Empire State of Mind

Intern life has been very busy lately, but no complaints here! It's been awesome. I am well over half way done with my internship and not quite ready to believe it. I can finally say I'm at the point where I really understand what my team does on a day to day basis and I am confident in my knowledge of the Digital Advertising world.

An exciting update: I finally designed my capstone summer project! I will take all I have learned by interviewing various departments within the Digital Ad Ops team and create a training program for the future Seattle Interns. I am the first ESPN intern in Seattle, so I decided it would be a great way to leave my mark by helping develop this program even further. I have 4 weeks left, and I can't wait to dive into it and produce a quality product. I will be presenting it once it is complete (to who, I'm not quite sure yet).

I can't believe I am already back from NYC where I attended the Intern Speaker Series Event with George Bodenheimer. Not only did I meet Mr. Bodenheimer, President of ESPN, but I also got the chance to meet all of the interns from NY and Bristol, as well as some amazing people in the NY office! It was a blast. Here are some of the highlights of my trip:



-I got to stay in the amazing Empire Hotel, where (I was very excited to learn) some scenes from Sex and the City 2 and Gossip Girl were filmed. Below is a picture of the view from the Rooftop Bar, it was incredible! The hotel was only a few blocks from the ABC building, which was convenient when heading to the office.





-Monday: after a 6:30am flight and a 4pm arrival at my hotel, I was pretty exhausted. That night, Susan Grouse and Laura Jaroch from HR took Cicely (St. Petersburg Intern) and I out for dinner. It was great to get to know them after all the email correspondence this summer!

-Tuesday: The big event! Spent some time in the ABC building with the NY interns, then they took us over to Good Morning America Studios where all 88 of us interns were invited in.
We were welcomed by Paul Richardson (SR VP of HR). Paul spoke to us about making connections, not only with employees in the company, but with our fellow interns. He also praised our intern class for being one of the most successful, hard working classes the company had ever seen. He informed us that there were over 10,000 applicants nationwide for this internship program and that we were selected because of our potential to help the company grow. There are interns representing nearly 30 different colleges/universities across the nation. He also informed us that on average 25-33% of interns are hired on full time, and he hopes this number will grow.
Next, Katie Bridges (Internal Communications Intern) presented her "Intern Diary" video to us, showcasing some of the great work interns have done this summer as well as their insight on how it feels to be an ESPN Intern. She then turned it over to George Bodenheimer. The key take away from his speech was his encouragement for us to create goals and let them be known. To become a manager, lead a new department, be employed by ESPN when you graduate, whatever your goal may be.

Then, he said, go tell someone about it. Tell your manager, tell your friends, tell your family. He said one of his biggest frustrations is when people expect you to know what they want. They won’t unless you go out and make it known. He also said that maybe our goal should be to become President of ESPN. He loves that. He wants to know that people are out there working hard and aspiring to be on top. The best advice he has ever received, advice that he wanted to pass on to us, is “Be a student of the business.” Continue to learn and grow, don’t ever settle.

My impression of George: he is an inspiring leader and incredibly humble for all that he has accomplished. Part of this comes from his story getting into the company. He’s been at ESPN for 30 years and started at the bottom of the chain, driving around Texas selling for the company. I was one of the first interns to enter the GMA studio, and he walked right up to me and shook my hand, introducing himself, “Hi, I’m George.” With his sincerity and warmth, it was hard to believe he is the President of one of the biggest media brands in the world. He actually made the point to go up to every single intern and do the same, all 88 of us.

After he concluded his speech, the interns had time to mingle in the studio and take pictures with George. Then, the interns, along with Paul Richardson and the rest of the HR team, went to Dave and Busters for a luncheon. It was great to sit in a casual environment and get to know everyone, especially for me who had yet to meet any of the other interns. The interns from NY and Bristol were there, and myself and Cicely Parsons from the FL office were the only two to fly in from other parts of the country. We both felt very grateful to get the opportunity. It was also entertaining to introduce myself and get the response, “Oh, YOU’RE Seattle.” (Seattle= my new nick-name for the trip) I also enjoyed the immediate follow-up question after this discovery (primarily asked by the guys), “So do you have a crush on Jake Locker?” or “So will Jake Locker live up to the hype?”

