Daisy Whitney

As publishers continue to wrap their arms around digital books and as high-profile authors like Seth Godin announce their departure from traditional publishing, the book business is quickly experimenting with new media platforms.

Social media monitoring company Networked Insights has found that media agencies are improving efficiency in their TV buys by 5% to 12% when they consider the social media ripple effect surrounding a TV show.

Marketing through virtual goods and worlds can increase purchase intent by three times and brand awareness by ten times, according to a recently released study by social media services firm appssavvy.

LOS ANGELES — The key to success with branded entertainment in new media lies in focusing on the brand first and the medium second, said Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of Skyrockit and General Manager for its parent company Bell Rock Media.

Ben & Jerry's is the latest marketer to launch an augmented reality campaign, tapping into a fast-emerging new media playground for marketers. 

Premium cable network Starz has partnered with book publisher Penguin to create an “amplified iPad edition” of Ken Follett’s bestselling book “Pillars of the Earth.” 

LOS ANGELES — Digital shows increasingly should have multi-tiered international release strategies, said David Tochterman, a digital agent with Innovative Artists who sat down with Beet.TV at  NATPE LA TV Fest. 

LOS ANGELES –  7-Eleven, the world's largest store chain, is quickly making a name for itself as a marketer that's open to digital experimentation.

LOS ANGELES — Digital show producer My Damn Channel is getting a piece of the action when it comes to Web-to-TV crossover show "Childrens' Hospital" that launched just last week on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, My Damn Channel told Beet.TV at the NATPE LA TV Fest during an interview.

LOS ANGELES — Film and TV star Kevin Pollak, whose career includes roles in such hits as "Usual Suspects" and "A Few Good Men," just inked deals with Amazon and Hulu for the entire library of his one-year-old Internet talk show, he told Beet.TV in an exclusive interview we snagged last week at the NATPE […]

John C. Dvorak might like SmartPhones but he's not a fan of the iPhone. He doesn't like the AT&T tie-up and he said the new iPhone4 "just looks breakable." After all, who doesn't drop their phone once every few months?

SAN BRUNO, CA — In anticipation of the launch of Google TV this fall, YouTube introduced its new living room play “YouTube Lean Back” yesterday.

As advertisers spend more money in Web video, they are increasingly looking for ways to make sure they are getting the most from their buys.

Following ABC's lead, Fox and NBC are also upping the ad load in their online shows, and that's because most advertisers aren't willing to pay a huge premium for online video ads. 

"For advertisers, an online video ad network gives them scale, and if they need to buy 50 million or 70 million impressions over a weekend there aren't many places outside of an ad network to get that scale and consistency of scale," says YuMe CEO Michael Mathieu in this video interview. 

Brands and marketers playing in Web video are eager to know what works. The answer from one media buyer is this:  varied creative, linking display ads with video overlays, and interactive ads in the video experience. 

Participants in Starcom's online video consortium, The Pool, are learning about the types of standardization, platforms, and ad formats that will augment the flow of dollars into the online video business, said Mark Marvel, senior director of video at MSNBC.com, during a recent interview with Beet.TV.

In the latest example of how online video advertising is becoming more precise, MNSBC.com is experimenting with a range of ad formats, ad lengths, and the time intervals to deliver them to Web consumers. That's what Mark Marvel, senior director of video at MSNBC.com told Andy last week.

Now that media agency Digitas has established itself as major player in branded Web videos, it's aiming to measure the engagement of such videos.

LOS ANGELES –  Cisco is ramping up its support for 3D TV as the industry gears up for the launch of the first slate of 3D networks later this year and early next.