Written By: Allen P. Adamson, Managing Director, Landor Associates & Author of “BrandSimple”
Timely. Allen Adamson's "BrandDigital" is a fantastic study of the current Digital Marketplace thru the lens of classic principles in effective brand management. In the past decade the 'traditional' language of communications has been put into a high octane blender. "BrandDigital" explains thru relevant business anecdotes how today's game changing strategies all seem to contain those same fundamental values in successful brand building. I suggest you read it once and then read it again with a pen.
- Phil McIntyre, CEO of The Brand Gallery
Check out "Mad Men in a Digital World" by Allen Adamson
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PGM Artists Interns traveled to the East Village this summer to help on the set of a commercial shoot. They assisted director Peter Kagan and producer Brian Bennhoff in the production of a new online web series for Hewlett Packard. This particular series of viral spots will be released this fall as a back-to-school promotion. Kagan, of Streamline Content, is known for his live commercials and their humorous content and these particular spots live up to his renowned reputation.
Katie Steinharter
After ten weeks of interning in New York City, I can hardly believe that it’s over. On May 19th I worried about what to wear, whether I would make a good impression, if I would remember how to get to the office, where I would take my lunch break, among a thousand other things… only to take the wrong subway, get lost, and take a taxi back up to the West Village where I arrived at work five
minutes late. Needless to say, I was terrified that I had blown it already, especially as I was the youngest person in the office by far and knew that I had a lot to live up to.
However, ten weeks later, I have become more than comfortable at 134-A Charles Street. I have learned a lot and also developed friendships with people I never thought I would get to know. Along with the staff and other interns at PGM Artists and The Brand Gallery, I have met numerous people involved in the media industry and have discovered why New York has the cliché attached to it that it
seems like an entire country within a city. While interning here I have explored this city through rushing to deliver packages, ordering production equipment, “acting” in El Lobo Rojo, volunteering at the prestigious AICP Awards Show at the MOMA, shadowing meetings with new clients, buying costumes for a commercial shoot in the East Village, interviewing Promax BDA Conference attendees in Midtown... and taking an hour off once in a while to meet friends or family for lunch and brag about my day. This summer, I have gotten to know this city better than I ever did during the past five years that I have lived just an hour away in Weston, Connecticut.
While I never even expected to be offered an internship as a recent freshman, Idefinitely never expected to have such a rewarding experience when I finally got the opportunity. PGM Artists and The Brand Gallery encouraged me to try things I never thought to try before, and allowed me to learn more about the world of advertising than any college class or lecture could ever explain to me. I learned the difference between on-screen and in-print news stories, and how to create both. As naïve as I was, I had no idea at the beginning of this summer exactly how news presenters, ad agencies, brand names, consumers, and sales reps were all interrelated and dependent on each other. Through working alongside Phil McIntyre and his staff, I came to memorize our roster of directors, producers, web designers, freelancers, musicians, and editors, and exactly what each of them specializes in. Through meticulous data entry, I learned which ad agencies were most renowned and which 30 second TV spots were worth recognition at the AICP Awards.
If one were to ask me what the best part of my summer was, I would not be able to choose a single moment but if I had to choose the worst part… I would say the fact that it flew by faster than I ever anticipated. With my internship experience at PGM Artists and The Brand Gallery behind me, I am prepared to go back to Denison University with a stronger idea of what I want out of my Communications major and Studio Art minor and I know that I have an office full of enthusiastic people, in the heart of the West Village, willing to support and advise me in any future endeavors.
Will Scott
Working at PGM Artists and The Brand Gallery has provided me with a great learning experience in the working world. When I first came to New York City to begin my summer internship I had no idea how to operate in the big city on a day to day basis. After my first day on Charles Street, I quickly learned how to get into a routine for the rest of the summer. As the intern who started a week late, I was a little behind in all of the introductive stuff we would soon use as tools for the rest of the summer. This being only a minor setback, I became a fast learner and got into the full swing of things.
