The NBA Finals are in full swing and there are 4 teams left in the hunt for the Championship title.  The NBA has figured out that since arenas can only hold 20-something thousand people, there are plenty of fans routing and supporting their teams from the comfort of their homes.   So the NBA went out and signed a licensing deal with companies that offer outside-of-the-box food items, allowing  the at home fan to show their team spirit via their game time food choices.

The edible logos can currently be placed on the following food items:

• Pizza – For an additional $5 a pie, you can add one of the 30 NBA team logos on  your pizza next season.  The logo is applied after the pizza is cooked, allowing the sugar, starch and food colored creation to melt right into the cheese.
• Toaster Logos – NBA Pro Toast Toasters will run approximately $34.99 but will provide you and your family a golden brown team logo on any piece of bread put into the special toaster.
• Panini Sandwich Presses – Similar to the Toasters above will imprint the team logo onto the sandwich, but this won’t be available until next year.

I honestly think that this could be a great tool, not only for other sports teams but for companies that want to get their name and logo out to the community!  Think about it, instead of the paper ad that is placed on top of the box that people barely look at or immediately throw away, edible logos could be your way into people’s homes (and stomachs).

For more information, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2010-05-26-nbalogos26_ST_N.htm

Zynga, of Facebook’s FarmVille fame, has inked a deal with 7-Eleven to connect virtual goods with approximately 200 million goods sold in US and Canadian 7-Elevens.  The six week promotion will kick off on June 1st and will feature virtual good codes on 35 7-Eleven products, including Slurpees and Big Bite hot dogs.  Consumers will redeem their virtual goods from www.buyearnplay.com to be used in Zynga’s 3 most popular social games, FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille.  Although you are “purchasing” these virtual items from 7-Eleven, the products will not carry 7-Eleven branding in the social games.  For instance, buying a coded 7-Eleven ice cream will not translate into a branded ice cream in FarmVille.

The goal for 7-Eleven is to attract repeat customers and build loyalty, specifically with millennials.  The items are coded with games they feel most fit the target consumer.  For instance, 7-Eleven is interested in gaining millennial male consumers through Mafia War codes on hot dogs, wings and chips, while their female codes are being offered on fresh fruit, bottled water and sandwiches.

7-Eleven is supporting the in-store effort though national, spot and Cable TV spots, satellite radio and print ads.  For more information on the partnership, go to: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i4a68f0689d02bf9e00e0fecfbabe658c

The 2011 Ford Fiesta started its entrance into the market with social media.  Ford unofficially launched the car in Europe and Asia and in the first 18 months sold 750,000 2011 Fiesta units.  Ford knew that it has a large car presence in the states and so instead of launching a fully customized social and traditional campaign, the company opted to establish brand awareness abroad via a social networking campaign, which could then slowly infiltrate the US market.  The campaign, called the “Fiesta Movement,” was wildly successful.  But now that the ground work has been done and people know about the car and recognize it’s branding, it is time to ramp up the US marketing with traditional means.

The Fiesta will have a 60-second spot that airs during American Idol tonight.  The spot details the push-button start and the fabulous capabilities.  The television spots will be supported by print ads in GQ and InStyle, which focus on the Fiesta’s fuel efficiency, 40mpg.  The tagline being used for all of the print, billboard and digital work is “It’s a pretty big deal.”

Finally, the Fiesta has six webisodes that can be seen on YouTube.  The webisodes feature “creative, funny and socially vibrant [Fiesta] agents” discussing why the Fiesta is better than the competition.  Ford claims the webisodes already have over 500,000 views since they were launched last week.

In what is being called a “paradigm shift” for Ford the launch of the Fiesta via social media has seemed to pay off (at least abroad).  It will be interesting to see the sales numbers in the US and if the “It’s a pretty big deal,” campaign grabs consumers enough to go out and purchase the car.  For more information, including the Hispanic and African American campaigns, go to: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i6478fc41cf5464a557bf302eabe2fe6d

The Sony Dash is a new touch screen alarm clock that also serves as a digital photo frame for Facebook or Photobucket pictures, a place to read Martha Stewart recipes or Facebook and Twitter status updates and consumers can even browse online newspapers or watch YouTube, Amazon and Netflix videos.

This device is being marketed as more than just an alarm clock, it is a “Personal Internet Viewer.”  Unfortunately for Sony, the first round of the Dash isn’t as light and portable as Sony is being made out to be and it is quite slow.  Dash is actually not portable at all and needs to be plugged in at all times if you want it to work.  And although the name Dash would imply that the device works quickly, the experience isn’t too fast.

