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Starbucks Corp. has signed Hollywood talent agency William Morris to suggest music, film and book projects for the Seattle-based coffee retailer to consider marketing and distributing in its stores, writes the Los Angeles Times.
Starbucks entered the movie marketing industry by promoting the feature film “Akeelah and the Bee” - which opened with slow box-office returns of an estimated $6.3 million - in its 5,500 North American stores. Starbucks promoted the movie on coffee sleeves and through barista recommendations. The movie’s soundtrack was also available in stores.
While Starbucks didn’t invest in production, it got a producer credit on the film -along with Lionsgate and 2929 Entertainment - and will receive part of the profit after Lionsgate and 2929 recover their costs.
Though Starbucks founder Howard Schultz - who also serves on the board at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. - has said the company doesn’t plan to finance movie productions, it does want to become an entertainment and “lifestyle” destination, selling CDs, DVDs and books.
By the end of 2008, revenue growth in the radio industry is expected to have fallen 7%, the second year of negative growth for the medium, according to estimates in a report from from BIA Advisory Services, writes MarketingCharts.
BIA estimates that…
Next in the long list of companies cutting jobs comes Tribune Co., which is slicing positions at The Chicago Tribune.
About 12 employees at the Trib were given the rest of the week to clean out their desks; more cuts…
Target is one of the first brands to create an iPhone application. The Target “gift globe” allows iPhone users to shake their phones to launch a snow-fall effect.
When the snow clears, a gift idea from Target is revealed. Users…
NBCU is launching its latest round of layoffs, with up to 500 jobs, or 3% of its work force, expected to be cut.
NBC News bureaus in Dallas and Los Angeles will be affected, writes TV Newser. L.A. correspondent John Larson,…
A Specific Media study finds the presence of display advertising significantly affects click-through and search style across both paid and organic searches.
In the “travel and tourism” category, display advertising engendered a 274% lift on both paid and organic search.…
Today’s Wall Street Journal is running a cover wrap for Dell. The ad covers a third of the front page and all of the back.
Though the New York Post and the Daily News commonly use cover wraps, the move…
