GenDigital

Calling All Female Gamers: You Can Be A Desperate Housewife

A buzz word circulating around the halls of E3 this year is the casual gamer, actually that is two words. Game publishers will do just about anything to extend their target beyond the core male 12 to 24 year old demographic, so what about media and gossip savvy 18 to 34 year old women? With the exception of The Sims franchise, there hasn't truly been a breakout game that attracts young women in big numbers. Game publishers hope to change this trend with the introduction of a game based on Desperate Housewives, the number two show among teen and college women. The Desperate Housewives video game allows gamers to play the role of a new housewife that moves to Wisteria Lane, the beautifully manicured tree-lined street with a whole bunch of dirty skeletons in the closet. The game's outcome is based on how the player handles certain scenarios that unfold within. The question is, even with the incredible popularity of the show on television, does the brand has the mojo to become a force in the world of gaming? We'll see, but I wouldn't bet the house on it.

Google Tracks Macro Search Trends

Search behometh Google has a new toy for marketers in need of macro trends. Simply called Google Trends, the new search application allows users to compare the popularity of different search terms. For example, if a marketer wanted to sign a celebrity, they could type in a few popular names and see which one was generating more searches, somewhat rudimentary, but it could derive some level of value. May be they should have called it Google Buzz Factor?

Huge Digital Screens Airing Commercials Coming To Mall Near You

What do media companies and brand marketers do in an ever growing fragmented world? They create another distribution channel of course. In a partnership to be formally announced today, the giant ad agency group Publicis and the nation's largest mall operator Simon Property Group, will unveil the OnSpot Digital Network. OnSpot Digital Network will sell commercial time on large screens strategically placed near mall entrances, food courts, escalators and high-trafficked corridors. Simon emphasizes the new outlet complements traditional television commercials currently running. I imagine it is no secret that Simon is pitching that one of the largest consumer groups that regularly shop at the malls is Gen Y, perhaps that is why Coca Cola has already signed on. 

Trend Alert: Social Networking Brings Social Music Site

Check out Last.fm. With the explosive growth of social networking sites a la Facebook and Myspace, here's a site that leverages a similar take except this is music exclusive. And, at the end of the day it is still all about music. Last.fm allows users to create their own music profiles and seek out others that have similar tastes. Yes, you can do this on Myspace, but there is a heck of a lot of other stuff going on there as well, this is more targeted. I'd imagine this is not the last time I will post about the site.

Idol Update: Another Fav Goes Down

Well, it is a good thing I don't get paid for my American Idol picks. After watching Paris exit last week, I was confident Elliot would be joining her this week, but I was wrong. Now, for the second straight week, another fan favorite and media favorite is out of the running. Chris Daughtry, who like Paris, has a bright musical career ahead of him is out. Watching highlights earlier from last night's elimination show, it was also clear that Mr. Nice aka Simon Cowell also was surprised to learn the fate of Mr. Daughtry. Because I have been dead wrong two weeks in a row and thought that Chris was by far the best performer left among the group, I will officially make no more predictions. Not that I have anything against people with gray hair, but this is show for Gen Y, could Taylor Hicks actually become the next American Idol?  If Katharine McPhee remembers the words of the songs she sings, will she be next winner? Only time will tell. Gen Digital, out.

Sony Turns To Consumers for Ad Creation on Current TV

Sony Electronics has given the power back to the people, and I mean that in the most literal of ways. User generated content is the drink of choice right now among marketers. Among Gen Y, specifically, I've been saying for over 5 years a user generated model or elements of a user generated model always presented a stronger value proposition to your target. In the case of Sony Electronics, they ended up featuring a 19 year old male from Minneapolis who actually came up with a pretty cool little animation that transforms into different Sony products ranging from a stereo to PlayStation Portable. This was all based on a contest Sony ran on Current TV, the relatively tiny cable network targeting 18 to 34 year olds, founded by Al Gore. I believe the concept and execution to be dead on, but the fact that Current is only available in about 28 million homes in the U.S. truly limits any potential exposure unless the media picks up on it in a big way.

It's About Time...Fox Programs Are on iTunes

I couldn't figure out what was taking so long, the number one broadcast network among college students has been conspicuously absent on iTunes, the 800 pound gorilla of downloading services. Well, finally it is about to change. Fox announced a slate of programs will now be available for downloading on the service including teen and college favorites like "Prison Break" and "24" as well as cult classics no longer running like "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." Pricing is the now standard iTunes price of $1.99 per episode. 

ESPN.com To Launch Sports Video Game Section

Through a partnership with Ziff Davis' Game Group, number one sports site ESPN.com will soon have a new sports video game section, yet another "sticky" application to keep millions of sports hungry teen and college men on the ESPN.com site for longer periods of time.

It's Official, Oops I Married KFed is Preggers With #2

I first posted about this rumor a couple of weeks ago, but pop star Britney Spears made it official on Letterman last night, she is pregnant. I also mentioned earlier how Britney's popularity has been on a downward trend since her marriage to Kevin Federline and some unflattering pictures in the celeb magazines like People and US Weekly. However, her stock did get a bump when baby number one was born, and I anticipate the same thing happening again.

Marketing Teen Novels Gets Serious

For an industry I rarely post about sans Kaavya Viswanathan, the much publicized Harvard sophomore accused of plagiarism in her first novel, today's NY Post has a pretty good piece about the aggressive marketing tactics of St. Martin's Press. The publisher plans to release a novel aimed at teen readers called "Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn." The publisher has used a wide variety of tactics to create buzz for the upcoming release including a word of mouth marketing program, an upcoming promotional appearance on MTV and a partnership with record label Def Jam. What I find somewhat surprising (and almost refreshing quite frankly) is the fact publishing traditional books aimed at teens clearly remains a big business despite the fact that Gen Y is bombarded with digital entertainment and other technological nuances all around them 24/7.