Village Gamer

Hootsuite has released the first in a 5-part series of White Papers exploring the ROI of social media. Aimed at Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the white papers are co-authored by HootSuite and Nichole Kelly of FullFrontalROI.com and will be valuable for anyone seeking to align social media with traditional metrics like conversions, acquisition cost, and revenue.

“Marketers want to measure social media in a way that is meaningful to the organization, but unfortunately most of us aren’t metrics junkies and there isn’t a silver bullet answer. This White Paper series is about showing marketers how they can finally tie their results to financial metrics like sales, revenue, and cost,” states Ms. Kelly. “I partnered with HootSuite on this project, because my analysis of their Custom Social Analytic Reports shows that it isn’t about giving you a pretty set of social media metrics. It’s about data that will drive better decision making in your organization.”

The first White Paper, “Introduction to Social Media Measurement“ is available now, opening the door into the strange world of marketing and social media. The full series will give companies a better understanding of the many facets of measuring campaigns for lead generation, customer retention, brand awareness and other business aims. The white papers will be available sequentially at two week intervals for free download. HootSuite will also be hosting two public webinars with Ms. Kelly following publication of the 2nd and 4th installations.

Distribution360 will be at the LA Screenings from May 17-24 to meet with potential buyers from domestic and international markets. The company’s slate includes over 200 hours of content across all genres. The company also welcomes Vivian Miranda to the Distribution360 team. She brings over 10 years of distribution and sales experience to the team. Vivian will be representing D360 full-time in Los Angeles, and she will be attending LA Screenings in an effort to expand the company’s international sales reach to Latin American markets.

Prior to her current post, Vivian spent three years at Televix Entertainment where she placed well-known kids’ programming in Latin America. She also worked for E! Entertainment, where she developed a weekly block called La Hora E!, featuring programs from the E! Entertainment library, which aired in numerous Latin American territories. Earlier in her career, Vivian spent four years at Alliance Atlantis Communications handling sales of its diverse program library to broadcasters throughout Latin America.

“We’re thrilled to have Vivian join our team and represent D360 at this year’s LA Screenings,? says Stephanie Röckmann-Portier, Head of Sales, Distribution360. ?Having such strong LA-based representation puts us in a great position to reach valuable Spanish-speaking markets,” adds Stephanie. ?This is an important step in bringing our content to new audiences.”

D360’s slate for the LA Screenings includes:

Kids & Youth

Olive the Ostrich (52 x 5’ animated series, web games, online videos)

Written in a highly descriptive, storybook style, Olive the Ostrich is a CGI animated series for preschoolers, which chronicles the adventures of a young ostrich named Olive on her imaginary travels to all sorts of amazing places. In each episode, animators bring to life real pictures drawn by children and submitted through an integrated online component. These animations create all the guest characters, places and objects that Olive encounters. Inquisitive and enthusiastic, Olive loves to solve problems and help people whenever she can. She’ll try anything once, which can get her into trouble, but she always finds fun and inventive ways of getting herself out of it. The series will premiere in the UK on Nick Jr. in September 2011. Produced by Blue-Zoo.

Splatalot (26 x 30’ action reality series, format rights, web games, online videos)

A hilarious medieval-themed action reality show geared to the tween audience, featuring an extreme obstacle course with more wipe outs and spills than ever imaginable. Each episode features a different group of 12 thrill-seeking teen contestants, dubbed Attackers, competing in three cringe-inducing rounds. The Defenders of Splatalot, an international squad of nine medieval-themed gladiators, will do their best to protect the castle from the Attackers – only leaving one to be crowned King or Queen. Splatalot was commissioned by YTV, the BBC, and ABC (Australia). Produced by marblemedia.

This is Daniel Cook (130 x 6’ or 26 x 30’ live-action episodes, format rights, web games)

Inquisitive, intelligent and adventurous—This is Daniel Cook is more than just a live-action preschool TV series. It’s an educational adventure where children can join six-year-old host Daniel Cook as he discovers the world. Follow Daniel as he explores and learns with everyone from Olympic gold medalists to zookeepers and award-winning musicians. Preschoolers will love this new friend who shares their curiosity and interests. Produced by marblemedia and Sinking Ship Entertainment.