Just when we thought the day couldn't get better, the Sales and Marketing Interns (myself included) were sent to the ABC building where about 20 of us got the chance to sit down with Sean Bratches, the Executive VP of Sales/Marketing. He is a very friendly and charismatic guy and really took interest in who we were/what schools we went to. He gave us some great insight on what he looks for in in the hiring process. Digital marketing knowledge, social media experience, and the ability to think outside the box all came up as key qualities. As far as advice goes, he told us to find what interests us most and stick with it. He found a passion not only in his profession but with the industry it is in. He loves the fact that he can go home to his kid’s everyday and tell them about cool things going on at ESPN because his family all shares a love of sports. As far as the company goes, he stresses that ESPN must be willing to venture into new uncharted markets (Used 3-D as a great example). His enthusiasm not only for the company as a whole, but for the Sales and Marketing division, was admirable and incredibly contagious.

-Wednesday/Thursday: The big intern event was over, but my trip wasn't! I got the opportunity to work in the NY office on Wed. and Thurs. and meet with over a dozen employees one on one to discuss their positions in the company. Everyone was so incredibly welcoming and encouraging, and I couldn't appreciate it more. I met with account managers, planners, sales execs, mobile/video experts, and even a couple of the big bosses :) I was also excited to meet some people from Marketing, a division I am very interested in. I really could go on forever about my experiences with each of these people, but to summarize it: couldn't have gone any better.

NYC was a huge turning point for me, it brought so much together in this experience. Now, with four weeks left, I can't wait to challenge myself to finish my big project and really leave my mark in Seattle. Stay tuned...

The Weekly Newsletter

One of my jobs as an intern is to keep the team I work with here and in New York updated on things specific to ESPN as a company and in the Digital Sales/Advertising industries. To do so, I will be pulling information from articles on various online publications to come up with what I call the EAS AAM Weekly Newsletter! Below is a copy of last weeks letter, which I sent out on Friday. I will post these weekly!

Weekly EAS AAM Newsletter

ESPN a WC Mobile Success
The airing of the WC on ESPN Mobile TV channel is MobiTV’s highest performing live event to date. As of last Friday, 88 million minutes of live WC action had been viewed on mobile screens across America.
http://moconews.net/article/419-world-cup-goes-digital-only-for-some/


Official Sponsors Trump “Ambushers” After Start of World Cup
Study from the Neilson Company shows that brands like Nike and Carlsberg (not official WC sponsors), labeled as “Ambushers,” got the most online buzz around their brand before the start of WC action. However, 2 weeks in, Adidas and Hyundai (official sponsors) have now moved up in ranks thanks to exposure during the live streaming of the matches. Adidas now holds number one spot for most online buzz. http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144773

Foursquare and CNN, Unsuccessful WC Partnership
Foursquare partnered with CNN to encourage fans to “check-in” with their mobile devices to win special badges, like “South Africa Explorer” for people traveling to the WC or “Super Fan” for those attending games. It was a flop. For the tens of thousands of fans in attendance, the Elkah Stadium in Johannesburg only got 241 check-ins.

ESPN and ACC Reach 12-Year Agreement
ESPN gains exclusive rights to every conference-controlled football/men’s basketball/women’s basketball/Olympic sports games and conference championships. Both parties are very excited about the deal.


Google Dominates Smartphone Platforms
All major smartphone platforms lost share to Google Android in recent 3 month period. From Feb 2010 to May 2010, while Apple and Microsoft lost 1-2 percent of marketshare, Google gained 4.
http://moconews.net/article/419-android-gains-marketshare-while-all-others-lose-it/

World Cup Final this Sunday!
Shout out to Alex Pepperl, who is still in the running to win the team jersey if Netherlands takes it.

Does Google Belong in Your Living Room?

Google Web, Google Images, Google Videos, Google Maps, Google News, Google Shopping Google Mail, Google Books, Google Finance, Google Translate, Google Scholar….I think I’ve made my point, but the list still goes on. What can’t Google do for you? The phrase “Google it” seems to be the solution to any unsolved problem. And Google hasn’t just limited itself to household use, it’s even expanded to the mobile market (the fastest growing market today) with the Android OS, giving the iPhone a run for its money. There is one giant piece of the puzzle missing though, and Google knows exactly what that is. Television. The average American watches 4.5 hours of it per day. TV drives nearly 70 billion dollars in advertising per year. TV matters. It seems a logical next step for companies such as Google and Apple to get involved, right? Well, it really isn’t that simple. Apple did take a stab at TV with Apple TV, but it wasn’t successful, and Steve Jobs admitted that it was simply a hobby and that he believes the TV industry is nearly impossible to overhaul. But for the first time, with Google TV, we may see some success. Google is bringing something entirely different to the table this time, and the keys lie in their timing along with content, technology, and their path to market.

