From the barter desk of Bob Meyer…11/27/07

Europe Lifts Product Placement Restrictions

Although product placements are banned in most European countries, they are legal on imported American TV shows. Thus, American broadcasters in Europe raked in $1.5 billion last year, in contrast to European broadcasters which earned just $31 million from product placement.

That is about to change. Last month the EU granted final approval to the AudioVisual Media Services Directive, which removes many restrictions on TV product placement. Member states will have two years to adopt the new rules. The law is expected to be a major boost for the European television industry.

Vendors At Seattle’s Pike Place Market Barter With One Another

Paul Vernano, owner of The Confectional at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, is the purveyor of creatively flavored full-size and mini cheesecakes. He says one of the great things about working in the market is that vendors will trade or at least have a “market discount” with neighbor vendors. (In various Southern California malls the same type of reciprocity takes place.)

Pizza Marketplace Growth Slowing

Pizza sales in the U.S. grew only 2.9% last year to $28.5 billion, according to Technomic, a restaurant-industry consultant based in Chicago. Pizza Hut had 18% of the market last year, while Domino’s had 11% and Papa John’s had 6.9%. In various markets across the U.S. the independent pizza store owners are using barter as a way to compete with the bigger pizza chains’ ad budgets.

Hank Aaron Trading On Name & Reputation

Hall of Fame baseball superstar Hank Aaron has agreed to be a director with Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. The company to raise $450 million and operate a business in the sports leisure or entertainment industries.

Aaron, one of five directors, will receive 72,000 shares (around 2% of the company) for his participation in the new venture. He is not investing any of his own money in the firm.

Mega-Yachts Growing In Size

Showboats International reports that the number of yachts being built around the world has hit another record. There are now 916 yachts on order that are longer than 80-feet, with 33% of them longer than 120-feet. Industry experts say the biggest spenders are Russians, followed by Saudis, Europeans and Americans.

Social Security Taxes Going Up

The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax will rise to $102,000, from $97,500 for 2007. Of the estimated 164 million workers paying Social Security tax next year, nearly 12 million (7%) will pay more as a result of the higher taxable maximum.


Between 50 & 100-Million People Joining World Economy Yearly

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is planning to expand the company’s recent acquisition—The Wall Street Journal—into developing markets such as India and China. Murdoch estimates upwards of 100 million people a year are joining the world economy…many of them from Asia. He anticipates that they’re going to need up-to-the-minute information about everything happening in their industry, anywhere in the world.

Murdoch is expected to make the Journal’s online edition free, so it can contribute to the development of the growing world economy. He told shareholders that providing free information will see 10 to 15 million people in every corner of the world reading the online edition, rather than the current one-million paid subscribers.

Title Insurance Industry Questioned In California

The $2.6 billion title industry in California has taken a lot of flack, with state regulators and consumer advocates alike pushing hard for regulation. The title industry is countering some of the criticism by unveiling a web site, www.clta.titlewizard.com, that for the first time allows consumers to see what the major title insurers charge for their policies.

By typing in a zip code or city name, Californians in need of title insurance can comparison shop…without having to register or pay a fee.

Wal-Mart’s Incredible Growth

Since Wal-Mart’s initial public offering back in 1970, their stock has multiplied 5,640 times…turning an investment of $10,000 into $56,400,000!

“From The Desk” is the first section of the “Tuesday Barter Report.” To read the Tuesday Barter Report see right-hand column, scroll down to “Top Resources.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.