Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Little Known Fact


We had a great weekend hosting Brian and his lovely wife Karen. They both flew in for the final workshop for Home Run. It was a productive weekend and we are now just days away from having our script!
On another note this is a big week for 2 members of our team. Carol is celebrating 10 years of marriage to her husband Scott and Micah is celebrating 4 years of marriage to his wife Cheryl! Another bit of trivia is that both couples share the same day as their anniversary! Happy Anniversary to both!!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

SNOWED IN!!


SNOW DAY!!! Unfortunately there is something called the world wide web and wifi so we're all still working. Every once and a while don't you wish Al Gore never invented the internet? Oh well. Eric, Candace, and Brian had a very productive weekend out in LA working on the script. You can bet they were not excited to come back to this! Luckily they got in yesterday evening. So they are home safe and sound and thanks to Al, able to work. So have a great snow day everyone, and if you're somewhere tropical...don't tell us.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Major Milestones!


This week Home Run hit some major milestones! One of them being the completion of the investor memos. They are pretty stellar as you can see! Along with those being done, the operating agreement and producers agreements have been completed as well. What that technically means is that "we are "OFFICIALLY" off to the rodeo," as Carol would say (she is the self proclaimed queen of mixing metaphors)! Also Eric and Candace are headed out to LA this weekend to work with Brian as they continue to fine tune the script. So, tons going on and I'm off to Branson for a little weekend getaway before the shoe hits the foot...or something like that. Have a good weekend!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Proof is on the wall!



Although these photos may not look like much to you it is evidence of a very productive weekend for Home Run. Last weekend we were excited to have Brian Brightly, a story analyst from DreamWorks, join the team as we fine tune the script. We are only a few weeks away from having the final script and then into production we go! Stay tuned, more to come!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

A Year In Review


Happy New Year to all! 2010 is gone and '11 is upon us. Time flies when you're having fun and that we did in 2010! We worked on two feature films (A Christmas Snow and The Lamp) and completed a new season of 360 Life just to name a few. Along with all the production and post production we have been developing Home Run! And you wonder how we do it all. So here's to '11! Great things are ahead.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Brand Names Up For Auction.

Looking to start an airline … or maybe sell some beer? Want to get that new cinema chain off the ground? Want to do it all without starting from zero? Then an upcoming auction by Brands Holdings USA may be for you. The company, which has been snatching up trademarks over the years, has decided to auction off 150 of them. Which means you could buy the Meister Brau brand, Cousin Eddie’s favorite beer. Also on the block: Handi-Wrap, a plastic wrap once sold by Dow; Lucky Whip, a dessert topping first sold in 1958; Braniff International, a Dallas-based airline that ended service in 1982; hair-care products Long & Silky and Short & Sassy; even the not-so-old tech brand Infoseek and the very old tech brand Victrola. You can see the full list here. My favorite? General Cinema. They introduced me to Han Solo and Indiana Jones (which is why I forgave them for charging me to see Ishtar).

Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Friday.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Go Coco, Go.

The official start date of Conan, Conan O'Brien's new late-night show on TBS, is Nov. 8. But in case you just can’t wait another day … Team Coco is doing you a solid. You can see “Show Zero,” a sort o sneak preview of the show … wait for it … TONIGHT. Yep. Just check out TeamCoco.com at 10 PM central. They’re promising dancing tacos. But no word on Vomiting Kermit.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Can You Hear Me NOW?

A man in Northern Ireland has claimed to have found evidence of a time traveler in a silent Charlie Chaplin film. In The Circus, one of the extras appears to be talking on a cell phone. In 1928. So … is this a time traveler caught on film? If so, why didn’t the time traveler go back a few more minutes and confiscate the evidence after this story ran? More importantly, is that the iPhone 8 she’s holding?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gap Dumps New Logo Nobody Knew About.

Last week, Gap — that purveyor of fine khakis and such — quietly replaced their old logo of more than 20 years with a new mark on their website. Today, they are going back to the old one. In between? Backlash. Criticism. Disaster. Almost instantly, Facebook and Twitter lit up with cries of outrage (yes, about a clothing store). “You are not a computer company” posted one disgruntled shopper. To make matters worse, Gap replied to the bad reviews on its Facebook page by suggesting they would look at “crowdsourced” ideas. This meant 1) they were not committed to the new mark, even though I’m sure it cost six figures, and 2) they were asking for free ideas from designers everywhere. Problem is, designers everywhere were pretty unhappy (and very vocal about their unhappiness) with that suggestion. So, today the company cut their losses, swallowed their pride and did a u-turn. Was this a New Coke marketing disaster or a brilliant New Coke PR bonanza? Who knows … and maybe, who even cares? While the industry was all worked up, according to a poll of 1,000 consumers commissioned by Advertising Age (you know, CONSUMERS, the people who really count), 80% said they had no idea the logo had changed.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Apple Predicts The Death of CDs.

