Captivating Connections.

tiger woods does yahoo some good.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz had a strong statement on Tiger Woods.

"'God bless Tiger,' she said to a group of analysts at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York today. Consumers who seemingly can't get enough of his reported extramarital affairs have helped drive big traffic surges to Yahoo's front page, as well as its news, sports and gossip sites.

Beyond the initial accident and Mr. Woods' initial silence about it, the story has held the public's interest as a steady stream of new alleged mistresses have come forward. Ms. Bartz said that interest in the Tiger Woods story has even exceeded that of Michael Jackson, who died in June.

Asked if all the fuss surrounding Mr. Woods would help 'make' Yahoo's quarter, Ms. Bartz replied, 'Oh, absolutely. He already has.'

Ms. Bartz told analysts the challenge ahead for the iconic web portal is not to compete with Google or Microsoft but to compete for the biggest pot of ad dollars, which is currently in broadcast and cable TV. Ad dollars have not flowed online as audiences have, she said, in part because the promise of online advertising was oversold to marketers at the outset 'and did not deliver.'"

the year's top searches.

"Megan Fox was a hot tamale in 2009, no matter how you look at it. The 'Transformers' starlet showed up on Yahoo's lists of top 10 U.S. searches on both mobile phones and on the desktop. Michael Jackson also made both lists -- coming in at No. 1 on PC-based searches -- but otherwise the top terms diverged.

The most popular searches on mobile included other celebrities like Lady Gaga and Rihanna, but also featured more basic or mobile-specific terms like mail, mobile games, ringtones and movies. And of course, the coveted iPhone.

The top PC searches reflected a broader cross-section of pop culture including Britney Spears, the NFL, 'Twilight,' American Idol and NASCAR. Yahoo said that this year, a quarter of U.S. cell subscribers -- or 77 million people -- used a mobile device to access the Web. And globally, there are four times as many mobile phones as PCs."

rihanna redo.

Coming off of a personally dramatic year, Rihanna did something incredibly interesting. "Unlike other celebrity brands with image issues, the singer turned to Madison Avenue for some much-needed brand rehab.

When the singer approached Steve Stoute, founder-CEO of music marketing agency Translation, to help her relaunch her image and musical career this summer, there was a lot more at stake than adding another hit single to her repertoire. Mr. Stoute, who has connected celebs like Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Chris Brown with brands in the past, saw a dual challenge in Rihanna's re-entry into the public eye. His first goal was to cement her status as a 'global pop diva' with restored brand equity, and then cast her as a role model for young girls despite her initial silence about her violent breakup."

Some background, in case you live under a rock:

"In case you happened to miss one of the year's bigger media stories: Heading into 2009, Rihanna was on her way to becoming the most successful female pop singer of the decade, tying Beyoncé's record for five No. 1 Billboard singles with hits such as 'Umbrella,' 'Disturbia' and 'Take a Bow'; selling more than 12 million copies of her first three albums; and racking up nine Grammy nominations from her most recent album, 'Good Girl Gone Bad.'

A few endorsement deals came her way, too, including a long-term contract with Procter & Gamble's Cover Girl and her own line of umbrellas with Totes-Isotoner as a cheeky reference to her hit single about the rain protector."

Fast forward to now:

"'She has the opportunity, because of her personal issues, to epitomize and work with all people around the world who have personal issues,' Mr. Stoute said. 'While the spotlight was on her and we watched how she got through it, I think she helped a legion of young girls who look up to her and showed them her strength and fortitude to go through this and move forward with life.'

Mr. Stoute said his teaming up with Rihanna is 'brand work' rather than standard record-label marketing.'With brand work you gotta run a marathon. You can't just put out a single, sweep an issue under the rug and get out of it through popularity.'"

It's going to be interesting as her album gets the full launch treatment what happens next.

the current state of webisodes.

The NYTimes has a great article looking at the current state of webisodes, and how advertising plays a role:

"Webisodes — part of a trend called branded entertainment — are growing because marketers feel compelled to find new methods to reach consumers in an era when the traditional media are losing eyeballs, ears, hearts, minds and perhaps other body parts to the Internet. 

Web series can cost from tens of thousands of dollars to sums in the range of $2 million, depending on how sophisticated they are, the number of episodes and whether the cast members are famous or just would like to be. Among the major brands proclaiming 'brought to you by ... ' online are Maybelline cosmetics, which is sponsoring Ms. Bushnell’s Web series, 'The Broadroom,' available at maybelline.com/thebroadroom, and ConAgra Foods, which is sponsoring a daily show, 'What’s So Funny?,' on yahoo.com, peddling products like Healthy Choice and Marie Callendar

The goal is to 'extend our reach,' said Ellen Liu, media director at the Clorox Company in Oakland, Calif., and attain 'a higher level of engagement' than is possible through tactics like running 30-second commercials that interrupt episodes of conventional TV series."

say it ain't so, o!