In the end the Dash left experts wanting more.  They loved the idea of the personal internet viewer but unfortunately the first release of this device didn’t get 2 ecstatic thumbs up from the critics.

For more information on the product, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2010-05-13-baig13_ST_N.htm

If there is going to be a successful iPad competitor that comes onto the market, it will most likely come from this new partnership between Google and Verizon.

There is currently no release date set for the new Google/Verizon tablet, nor do we know if it will be based in Google’s ChromeOS or Android OS.  With the announcement of iPhone staying exclusive with AT&T until 2012, it is no surprise that Verizon isn’t holding it’s breath for Apple to bring their iPad to the Verizon network.  Therefore, why not create one themselves?

HTC and Motorola are the names being thrown around to be the Google/Verizon tablet manufacturer.

Although this Google/Verizon tablet doesn’t have a release date, HP’s acquisition of Palm WebOS-based product codename ‘hurricane’ could signal a tablet release in Q3 of 2010.

Click on the link for a video detailing the ChromeOS tablet concept from Google.

For more information, go to: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/11/google-and-verizon-building-ipad-competitor/?cnn=yes&hpt=Sbin

Would advertisements on your receipts bother or entice you?  Startup company, Jetera, believes that adding ads to the credit card receipts from airline passengers who purchase in-flight food and beverages will be more of a novelty than a menace.  The new ad platform, Precision Ads POS, was introduced and tested on Spirit Airlines two-weeks ago.   The platform combines direct marketing with some digital and couponing components.  It  allows marketers to focus their messages based on airline, location, date, gender and class of service.

The process is as follows: Passenger makes an onboard purchase, the flight attendant then enters the relevant demographic information into the mobile credit card processor, then the attendant processes the order and the information and a receipt with three targeted ads on the front, as well as two pre-printed ads on the back is presented to the consumer.

Since most airlines have done away with cash and are card only cabins this advertising opportunity could gain a lot of traction and provide airlines, marketers and consumers with valuable content.  Currently, the company is targeting seven US airlines, including American, United, Continental, Delta, Southwest and U.S. Airways but they believes that this platform could go mainstream and could eventually be seen by the 1.2 billion travelers on flights every year.

For more information, check out the AdAge article at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=143770

It’s no surprise that Google is now setting its sights on mastering the TV platform.  Google is teaming up with Intel and Sony to create a platform that is powered by its Android operating system.  The idea is not a new one, there are plenty of companies who want to bring the web to consumers television sets.  Google’s advantage is that they already sell TV advertising, they are already in the app business and they know what is needed to enhance and improve the TV experience, including easily navigating Twitter and Facebook, as well as showcasing a new interface for YouTube.

Google recently invested in a tech firm, Invidi Technologies, who is also trying to crack the TV/Web integration business.  Invidi specializes in “addressable” TV ads, that target specific viewers based on data from set-top boxes – similar to how the Internet uses targeting with its ads.  These addressable ads will be the “holy grail” for the TV business, once they are implemented.

Invidi has already completed two market trials with the DISH Satellite Network and are on their way to making these addressable ads a reality, even if it takes a few years time.

For more information about Google TV check out the following links:

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2010/03/google-tv.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/technology/18webtv.html

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100505/google-ups-its-tv-bet-invests-in-invidi/?mod=newsweek

Our world of media is slowing being turned into one of 3-D.  With the launch of 3-D televisions late last year and early this year, it seems like there are a lot more media mediums that are jumping on the 3-D bandwagon.   The Sun newspaper in the UK has decided that they are going to be the first newspaper to run ads and editorial in 3-D.   In preparation for the 2010 World Cup one of the featured 3-D pieces will be the World Cup Fixtures Wall Chart.  The paper will run its 3-D edition on June 5th and readers will receive a pair of glasses with the paper.  The Sun is supporting this issue with a TV campaign, which begins this month.  It will be really interesting to see if this helps sell the papers and if any US papers follow suit.

ESPN is also using the 2010 World Cup as a launching ground for their new 3-D network.  The new channel, which will broadcast completely in 3-D will be debuting on June 11th, the start of the World Cup.  The channel also plans on filming over 85 other sporting events in 3-D, including NBA games, college football and basketball and Summer X Games.  Of course you will need one of those handy new 3-D tv’s to enjoy these features, but critics believe that ESPN will do it right and it could be worth the extra cost of the television system.

For more information on the Sun’s 3-D edition go to: http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/MostEmailed/999442/Sun-publish-3D-issue/

For more on the ESPN 3-D channel, check out: http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2010-01-05-espn-3d-network_N.htm