Royalty-Free Production Music Library Launches

For web designers, Flash animators, computer games developers, video artists and creatives in search of good music for their work can now turn to Premiumbeat, a service that offers royalty-free music. The site is categorized by genre and includes music preview and quick download. We thought you creatives out there would like to know.

Adobe Melds Macromedia Into Product Offering With New Bundles

For you creative types, Adobe has launched three new product bundles that combine Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Adobe video tools with the just-released Macromedia Flash Professional 8 and Macromedia Studio 8 software. Adobe acquired the Macromedia product line when the company purchased Macromedia, a transaction that formally closed on December 3, 2005.

The new product configurations are: the Adobe Design Bundle that combines Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium with Flash Professional 8 software; the Adobe Web Bundle that brings together Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Studio 8; and the Adobe Video Bundle that delivers Adobe video solutions coupled with Flash Professional 8. The Adobe Design Bundle and Web Bundle are available for purchase today and the Adobe Video Bundle is expected to ship in early 2006. Go get creative.

Firm to Measure Blog-Based TV Buzz

Eluded to at a recent ad:tech conference in New York, Word of mouth research and planning firm BuzzMetrics has launched a syndicated service to measure television discussion on blogs, message boards and other social media. Called TV*BuzzMetrics, the ratings service will provide television executives and advertisers "ongoing qualitative insights that help explain key drivers of viewer engagement, and understand potential value of new programs." Making this all possible, BuzzMetrics is a business affiliate of VNU, owner of research brands ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research.

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Royalty-Free Stock Photography Service Launches

Billing itself as the "social marketplace for royalty-free stock images," Fotolia recently launched an online social marketplace for creative digital stock images in four languages, where photographers and designers of all levels can store, share and monetize their photographs and illustrations. Fotolia, which offers free membership, allows graphic artists, web designers, art directors, and consumers to obtain legal, royalty free stock images for use in electronic and print materials for free or starting as low as $1. Start buying.

Infinity Campaign Promotes Howard Stern's Move to Sirius

In an interesting twist, Infinity's "Who's Replacing Howard Stern" campaign, currently gracing every sliver of ad space on Ad Age, may, according to 925M, do more to hurt Infinity than help. The campaign highlights Stern replacements Adam Corolla, David Lee Roth and Penn Jillette, who have received with less than stellar reviews as replacements for the irreplaceable Stern. As 925M indicates, all this campaign may do is say "Hey, we know Stern left. We know the replacements suck. We're trying this kooky FreeFM thing. Just skip it all and go listen to Stern on Sirius."

Picture Marketing Puts Everyone in an Ad

Picture Marketing, Inc. has created a technology that turns personal photos into an ad medium. Called Picture Marketing In-a-Box, the offering is a combined hardware and online service that enables marketers and event organizers to take pictures of people at sponsored events, trade shows, and retail locations. The online service then combines those photos together with survey information supplied by each person, to build a mini-advertising campaign around each individual's photo.

According to Picture Marketing, the service has many potential applications. For example, automakers at car shows can take pictures of event attendees posed with the latest car models on display, and later mail ads featuring the individual's photo, which, one hopes, the person will show to their friends and family. Sort of a marketer-enabled, word of mouth tactic. Brand advertisers can also use dozens of the service's specialized cameras at stadium events, in order to capture thousands of leads in a single day - assuming people visit the companies marketer-branded survey website after seeing their mug. One has to wonder about the potential misuses that could come from accidental, un-approved pictures.

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IGA Gaming 101 Series Offers Industry In-Game Advertising Education

To help marketers and agencies understand and take advantage of gaming as a medium, has launched a series of Gaming 101 sessions. IGA hopes to educate the marketplace about the current and future videogaming landscape, the changing demographics of gamers, how the hardware platforms differ from each other, and how to run in-game advertising campaigns that get results.

Advertising agencies that have held or are scheduled to hold IGA Partners Gaming 101 sessions include Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, SS+K, Manning Gottlieb OMD, Avenue A | Razorfish.

A typical IGA Gaming 101 session provides an overview of the gaming space and gaming ad formats such as advergaming, product placement/plot-integration, dynamic in-game advertising, and casual gaming. Along with any form of consultant comes buzzwords and IGA's "Metrification," a proprietary in-game advertising quantitative and qualitative measurement and analysis framework.

Study Measures Ad Viewership, Campaign Duration Too Long

Perhaps forcing Nielsen to more quickly move its plans to measure commercial rather than programming, The PreTesting Company has is currently conducting a 2,500 Omaha home test of its MediaCheck Project Wannamaker (nice reference to the 50/50 statement), which measures ad viewership rather than program viewership, found most people tire of a campaign's commercials after just two weeks indicating overexposure and poor creative hurt TV campaigns the most. The study also found that DVR-equipped homes did not skip commercials any more than non-DVR (by changing channel, etc.) homes.

The company has plans to roll out a national, 50,000 home study and is is talks with cable operators to incorporate the measurement technology in set top boxes. Hello? Nielsen? Hello?

Aquent Launches Marketing And Creative Tutorial Video Series

Professional services firm Aquent, today, announces the launch of Aquent Inside Marketing, a series of video tutorials designed to address issues facing marketing and creative professionals. The videos will feature expertise and commentary from in-house and outside consultants, analysts, and marketing executives. Aquent promises each will offer" practical, real-world advice and solutions to anyone involved in the marketing and creative services disciplines." The first of four tutorials begins today on the Inside Marketing site. Other videos will be released each month thereafter.

MediaBuys Introduces New Media Store

MediaBuys, an online media buying club, has relaunched it Media Store, replacing its Single Buy program to deliver steeply discounted media to buyers within a 24 hour period. For buying members interested in purchasing single placements of television, radio, magazine, newspaper, out of home and interactive - as opposed to full campaigns - media sellers will provide predetermined discount packages from which to choose.