In an unlucky turn for area ad agencies, Hoosier Lottery officials rebuffed all six bidders for the creative portion of its
advertising account. The rejection of all bidders is an unusual occurrence in the ad industry and it has never before happened
with the lottery account, one of the most lucrative, high-profile jobs in the state.
Neither side is talking, but one thing is certain: The removal of the 13-year WTHR veteran known for a sometimes-testy temperament
comes at a crucial time for the local television station.
Remote-controlled digital billboards are revolutionizing the outdoor advertising industry nationwide, but a city prohibition
against the medium is preventing a rollout here.
If it lives up to the hype, the Portable People Meter could revolutionize radio advertising by providing a more accurate look
at who’s listening to what. The pager-size device tracks radio-listening habits in real time, rather than relying on ratings
survey participants to remember what stations they tuned in during the course of a day.
The local radio market’s biggest shake-up in more than a decade has almost every commercial station in central Indiana scrambling
to attract the thousands of listeners and millions of advertising dollars suddenly up for grabs. Emmis Communications Corp.
said Oct. 8 it will move WIBCAM 1070 programming to the FM frequency previously occupied by WNOU-FM 93.1, which it will kill.
Industry experts said the fallout will continue to rain down throughout the fourth quarter and well into 2008. “There’s lots…
Radio One Indiana’s former controller has filed a civil lawsuit against the company charging she was terminated because of
her race after she raised concerns about fraud and payola in relation to the company’s financial statements.
Some in the telecom industry think AT&T had the Indiana General Assembly twirled around its finger like a coil of phone cord
last year. It lobbied legislators to rewrite the state’s telecommunications laws so it could more easily deploy its “U-verse”
video product.
Production companies here say advertisements they’ve produced using high-definition technology are being held hostage by local television affiliates that have no way of showing them. The TV stations counter that they’re working as fast as they can to get up to speed.
IBJ was named the best large-market business journal and collected five other awards at the Alliance of Area Business Publications’
summer conference June 23 in Denver.
A local printing powerhouse is trying to regain the confidence of its employees and customers after the CEO and his secretary
were involved in a profanity-laced physical altercation at work.
Emmis Communications Corp. is turning to Google in its search for relief from a radio-industry slump. The local media company
is tapping the power of the popular Internet search engine to sell advertising for its Indianapolis and New York radio properties.
Hhgregg’s decision to take its $20-million-plus advertising account out of state is sending shock waves through the local
creative community. The Indianapolis-based electronics and appliance retailer’s longtime agency of record, Pearson McMahon
Fletcher England, will lose a third of its staff as a result, including three of five active partners.
As head of MZD Urban, a division of one of the city’s largest advertising agencies–MZD Advertising–Troy Julian Gipson is
ready to take the city into the future of multicultural marketing.
HH Gregg–under increasing market pressure–has put its multimillion-dollar advertising account up for bid, and Pearson McMahon
Fletcher England this month decided not to pursue the contract it has held for an unprecedented 24 years.
Local officials for Georgiabased Cumulus Media Inc. have taken another risky leap, launching central Indiana’s first commercial
news-talk format on the FM dial.
The employees of production-innovation consultant Insight2 interview customers, but they also watch and videotape them using
various products. That footage then is dissected to see how consumers deal with problems they encounter. More times than not,
the result is a new product intended to satisfy needs consumers didn’t even know they had.
The Indianapolis Star has averted, for now, a labor dispute over management’s request that unionized news employees write
advertising copy–a practice considered taboo in the newspaper industry.
In the last several weeks, cable TV operator Comcast has sent out 26 “Dear John” letters to Indianapolis and other metro-area
cities, informing them it has dumped its local cable franchise agreements and gotten hitched to a single, statewide video
franchise.
Local theater leaders are sounding the alarm about a drop in coverage by The Indianapolis Star, saying the lack of ink is hurting attendance and the city’s ability to lure new productions to town.
Two new Carmel newspapers will soon join eight others in Boone and Hamilton counties. While the region is one of the fastest growing in Indiana, journalism experts said having 10 newspapers serving a population of just under 300,000 is astounding.