Take a good look at the new iTunes logo that popped up the last time you updated your software. Notice anything? The little music note over the compact disc that has been there forever is gone. No big deal, right? Maybe. But keep this in mind: Apple doesn’t do ANYTHING by chance. And they take every design element seriously. Remember when Apple shifted to aluminum casings for most of their products? Just prior to that, a new Mac OS debuted with a brushed-aluminum look around the OS windows. You know, so everything matched. Is there a CD slot Job’s latest star, the iPad? Um, no. There’s not. I’m just sayin …

Monday, August 30, 2010

For Our Friends From Phoenix.

Met some great people this weekend at the film festival in Phoenix. Effective movie marketing was certainly one of the things on everyone’s minds … so we’d thought we’d share what Sony marketing execs Jeff Blake and Marc Weinstock had to say about the subject (after all, they’re batting 5 for 5 this summer). Here are the 10 lessons they say they’ve learned after a hard summer of sagging attendance (down 2.5% according to Hollywood.com). Looks like Twitter tanked and Facebook is our friend.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Production Update.

Shooting for the second season of our Telly Award-winning series 360° Life wrapped last night. Watch for the first episode of the new season on TBN September 29th. In other production news … our film project, HomeRun, continues to gain momentum, with thousands checking out the site. Thanks for the prayers. Keep ‘em coming. Spring 2012 will be here sooner than we think!

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Summer Movie Marketing Report Card.

AdAge gave us it’s take on what the studios did right (and wrong) marketing the summer’s big-screen selections today. The season kicked off with a $100 million marketing bonanza from Paramount and Marvel Entertainment (with 11 different marketing partners) for Iron Man 2. So why did the film underperform? Not lack of awareness, that’s for sure. Overall, the big winner was Sony, who surprised without a single flop this summer. 20th Century Fox, however, rated a C- … and some friendly advice: avoid the ‘80s at all costs.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Facebook Promotes Places.

Last night, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his social network's long-awaited geo-location product called Places. The mobile product will focus on three major features, he said: It will allow users to share where they are with their friends; allow them to see who is near them; and allow them to discover new places around them. Great for being social … and also interesting for business. This should create a whole new level of engagement with the consumer. For instance, if you check in at the mall, the Gap there could offer you a special deal. If you check in near a Starbucks, they could give you a discount based on the time of day (Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Stop in and get 15% off). You get the idea. Advertisers will soon be able to communicate with consumers as they are walking by and offer them something of value. You know, kinda like the promo poster in your store window … only better.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Movie Project On Deck.

We officially announced Home Run The Movie at the Celebrate Recovery Summit in L.A. this past week. The Summit, with delegates from CR programs all over the country, was the perfect venue for the announcement. CR is a Christ-centered 12-step program which has helped countless people recover from life’s hurts, hang-ups and habits (there are currently something like 13,000 CR groups nationwide). The program will play a pivotal role in the lead character’s life, a major-league pitcher with some major league problems. Sneak a peek at the announcement video we showed. This is not the movie trailer (filming has not yet begun), but it gives you an idea of WHY we’re doing this movie …

Monday, August 9, 2010

Watching The Web Instead Of Surfing It.

Branded web series are the new big thing for marketers, with the typical series consisting of a half-dozen five-minute episodes costing an average of $100,000 to $1 million to create. (This isn’t so bad considering a typical 30-second spot can cost more than three times the price the most expensive web show). But are they working? Ad Age points out ten that are (based on the client renewing the series and the impressive number of eyeballs watching the shows). It’s an interesting list with some name-brand stars attached. Take a look.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Longhorn Gas. (And Not The Kind You Think.)

Yeah, that’s a real logo there. The University of Texas (and the Aggies over at A&M) have entered a partnership that will create university-branded energy companies (more accurately, energy resellers). Yep. Longhorn gas … and electric, too. Here at CCC, we’d never buy a Longhorn-branded anything. But if the Sooners started offering it, would we pony up like we did for the OU lawn chairs, ice chest and grilling kit? Sponsorship broker IMG College and Branded Retail Energy, a Dallas-based company that needs help with its website and markets electricity through affinity partnerships, think so. And they say it’s not a gimmick to test fan’s passion for anything with a logo attached. Instead, the service will be powered by one of the nation's top retail electricity providers, and — here’s the punter kicker — each new customer account will generate funds for sustainability initiatives for the respective schools. So it’s a way to support your favorite university. Will this replace those annoying “your tuition wasn’t enough, please give us more money” direct mailers they send out all year? We don’t know. But from a marketing standpoint, this will be interesting to watch. Here’s a tip, though: don’t stick your horns in the socket.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Blogging From The Set.




CCC is on the set of 360 Life again today instead of Facebooking (see last post). Lots of crew. Lots of equipment. Questionable wi-fi. Looking forward to a great season 2.