Once I got into my routine, I began to learn way more than I thought I would. I learned so much about the different part of the industry like marketing, branding, and advertising. The most interesting part of my day was that I never knew where I would be stationed each day. Whether it was making changes to the lead lists, learning how to make sales calls, or updating slayterbox1748.com on the PGM Artists side of the office, I always had my hands full with daily tasks. It was also nice that I got to work on The Brand Gallery side of the office and help out with projects by organizing the presentation packages and upload videos we made of interviewing advertisers and marketers around the city.
One of the most exciting things I got to do was go onto a commercial shoot with one of the directors that PGM Artists represents. I got to see how they prepare a scene and make sure the lighting, camera, and sound are all on the same page. I also got to volunteer at AICP and see all of the top people in the industry at MOMA. We also went to Promax BDA and stood outside with our camera and microphone in hand and were able to interview people who work in many different parts of the industry. Finally I got to be a part of an online show called El-Lobo-Rojo. The creative team of Hart+Larsson came to yhe office everyday for about a week and a half and shot a show with Phil and some actors. All of the interns were able to help out with the production as well as have cameos in some of the episodes which were very cool.
This internship has allowed me to help figure out my eventual career path. It has given me the experience of a real 9 to 6, Monday through Friday, work week and I have learned so much about the industry that I never could have learned in the classroom. It makes it even better that I got to work in the Big Apple for the whole summer and that is what gave it even more of a work environment where everything is so busy.
I can’t express how thankful I am for being able to have a summer internship where I have really benefitted from all the experience I have gained. I have seen so much and learned so much. It also doesn’t hurt that I got to work in the West Village and came face to face with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Natalie Portman. It was a great summer experience that I could have not gotten anywhere else.
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I stepped into the office at 134-A Charles Street on my first day in anticipation of the summer ahead,
but also with many expectations for the great experience being presented to me. I will leave this
Friday, 10 weeks later, with an experience that far exceeded those expectations, and in hopes that I
have left some, albeit small, mark on the place that has definitely left a big mark on me.
I leave The Brand Gallery, with its amazing sales team and staff of producers and designers, truly
confident that the skills and knowledge I have gained give me an all important edge for my future
endeavors. Not only do the people here work with such passion and professionalism, but they have all
made it a point to provide me with as many opportunities and experiences as possible. As an intern
in this branding industry one will always face challenges, whether it be with oneself, the task at hand
or various bumps throughout the production process. However, the challenges I faced within the
creative work environment at The Brand Gallery gave me the ability to grow and take the very most
from each and every experience. I have honed my basic office skills like binding production books,
managing phones and schedules, and other basic office duties. I have become familiar with
production tools like QuickTime, Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, and Sorenson Squeeze. I have
uploaded and posted to Blog sites and Web pages, researched and developed personal opinions about
media and market trends, and drafted several press releases. The four of us also took part in the
filming of an office Webisode, El Lobo Rojo, directed by Hart + Larsson.
Moreover, being on the production side of the company allowed me an in-depth look at the creative
process, start to finish. In addition to the numerous jobs The Brand Gallery is currently shuffling, my
fellow interns and I had the privilege to see A24, the world?s first-ever African international news
channel, conceptualized, pitched and branded. I have seen how a company interacts and develops
strong relationships with its clients and just how important that is to a successful production process.
I have sat in on several client meetings, which gave me that first-hand look at the business aspects
of the branding industry. One of the most exciting things I got to do this summer was travel out to a
meeting at a potential project site, video recording and taking notes every step of the way. Beyond
even that, I was able to spend a day on-set for a Streamline Content (represented by PGM Artists)
commercial shoot for Hewlett Packard.
This internship has been a learning experience every step of the way. With the support of my fellow
interns and the staff here, I have been able to do and see so much. I will always remember the time
the four of us volunteered at the AICP Awards at the MoMA and all the other great times that
followed. I have had so much fun doing what I have been doing, and am truly going to remember the
people and the experience forever.
