Spanning outdoor, print, web and TV advertising as well as public service spots that will run in select Los Angeles movie theaters, a two-year marketing campaign is getting underway to raise awareness of the positive economic and cultural benefits generated by local filming in Greater L.A.–and to underscore the challenges local businesses face as a result of runaway production.
Dubbed Film Works, the marketing effort is being spearheaded by FilmL.A., the private, not-for-profit community organization that coordinates and processes film permits for on-location motion picture, TV and commercial production throughout much of Los Angeles. FilmL.A. is part of a coalition of entertainment industry, community and government partners behind the marketing plan.
Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., explained that the objective of the campaign is threefold. “We seek to promote filming in Los Angeles, thank area neighborhoods for hosting filming, and renew local appreciation for filming’s economic benefits. We’ve received very enthusiastic responses from local elected officials, union members, representatives from the major studios and small businesses that supply the industry. We’ll be counting on their support going forward to help Film Works raise awareness.”
This stakeholder-driven marketing campaign hopes to help create an environment–politically and among residents at a grass-root community level–conducive to encouraging production in Los Angeles.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) noted that Film Works makes sense for L.A. in that “half a million people in the region depend on a thriving local film industry for their livelihoods. We can keep jobs in Los Angeles if we can find creative ways to keep filming here at home and in the state.
The campaign also has direct outreach as a component through a newly launched website, www.filmworksla.com.
Furthermore, Angelenos will see the campaign’s black and yellow brand logo on area billboards and street furniture beginning in January. Not long after, the Film Works logo will appear on film production vehicles, with the sides of film trucks parked on-location carrying messages of thanks to communities that welcome filming.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More