New Blog Location!

Starting last week, we moved our blog onto our website so we can more easily host commenets, etc. You can find us now at www.inlinemedia.com/blog!

The First Day of the Rest of His Life

There are moments in everyone’s life that changes who you are forever. The day you get your driver’s license or when you throw your high school graduation cap up in the air. When you get married or become a parent for the first time. Your life changes overnight and is never the same.

Today is the official day that our team mate Robbie Folena changes to "Rob" Folena. Now that he is officially 25 years old, he has asked us to take him seriously as an adult and colleague.

So when he shows up at the lunch room with a healthy meal, he can remember the good old days when “Robbie” brought in a full plate of nachos for lunch and when he could eat anything he wanted and not gain a pound. These were the good times. CEO

Restaurants look to score sales during World Cup

As the 2010 World Cup kicked off last Friday with a 1-1 tie between Mexico and the host nation South Africa, restaurants across the United States look to welcome the soccer-crazy fans and the casual American fans to create an energetic scene and create sales.

For sports bars around the country, especially the ones carrying English or Irish pub themes, the World Cup accounts for huge increases in traffic. The American team brings high hopes and with the overall growth in soccer’s popularity, it should drive even more people to the pubs this year.

In Chicago, “Mother Hubbard’s” is offering $30 World Cup Buckets containing a beer each from the United States, Germany, Mexico, The Netherlands, England and Italy.

Hooters not only will host World Cup watch parties, but the chain also opened its second location in South Africa last week in Johannesburg.

McDonalds, the official sponsor, is running special promotions in several countries. Their “Taste the Glory” campaign has customers peel off game pieces off Big Macs and Egg McMuffins to win instant prizes. McDonalds is offering a chance to win tickets to the match between the United States and Brazil, which will take place in NY in August.

Other restaurants around the country are offering World Cup cups, online sweepstakes and online coupons through their websites and twitter.

Whichever way you look at it, everyone plans on being a winner.
Chris & Joan team

Enough Already!!!

Anyone who's talked to me for more than 10 minutes knows I'm a native of the great state of Michigan. I tell most people I'm from the Detroit area, though I really grew up in Flint, about an hour north of Detroit.

Similarly, anyone who's payed 10 minutes of attention to the news over the last year or two knows it's been a rough couple of decades for my home state. The American auto industry is not the economic juggernaut it once used to be and as a result many people (my wife and I included)are either out of work or have had relocate other parts of the country to find work. GM and Chrysler needed federal government intervention in order to prevent their doors from closing. The former mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick is now in prison for cheating on his wife with his Chief of Staff, lying about it under oath, and ultimately for being more concerned with lining his pockets with money than working on behalf of his constituency. Once covered by Time Magazine as one of the up and coming leaders in the country, he's now reduced to an orange jumpsuit and a prison number.

Recently, Chis Matthews of NBC (a native to Detroit and graduate of Michigan State University) did an hour long story on NBC Dateline covering the hardships that have fallen upon what used to be the fourth largest city in the country after New York, LA and Chicago. He mainly focused on a failing public school system that has an almost 80% drop out rate. Or how downtrodden the city has become with the events that took place for the car companies. The residents of Detroit were furious with the tone of the show and demanded things like an apology from NBC, a second show focusing on the positive aspects of the city, none of which ever happend.

Today, Ann brought me the updated prime time schedule for ABC this fall. For the moment, Tuesday nights at 10 will feature the latest cop-drama called - you guessed it - "Detroit 1-8-7". Starring Michael Imperioli (Christopher from The Sopranos) and focuses on a homicide cop in the Detroit Police Department. The tag asks "What does it take to be a detective on America's most dangerous streets?"

I can't argue the point that a majority of the tarnished image of Detroit is a self-inflicted wound, but it's hard to not see this as a continuation of mass media's negative portrayal of the city. They've chosen once again to focus on the negative attributes of the city, but rather than speak to any of the positive. I've taken enough of your time, but my next blog will focus on that very thing - the positives happening in Detroit. Here's a site to get you started. www.modeldmedia.com

Introducing.... Sconnie #3

As the newest member of Inline Media, I'm proud to say there's yet another Wisconsinite in the group. My name is Kaitlyn and I'm going to be going into my Junior Year at Colorado State this fall. I'm a Business Marketing Major with minors in theatre and music. Future plans? TBD. I still have two years to figure it out. I'm grateful for my opportunity to experience media in this form, and also to be exposed to other forms like creative, sales, and advertising. Inline has made me more aware of commericals, stations, and the different forms of media and how to find out what works best in a market I've never even heard about.

