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FC Barcelona's stadium will soon be renamed Spotify Camp Nou
The audio streaming company will reportedly pay the soccer club $307 million under a sponsorship deal.
Verizon will preload Snapchat on 'select' 5G phones
Snap Inc. and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) announced today that they are "official 5G innovation partners." As part of the alliance, Verizon will preload the Snapchat app on "select" 5G devices and offer exclusive deals through its Verizon Up rewards program. Snap will develop new AR features and experiences at Verizon's 5G Labs, and you can expect Verizon "premium sponsorship placements" in Snap Originals video series.
NASA explores product endorsements and rocket naming rights
NASA's new leader is gung-ho on privatizing spaceflight, and that could lead to some new approaches to branding... like it or not. Administrator Jim Bridenstine has unveiled a NASA Advisory Council committee that will explore the feasibility of commercializing the agency's operations in low Earth orbit to lower its costs while its eyes turn toward the Moon and Mars. Some of these plans could include product endorsements from astronauts and even selling the naming rights to rockets and other spacecraft. You could see an astronaut on a box of Wheaties, or a Red Bull mission to the Red Planet.
YouTube's Twitch-like subscriptions are available to any channel
YouTube just stepped up its efforts to compete with the likes of Twitch and Mixer. As of today, YouTube Gaming's sponsorships (read: paid subscriptions) are open to any eligible creator. So long as you run a gaming channel that's enabled for livestreaming, can earn money and has at least 1,000 free subscribers, you too can ask viewers to pay a monthly fee (now $5) that unlocks custom emotes, immunity to chat slow mode and participation in sponsor-only chats. Naturally, this also means hooking into the third-party tools that game streamers take for granted, such as StreamLabs (for notifying you when there's a new sponsor) or a sponsors-only Discord chat.
Your favorite Insta celebs aren’t following FTC ad guidelines
In April, the FTC reminded a bunch of celebrities, brands and influencers about how to properly post sponsored content on social media. But a study done by the marketing firm Mediakix found that 93 percent of ads posted by top celebrities don't follow the rules.
FTC vows to crack down on sponsored internet posts
The FTC's settlement with Warner Bros. over poor disclosure in sponsored internet posts was just the beginning. The Commission tells Bloomberg that the government is planning a crackdown on paid posts that will require both stars and advertisers to be much more explicit when telling viewers that it's a paid piece. A disclosure through a social hashtag or a below-the-fold YouTube description won't be enough -- the FTC wants celebrities to reveal their endorsements up front, and to mention them in videos. There's "no effective disclosure" if people don't see it, the agency says.
'Pokémon Go' sponsored locations will let brands in on the fun
While you're trying to catch 'em all with Pokémon Go, the developers are figuring out how to make (more) money from the white hot augmented reality (AR) game. Along with the existing in-app purchases from "PokéCoins," developer Niantic says it will use sponsored locations as another way to cash in, according to the Financial Times. "There is a second component to our business model at Niantic, which is this concept of sponsored locations," Chief Executive John Hanke told the FT.
Throw money at YouTube Gaming stars each month with sponsorships
Remember when we said Twitch learned a lot from the recent launch of YouTube Gaming, Google's own video game-focused live-streaming site? Turns out, YouTube is picking up some tricks from Twitch, a veteran of the live gaming arena. YouTube Gaming is rolling out "sponsorships," a new option that allows viewers to give money to their favorite streamers monthly in exchange for a few perks, like a special badge for live chat and access to exclusive chat rooms. Sponsorships are $4 a month in the United States and the program is in beta now for a select group of streamers across 40 countries. It's a lot like Twitch's own subscription option, which is $5 per month and offers special badges, exclusive chat rooms and usually a live shout-out from the streamer.
Wave goodbye to the Bitcoin Bowl
Bitcoin's journey on the road to legitimacy has just taken a step backwards with the news that the Bitcoin Bowl is no more. The event was a tie-up between Bitcoin payment processor BitPay and ESPN to re-brand NCAA post-season game the St. Petersburg Bowl as the Bitcoin Bowl. According to CoinDesk, the three-year agreement between the pair was torn up by mutual consent, and no-one's saying anything beyond that. Earlier this year, CoinDesk reported that the reaction to the Bitcoin Bowl by participating retailers was lukewarm, which might have been one of the reasons behind the move. Fortune, meanwhile, believes that the dwindling value of the currency is hurting BitPay and it may not be long for this world.
