Experts Available to Discuss Branded Entertainment

Business Wire, June 6, 2007

ExpertSource:

TOPIC: Some marketing and advertising professionals are questioning the role of branded entertainment. While it was touted a few years ago as being the future of advertising, Nielsen Product Placement found product placements during network prime time dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of 2007, according to an article by Brandweek. Anheuser-Busch will likely drop its attempt at online branded entertainment called Bud.tv. Some critics suggest there wasn't enough community-building on the Web for the project before the launch. Still, companies continue to spend on branded entertainment and industry analysts predict the product placement business will increase by 33.7 percent this year.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Erik Ritchie, Director of Brand Communications at Visual Resource, a San Francisco-based creative marketing agency, utilizes his 17+ years of experience to build brands in innovative ways. Erik is always finding new methods to capture how consumers access emotional and intellectual information surrounding a brand. His fresh perspectives help clients see their brand and their target audience in new ways and implement campaigns that directly impact their business and quantify ROI. Erik has helped create award-winning advertising and PR campaigns for the Oakland Raiders, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Adams Golf, Sears Hardware, and Robertson Stephens Mutual Funds. Visual Resource is a fully integrated agency leveraging advertising, print production, interactive, brand strategy, public relations, and promotion. The company serves a diverse and growing client base including Adobe Systems, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Gap Outlet, the International Association of Business Communicators, and CPP, Inc.

PR Contact: Joe Graceffo
415-446-7300, ext. 1081
joe_graceffo@visualresource.com

Veteran Internet, technology and advertising executive Tom Flanagan launched his dynamic new interactive advertising venture, Red Robot, Inc., in early 2003. The company, based in Denver, Colorado, was established to help leading brand marketers, advertisers, sponsors and entertainment entities link their consumers and brands together via unique, engaging and personalized online experiences. By enabling these interactive experiences through Red Robot's proprietary Internet-based solutions, the company delivers enriched personalized entertainment for the audience, and improved branding, media and database marketing opportunities for the advertiser. Flanagan brings over 15 years of successful leadership and business experience to Red Robot. As the founder and managing partner of this new venture, he will assume primary responsibility for the development of the company's operations, and oversee all client projects. Flanagan's responsibilities will also include leading external funding efforts and securing new client relationships. Prior to launching Red Robot, Flanagan was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tybio, Inc., a professional services firm based in Philadelphia, PA. While at Tybio, he led efforts to deliver web-based technology, design, and marketing strategy services to a wide range of Fortune 100 clients that included JP Morgan/Chase, Microsoft, AIG, and Johnson & Johnson.

A popular public speaker on the topics of interactive advertising, eBusiness and Internet marketing, Flanagan has spoken at numerous business events as a featured guest and panel member. He was a guest lecturer at Temple University's Fox School of eBusiness, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Graduate School classes. He also has been a featured speaker for a number of New York-based investment banking functions, including those sponsored by Paine Webber and Morgan Stanley. His publications include a number of guest columns and editorials in magazines as diverse as Insurance Industry News, DM News, iMarketing Week, Direct Marketing Association Publications, and Successful Meetings. He has been profiled and quoted in Adweek, Technology Marketing, the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and numerous other publications.

PR Contact: Jim DeLorenzo
215-564-1122
jim@jhdenterprises.com

Larry Weintraub has more than 20 years of entertainment industry experience in areas including marketing, sales, advertising, merchandising and event management. He has specialized in music marketing, artist management, album production, and concert promotion, and was instrumental in developing the careers of major music artists including Sheryl Crow, Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, Soundgarden, MxPx and Dishwalla. While at A&M, Larry simultaneously operated a personal management firm representing multi-platinum artists Korn, The Offspring and Social Distortion. In 1998, after recognizing a gap in traditional music marketing efforts, Larry co-founded Los Angeles based new media marketing agency, Fanscape, along with fellow A&M alum Terry Dry. Originally conceived as a way to help musicians grow their fan base and interact directly with their fans online, the company has evolved beyond music to incorporate leading brand advertisers, major corporations, and wireless companies. Fanscape is dedicated to reaching and activating consumers through online and mobile media. Larry's team of creative experts take great pride in developing unique strategies to motivate the newest generation of web and mobile savvy users. The company's ability to compliment and enhance traditional marketing efforts attracts clients including MTV, AT&T, Universal Music Group, Pioneer Electronics, Snickers, and more.