Byron Hughey
I knew right away I would enjoy working at The Brand Gallery. A beautiful office loaded with sophisticated equipment, a casual environment and a friendly staff was something I immediately appreciated. And though I was excited to be working in New York City, making coffee, taking out the trash and painting the walls was something I expected, but not what I wanted to get out of my ten-week internship. It wasn't until volunteering at the 2008 AICP Awards at the Museum of Modern Art that a true appreciation of my opportunity developed.
Often described as "the Oscars of Advertising," the AICP Awards were exciting, to say the least, and gave me even more reason to really take advantage of what The Brand Gallery had to offer. Under the guidance of Phil, Iain and the rest of the staff, I was able to have a really productive experience by participating in and studying The Brand Gallery's creative process.
The creative process was an area of The Brand Gallery that fascinated me from day one, so the opportunity to actually work with the staff on projects like Homeostasis Labs and Africa24 was very fulfilling. But as my understanding of the creative process grew, so did my appreciation for other aspects of the company.
While exploring The Brand Gallery's creative avenues, a natural interest in marketing both The Brand Gallery and PGM Artists surfaced. Soon, I was updating both The Brand Gallery and the PGM Artists website, along with its blog, Slayterbox1748, where I got the opportunity to edit footage and to do a bit of writing. As an English major and fellow blogger, I jumped at the opportunity to contribute.
After a while, my juggling act soon transformed into a daily routine, and everyday I would learn more about design and the creative process through research and note-taking, while also blogging and editing footage. I even went to a PGM Artist's commercial shoot where I got to see, first hand, just how commercials are made.
Spending a summer at The Brand Gallery introduced me to a very specific arena of the advertising industry, one that not only fascinated me, but inspired me as well. Because of the truly hands-on experience Phil, Iain and the rest of the staff at The Brand Gallery offer their summer associates, it is with unparalleled certainty that my summer was spent in a more productive and beneficial way than I could have imagined.
Of course, it was not after crawling through my first couple weeks that I reached a point where I felt I could truly contribute to the company. So, my advice to any future summer associate is to jump in head first and absorb as much information and insight as you can from Phil, Iain and the rest of The Brand Gallery staff because even though ten weeks seems like a long time, it goes by in a flash.
2008 Summer Intern Celebration
All here at PGM Artists and The Brand Gallery headed out to Agave in the West Village for a much deserved celebration! With the company of great food and drinks, everyone enjoyed the evening as we all talked about all the memorable times throughout the 10-week program.
His name is Phil St. Millay. He's the ambitious head of a gaming company and the protagonist of a new online series entitled El Lobo Rojo.
Conceived and produced by the NY-based creative team Hart+Larsson El Lobo Rojo tells the story of the mercurial Phil St. Millay, whose company is preparing to launch a revolutionary new video game. Although Phil's new game promises to make him rich, fulfilling such promise becomes something of a precarious pursuit.
]]> Playing the lead role of Phil St. Millay is PGM Artists' very own Phil McIntyre.New Episodes of El Lobo Rojo air every Tuesday and Thursday at 3 PM ET:
www.El-Lobo-Rojo.com
Enjoy.
![LOST-LOBO[2].jpg](http://www.pgmartists.com/news/LOST-LOBO%5B2%5D.jpg)
Recent Press:
Fashionista.com - Link
CREAIVITY - PDF
Bridge Street Films' Executive Producer John Ficalora hosts a roster of three directors-Christopher Yurkow, Liz Hinlein, and Sash Andranikian. Their new website boasts colorful images of their work as well as an organized layout and individual pages for each live action director.
McIntyre gathered leaders from a wide range of business sectors for a lively examination of the industry’s biggest successes and failures, while offering insights into the balancing of risk and reward in interactive media, and explaining how to profit from the power of 2.0 marketing, social networking, and user-generated content.