What exactly is Google TV? The video below will tell you, in Google’s own words.



An important point to take from this is that Google believes they have pinpointed the problem with TV today: the user has to change their schedule to fit their TV schedule. I guess I can relate to this, seeing as Monday nights I find myself moving my usual work-out aside in order to catch the newest Bachelorette episode (embarrassing as that is to admit). Google recognizes this, and believes that more and more people are watching shows online these days anyway due to the pure convenience of it. They ultimately ask us this question:

"If the web is so smart, and our TV’s are so fun to watch, why do we have to choose? Why can’t they work together?"

Starting this Fall, people won’t have to choose anymore because Google TV will launch. Now, let’s address the keys to their predicted success. Timing is crucial because we are living in a world where the technology is available to do something like this, and Google is going to use it to the full potential. Content is also a crucial piece. With users already spending countless hours per day on the web--in addition to watching TV--there is plenty of material out there that people want to watch, and they do it on their computers because it is the best/only option. If they had to choose between watching it on their 17” laptop or their 42” flat screen, which do you think would win? I’m guessing the latter. What makes Google most unique in their approach and gives them what seems to be the biggest advantage is the path to market they have laid out for themselves. They have partnered with Sony, Logitech, and Intel to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players, and companion boxes, which will be available at Best Buy this Fall.

With this, Google believes they will, “turn the living room into a new platform for innovation.” But what does this mean for advertising dollars? In the immediate future, very little. For now, the ad opportunities will remain in the content itself. Senior Product Manager Rishi Chandra said, "We want to get the product experience right first." But Chandra also believes that we will soon see similar developments as with the mobile industry; sites will begin to mold and evolve for the Web TV experience. But as the product becomes more available and usable, Google will be constantly working to innovate it. With that, we can predict that they will likely capitalize on Google TV Ads (http://www.google.com/adwords/tvads/) with new ad formats in attempts to grab some of the share of the nearly 70 billion TV ad dollars floating out there.

If successful, Google hopes they can someday completely change the face of advertising by, in the words of Henrique De Castro (Google's Global VP of Media & Platforms), “unbundling the ad from the content.” Commercials can become highly personalized, just as ads can be on the Web, and Google has provided a few examples of possible changes to come. The complexity of ads will change and be very dynamic by taking cues from the weather, traffic, political conditions, or even game results. What if you woke up to a rainy Seattle day and your Google TV plays you ads for new rain boots or a trip to Disneyland, then days later a heat wave arrives and Home Depot is exposing you to an air conditioner? They will also have the ability, based on your history in using the product, to provide you with things relevant to your personal life. “Social is Life. Life is social…” De Castro said, stressing the point that constant connection is important to people these days, something that Google TV can provide.

Personally, I don’t know what to think about it. My generation is programmed to accept innovations and changes, and I generally fit into this stereo type. I’m all for the advancement of technology. But when is it going too far? Is Google going to take over the world? Will Google know more about it’s users than they know about themselves? I'm not too concerned with this, but there are a lot of people out there who are. While reading articles concerning Google TV, I found tons of negative feedback. Comments like, “Call me paranoid, but this sounds like a bad sci-fi movie becoming a reality!” or “I wonder how long it will take for the Department of Homeland Security to starts accessing the data!” Also, many people associate the TV with sitting back and relaxing, crashing, and being entertained, not with interacting. However, as proven over the past decade, things change and they change fast. So if Google TV truly is a success, who knows what is in store for TV in the next few years.


SOURCES:
CMS Wire:
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-engagement/google-tv-is-taking-digital-advertising-on-a-wild-ride--007917.php
Google TV:
http://www.google.com/tv/
James McQuivey:
http://blogs.forrester.com/james_mcquivey/10-06-10-google_tv_bigger_deal_you_think
All Things Digital:
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100630/hulu-ceo-jason-kilar-were-no-cable-killer-we-swear/

First Thursday

I am furiously researching and reading through advertising publications for inspiration for my next big post, but in the mean time, I thought I would share something pretty cool that I did on my lunch break. For living in the Seattle area my entire life, I'm beginning to realize I sure don't know much about it. Something awesome I discovered today is that every first Thursday of the month all the museums in Seattle are free. I took advantage of this by checking out the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) with my cousin and his girlfriend. The current exhibits include: Kurt (a dedication to Kurt Cobain) and "love fear pleasure lust pain glamour death" — Andy Warhol Media Works.

