News & Opinion

Viamedia, the country’s leading independent provider of ad-sales representation to Cable TV Systems saw a record-setting 42% increase in ad spending for Q1 Midterm political advertising.  The triple-digit -- and higher-- growth was seen across all political categories -- including House, Senate, gubernatorial, local races and issues especially in Battle Ground states.   The data was culled from political advertising purchased on more than 60 multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) of various sizes in more than 70 markets.   David Solomon, President & CEO at Viamedia noted, "We have robust insights into the local ad trends around the country. What we’re seeing, so far this season, underscores the reliability of political advertising directed primarily at linear television platforms.”   The company also saw a significant spike in digital political advertising, driving the portion of spending on digital to 18% of the total in first-quarter 2022 – though the digital spending remains dwarfed by linear TV spending.   READ MORE: Viamedia Sees 42% Increase in 1Q Political Ad Spend, Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable Inside the Beltway: A haven for conservative news, Jennifer Harper, The Washington Times

Wi-Fi has become an essential component of the global digital infrastructure. As the backbone of the digital economy, Wi-Fi connectivity is embedded into the way we live and work. And the technology is just getting started.   With Wi-Fi 6 adoption now in full force, the industry expects the technology's improvements to fuel new innovation, especially in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality, and high-definition video streaming. As a result, the global economic value of Wi-Fi will increase from $3.3 trillion in 2021 to $4.9 trillion by 2025, the Wi-Fi Alliance estimates.   As consumers look to upgrade to the new generation of Wi-Fi, they'll expect CSPs to deliver not only on the higher throughput of Wi-Fi 6E but also on improved quality of experience (QoE).   In today’s extremely competitive market where connectivity speed is no longer a differentiator, customers want a lot more from their providers. As emerging technologies such as AR/VR and 8K video streaming take off, consumers will expect to benefit from the full potential of Wi-Fi 6E. Providers that plan smartly and get ahead of the curve will emerge as the market leaders.   Read the full technical paper prepared for the SCTE Technical Journal by Bill McFarland, Chief Technology Officer, Plume Design, Inc.,

In this era of fast-moving business transformation and tech development – such as AI, IoT and big data – business leaders need to rethink not only how they work but who they work with and how they build a team. To guarantee success, it's time to reframe the talent search.   Just as cloud infrastructure has rapidly changed the way storage is managed and services are deployed, organizations of all types can benefit from a new concept for implementing tech talent, akin to the rapid scalability and flexibility seen in cloud technology — a cloud of people. This begins by breaking down old approaches to hiring, streamlining HR processes to quickly build quality teams at scale and mitigate risk and adopting new tools and workflows to support collaboration from anywhere.   Max Nirenberg, Managing Director North America and CRO for global tech services company Commit recently shared his insights with the HRChat podcast and Forbes on the solutions to the challenges of hiring and retaining top tech talent.  

There are many reasons why public relations is very crucial to a company or a business. Having a trusted and reliable PR partner is often one of the best ways you can improve your business reputation and overall image. If you don’t know where to start, the experts here at Bob Gold & Associates can help! We’ve been providing PR strategies that work for more than two decades so you can trust us to have the expertise and experience you need for your business.   As a matter of fact, our team has been recognized with awards multiple times in the past for our impeccable services. Today, we are pleased to announce we’ve added another honor -- our Clutch award for this year. Our team is proud to be named as one of the top 1000 companies on Clutch’s platform and to stand alongside industry leaders from all over the world.   To be a Clutch leader is such a huge honor for us! For those that don’t know, Clutch is an established platform in the heart of Washington, DC, committed to helping small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses identify and connect with the service providers they need to achieve their goals.   This award wouldn’t be possible without the help of our amazing team. They’ve been passionate about helping our clients reach their goals and it is evident in the amazing feedback and accolades we continue to receive from our clients and from the industry.   Our company is also listed as one of the best PR companies on Visual Object’s website. VO offers a directory of agencies and companies that are on top of their game. Feel free to visit our profile.   Let’s talk! We want to get to know you and how we can support your communications goals in 2022.

