Last week’s iStat story concerned local online video ad spend, and its growth has been frequently charted in research reports. This week, iSPOT covers what is perhaps the biggest local online video ad venture yet, Hearst-Argyle’s HighSchoolPlaybook.com, a social networking site associated with the company’s local TV stations that is playing pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads for major advertisers in local markets across the country.
The venture is significant because Hearst-Argyle is a national company with 29 local TV stations, a major player in the local media market that can command big ad dollars for this online venture. The iSPOT of the Week is a video for Zafu.com, a bra-fitting website, that focuses on an encounter between the company’s research scientist and a woman who takes offense at being asked about her breasts.
Our iChat features Jason Glickman, CEO of Tremor Media, who explains the advantages of using an ad network to buy video ads.
Keep us posted on the important news at your companies and creative broadband video advertising projects.
Ken Liebeskind, iSPOT Senior Editor, kliebeskind@shootonline.com, 203-227-1699, ext.17 www.shootonline.com/go/ispot
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More