The goal of my internship is to learn everything about Inline Media, consulting, buying, planning, advising, and of course the office work. So, far only being here three weeks, I feel I've picked up on some of the lingo and habits of the office. For instance, I was never one big on T.V. watching, but I have gotten into GLEE, NCIS, and well I only get basic cable let's not get too crazy. However, my knowledge in the programs Inline uses and excel has increased greatly, and I feel more confident in my abilities as the days progress.

After my internship, I will be spending three weeks traveling around Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Italy. A college students dream, and burden. I mean if I'm going to be broke, I might as well be really broke. I also plan to study abroad in New Zealand the Spring of '11.

If only for the summer, I hope to provide some relief, so everyone can have a relaxed summer. My first Colorado summer, bring on the sunshine!

-KJ

Field of Dreams

A Master’s Champion, US Open Champion, and a British Open Champion. These incredible accomplishments were seen live at the 71st Senior PGA Championship in Parker, Colorado. Fred Couples, Tom Kite, and Tom Lehman entered the weekend all competing for the lead at the prestigious Colorado Golf Club. With a field like that, the doors were flooded with polo shirts and khaki shorts. Attendance was as fluid as Fred Couples swing, and people were gifted with an 85 degree day.

As I walked outside the ropes of the golf tournament, from tee to green I could only see grinning faces from the gallery. With cocktails, water, or gatorades in hand, it seemed as though Colorado were the perfect canvas to present a Championship Trophy. The air is thin, and these so called "Senior" golfers, came to play. Fred Couples (a crowd favorite) climbed up the leader board only to merely lose in a playoff against Tom Lehman. Notable hall of famers, Mark O'Meara and Nick Price etched toward the leaders down the final stretch to make the tournament one to remember.

LOST but not Forgotten

Sunday night was a difficult night for me – LOST ended. Currently, I am mourning a television show that melted my brain weekly and deeply affected me on a personal level. As I try to come to grips with the ending and let me tell you – I’m still wrapping my head around it and trying to decide if I was one of the many who disliked the ending or one of the ones who adored the ending, I want to talk more about the ads that ran during the finale more than the finale itself. This is probably why I work in advertising.

Target wins! Target took LOST mythology - the smoke monster, the numbers and the wild boar and were able to cleverly tie them to ads for a smoke detector, keyboard and humorously, barbecue sauce.







As the finale went on and our questions were more sidestepped than answered, I chuckled each time a Target ad ran although I was also doing some mental math, allegedly a 30 second spot was running upwards of $900,000 for the finale.

While Target won in the ad department, LOST didn’t really win in the ratings department. LOST’s finale averaged only 13.5 million viewers, which is nowhere near the 105 million that tuned in for M*A*S*H signing off in 1983.

As for me? I’ll always be LOST. It was a show that meant a tremendous amount to me and I will miss my Tuesday night excitement and probably miss my Wednesday conversations with friends and coworkers trying to dissect the show even more.

Victoria 5.25.10

Fall 2010 TV Schedule

9 months ago to the day, I took a stab at how the 2009-2010 fall TV schedule would do. This past week, the networks did their Fall 2010 'upfronts', giving us a preview of what the schedule would like for this coming year. This year, instead of going day by day, I thought I would just give a 'Top 10' highlighting some story lines and interesting points from the schedule including new shows, cancellations, and show movement during the week. (In no particular order... here we go!)

1) CBS obviously is certainly going to try and attract younger demos this year. After canceling solidly performing shows like 'Ghost Whisperer', 'Numb3rs', and 'Cold Case', the network must be hoping their new shows and movement of existing shows pays off. Specifically, ...

2) 'The Big Bang Theory' moving from 9:30p/8:30p Monday night to 8p/7p Thursday night. It will be hard to compete with the NBC sitcoms (specifically it will now be head to head with 'Community'), BUT 'Theory' grew ratings AGAIN this year, and is now one of the highest-rated sitcoms, if not THE highest week by week. Plus, it will be a strong lead-in to...

3) 'Stuff My Dad Says' will premiere at 8:30p/7:30p on Thursday nights on CBS after 'Theory'. This new sitcom is based on the Twitter account @sh%tmydadsays (except replace the % with an i- you get the drift.) Sample tweet- "I didn't say you were ugly. I said your girlfriend is better looking than you, and standing next to her, you look ugly." Premise is interesting, but not sure how it will relate to a sitcom.

