Marta Fowlie

Please share your brutally honest feedback with me about spatial scent. OVR Technology's built plugins for Unity and Unreal Engine that make adding scent to games as easy as audio. It's spatial, so the scent intensity can change as your player's distance to objects changes. We've developed a cartridge for 16 scents, focused only on pleasant scent experiences, here are our first 8: * Fresh (water) * Woody (campfire) * Sweet (vanilla, chocolate) * Green (grass, apples) * Citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit) * Soft (skin, lavender, relaxing) * Floral (magnolia, lily, garden) * Earthy (forest, soil, mushrooms) We launched our first device in 2019, specifically for VR, and saw significant success in health and wellness: * Increase in gamma wave brain activity. * 31% decrease in blood pressure. * 32% Increase in happiness. * 33% Decrease in feelings of depression. We've now developed a smaller, more modular device that supports PC, VR, and mobile games. We see the best fit with adventure/casual/cozy games, but see the potential to support all game genres. To that end, we've recently launched a dev kit partnership program to support innovative game studios: * Free devs kits and documentation for your development team. * Free scent integration support, so your team can stay focused on your game(s). * Free cross-promotional marketing for your studio and scent-enhanced game(s). We're launching next year, and we still have 7 spots open for studios to join our program. If you're interested in joining the program, I'm happy to chat with you about it more. Long-term, we see the adoption for spatial scent being similar to the rumble feature in game controllers. With all of that context, I'd appreciate your brutally honest feedback here: 1. What do you think about spatial scent in video games? 2. What do you think about OVR's spatial scent dev kit program? 3. What other pleasant or neutral scents would you like us to add to our cartridge? My colleague Colin Giblin and I are excited to answer your questions in the comments.

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The Joker from Christopher Nolan's Batman is a great inspiration for brand positioning, advertising, and project management. • Brand Positioning: Gotham was overrun with gangs, but no gang that preyed primarily on those gangs, other than Batman. The Joker recognized a business opportunity to essentially demonstrate only he was crazy enough to go against all of them, which ultimately had them fall in line under him against their own common enemy - the Batman. This translates to my ability to figure out your real competitive advantages and disadvantages, and creating a strategy which will beat sh!t out of your foes. • Advertising: The Joker says that he likes cheap things like dynamite and gasoline, because they get the job done even if it's a little messy. That is a great way to look at getting your message out there. Slick digital campaigns may cost an arm & a leg, and ultimately have a lot less attribution than you're promised. It becomes much cheaper to spread your money across inexpensive things like street art/unpermitted promotions, email, and generating word of mouth. But you'd have to know how to use those things in a creative way to be effective. • Project Management: Similar to Keyser Soze (from The Usual Suspects) the Joker manages to create an environment around himself where people are enticed, confused, and susceptible to inadvertently (and intentionally) working for him. People follow his games whether they like it or not. This enables his team to grow well beyond those who he can directly employ, and as a leader The Joker creates both loyalty & respect. People want to work for/with him. This goes beyond "viral moments" to create long-lasting, deep impact. Now, if I have to caveat this with the fact that The Joker is a villain, and everything he does is sinister - which should not be followed - then we are probably not going to vibe. On the other hand, if you're thinking, "Yo, this dude Mattske knows what's up and I've never thought about The Joker as an inspiring marketing figure before but he's right about that..." then DM me about your next campaign. If you have a small budget but are willing to trust me with it: let's get busy. If you have a gigantic budget and will value me over your paid distribution: 😎 Ya'll know where I'm at. 🌍 Global Communications 🎱 Saving You A Fortune 🥋 Language As A Martial Art 🥩 Sizzle AND Steak Throw me your wildest ideas, or let me come up with one for you.