The magical entity that is Oprah has announced she's going off air with her show in 2011.

Why?

"She is expected to concentrate on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable channel that will bear her name and have its premiere in January 2011.

But she did not mention that channel on Friday. 'So why walk away and make next season the last? Here is the real reason,” she said, staring into the camera. “I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it’s time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones, and it feels right in my spirit. It’s the perfect number, the exact right time.'

Minutes earlier, Ms. Winfrey had retraced her steps from the start of her nationwide show in 1986 and described a 'yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment with you.'”

peace out lou dobbs.

"Mr. Dobbs told viewers that he was resigning from his CNN job immediately. Sitting before an image of an American flag on his studio set, he said 'some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.'

He remained vague about how he would contribute 'to the national conversation,' saying that he was considering “a number of options and directions.”

The abrupt announcement caught even some of his closest staff members by surprise. They were told about the decision only hours before Mr. Dobbs’s 7 p.m. program. CNN, a unit of Time Warner said it would name a replacement for Mr. Dobbs on Thursday morning."

how steve changed business.

CNN has a great article looking at how Steve Jobs changes the face of business today...

"How's this for a gripping corporate story line: Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley.

Sound too far-fetched to be true? Perhaps. Yet it happens to be the real-life story of Steve Jobs and his outsize impact on everything he touches.

The past decade in business belongs to Jobs. What makes that simple statement even more remarkable is that barely a year ago it seemed likely that any review of his accomplishments would be valedictory. But by deeds and accounts, Jobs is back."

has mickey gone corperate?

"Concerned that Mickey has become more of a corporate symbol than a beloved character for recent generations of young people, Disney is taking the risky step of re-imagining him for the future.

The first glimmer of this will be the introduction next year of a new video game, Epic Mickey, in which the formerly squeaky clean character can be cantankerous and cunning, as well as heroic, as he traverses a forbidding wasteland.

And at the same time, in a parallel but separate effort, Disney has quietly embarked on an even larger project to rethink the character’s personality, from the way Mickey walks and talks to the way he appears on the Disney Channel and how children interact with him on the Web — even what his house looks like at Disney World."

This makes me nervous! Don't mess with Mickey!!!

can colbert save speed skating?

He's certianly going to try...

"On Monday night's Colbert Report, the mock-blowhard host of the Comedy Central show announced that he will ask his loyal fans to donate money to the U.S. Speedskating team, whose largest commercial cash sponsor, Dutch bank DSB, just went belly-up. (Colbert snarkily referred to DSB as 'Deposit Savings in Bong') In exchange for the publicity and potential revenue, Colbert Nation logos will be stitched onto the suits of both long-track and short-track skaters during World Cup competitions before the Olympics. Right now, the long-track team is preparing for a competition in Berlin, while the short trackers are in Montreal for a meet. 'We are scrambling like crazy to get the logos on the uniforms this weekend,' says U.S. Speedskating executive director Bob Crowley."

welcome back live radio ads!

We're kicking off this morning a little bit old school...

"Live reads, or radio ads delivered by on-air talent, are perhaps the oldest form of sponsored entertainment. A century later, they're making a comeback, but with a different playbook.

In the early days of radio, ads were often introduced by DJs who were paid to talk up the benefits of Colgate toothpaste or Marlboro cigarettes, long before there were 30-second TV commercials. But today, when a popular personality such as Ryan Seacrest or Steve Harvey talks up a product or service on his daily radio program, there's a lot more than just a paycheck involved.

Mr. Seacrest, the host of Fox's 'American Idol' and E!'s 'E! News Daily,' made industry headlines last year when he signed a five-year contract with Premiere Radio and Clear Channel to help sell ads for his show 'On-Air With Ryan Seacrest.' As part of the deal, Mr. Seacrest leveraged his existing relationships with sponsors such as Procter & Gamble's Scope and Crest brands to bring them to radio, banking a commission for each deal along the way. In turn, Mr. Seacrest appears in several of those sponsors' TV commercials.

Mr. Harvey, a stand-up comedian and best-selling author who hosts Premiere's 'Steve Harvey Morning Show,' applies a more grassroots approach to his live reads. When he talks about advertisers like Ford and State Farm, it's because the brands have been a part of his life for years, he told Ad Age.

'I will not do any live reads unless I absolutely believe in the product,' he said. 'I always try and protect my integrity to the listening audience. I'm too straight of a shooter, and also a stand-up [comedian] -- so eventually if I'm doing something I don't believe in, I'll make fun of it.'"