Sony will not renew its FIFA sponsorship
Sony will reportedly not renew its FIFA sponsorship and will instead spend its money on structural reforms, according to Nikkei. The electronics giant began sponsoring the global soccer organization in 2005, signing an eight-year, 33 billion yen ($277 million using current rates) contract, which is set to expire this year. According to Nikkei, Sony participated in sales and marketing for over 40 soccer tournaments during that time, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cup matches. Sony reported a 85.6 billion yen operating loss ($766 million) in October, at which point it noted a thriving Games and Network division led by 13.5 million PS4 shipments. The company upped its loss forecast to 230 billion yen ($2.15 billion) in September after it downgraded its mobile and smartphone business by 180 billion yen ($1.68 billion). It restructured its TV division and sold off its Vaio PC brand in February as well, which resulted in the loss of 5,000 jobs. [Image: Sony]
Bose's NFL deal won't let players wear other headphones on camera
Back in March, the NFL reached a deal to make Bose its official audio provider -- nothing special at the time, especially given the league's fondness for technology agreements. However, it now looks like this pact is about to influence the headphones you see on camera. The NFL has confirmed to Recode that the arrangement prevents players and coaches from wearing anything but Bose gear in the moments they're on TV in an official capacity, whether it's just before kickoff, on the sidelines or in locker room interviews. In other words, the scenarios you see in a few Beats commercials (where players tune out interviewers and hostile fans using the company's headphones) would get the athletes in trouble.
Bitcoin gets its first big sports sponsorship
Bitcoin is about to hit the big leagues in a very literal sense -- it just got its first major sports sponsorship. BitPay has struck a deal with ESPN Events that will rename one post-season NCAA football game as the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl through 2016. When the Bowl next kicks off, on December 26th, you'll see the digital currency's signature "B" plastered all over TV broadcasts, the field and the inevitable glut of merchandise. It's hard to say if the marketing blitz will translate to greater adoption, but it's well-timed. When Dish, Expedia and Overstock.com have all started taking Bitcoin, anyone who's swayed by the promotion will have at least a few places to spend their virtual cash.
White House miffed after Samsung uses an Obama selfie as an ad
Did you catch the selfie that the Red Sox's David Ortiz took with President Barack Obama? That was a great instance of cultural zeitgeist, wasn't it? However, Samsung also has a deal with Ortiz that let it use the shot (taken with a Galaxy Note 3) in a Twitter ad -- and the White House isn't very happy. The administration tells CBS that it didn't realize the baseball star's photo could be used as an Oscars-style marketing ploy. Officials aren't asking anyone to take pictures down after the fact, but they hint that they might not have approved the photo if they'd known about the possible financial incentives. For his part, Ortiz insists that it was a sincere, spur-of-the-moment shot -- while Samsung pays him, he couldn't exactly promise an Obama photo op. We're inclined to believe Big Papi, but something tells us that the President may be a little more camera shy in the future. [Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
The Behemoth co-sponsoring Japanese indie festival BitSummit
Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater developer The Behemoth is co-sponsoring the BitSummit festival this year. Set to to take place in Kyoto, Japan, the event offers a venue for independent developers to show off their games. It typically has the primary mission of bolstering the presence of Japanese indie game developers, though the event is open for developers outside of Japan to attend and showcase their work. In the case of The Behemoth, it believes that through events like this year's BitSummit MMXIV, "independent Japanese developers can build a healthy counterpoint to the industrial strength AAA video game industry in Japan." The event will be held March 7 through March 9; developers hoping to attend must register before February 7. [Image: BitSummit Organization Committee]
T-Mobile gives MLB a magenta makeover with multi-year partnership
As if managers of MLB teams didn't have enough to look forward to with the upcoming baseball season, many of 'em will be staring at one of these contraptions in the dugout. Today, T-Mobile announced a multi-year partnership with Major League Baseball in which the magenta carrier will provide an on-field communication system that links team managers in the dugout to coaches in the bullpen. Naturally, the setup will operate over T-Mobile's wireless network. With the deal in place, T-Mobile subscribers will gain access to exclusive MLB content. For what it's worth, we can also look forward to the carrier's role as presenting sponsor of ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball. Hey, it's one way to get the word out about those unlimited plans. [Image credit: Darren Rovell / Twitter]