]]> The Panel:“I consider it a privilege to have assembled these business leaders for PromaxBDA,” said McIntyre. “It’s a watershed time in media, and the transition to 2.0 can be treacherous. Who better to turn to for guidance than the people who are out front, defining success in this challenging new world.”
By all accounts, the session was a huge success and a follow-up for next year’s conference
is already in development. DVDs of the session can be obtained from PromaxBDA at promaxbda.org.
Phil McIntyre, CEO of PGM Artists, reports recently signing several new key players in the areas of creative editorial, interactive web design and high end live action resources. This expands upon PGM's current roster of exceptional creative companies.
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Chemistry, a New York based creative editorial company, is comprised of six diverse and talented editors. The editors at Chemistry have produced award-winning spots, including Magazanin’s “Amexicano” ad which won the Grand Jury Prize in 2008, and Rubino’s help with the Saatchi & Saatchi anti-cyberbullying campaign that won the 2007/2008 Grand Award. Home to these current editors: Bruce Ashkinos, Beth Cramer, Ilya Magazanin, Damien Massingham, Peter Mostert and Jim Rubino.
Comotion Films, a commercial production company based in Atlanta, has directed commercials for Pizza Hut, Ford, Capital One, American General, TNT, Sonic, and many more. Home to directors John Davis, Glen Owen and Stephen Moe.
Inovat creatively designs, produces, and manages multimedia websites. Their work includes interactive flash websites, presentations, and games as well as desktop applications, email campaigns, and internet marketing management. Inovat’s award-winning work has been recognized in the website and online marketing categories of the Davey Awards for the past few years.
Subliminal Pictures is a full service live action production company based in Los Angeles specializing in commercials and branded entertainment. Since its inception in 2005, Subliminal has produced spots in the US and across the globe for Aquafina, Mattel, Pepsi, Plavix, Pacific Life, Final Draft, Buena Vista Games, Expedia, Microsoft, AMD, Scion, Chevrolet, Upper Deck, LA Times, Rubbermaid and Bose. Executive Produced by Steven Gould and Dina Mande.
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From local stations to international media institutions, television entities are poised to profit from the power of 2.0 marketing, social networking and user-generated content. But where are the opportunities and how have companies succeeded in harnessing their potential? McIntyre will take attendees on a journey through the industry’s biggest 2.0 successes and failures and provide insight into balancing risk and reward in interactive media.
As we see the true affects of shrinking audiences in traditional media take hold, entertainment marketers are engaging high level integrated 2.0 strategies now more than ever. How are the many metrics of successful brand building being redefined in today’s new media landscape and how are executives best measuring the risks and rewards for their agendas?
Panel Guests:
Betsy L. Morgan: Chief Executive Officer, The Huffington Post
John McCauley: Chief Marketing Officer, CSTV
Robert Driscoll: Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Dick Glover: Chief Executive Officer, Funny or Die
Seth Geiger: President, SmithGeiger Research Consulting
John Sykes: Principle, Pilot Group
Moderator:
Philip G. McIntyre: Chief Executive Officer, The Brand Gallery & PGM Artists
Highly-respected for his thoughtful insights into emerging media trends, McIntyre is also well-known for his keen eye for talent and thorough knowledge of production technologies and methodologies.
The Brand Gallery specializes in the development of Brand architecture & design for screen media, having created presentation, promotion, and design strategies for some of the world's most-recognized media brands. PGM Artists is best described by its mantra: Connecting Creative Companies. It serves as a conduit that links a broad-based consortium of visual effects, animation and live-action production companies with the media companies and advertising agencies that seek these services.