4) In having two sitcoms in the first prime hour Thursday night, 'Survivor' is being moved to Wednesday nights at 8p/7p. This past season performed great as it pitted past seasons' 'Heroes' against 'Villains'. Will be interesting to see how it continues to do, especially against weaker competition on Wednesday night.

5) The CSI franchise has begun to struggle a bit from increased competition and decreasing ratings. The original show remains in its' Thursday night 9p/8p time slot, but 'CSI: New York' moves to Friday 9p/8p and 'CSI: Miami' to Sunday 10p/9p.

6) You are probably now well aware that Jay Leno's 10p/9p Monday-Friday prime show ended in February before the Winter Olympics (I know we were all shocked, right?!? *sarcasm*) and he's back to 'The Tonight Show'. Because of this, we will see MULTIPLE new prime shows on NBC this fall to fill the multiple voids. Since they do have Sunday Night NFL Football to rely on, that was one less night they had to come up with shows for but Monday & Wednesday have very new looks to them.

7) NBC also canceled the long-running, multi-spin-off-creating drama 'Law & Order'. But, have no fear! Wednesday nights still will showcase 'Law & Order:SVU' at 9p/8p, and as a follow-up, 'Law & Order: LA' at 10p/9p. They must have noticed the success of 'NCIS: LA' on the heels of 'NCIS'...

8) FOX has finally realized what a lot of us already knew- 'Glee' is a VERY popular show. Relegated to the summer last year, it's finally getting it's due spot on the fall TV schedule- Tuesday nights at 8p/7p. With competition from 'The Biggest Loser' and 'NCIS', it will be interesting to see how the show continues to perform.

9) Pop Quiz time! What is the name of the ABC sitcom that airs on Wednesday nights at 9:30p/8:30p after 'Modern Family'? If you answered, 'Cougar Town', then you are correct... FOR NOW! The show's creators and producers are rallying for a name change for the semi-popular sitcom before it premieres again in the fall. Studio research found too many instances of people saying they would never watch the show because of what the IMPLIED plot lines were. Since the show has actually morphed into an ensemble hit, featuring both male and female characters and a variety of story lines it really does only make sense to have the title reflect that. Should be interesting to see what they come up with...

10) Suspiciously quiet this spring upfront, the CW made the fewest changes out of all the networks. Only officially canceling one show ('Melrose Place', which really was done after the fall last year), the network is premiering two new programs- 'Hellcats' about a competitive college cheerleading squad (starring Ashley Tisdale of 'High School Musical' fame) and 'Nikita' about a female spy/assassin who goes rogue and now is bent on bringing down the agency that trained her. (Sounds a little like ABC's 'Alias', right?!) Either way, both shows will probably do well with the network's Adults 18-34 demographic.

For now, though, we will have to wait to see how the fall performs. More and more people are spending more and more time watching TV, though, so there will be many shows (new & old!) that won't disappoint. Happy viewing!

- AB

Things are starting to heat up

A recent article on mediabuyerplanner.com confirms what we here at InLine Media have been seeing for the last several weeeks now - it appears the advertising industry is heating back up.

According to the article, Time Warner reported a 9.8% increase in earnings for the first quarter of 2010. They attribute the increase to two factors, an increase in subscriptions to magazines and properties they own such as HBO as well as an increase in ad revenues. Viacom also reported strong growth due to shows such as "Jersey Shore", which helped to achieve a 38% increase in profits over first quarter of last year for the company. CBS reported a 17% increase in ad revenues, (most of which can be attributed to one of the highest rated Super Bowls of all time) but nonetheless helped the company achieve it's first revenue increase in more than a year.

It appears many companies are looking to get back into the advertising arena to introduce new products and services in the hopes of building market share.

When you consider this, in addition to the many states that have hotly contested political races going on this year and all of the PAC (Political Action Committee) spending to sway your opinion on any number of issues, it's safe to say that the deep discounts in ad rates realized over the previous 12-18 months will not hold true for the remainder of 2010. It will be interesting to see where the economy's at and how rates come back down on the other side of November 2nd.

Until then, I suggest you keep your seatbelt fastened and return your tray-tables to their upright and locked positions. It appears we're experiencing some turbulence.

-The Capt'n

-SP

More great content from TED

TEBOWNED

With the 25th pick in the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select....Tim Tebow, from the University of Florida.