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Theatrical needs more movies and more competition. Why? Moviegoing begets moviegoing. When we have more movies in theaters we have higher attendance (shocking!). When we have more movies in theaters we continue the moviegoing habit. But "more movies" has to mean more movies that people want to see in ways they want to see them. This leads me to competition. Movies are not truly competing with one another for audiences on any given weekend or weekday. First, we don't have enough wide releases to really force any kind of competition. Second, our industry is so homogenized in the way distribution deals are set and the way success is defined, that individual films are not truly able to experiment. We have seen attendance shoot up for indie films and family films when there are price incentives like #NationalCinemaDay or MoviePass or exhibitor programs in place. So why is there no widespread adoption of variable pricing? Why does a movie cost the same on week 10 as it did on week one despite that title likely being offered by the studio at home at a deeply discounted price? Why is attendance not as relevant as box office especially for films that do not benefit from PLF pricing? This industry has more data than ever before and more ways to connect directly to audiences, but we are selling them mixed messages. Pay attention to the ads on your streaming channels. How often are you seeing ads for theatrical titles to watch in theaters vs theatrical titles now available in the home? If you were a filmmaker who made your movie with theatrical in mind, what would be your metrics for success? Are those currently in line with our industry's practices? We can do better. For our art and for our audiences. For our culture and our consumers. My team is working on one solution but I know that there are so many other amazing ideas out there that just need traction. Let's collaborate and shift our focus back to the part of our entertainment ecosystem that truly makes money and impact for creators. See you at the movies!

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What "Game of Thrones' did for TV, I wanted 'Blue Eye Samurai' to do for TV series animation" Watch how the incredible producer Jane Wu took the audience to a - I quote - "fusion restaurant" with this series, using live-action approach for the fight scene, visual techniques inspired by traditional Ukiyo-e art for the production design, applying VFX methods to the pipeline... PS: if you haven't watched the series, block out your weekend and get on it. https://lnkd.in/d_GAMkbz

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🚨IAC and Dotdash Meredith just made a deal with OpenAI that could reshape the future of media and advertising... 🔺 In a groundbreaking move, digital media powerhouse Dotdash Meredith has struck a strategic partnership and licensing deal with OpenAI.  🔺Through this deal, content from Dotdash Meredith's publications, which are owned by #IAC, will be accessible on OpenAI's ChatGPT platform. This includes content from popular brands like People, Food & Wine, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Southern Living, and Real Simple. 🔻 But the implications go far beyond just content sharing. The partnership also involves integrating OpenAI's technology into Dotdash Meredith's cookieless ad-targeting solution, D/Cipher. This is expected to enhance the precision and effectiveness of Dotdash Meredith's ad targeting capabilities. 🔻 "We have not been shy about the fact that AI platforms should pay publishers for their content and that content must be appropriately attributed," said Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel. The deal represents the evolving relationship between major media companies and AI platforms, as they navigate the changing digital content and advertising landscape. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, particularly around issues of fair compensation, attribution, privacy, and the broader impact on the publishing space. #DotdashMeredith #OpenAI #MediaDisruption #AIInnovation #FutureOfDigitalContent #DigitalAdvertising https://lnkd.in/g76aqW3j

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Since late April, I've been following the messy K-pop feud between ADOR, the record label behind K-pop darlings NewJeans, and Hybe, its parent company. So when I was asked by Yahoo Entertainment to write a big-picture piece highlighting why both parties are feuding, how this could impact NewJeans' future and what will happen next, I had to take on the challenge. After translating dozens of Korean media articles and tracking all the back-and-forth, I came to the conclusion that the battle is really very simple: It's all about money, power and control. Here's my explainer on what you need to know about ADOR vs. Hybe and why you should be (a tad) concerned for NewJeans.

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Recommended reading. Here's a great interview in the current online issue of RightClickSave with Michael J. Masucci discussing the history of EZTV in Los Angeles (1979-present).