Promax|BDA is the world’s largest television marketing conference attracting industry leaders and executives form top television networks, cable channels, local stations, station groups, distribution, syndication, media and creative agency, design and emerging media. (Promax|BDA website)
Last year the conference welcomed over 3,500 attendees from around the globe, including more than 700 local station executives from over 150 television markets in the United States. The delegation is made up of television marketing professionals who are tasked with driving the value of entertainment by finding new and innovative ways of attracting audiences to their parent companies' networks, stations and brands. The aim of the organization is to lead the international conversation about the role of marketing, promotion and design in the monetization of media.
]]>As a summer intern and newcomer to the ever-changing world of advertising, what better opportunity to bump elbows with industry elite than by attending the Academy Awards of commercials?
Tuesday, June 3rd marked the 17th Annual AICP Show at the Museum of Modern Art, bringing together some of the most prestigious names in advertising and production for an evening honoring The Art & Technique of the American Commercial.
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With categories ranging from Production Design, Visual Style and Cinematography to Humor, Graphic Design and Original Music, to name a few, those honored by AICP have the honor of their works being preserved in the MOMA permanent collection.
Of those honored, Production Company MJZ prevailed as this year's big winner, taking honors for both Campaign and Single Commercial Advertising Excellence for three Monster.com spots and their epic, 90-second Microsoft XBOX piece, "Diorama." Further, BBDO gathered quite a many nods.
Phil McIntyre, CEO of The Brand Gallery & PGM Artists, notes, “The AICP Show” is one of those rare moments in this business to reflect on “where we are, have been and are going with all our efforts.”
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Jeff Kleiser will be presenting "Synthespian Stories: A behind-the-scenes history of computer generated characters from TRON to the present" on:
Wednesday May 07
16:00 - 17:00
König-Karl-Halle
Jeff Kleiser’s has contributed to films with groundbreaking visual effects including “Tron,” “Stargate,” “Judge Dredd,” “Clear and Present Danger,”and many others. More recently, Kleiser has supervised visual effects for “Son of the Mask,” “Fantastic Four” and “Scary Movie 4.” In addition to supervising VFX projects, Kleiser has directed numerous commercials.With partner Diana Walczak, Kleiser has directed CG-animated stereoscopic films for projects such as the “Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man” thrill ride (for Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida) and “Corkscrew Hill” an original ride attraction.Jeff Kleiser has presented papers at many international events and has served as an industry expert in interviews with The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The ABC Evening News. Kleiser serves on the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society and the board of trustees of The Norman Rockwell Museum.
Synthespian Studios is a design firm/production company that specializes in computer generated characters for feature films, theme-park attractions, commercials and web applications. With studios in Hollywood and Western Massachusetts, the company has won acclaim for its ground-breaking work in Universal's The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, the X-Men films, Fantastic Four, and the avant garde opera, Monsters of Grace, designed by Robert Wilson and composed by Philip Glass.
]]>CGAM is the premier annual global conference for professionals focusing on cutting-edge technology and the value of Computer Generated Images (CGI) in marketing and advertising. The conference features a variety of tutorials and conference sessions that cover current topics related to CGI.
Jeff Kleiser, Visual Effects supervisor, CEO and Co-Founder of Synthespian Studios will be giving the keynote address along with a Motion Capture & Character Animation in Feature Films and Commercial Productions presentation at this exciting, cutting-edge conference.
Kleiser, being a pioneer working in computer animation, has spanned the history of the medium. He has contributed to films with groundbreaking visual effects including “Tron,” “Stargate,” “Judge Dredd,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Mortal Kombat Annihilation,” “X-Men,” “X-Men United” and “X-Men: The Last Stand.” He served as senior visual effects supervisor on “The One”—a film starring martial arts master Jet Li that required the development of innovative digital face replacement techniques. More recently, Kleiser has supervised visual effects for “Son of the Mask,” “Fantastic Four” and “Scary Movie 4.” In addition to supervising visual effects projects, Kleiser has directed numerous commercials.
