Target is slowly joining Walmart on RFIDs. This is great. Keep going. Unfortunately, misguided privacy activists want stores to destroy the tags as you leave the store. RFIDs could be a very powerful way for people to track the goods that they buy. For example: it would be great for insurance purposes (have you ever tried to catelogue your household items before a move?). In this case, the benefits far outweigh any negative privacy issues. [John Robb’s Weblog]
Out of your F**cking mind!
Though Quiznos landed on our Dumbest Moments list for its wolf-nursing ads, I was always a fan of those bizarre spots. Now, the sandwich chain has come up with another winner, albeit even weirder. Featuring the Spongmonkeys of RatherGood fame, the ads feature creepy sock-monkey-fruit-bat hybrids singing ridiculous, arhythmic, poorly penned lyrics (“they are tasty / they are crunchy / they are warm / because they toast them / they got a pepper bar!!!”) in a stilted, off-key style that would make Ween proud. I don’t know about you, but those little ditties really make me want a sammich. See for yourself here. [business2blog]
No no and NO! The Quiznos ads are horrible! The nasty creatures that sing off key are about the least appetizing salesmen you would want for a FOOD product. I just don’t get it actually and find that especially living here in NYC … aka Rat Central … they are a total turn off.
There is a Quiznos not too far from where I live that prior to the ads, I was actually thinking of giving a try. Now though, I am not going to consider giving them my money and am certainly not planning to eat one of their rat-wiches.
Holy sh$7
The Search Engine That Isn’t a Verb, Yet
Under Terry S. Semel, Yahoo has become a big hit on Madison Avenue. But now Mr. Semel must win over a tougher audience: Silicon Valley. [New York Times: Business]
Behind Steve Jobs’ plans for Pixar
Knowledge@Wharton takes stock of Pixar’s future, after the suprise breakup of its long-standing partnership with Disney. [CNET News.com – Entertainment & Media]
Cable loses broadband ground to DSL
The four top cable companies reported a slowdown in new subscribers in the last quarter, as their telecommunications rivals made inroads into the market with low-priced DSL plans. [CNET News.com]
TiVo to promote the End of Advertising?
In what on-lookers are calling advertising’s most sadistic twist to date, TiVo has hired the independent San Francisco ad agency Grant, Scott, and Hurley to create the advertising that will, if successful, ultimately end advertising as we know it. [Adrants]
Interesting, but as I know I’ve said before the money (10-12 million) would be better spent on some reasonable education of the device. Commercial skipping is just a feature… sure a big one, but really just a detail.
The real magic (to me) is in watching what and when you want. If I was them… I would look to target new parents with some good old direct marketing. As a new parent I can tell you first hand that watching television when things are on, is almost impossible. There is always something baby related that forces any hope of watching an evening show to another time or day. Sure we skip the commercials when we time-shift, but that’s not why we have the box.
We actually own a Series 1 TiVO but have basically retired it based on our use of the Scientific Atlanta 8000 from Time Warner. It’s hard to beat integrated guide functionality, and no initial buy-in. You can look at the cost of ownership as simply the addition of a premium channel or two…
TiVO has their work cut out for them. Sure they (and Replay) defined the DVR market, but never made it into a mass market…. The installed boxes are going to keep coming from the Cable Cos…. unless there is a compelling reason to upgrade and pay much more to basically get the same thing. You can’t afford to waste money promoting something your competitors (and your customers cable company can offer. Go for the heart strings in the logical target groups… new parents are just the first hit.
Yahoo! Birth of a New Machine
This is actually a story from yesterday, just catching up to some news in my aggregator.
Yahoo is launching a brand new search engine today, with its own index and ranking mechanisms, casting aside its long-standing use of Google-powered search results. The move is bound to roil the industry and sets in motion a new race for the claim of web search champion. [Search Engine Watch]
Treo 600 Leads in Carrier Data Revenue
PalmSource today announced that the Treo 600 smartphone has delivered twice the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) than the average mobile phone for leading mobile operator Orange. [PalmInfocenter]
Cingular wins the bid for AT&T!
Right after sitting down with my NYT and seeing that Vodaphone is the leading contender, I get an email which says that Cingular is the winner…
Cingular raised its informal offer for AT&T Wireless (AWE: news, chart, profile) by as much as 36 percent as it battled Britain’s Vodafone Group (VOD: news, chart, profile) through the weekend.
The deal, which Cingular expects to close this year pending shareholder and regulator approvals, will shrink the number of competitors in the U.S. mobile market to five from six.