Are people pressing the eject button or basking in glory? This is the real question that came out of Radio City Music Hall last Thursday for the 75th NFL Draft. Tim Tebow was arguably one of the most highly watched college athletes in history. With his welcoming smile and willingness to win, he has been a true influential persona on and off the field. However, how will that golden boy image reflect in the next level?

At this point in time, no one really knows. The majority are signing him off as just a "college type prospect" and his ability will not translate well in the NFL. The minority (basically the whole state of Florida), however, is behind his winning ways and are already proclaiming him the next Broncos franchise quarterback.

So what is it? Heads or Tails? Red or Black?

The corner offices favorite online radio personality proclaims that the Denver Broncos needed "eggs, milk, and meat when it came to the NFL Draft, but instead bought a $200 bottle of wine."

For Bronco nation, let's all hope and pray that he ages with time...

-RF

Life Lessons from an Ad Man

This is a presentation given at the 2009 TED conference. I think there's a mountain of valuable information contained within about our industry. The speaker is British and talks very fast, so you have to listen carefully or watch a few times to get all of it.

Red Feather Lakes

My husband and his family have owned a cabin in Red Feather Lakes since 1958. Red Feather Lakes, on the map, is directly north of Boulder, a few miles from the Wyoming border. As you can see from the picture of my husband and niece and nephew, the terrain is very rocky. Not the best place to build a golf course but that is exactly what Ray Stencil decided to do. His wife was one of the original pioneer families of the area. She did not want to leave and he wanted a golf course. It required hundreds of tons of top soil, peat moss, grass seed at $90/sq. ft. and drilling deep wells. It took ten years and millions of dollars to build it. Probably would have been easier to put a golf course on the moon. Anyway, there is a world class country club and golf course up at Red Feather Lakes called Fox Acres. All your golfers out there, check it out. There are also a few public lakes and campgrounds in the area. On the 4th of July, they have a firework display over one of the private lakes that we can see from our cabin. Great place to put on your summer travel plan list!

-Joan

Ladies..........and Gentleman

Are you offended yet? It's been recently brought to my attention by a co-worker that shall remain nameless that the use of the term "ladies" to address a group that is exclusively comprised of women is in fact "chauvinistic". Everyone please take note and move forward accordingly. The next time you're at a public event and the announcer asks "ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our national anthem" I'd like all of you women reading this blog to give him the "glare." As would logically follow, the next time you hear Beyonce sing "all the single ladies...." change the channel. And finally when you go to the restroom for the 47th time during the next movie you attend and the door is marked "ladies" please do an about-face and look for one that's more properly labeled before you enter.

My solution? Word Bitches......

Ilene Wins!

Queen Ilene reigns until 2011 NCAA Basketball Playoffs. Much to the wonder & awe of the InLine sports fans, Ilene had the winning picks for this year's NCAA Brackets. Who would have guessed that her Sports Acumen & Picks could reflect her keen media insights & abilities?
Her secret you ask? This year, a little help from her kids! Last year, facing early and embarassing elimination, Ilene was motivated to improve her game. Gone was her "Pick Strategy" of using each teams' mascots; "Scott, what's a Boiler Maker". Congratulations, Ilene! You'll always be a winner with your fans at InLine - an who knows, maybe on the court, too!

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

InLine Media is always searching for the perfect opportunity to help others in need. The experience has brought us an over whelming reality of those in need and how grateful we are blessed.

In the past we have served at the Ronald McDonald House serving breakfast to families going through difficult times due to an illness of a child.

The US Post Office Secret Santa Program granting the wishes of many children at Christmas.

The 5th Annual PJ Day in support of Denver’s Road Home. Denver’s Road Home is Mayor Hickenlooper and the community’s 10 year Plan to end homelessness.

For the past three years we have been volunteering our time at St Clare’s Ministries, serving dinner to the homeless every fifth Tuesday of the month.

It has brought us closer as a team and we experience the joy we bring to others who appreciate a hot meal and a smile.

We are just making a small dent in the community, but we are grateful for the opportunity.

Chris Ouellet

It's MADNESS

Here at InLine Media, we are participating in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and it has been an exciting experience for some and more painful for others. Last year’s champion, Nancy Haven, has once again brought her “bracketology” expertise, and has done well so far in 2010.

This year we have a total of 18 brackets that include many slashes of red pen and brilliance in yellow highlighter. More often than not, upsets are prevalent and buzzer beaters are inevitable. This year is not any different.