Linden Research, Inc. (“Linden Lab”), the creator of Second Life, and comic book publisher Zenescope Entertainment, in conjunction with leading digital licensing agency, Epik, recently announced they have partnered to bring the dark and twisted Grimm’s Universe to life as the Zenescope Metaverse inside Second Life.   This marks the first time a Zenescope property has been realized inside a virtual world, and the first phase of an on-going partnership with Linden Lab that will introduce new content over time. Zenescope and Second Life are just the latest additions to an ever-growing list of world leading brands, IP owners and game developers in Epik’s partner ecosystem, which includes ViacomCBS, Warner Music, Universal Music Group, Tencent, Garena, and many more.   Fans can interact with and play as some of the classic fairytale characters popularized by Zenescope’s comic books and graphic novels, acting out scenarios and following different storylines within a 3-D online virtual world. Visitors will find plenty of iconic locations and other nods to Zenescope heroes and villains, including Rockman’s Ice Cream shop from Belle’s series, and a fully-playable Goblin Golf course. The immersive world is full of games, hidden surprises, and exclusive virtual collectibles and merchandise found only in Second Life. The Zenescope Metaverse inside Second Life features… familiar Cindy, Belle, and Mad Hatter character costumes and avatars, multiple scenarios and storylines to follow, more than 50 exclusive virtual collectibles and branded merchandise items, including clothing, furnishings, and the fan-favorite Cheshire cat plushie, games and activities like the fully playable Goblin Golf and the Mad Hatter’s Hedge Maze, complete with trophies, a clandestine quest, hidden locations, and other secrets.   For more on this exciting new experience watch Right This Minute interview with Zenescope Co-founder Ralph Tedesco and character Cinderella Monroe

Availability and speed of internet connectivity for individuals or households can greatly affect the quality of education, healthcare, and economic opportunities they receive, as well as access to critical public services.   The pandemic exacerbated the digital divide and brought this urgent problem to the forefront. Cisco and its public and private sector partners believe now is the time for the industry to get together to solve this complex challenge. Recently, Cisco held two panel sessions with industry leaders and partners to discuss the urgent need to close the digital divide and released Cisco U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021, a report on the infrastructure priorities and challenges facing U.S. municipal leaders. Read more about Cisco's commitment here. Cisco Rural Broadband Innovation Center: Open for Customers and Partners In June, Cisco announced the opening of their Rural Broadband Innovation Center in North Carolina to demonstrate to service providers how they can improve availability and affordability of internet access. Through the Center, Cisco is committed to bridging the gap between commercial viability of technology solutions offered by service providers and the cost of serving rural Americans.   On Monday July 19, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and Senior Vice President and General Manager Cisco Mass-Scale Infrastructure Jonathan Davidson were joined by FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and TruVista COO and President, Carla French, to share more about the Innovation Center, and discuss how the private sector and government can change the economics of broadband access in the U.S. Throughout the conversation, it became clear that broadband inequity comes down to two factors: access and cost.   Bridging the Digital Divide with Municipalities   On Thursday July 22, Cisco brought together municipal leaders and technology decision-makers who are working to bridge the digital divide in the U.S. and abroad, ensuring that everyone has equal access to a reliable internet connection. Cisco’s Michael Beesley, Vice President and CTO, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, moderated a discussion with Antoinette Meier, Director of Mobility and Innovation at San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Eugene Mejia, Deputy CTO for Town of Gilbert, Arizona, and Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA).   The panelists discussed the challenges they face as municipal leaders and technology decision-makers. Antoinette Meier noted that reliable data is difficult to come by, and this data is critical to paint a holistic picture of the problem for leaders to address. Broadband is more than being able to access your favorite websites. Technology has fundamentally changed transportation, healthcare, and education, and data is needed to hold leaders accountable to communities. Every panelist discussed funding hurdles while reiterating that connectivity and access are essential to quality of life.   Private-public partnerships present additional opportunities for collaboration of people and organizations with the same goal. With that in mind, SANDAG and Cisco announced a new partnership focused on bridging the digital divide, supporting the development of SANDAG’s Regional Digital Equity Strategy and Action Plan, which seeks to improve high-speed internet access and adoption in areas where there are gaps. Cisco will support SANDAG as a consultant to help identify barriers to broadband expansion and develop strategies and solutions for addressing these barriers in the form of an actionable roadmap. Watch a replay of the virtual roundtable New Research: Cisco U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021   Cisco released new research to provide a data-driven look at where broadband infrastructure is being prioritized for municipalities across the country. The study, conducted by Probolsky Research, polled local government executives from cities, counties, towns, and Tribal governments of all sizes, in regions across the U.S. Of those surveyed, 80% said broadband is “critical infrastructure” and placed connectivity improvements and upgrades near the top of their priority project list, underscoring the pressing need to close the digital divide.   So, what’s stopping them? The answer will not surprise you: the primary barrier to reliable broadband connectivity is a lack of funding. More than three quarters of officials are concerned about the high cost of broadband for their residents, and 70% said they have ready-to-go projects just waiting for funding allocation.   Read the full report: Cisco: U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021