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MrBeast bought Vouch, a “LinkedIn for Creators”. Its the creator's first M&A deal. A sign of more to come? Let's break it down... ---SELLER: Vouch--- • Online networking tool for content creators • Founded 2021 by Marty Pesis, 5th Cameo employee • Has matched > 35,000 candidates with jobs • Competition includes Roster, CreatorEconomyJobs, YTjobs, YT.careers • Used by creators like Yes Theory, Jesser, Stokes Twins, Safiya Nygaard • Investors include Seven Seven Six, Liquid 2 Ventures, Shrug Capital, Niche Capital, WorkPlay Ventures, and angels ---PRODUCT OVERVIEW: Vouch--- • Candidates create profiles to showcase skills, list past creator employers • Creator can view applicant’s profile page and app, and DM them • Careers pages and job boards for creators to showcase their teams • AI-powered matching engine for candidates and creators • Tool for creators to launch custom-targeted job posts ---BUYER: MrBeast--- • YouTube’s most subscribed creator • Based in NC, hundreds of team members • Started posting videos in 2012 • Multiple biz lines, from content production to brand partnerships and CPG • Has faced recent controversy about work culture, productions • Estimated biz value of $700M+ (likely a low estimate) ---PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: MrBeast--- • Lunchly, a Lunchables competitor, with Logan Paul and KSI • Feastables, a chocolate candy bar, estimated $100M+ revenue • Host of upcoming game show on Amazon Prime • Philanthropy: Team Trees, Team Seas • Various investments ---DEAL DETAILS--- • Announced 10.3.24 • No deal details were disclosed ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • MrBeast's head of talent, Kara McCloud, said acquisition will improve MrBeast’s hiring experience ---POST DEAL OPS--- • Vouch.app website in on pause • MrBeast will use Vouch to supercharge internal hiring efforts before continuing to scale it externally • Vouch CEO will focus on other company Troveo, a content licensing biz that helps creators get paid by AI companies who seek content to train their models WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTINGA ABOUT THE DEAL? I'll do a deeper deal breakdown in my Friday newsletter. Not a lot of data to work with, but I'll provide POV on why this is MrBeast's 1st company acquisiton, and what that potentially signals for planned future M&A. Signup for our newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gsCaH6eM -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, creator economy. My DMs are open. https://lnkd.in/guMRxD4n

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If you’re a filmmaker and you use generative AI to make posters, pitch decks, trailers, etc. then I can’t take you seriously. Because what you’re saying is you’d rather use a tool that steals from artists rather than collaborate with actual artists. And I get it. Generative AI…it’s fast, cheap, and easy to use. So are prostitutes. Doesn’t mean you should using them either.

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Big News for California's Film Industry! Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a $750 million tax credit bill to boost film and TV productions in the Golden State! So, why the sudden move? Well, with other states and countries poaching productions with juicy incentives, California needed to step up its game. Here are the highlights: - $750 million tax credit (that's 127% more than before!) - 2025-2030 duration, giving producers stability - TV, video games, animation and more now qualify - Diversity, inclusion and sustainability incentives What does this mean for us? - More productions, more jobs! - California stays competitive globally - Long-term growth for our entertainment industry A huge win for California's economy! Thoughts? How will this impact your work in film? Share with your network! #CaliforniaFilmIndustry #TaxCredit #FilmProduction #EntertainmentIndustry #JobCreation #EconomicGrowth"

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The Future of Rendering and Modeling is Here! Jensen Huang just unveiled NVIDIA’s latest advancements, and let me tell you, the power of OpenUSD, Omniverse, and AI combined is nothing short of mind-blowing. Here’s why you should be excited: 1.  Unprecedented Collaboration:   • OpenUSD creates a universal language for 3D data, enabling seamless collaboration across different tools and platforms. Imagine designers, artists, and engineers working together in real-time, no matter where they are in the world. 2.  Revolutionary Realism:   • Omniverse is taking virtual worlds to a new level of detail and immersion. It’s not just about creating stunning visuals anymore; it’s about creating experiences that are indistinguishable from reality. 3.  AI-Powered Innovation:   • AI is the secret sauce enhancing every aspect of this ecosystem. From automating tedious tasks to providing creative suggestions, AI is transforming workflows and unlocking new levels of productivity and creativity. 4.  Industry Impact:   • These tools are set to revolutionize industries beyond gaming and entertainment. Think architecture, automotive, healthcare, and more. The possibilities are endless. Why This Matters: • This is more than just a technological leap; it’s a paradigm shift. The integration of OpenUSD, Omniverse, and AI is paving the way for a future where digital and physical worlds blend seamlessly. Imagine creating, collaborating, and innovating without limits. That future is now. Ready to dive into this new era? Let’s embrace the power of OpenUSD, Omniverse, and AI to transform our industries and unlock unprecedented opportunities. Reshare this if you’re excited about the future of rendering and modeling and follow me for more insights on groundbreaking tech innovations.

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