Jeff Kleiser has presented papers at many international events including the London Effects and Animation Festival, SIGGRAPH, INA Imagina, NAB, Opera Totale and the Virtual Humans Conference. He has served as an industry expert in interviews with The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The ABC Evening News. Kleiser serves on the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society and the board of trustees of The Norman Rockwell Museum. He is a founder and trustee of the Williamstown Film Festival and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, Kleiser teaches Computer Animation Production at Williams College.
To learn more about Synthespian Studios visit Synthespians.net.
To learn more about the conference visit cgamconference.com
When Phil McIntye, CEO of The Brand Gallery and PGM Artists, decided to organize and moderate a panel session at BlogWorld & New Media Expo, he wanted to propose the burning question of the day to traditional media and corporate marketing executives: “Are you blogging?” More specifically, McIntyre’s goal was to stimulate a discussion on how profit-driven companies of all kinds can reach increasingly empowered consumers by bridging the converging, but still distinct, worlds of traditional and cyber-based media.
“It’s certainly not news that the digital media environment is becoming increasingly important for marketing television and film, as well as for consumer advertising campaigns. The landscape has already changed dramatically,” McIntyre emphasizes. “By presenting this panel of leaders in the field to this well-attended conference of bloggers puts us ahead of the curve.”
McIntyre specializes in straddling these worlds at both The Brand Gallery, which specializes in the development of Brand architecture and design for screen media, having created presentation, promotion and design strategies for some of the world’s most-recognized media and entertainment brands, and PGM Artists, which serves as a conduit that links a broad-based consortium of high end brand design, visual effects, animation, live action, music, web development and multi-platform interactive digital producers with the media companies and advertising agencies that seek these services. Additionally, McIntyre shook up the non-linear media community and the blogosphere with PhilTube, a series of on-demand videos that offered a satirical take on contemporary new media trends. It not only attracted positive attention from linear media and bloggers alike for its humorous insight, but caused enough of a commotion that the major entity that is YouTube felt threatened enough to seek a decease and desist order against PhilTube. This proved an important legal decision concerning the promotional use of digital content on the internet. Comedy Central was impressed enough with McIntyre’s project, and the ensuing commotion, to enter a development deal with PGM Artists’ client Hart + Larsson -- which conceived, created and executed the project -- to develop a PhilTube inspired series for online, and possible cable television distribution.
“The success of ‘PhilTube’ shows the importance of embracing and honoring consumers who are snacking on non-linear content in the new digital environment. The growing legions spending more time on-line and paying less attention to traditional media attest to this,” McIntyre says. “The people attending BlogWorld are addressing this growing audience with a smart, savvy ‘everyman’ authenticity that’s completely counter to corporate interests and the money behind them,” he observes.
The challenge is to present content that’s not intrusive, but informative and entertaining. “Bloggers and new media consumers know marketers have been looking in their direction,” McIntyre explains. “They can be won over if you make an emotional connection with your message. You can’t pander to them. It’s a sensitive task for marketers who have to walk a tightrope connecting these divergent worlds.”
In selecting members of the panel for the BlogWorld session, McIntyre chose industry leaders who have accomplished this successfully.
The Panel: Joe Ferreira, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBS Audience Network, CBS Interactive; Josh Krane, Senior Vice President, Interactive and New Media, G4 Video Game Television; Patrick Lafferty, Chief Creative Officer, Travel Channel Media; David Rolfe, Vice President, Director of Integrated Production, Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Kesu James, Interactive Writer & Producer / HBO Voyeur Project, BBDO New York; Mark Toney, Senior Vice President of Digital, SmithGeiger Research Consulting; and James Hibberd, Senior Reporter, TelevisionWeek.
After moderating this high-powered panel at BlogWorld, McIntyre remains convinced there is no reason why those from traditional media couldn’t adapt and flourish in new media formats and outlets. “No industry is better suited to breath in this space,” McIntyre maintains. “Television and film producers as well as advertising agencies have an historically long run of excellent performance in building audience and connecting with people.”