I don't really know much about Kurt Cobain or Nirvana, but I can say I still appreciated it. Loud music, sculptures, paintings, drawings, "doodles", and video made this an incredibly chaotic and dynamic veiwing, not your typical presumption about an art gallery experience. Then again, how else could you convey the essence of Kurt?

Of the two, I definitely prefered the Warhol exhibit. Much of it consisted of huge projections of his silent films. They were basically just hour long videos of close up shots of various peoples faces. They seemed simple enough, but I soon realized that they were all so different. Just the emotions expressed on each individuals faces changed the mood of each film; one man was smoking a cigarette, one woman smiling and giggling, one practically pulling her hair out, and one had tears running down her cheeks. The projections reminded me of a class I took my freshman year called DXARTS 200 (Digital Arts and New Media). I couldn't help but think about what a realatively new experience I was having. In the past, no one would have accepted this as art, which is why it is so amazing that Warhol did these decades ago.

Can I tie this into my job and the online advertising industry? Well, I can try. Art is incredibly dynamic, and proving to change the way we think on a daily basis. But it requires bold pioneers and new thinkers to make these changes come to life. There really is no set definition of what art is in our world today. In a similar fashion, the advertising world is also incredibly dynamic. Finding new ways to reach consumers requires constant innovation and evolving technology. Also, the types of ads we see continue to change. Contraversial or confusing advertisments are sometimes the most effective, challenging or captivating the minds of millions of consumers and imbeding the brand in their everyday thoughts.

Here are some contraversial/extreme ads of 2010 I came accross on One Extra Pixel
(http://www.onextrapixel.com/2010/02/25/80-extreme-advertisements-that-will-challenge-your-mind/)The ads are all very out of the box and almost shocking to look at. They are all produced by fairly well known brands, some more than others. See what you think for yourself!

The World's Reaction

Just discovered this video on Landon Donovan's Facebook. Goes along perfectly with my first post. Just more proof of how fans are using their creativity along with online social media (sites like YouTube) to connect with people all around the world. Check it out!

World Cup, Like You've Never Seen It Before

The World Cup can turn anyone into a soccer fan. I am living proof, never having watched an entire game on TV in my life until I got the chance to experience it in Europe. Football, as they know it, is more than a game, it is an obsession. And apparently the rest of the world shares or is adopting this same passion for the sport. I was lucky enough to watch some World Cup matches on TV over in Barcelona, Spain, which was an incredible cultural experience; the fans are crazy and make every moment of the game exciting. But coming home to the U.S., I realized that you don’t have to fly across the world to have an experience like I did, which is where the phenomenon of online social media steps in. Through the digital world millions of fans from all different walks of life are being connected and are able to share their World Cup (WC) experiences by the click of a button.

Wow, how things have changed in the course of WC history! Flashback to 1930, when the first ever WC was held in Uruguay. The best connection fans could have at this time was with the use of telephones. The 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan was one of the first times the internet was utilized to create team hope pages and sites for the tournament; however, this was with very limited scope considering the internet usage rates and its purpose at the time. The title “online social media” didn’t even really exist. In 2006, the WC in Germany took place in a time when Facebook was restricted to college and high school students and had about 8 million users (as opposed to the 400 million users today). Myspace was the most popular online social network at the time and companies like Adidas, Nike and Puma were early campaigners on the site. Online social media was just budding at the time and no one even truly realized its full potential.

Now, we have arrived at the 2010 WC in South Africa, in an age of online social media explosion. It is being viewed not just by those lucky enough to see it in person, but by millions on television, the internet, and even mobile phones. Virtually anywhere you go there is a way to view the WC and there is also a way to talk to your friends in Mexico, France, Australia, or wherever they may be, about their reactions to the latest match. One of the biggest changes in this WC is not only the interactions fans are having with each other, but the interactions fans can have with their favorite players. Interactive social communities were limited online until the birth of Twitter later in 2006, and now fans are able to keep updated on just about any aspect of WC action, from the most recent scores, to game times, to how Landon Donovan was feeling right after that incredible goal and U.S. win! In fact, go to his twitter page right now (http://twitter.com/landondonovan) and you will see a link to his Facebook status, which currently reads: “WOW :)” and is “Liked” by 8,244 Facebook users. I encourage any U.S.A soccer fans out there to go “Like it” for yourself. How could you not? The World Cup is the reason to bring the world together, but online social media is one of the most effective tools to make it happen. This is why I can argue, that even at the half way mark, the 2010 WC in South Africa is already the most successful WC to date.

