L.A. Company Captivates With Placement of TV Ads

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Focus Creative Group in Tarzana has been successful in turning dentist offices into captive-audience advertising forums. Now the firm’s taking its video strategy to bank lobbies and cruise ships.

The company’s Waiting Room Theater, a program for TV advertising, runs on screens in 2,800 dental clinics. The 25-minute video loop tells patients about procedures available from the dentist, and also shows commercials for Oral B and Brite Smile Whitening products.

The company’s next target is midsize banks a sector that could use some help in the current economy.

“It’s the same idea as in the dentist office,” said Robert Grossman, Focus Creative’s president. “Again, you have a captive audience and you’re showing content that’s relevant in the moment.”

For the cruise industry, the ads will show activities and shopping opportunities aboard ship. However, when the ship docks, the screen can carry ads for tours, restaurants and attractions at the port of call.

Formats are adapted for each category: In dental waiting rooms, the programming consists of segments between two and three minutes long. For bank clients, Grossman wants segments of a minute or less, due to shorter wait times. For the cruise industry, the segments will be much briefer to catch the attention of passengers as they walk past TV monitors.

Grossman said what works for dentists will work for banks and ships, adding, “We believe we can help boost sales in several other industries.”


Event Horizon

Agency Group Ltd., an entertainment booking service and speaker’s bureau based in Century City, has opened a new events division.

The company plans to produce tours, festivals and business conferences in conjunction with its entertainment clients. Upcoming projects include a seven-day cruise with wine expert Gary Vaynerchuk, a rap tour with 50 Cent headlining and the Aspen Live Conference for entertainment professionals.

“Our company has the ability to produce live entertainment on all levels, from Fortune 500 companies in football stadiums to intimate events in a consumer’s backyard,” said Steve Martin, Agency Group president.

To manage the division, the agency has hired Jim Lewi, who previously worked at both talent house Creative Arts Agency and concert promoter Clear Channel Entertainment, now part of Live Nation Inc. in Beverly Hills.

Lewi will work with the Agency Group’s 50 agents and more than 1,000 clients, including musicians, athletes, entertainers and businesses.


Adding Ads

As production slows, feature film company Castlight Pictures has moved into TV commercials even though the ad game is slowing, too.

For the movie business, the credit crunch means fewer greenlighted projects; for advertisers and agencies, the economic downturn means smaller budgets for marketing.

“We feel there is a real need to help companies right now that are pulling back advertising dollars,” said David Robinson, president of Castlight. “Our goal is put the same high-quality work into our 30-second commercial projects as we have displayed in our feature films but for a lot less cost.”

Hollywood-based Castlight has hired Chris Ceccarelli, a former programming executive at Fox and DreamWorks SKG, to head up the new commercial unit.

Castlight’s most recent film, the thriller “Breaking Dawn,” showed at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Hollywood Film Festival the same year. The movie was distributed in theaters by Lions Gate.


Agencies & Accounts

David & Goliath, an independent ad agency headquartered in El Segundo, has opened a second office in London. The European presence will service the Kia Motors account. “We want to do for Kia Motors in Germany what we’ve done for Kia America over the past nine years,” said Chairman David Angelo. Amy Levy Public Relations Inc. has added three clients to its roster: plastic surgeon Richard Ellenbogen and his Beverly Hills Body clinic; Video Service Corp.’s comedy DVD “Kosher Not Kosher”; and the startup SitesforUs.com, a Web service company. Hispanic agency VPE Public Relations has won a contract to promote First 5 LA, an organization that invests tobacco tax revenues in programs for children up to age 5. VPE will promote early care and education through research, Web site development and events. Chalcea Park is the new managing director for Davie Brown Entertainment, the celebrity endorsement firm in West Los Angeles. Park previously worked for Platinum Rye Entertainment in Chicago and DDB Chicago. PR agency Wonacott Communications has hired Palmira Farrow as an account supervisor. She will handle corporate communications, media relations and digital strategy for clients. She comes to Wonacott from game publisher Electronic Arts. Morris & Casale Advertising in Thousand Oaks won 18 trophies at the Coastal California Addy Awards, administered by the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation.


Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.

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