#1 seed Kansas lost to Northern Iowa and the shredding of brackets began throughout the nation. Sadly, InLine was victim to that shredding as well. With the Jayhawks failure, the mighty red pen had an 8 hour work day at InLine come Monday. Out of the 18 brackets, 10 chose Kansas to win it all!

The Sweet 16 debuts Thursday and Friday, so stay tuned to watch the madness unfold!

-RF

Super Bowl Ads

Everyone always has a lot to say about the Super Bowl the morning after. Aren't we all really armchair quarterbacks after all?! And especially after the Super Bowl, we certainly all like to think we are creative directors too. That being said, here are links to my personal top 3 commercials from last night (in no particular order):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rsEnwKrsvc
'Keep your hands off my mama, Keep your hands off my Doritos' So precious. And is it just me, or does that guy look a lot like former Broncos player Boss Bailey?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA7-31Cxc2I
Betty White is 88 years old!! I seriously cannot believe how hysterical she continues to be. There's actually a facebook group urging Lorne Michaels & the SNL crew to have her guest host the long-running show. Can you believe she's never done it before?! Also, if you didn't recognize the old man playing QB at the end, his name is Abe Vigoda. He's 88 also. Unbelievable. You may recognize him from The Godfather but I will always remember him as Grandpa from Look Who's Talking. Award for best use of the elderly easily goes to Snickers. (NOT to CBS for The Who's halftime show. Wow, that was a dumb joke.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcEx767TIas
So simple, and yet still so funny- mostly due to the irony of the spot. If you've been living under a rock and don't know what's going on in late night television, you probably didn't get it. So, here's a quick recap- old rivalries were Dave vs. Oprah and Dave vs. Jay. Then, Dave vs. Oprah ended when she FINALLY appeared on his show last year. Next, Dave vs. Jay ended when Jay left late night to start his own prime show. Dave's ratings skyrocketed as The Tonight Show (with Conan as Jay's replacement) tanked. So they were all BFF's. NOW, though, I have to believe Dave vs. Jay will be rekindled as Jay takes back his late night show and he & Dave are up against one another again. So why is Jay promoting Dave's show?! Ironic, eh?! And confusing...

So, those were my top 3. Honorable mention goes to Megan Fox in the bathtub, the Dodge Charger commercial with Michael C. Hall voicing all the different men's thoughts, and the Bud Light house out of beer cans/bottles. Overall I wasn't blown away, and as always there is lots of debate and I am sure everyone has their own favorites.

As a final note, congrats to Joan for winning the Office Super Bowl Pool! Stay tuned for March Madness- always a crowd pleaser! :-)

- AB

The Yard-O-Beef

In mid-January, Nancy & I made a pilgramage to my home state of Wisconsin for the Papa Murphy's Co-op meetings in Milwaukee and Green Bay. While there, we decided to participate in what is quickly becoming a Denver tradition- posing for pictures with the 'Yard-O-Beef'.

To give you a little background, the 'Yard-O-Beef' tradition started in late 2009 when a 3-lb. sausage was received as a holiday gift by a creative agency in Denver that we often partner with- Sukle Advertising & Design. In response to this surprising gift (who gives Summer Sausage in Winter?!), they decided to regift the sausage and track where it went throughout the world. They even created a website- www.thetravelingsausage.com to record photos and videos of the sausage's adventures. Of course, the original Yard-O-Beef is not the only one out there now. We used an imposter, but it is certainly a cousin to the original, as ours was purchased near Johnsonville's home in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and is at the very least, authentic.

I've attached two of the pictures we took- look for us on the Traveling Sausage website! The left hand picture is me trying to feed a deer head at Heidl's in Jackson, WI. The right hand picture is Nancy 'reporting live' from WFRV's office in Little Chute, WI.

Look for more adventures featuring the Yard -O-Beef on www.thetravelingsausage.com.

Pajama Day!

We are dressing down for a good cause today! InLine Media is participating in the 5th Annual PJ Day in support of Denver’s Road Home. Denver’s Road Home is Mayor Hickenlooper and our community’s 10-year plan to end homelessness.

While we get to be comfy cozy in jammies and slippers, our entire office has donated to Denver’s Road Home. We learned that PJ Day donations have helped prevent over 2,000 people from becoming homeless and since 2005 chronic homelessness has decreased by 36%! As you probably know, we are located on the 16th Street Mall and panhandling on the mall has decreased by 92%!

We are happy to support Denver’s Road Home!

-Victoria Lindsay 1/28/10