Joyn’s Platform Utilizes Real-time Data to Simplify and Streamline Underwriting for Small and Middle Market Risks     Commit USA, a global technology and custom software solutions company, and Joyn InsuranceSM, a New York City-based InsurTech startup, today announced a partnership to support the development of Joyn’s new platform, which is slated to launch this year.   Commit was tapped to help with both design and development of the new platform’s user experience. The company’s expert development team has been fully integrated alongside Joyn’s existing engineering team members and partners to ensure seamless collaboration and rapid development throughout the project.   Commit was selected for its comprehensive range of engineering and data capabilities, development expertise and customer-centric approach, which were critical to addressing the unique complexities and usability challenges of developing Joyn’s solution.   “Joyn is bringing big ideas to the insurance industry and is backed by brilliant executives and innovators who have already helped shape the world of InsurTech. It’s exciting to support their vision and be part of this transformation,” said Max Nirenberg, CRO & Managing Director, Commit USA. “Joyn’s platform is truly a best-in-class solution that addresses the biggest pain points experienced by underwriters and brokers in the commercial insurance industry. It’s the future of underwriting for Small and Middle markets.”   Joyn is an innovative, data-centric, technology-driven managing general agent (“MGA”) that provides commercial insurance to the highly fragmented U.S. Small and Middle Markets. Leveraging real-time data, automation and a robust technology stack, the platform can significantly improve the commercial insurance experience, by streamlining and bringing consistency to underwriting processes and decision making. Joyn’s platform can greatly expedite response times for quotes, increase transparency during the underwriting process, and provide a policy at bind.   “This segment of the commercial insurance market is fragmented and rife with inefficiencies, redundancies and lost opportunities for brokers and their clients. Data and technology are the keys to solving these issues,” said Ed McGough, CTO and Co-Founder, Joyn Insurance. “Partnering with an organization like Commit, who have both scale and a startup mindset was an easy decision. We have access to top engineering talent in multiple geographies, without the complexity of managing a global team and operation. Max and his team work seamlessly with Joyn and our existing partners.”   Joyn Insurance was founded by a unique team of insurance executives that are both industry veterans, and technology advocates, including CEO Seraina Macia and CTO Ed McGough. The team at Joyn will work with retail brokers to provide insurance services across a range of industries, including real estate, manufacturing, services, retail, wholesale and contracting.   Integral to Commit operations is its proprietary Flexible R&D methodology, which offers the firm’s multidisciplinary development services via a unique on-demand model. Commit’s approach often reduces development costs by over 40% for its startup clients and has helped 90% release their projects ahead of schedule.   For more information, please visit: https://www.commit.us or https://www.joyninsurance.com/  

  Clutch.co has released their latest ranking of the top 15 entertainment Public Relations agencies listing Bob Gold & Associates #5 based on market presence, clients & experience, and professional reviews.   Clutch.co contains genuine client reviews to help communications professionals seek out the perfect match for the professional services they need such as Public Relations, Crisis & Bankruptcy Communications, Digital Marketing, and more.   Bob Gold & Associates offers targeted results-driven outcomes in its contracts and specializes in B2B communications serving multiple verticals including media & entertainment, technology, and marketing & advertising public relations.   To learn more, read our media & entertainment public relations case studies, such as Fathom Events. If you’re in the process of partnering with a new PR firm, give us a second glance and see what makes us unique. Contact us today.  

Backup   Bob Gold & Associates moves up to the 3rd spot in the Clutch.co Top Los Angeles Event Marketers Leaders Matrix. As the country continues to rebuild, we will see a unique blend of face-to-face and virtual events. Our team has over 25 years’ experience planning, implementing and hosting intimate events such as Cocktails and Conversation media events at major trade shows and conferences as well as managing virtual events such as webinars.   To see our PR and marketing results, read our event-related case studies for Cisco (technology), Plume (security) or the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (professional services). "Their work ethic and results were impressive. They also have good media relationships and industry contacts." Mark Goodburn, Director of Product Marketing, Plume For more amazing reviews of the BG&A team, please visit our Clutch.co profile here.