactic he uses to reach mutual benefit for both parties. He gives the jewelry store the percentage they are asking for and in return he is able to sell more of his jewelry. Sean stated, “When a store is willing to increase their order size, and I am willing to give them more of a percentage, both of us go home happy”. If there is ever a deal that Sean feels is not fair, he will not cave in. “I have never made a deal I am not happy with” Sean said, “I must protect the integrity and exclusiveness of my brand. That is more important than any deal I make”.

Sean Perelstein’s goal is to make Henry Designs the next major name in all of the jewelry world. “This is a dream my father started back in 1976 and I intend to work until my father’s dream becomes a reality”. He continues to set up appointments and negotiate with stores all around the country and has begun setting up deals over seas. Sean ended our interview with a final quote from the famous lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, “I’ll make it to the moon if I have to crawl”.

Hashtag Marketing

A new marketing phenomenon has taken over. Thanks to Twitter, Hashtag Marketing is becoming the new norm for companies to advertise.

According to Ask A Mad Man's Matthew Adam Dugow, Twitter users created Hashtags as a way to categorize their individual tweets. This allows other users to measure the amount of engagement a specific Hashtag receives. Once a Hashtag has received enough engagement, it becomes a trend, and from there it goes viral.

Companies are now putting high emphasis on Hashtags in their advertising. As Dugow stated, this now allows a company to measure their Hashtag's engagement with the public. According to David Berkowitz, many companies have been running into problems with their Hashtag's being hijacked. McDonald's created a Hashtag campaign that was taken right out from under them as well as Research In Motion's #BeBold.

Once a Hashtag has made enough noise, it becomes susceptible to being "Brand Jacked." Berkowitz discusses how to go about Hashtag Marketing in a way that avoids disaster.

First, a company must figure out why they are using a Hashtag. Are they trying to create more awareness of a product or service, or are they trying to create a centralized discussion? Knowing what you would like to get from using a Hashtag can avoid a lot of problems down the road. Once you've decided to create a Hashtag, it is important to assess the risk. Hashtags are put out in the public and can be stolen. Knowing these risks can avoid panic in the case of Brand Jacking.

When determining your Hashtag, make sure that it is cohesive with your goals. Using your brand name in a Hashtag can turn people away because they may not want to put your brand name in their message. Research In Motion's #BeBold allows for a much wider use, yet will all still be categorized as one. It is also important to be true to your brand as you create your Hashtag. Berkowitz uses the example that a fast food burger chain that has a salad on the menu should not lead their campaign with #BeHealthy. One should also avoid "piggybacking" on popular and funny Hashtags such as #ThingsWomenWant or #WorstMondayEver. One must remember that people are still able to say mean and crude things in their tweets with your Hashtags. This now connects your Hashtag to negative messages.

Once you've created your Hashtag, monitor it religiously. This is even more so the case if you have created a Hashtag that has never been used. It is important to see what type of activity and engagement the Hashtag has created to see if it has potential to be successful.

Finally, have a crisis plan. If your Hashtag campaign goes poorly or gets Brand Jacked, have a team ready for crisis control. Berkowitz stresses the importance of each team member knowing their role and what to do in a bad situation. Once your team has been established and roles have been assigned, you must spring into action. Follow through with your crisis plan to avoid further damage.