This, McIntyre explains, is counter to the conventional wisdom about the internet espoused by the traditional marketing community. “It’s too often said that it’s an amateur environment with great sensitivity to self-interest and a limited appetite for corporate backing or fakeness. There’s also a concern among bloggers that marketing activities could undermine the value of blogs and could turn this important and expanding informational technology into one big infomercial,” McIntyre observes. “But I have faith that the ultimate consumer can differentiate, and on some level has been embracing new technologies by spending more money on-line. For example, the music industry really dropped the ball with the whole Napster and free music downloading question,” McIntyre maintains. “They took a more defensive posture instead of figuring out how to profit from it. It might mean giving away a small piece of the pie to own an even larger segment of the business. Consumers have been moving away from CDs and will ultimately dictate what will happen with DVD sales. Content is changing,” McIntyre notes. “Technology is allowing us to deconstruct intellectual property and appropriate it in new ways.”
Hollywood is beginning to see the light, McIntyre observes. “Many movie studios, with their very rich, expensively produced content, now monitor the blogosphere weeks ahead of releasing a film. Depending on the on-line buzz, studios might decide whether to take a film wide, or go with a smaller release and focus more on the “downstream” DVD and video on-demand after-market. The blogosphere has proven to be an up-to-the-minute, upstream/downstream, real-time case study in how to best use marketing and distribution dollars,” McIntyre says. “What used to take weeks or months of audience research can be determined almost instantaneously. The instruments are changing in the orchestra as studios are changing and tweaking a model that used to be based solely on getting 200 people into a dark room to consume their product.
“It’s now important for advertising agencies and marketing departments at corporations to look at how studios are handling content,” McIntyre asserts. “This provides the first glimpse of an evolving model. When you’re talking about a major film release, it’s really all about brand management and stewarding content. Yes, this can be applied to detergent on a supermarket shelf.”
McIntyre sees the “constantly changing and evolving” digital environment as “an important arrow in the marketer’s quiver and an essential part of future marketing plans,” but it must be deployed wisely. “Cyberspace can be an unforgiving environment in several ways. It’s not only about hurdling the impediments of using this decidedly non-commercial setting for commercial purposes, there are legal issues concerning intellectual properties, as well,” McIntyre explains.
McIntyre cited advice from Jim Rosenfeld, a partner in the New York office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, which recently won a national award given to the top media law firm in the United States, in discussing several concerns at the BlogWorld panel:
The informality and personal nature of blogs often seems to create a lower legal bar, permitting bloggers to appropriate others' content far more than we would be inclined to do on network TV, in the pages of a magazine or in other mass media. But now that every media company -- and just about every company of any kind -- has its own blog, can corporate bloggers take advantage of this lower bar, or do lawyers have to be just as diligent in avoiding infringement, libel and other legal claims, whether by licensing content or leaving it out?
The answer, of course, is that it is necessary to be every bit as diligent in self-policing content in the blogosphere as in other media. Rosenfeld also notes:
When individual bloggers use people's content, there is often little incentive to sue them because they are not as likely to have the resources to pay damages. As a result, bloggers have been permitted to appropriate a lot of content that infringes or violates others' rights. Media companies, or other corporate bloggers, look around on the internet and see that "everyone is doing it." Yet they have to be just as diligent as traditional media -- and much more so than lone bloggers --in licensing or excluding content, or be relying on good advice that their uses of such content are not violating anyone else's rights, because they are much more likely to get sued for what others have gotten away with.
This means the same kind of legal diligence in terms of copyrights and other intellectual property concerns must still be carefully considered. With these legal issues addressed, the marketing potential in the digital environment is almost endless. “In the past, consumption of traditional media was far more passive,” McIntyre says. “The new technologies have led to a far more empowered consumer. We need to take a serious look at how to utilize the digital environment to better adapt to changing consumer behavior.”
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