Microsoft backs free Boingo WiFi in NYC and San Francisco, hopes you'll see Metro on the metro
Microsoft is about to launch a giant media blitz for Windows 8, and it wants to guarantee that even those of us heads-down in our laptops and smartphones take notice. It's sponsoring Boingo's WiFi, making it free at popular locations in New York City and San Francisco through the holidays to pitch both its new OS and the Windows Store. The San Francisco locations are already active and mostly cover signature locations such as Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square, but Microsoft is going all-out for the New York City campaign starting November 1st: the free WiFi will reach over 200 locations in Manhattan as well as the six NYC subway stations offering underground wireless. While some might not enjoy the hard sell on Windows 8 while they're checking into Foursquare, we'd say it's at least relevant that Microsoft pushes its urban sign UI in the city that was arguably the software's major inspiration. [Image credit: pspyro2009, Flickr]
Draw Something wants you to draw ads with latest update
If you've noticed a lot of a hockey-themed subjects cropping up during your Draw Something playtime lately, it's not just because its hockey season and Zynga is trying to stay topical. Rather, it's all part of Draw Something's new advertising initiative, which allows sponsors to insert their brand/product/whatever into the game's list of drawable somethings.The NHL is the first major sponsor to hop onboard, posting hockey-related doodles to an official Pinterest board. The concept was tested using recognizable brand names like KFC, Doritos and Nike, with the response being positive enough to implement the system for real. Whether this type of integrated, subtle advertising experience is preferable to banner ads remains a matter of personal preference, but we do love the idea of drawing a box of Toaster Scrambles®.This post fictionally brought to you by Pillsbury® Toaster Scrambles®. "They're practically food!"
Kubuntu 12.10 gains Blue Systems as sponsor, Canonical waves farewell
Everyone loves a happy ending, and it's with this in mind that we share the latest round of good news from the Kubuntu team. Starting with version 12.10, the popular KDE variant of Ubuntu will have sponsorship from Blue Systems. Previously, Canonical announced its intention to drop its sponsorship of Kubuntu after the 12.04 LTS, Precise Pangolin release, but later revealed a willingness to let the Kubuntu team seek other sponsors. Fortunately, it's found a good one. Blue Systems has a solid track record in the KDE community and similarly sponsors distributions such as Netrunner and the KDE variant of Linux Mint. Likewise, it's encouraged Kubuntu developers to stay close to their roots and follow the same successful formula as before. The future looks bright for Kubuntu, and it's full of Plasma.
Rovio sponsors Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen
We're starting to wonder what "limited resources" actually means over at Rovio. If you've got enough cash to send your product into space itself, and then turn around and also sponsor a Formula 1 driver's head, we get the feeling our definitions of "limited" vary by a few billion dollars.Heikki Kovalainen, a Finnish F1 driver that races on the Caterham F1 team, will now blast around Monte Carlo and various other worldly locales sporting the above Angry Birds crash helmet. Call us superstitious, but were we to drive around at several hundred miles an hour in an open-air vehicle, we wouldn't want to make ourselves look like something renowned for crashing into things and exploding at high velocity. [Image source: @MyCaterhamF1]
What does brand advertising mean for the MMO? Part 1
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks. Brand advertising has already been done in the MMO sphere. Anarchy Online's Free Play program has been showing users in-game advertisements for real-world products on in-game billboards since World of Warcraft launched in 2004. MMOs have survived since. Case closed. Oh, you wanted more discussion. I see. It's been done before! Finally, we have some real precedent to talk about. Oh FunCom, you've finally managed to not disappoint me. Advertising models were one of the first types of campaigns to be applied to free-to-play versions of massively multiplayers that didn't hit perfection under a subscription model. In 2004, there were a tremendous number of MMOs to play, and people usually just stayed loyal to one. The fight for your subscription dollars was on. Anarchy Online's Free Play program debuted in December 2004, just after the launch of the unknown but best-selling indie hit World of Warcraft, giving players a chance to play the game and its first expansion pack free of charge. Players subscribed to the Free Play game client would see advertisments in cities, towns, and other highly populated places in game for real-life goods, services, and companies. Advertising dollars paid for the game, as well as subscribers' choosing to pay and see fictional ads instead.
