You Tube, Cingular sponsorship deal...
Advertising Age - MediaWorks - Cingular Invades YouTube With Underground Contest
Excerpts:
- In what is perhaps YouTube's biggest sponsorship deal to date, Cingular Wireless has agreed to back a search for the site's most talented unsigned bands. The promotion strikes at the core of rival MySpace, which was founded on the premise of exposing unsigned artists to large audiences online.
- Walt Disney Co.'s ABC has been enlisted to feature the finalists on "Good Morning America" in November, potentially exposing YouTube to new audiences. ABC and YouTube struck up a relationship six weeks ago, when "Good Morning America" began airing weekly segments featuring popular YouTube videos and reactions from "GMA" hosts Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts. There are no plans for Cingular to advertise during the November airing.
- YouTube drew 34 million unique visitors in August, up dramatically from 3.5 million at the start of the year, according to ComScore Media Metrix.
- As YouTube continues to dominate the budding video-sharing space, the company has emphasized sustainable ad models and licensing deals with music companies and TV networks to avoid legal issues.
- Earlier this week, YouTube announced a revenue-sharing deal with Warner Music Group, which will now distribute and license its copyrighted content through the hugely popular video-sharing site.
- Warner Music can now expect an undisclosed share of ad revenue whenever YouTube users stream a video containing the company's intellectual property. If, for example, an amateur auteur borrows a snippet of Madonna's latest video or scores a short with a track from Missy Elliot's new album, Warner is guaranteed compensation. To make this possible, YouTube developed a royalty-tracking system that detects when homemade videos are using copyrighted material.
- YouTube unveiled a new ad strategy in late August called participatory video ads, which allow members of the video-sharing community to rate ads, comment on them and list them as their favorites. The ads can also be shared and embedded into user's own video creations. Warner Bros. Records, Weinstein Co. and Fox Broadcasting Co. were the first sponsors to sign on.