This is Emily Yeung (65 x 6’ live-action episodes & 2 x 30’ specials, format rights, web games)

See her laugh, learn and share. This is Emily Yeung is an engaging and educational preschool live-action series. This sunny six-year-old is host to a whole universe of discovery and adventures that will enthral and capture the imaginations of preschoolers with every spirited instalment. Viewers will tag along with Emily as she takes on the world and learns with everyone from painters, to politicians and rocket scientists. Produced by marblemedia and Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Lifestyle

Ghostly Encounters (83 x 30’ episodes)

Start a conversation about things that go bump in the night, and pretty soon everybody in the room has a story to tell. Paranormal experiences aren’t just the domain of psychics and tarot card readers – in fact, many ordinary people believe they have had supernatural encounters. Ghostly Encounters looks into those incidents and the regular folks-next-door who had them, and takes the viewer on a chilling ride through a fascinating, highly personal ghost story. Produced by Logan Hill Productions.

Comedy

TAC.tv (181 x 3’ animated shorts & 23 x 30’ animated episodes and online videos) 

The series features a cast of hilarious characters such as The Googoos, The Secretary, and The Pilot, to name a few. These off-the-wall characters are sculpted from modeling clay by the creator himself, Michel Beaudet. In post production, he superimposes his own moving eyes, mouth and nose, creating unique characters with over-the-top personalities. Produced by Salambo Productions.

Factual

6 Rides to Sunday (52’ documentary)

This is the story of Professional Brazilian bull rider, Renato Nunes. Renato wasn’t born a rodeo star. He chose to leave his family home and embark on a career as a professional bull rider and is now poised to enter one of the largest and most prestigious events in rodeo on earth – The Calgary Stampede. Six rides on some of the rankest bulls in the world is what it takes to be crowned Champion at The Calgary Stampede and take home the $100,000 purse. Viewers find out if Renato can tame 6 bulls to be victorious at the Stampede. Produced by White Iron Pictures.

A report on emerging technology companies released today by PwC shows that for the second straight year, angel investors have taken over as the primary funding source for these companies, with venture capitalist fundraising at a 16-year low. Angels typically invest their own funds, unlike venture capitalists, who manage the pooled money of others in a professionally-managed fund.

Overall, 53% of respondents to its survey who raised money last year received their funding from angels, compared to 8% who received funding from venture capitalists. This presents a challenge that limits Canadian technology businesses from competing in the global market, the report says.

“Fundraising trends are an important predictor of innovation and growth in this sector,” says Peter Matutat, Partner and National Emerging Company Practice Leader at PwC. “Our report shows that companies who successfully raised capital in 2010 were 3.5 times more likely to adopt an aggressive approach to business reinvestment compared to businesses that were unsuccessful. One of the problems in our market is that Canadian companies receive only 39% of the dollars that go to their US competitors ($3.2 million vs. $8.2 million on average in 2010).”

The 50-page report polled over 160 CEOs of emerging Canadian software companies on a variety of topics including growth, marketing, raising capital, research, talent recruitment and mergers. Overall, revenues in this sector are increasing and forecasts are back at pre-recession levels. Overall revenue growth was approximately 32% in 2010, just slightly behind the survey’s historic average of 35%.

Other findings from the report include:

• Over 60% of CEOs expect revenues to increase at least 25% in 2011
• 73% expect their companies will be acquired in the next 5 years
• 84%  are using cloud computing in some form
• More than 80% are taking a more aggressive approach to business planning Read the rest of this entry »

MEGA Brands Inc. has entered into a multi-year global licensing agreement, excluding Asia, with Saban Brands to develop construction toys based on the all-new kids’ action series Power Rangers Samurai, the newest generation in the long-running, highly popular entertainment franchise.

The Mega Bloks Power Rangers Samurai construction toy sets will match the fun, action-packed style of the new series airing on Nickelodeon. Launching in Spring 2012, the Mega Bloks Power Rangers Samurai construction toy line will engage children of all ages with its popular characters, vehicles and playsets that offer endless possibilities of building adventures.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Saban Brands and build on the immense success of the Power Rangers franchise,” said Vic Bertrand, Chief Innovation Officer of MEGA Brands. “We look forward to bringing the adventures of Power Rangers Samurai to life through Mega Bloks by offering fans an engaging and immersive building experience.”

“The Power Rangers continue to be one of the world’s leading children’s entertainment properties and we are delighted to add Mega Bloks to our stable of license offerings,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. “Saban Brands has established for the Power Rangers brand a unique image that strongly resonates with families and we look forward to extending its global success through our new partnership with MEGA Brands.”

Combining comedy with action-filled storylines, the all-new half-hour series Power Rangers Samurai features a new cast of Rangers and never-before-seen villains, as well as high-octane action, martial arts and advanced special effects. From SCG Power Rangers LLC, an affiliate of Saban Brands, the long-running hit kids’ TV phenomenon, now heading into its 19th season, is helmed by Haim Saban, who created and produced the original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series in 1993. New episodes premiere Saturdays at noon (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.