An event such as the WC is a dream for anyone in the Media Industry. ESPN, who won the broadcasting rights for WC 2010, has the proof all in numbers. According to an article on mediaweek.com, through the first 14 matches of the World Cup, ESPN and ABC have delivered an average crowd of 3.35 million viewers, which is a 64 percent increase from the same period in 2006. These increases are not only being seen on TV, but in a place that no one would have expected years ago: the web. By just the third day of WC play, ESPN saw a 13 percent increase in all non-TV platforms (such as ESPN.com, ESPN3.com, ESPN mobile, ESPN Radio, and ESPN The Magazine). In fact, according to Glenn Enoch—ESPN’s VP for Integrated Media Research—ESPN3 drew more traffic in those three days than it did during all of June 2009.

As the WC moves along, things just keep getting better and better for ESPN, not just in TV but the online and mobile realms as well. ESPN3.com set a record for the largest U.S. audience ever for a sports event on the web with the streaming of the U.S. vs. Algeria game, attracting 1.1 million spectators. Additionally, ESPN.com recorded an all time high of delivering live scoring updates to fans with peak views at 1.7 million concurrent users, smashing the old record by 42 percent. So how does all of this amazing traffic and results tie into online social media? Well, ESPN has jumped on the bandwagon and offers fans more than just live scoring and streaming of the matches, but also an interactive experience, which I believe has a huge impact on these outstanding ratings.

How can you get involved in all the online social media craze associated with the World Cup? ESPNsoccernet.com should be your first stop. Not only will you find all of the scores, headlines, and video footage you need to stay updated, but also exciting new ways to get involved in the action. They offer the chance to support your team with a “My Team” dashboard displaying latest results, next matches, and the option to create your own bracket. Also new, the World Fantasy game offers fans the chance to create their own teams and compete with friends online, living the dream of managing a World Cup team.



Another cool feature to check out on Soccernet are the blogs. World Cup Daily (http://blogs.soccernet.com/wcdaily/ ) features news you wouldn’t necessarily see in the headlines, like news on how FIFA is handling security, an ambush marketing campaign by some scandalous Dutch women, and even a link to President Barack Obama’s “Good Luck” shout out to team U.S.A on Twitter (Yes, even the President is in on this online social media stuff!). But there are also 32 individual team blogs that are written by people who really know their stuff. These are writers from each of the 32 countries who are passionate fans, care about their team, and have experiences ranging from past World Cup coverage, Olympic coverage, radio/news paper journalists and more. For example, let’s meet the blogger from Brazil, Gustavo Faldon, who is described as “a Brazilian football fanatic and has lived the emotions of celebrating two World Cup titles as a fan. This time, he is celebrating the World Cup as a journalist that is working for ESPN's website in Brazil.” Basically, these journalists are living the dream, and soccer fans from all over the world can have the chance to live vicariously through them as if they were right there in South Africa amidst all the action. Comments on blog posts are welcome and have spurred some great conversations among followers.

And of course, last but certainly not least, users can find the link to the ESPN Soccernet Facebook page where continuous conversations are being held by users; updates, video clips, and even Twitter links can be found. The best part about this? These updates will be on your live newsfeed, and with all the time you already spend of Facebook…talk about multi-tasking!

I urge you to get on board, if you haven’t already, and check out these useful online tools for all your WC social media needs!

ESPN Soccernet World Cup: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/?cc=3888&ver=global
ESPN Twitter: http://twitter.com/ESPN
For you U.S.A fans…Landon Donovan’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/landondonovan
ESPN World Cup Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/ESPNSoccernet
Also, http://www.youtube.com/, to watch clips and some of the outstanding Ad Campaigns going on for the World Cup (Nike “Write the Future” is my personal favorite).

SOURCES:
“World Cup Boosts Up Ratings”- mediaweek.com
“The World Cup’s Social Media Evolution”- Mashable.com
“World Cup 2010: A Social Media Gooooooal!” - mpdailyfix.com
ESPN Media Zone