Cingular will become the leading operator with 46 million customers and coverage in 97 of the top 100 markets. It expects to generate savings of more than $1 billion in operating and capital spending in 2006.
Still the price tag, a 27 premium for AT&T Wireless shares as of Friday’s close, drew gasps in London. On Friday, analysts and observers had been predicting bids around $12 a share, up from Cingular’s first indicative bid at $11 – a move that set off the auction.
“At $15 dollars a share, it shows you just how excited the bidding got,” said Morten Singleton, an industry analyst at Williams de Broe in London.
VOD shares surged 6 percent in London. AT&T Wireless surged $2.08 to $13.90. SBC was down 55 cents at $24.50 in light pre-open trade. BLS shares were not yet active, dealers said.
The deal values AT&TW at 9.9 times its underlying earnings in 2005, which is currently higher than what the market has valued each of AT&TW’s European peers.
Vodafone, the largest in Europe, is valued around 5 times underlying earnings, Christian Maher, analyst at Investec Securities in London said. [CBS Marketwatch]
For Comcast, It’s About Bundling Services
Comcast’s bid for Disney could be seen as a way to control costs and ensure inventory for the most mature part of Comcast’s cable business: video programming. [New York Times: Business]
AT&T Wireless Bids Heats Up
A bidding war erupted yesterday for control of AT&T Wireless as Vodafone, based in Newbury, England, and Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of BellSouth and SBC Communications, submitted new bids that value the company at more than $37 billion or about $14 a share, executives close to the negotiations said. [New York Times: Business]
Challenges for Comcast, Before or After a Deal
The Comcast Corporation has offered more than $50 billion for the Walt Disney Company. If Comcast is successful, it would become the world’s biggest media company. Tom Wolzien, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, talked last week about the offer. Following are excerpts from the conversation: [New York Times]
Adobe Could Do for Imaging What iTunes Did for Music
So other industries are now taking cue form what Apple has done fo the music industry: Adobe CEO is pondering an iTunes-like store: Adobe believes it might be able to bring a similar service to its army of creative professionals, offering the ability to download stock photography, design templates and the like from a trusted source – and of course for a fee.[nthoctave]
Interesting and possibly amazing addition to design studios and ad agencies everywhere. I think this could go a long way towards simplifying the use of stock books and CD Collections…
Practical Networking: Make Your Own Luck
Networking is about serendipity: making your own luck. We’ve all heard of some guy who just happened to have a friend starting a business and brought them in — only to make a million dollars later. The reason the story is not uncommon is because that’s how most positions are filled. I once saw a statistic that over 92% of positions are filled through extended networks rather than traditional means (classifieds, resume sites, recruiters). [VentureBlog]
An excellent post on the values of networking… read on for more.
Exclusive: AT&T Wireless buyout summary
By this Friday, all offers for AT&T Wireless must be made. There have been a ton of reports on who’s doing what, so we’ve compiled the best from the last few weeks to get you up to speed: [MobileTracker]
Disney’s own digital divide
The company’s failure to capitalize on the digital revolution in entertainment is a key factor in the company’s vulnerability to the hostile takeover bid by cable giant Comcast. [CNET News.com – Entertainment & Media]
Comcast bids to merge with Disney!
Whoa Whoa Whoa!
Comcast has made a bid to merge with Walt Disney in a stock swap that the world’s largest cable operator said values Disney at $54.1 billion. The merger is hinged on broadband synergies, according to the statement released by Comcast. Comcast said the combination would create the world’s No. 1 entertainment and communications company with a presence in all top 25 markets in the U.S., and would “propel broadband forward.” The combined company would have an “unparalleled distribution platform and an extraordinary portfolio of content assets.”
In an open letter to Michael Eisner of Disney, here’s what Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast wrote: “In addition to serving over 21 million cable subscribers, Comcast is also the country’s largest high speed internet service provider with over 5 million subscribers. As you have expressed on several occasions, one of Disney’s top priorities involves the aggressive pursuit of technological innovation that enhances how Disney’s content is created and delivered. We believe this combination helps accelerate the realization of that goal-whether through existing distribution channels and technologies such as video-on-demand and broadband video streaming or through emerging technologies still in development-to the benefit of all our shareholders, customers and employees.” [PaidContent.org]
Verizon Wireless Increases “Regulatory Charges”
Now that you’re “IN…”
Verizon Wireless let its cellular customers know recently that it would be increasing the fees it charges because of the recently passed Wireless Telephone Number Portability Act of 2003. INCREASE IN REGULATORY CHARGE. [GearBits]
Terry Tate – Sensitivity Training
Terry Tate is back, once again hitting the office team hard…