Enjoy a lavish gathering with fine wine, food and spirits at the 2nd Annual Soiree on the Bay, benefiting Children’s Volunteer Health Network. This weekend is presented by the Dugas Family and will take place on their stunning family estate overlooking the Choctawhatchee Bay in Santa Rosa Beach. Each night, guests will indulge in delicious cuisine by Cafe Thirty-A, wine tastings featuring Thompson 31Fifty Wines and Etude Winery, as well as an assortment of beverages provided by Mighty Swell. The evening will feature an exciting live auction where attendees can bid on incredible prize packages including wine experiences and unique travel. Saturday’s event kicks off at 1:30 p.m. with bocce ball, bubbly, wine samples and lite bites along with a high energy live music performance featuring The Tip Tops, a motown dancing show band, presented by Merrill Lynch with Brown Burns Associates. This fun and fabulous evening will be captured in a photo booth provided by Linda Miller Real Estate and each guest will go home with a special VIP bag, provided by The Jewel at Grand Boulevard. This elegant weekend is sponsored by The Dugas Family, Merrill Lynch, McNeese Title, A Boheme Design, Suskey and Associates, Dr. Bradley Harrelson, VIE Magazine, and Trustmark Bank. Special thanks to Marriott Hotels – Courtyard + Residence Inn and Silver Sands + Grand Boulevard for their support as accommodations partners. Tickets are $1,000 per person, which includes both Friday and Saturday’s festivities. Proceeds from the event will go towards CVHN mission to eliminate... Read More

MAGNA Media Trials, MAGNA’s industry-leading proprietary research offering, and Roku announced a new study in partnership with the Roku Brand Studio that finds new video ad formats in streaming TV are twice as favorable as traditional TV ads for consumers. Today, marketers want to stand out in the shift to streaming. Traditional TV ads alone miss an opportunity to surprise and delight across the entire streamers’ journey outside the traditional ad break. The Beyond the :30 on Streaming TV report examines how marketers can make streaming TV ad experiences more engaging and impactful. Three new “Beyond the :30” video ad formats were tested: Thematic Tagged Vignette: A 30-second animated ad where a brand celebrates streaming. Roku Original Vignette: A 30-second ad where a brand references the Roku Original show being streamed. Watch Alongs: Ad breaks where a brand sponsors discussion about the show or movie being streamed. All three “Beyond the :30” ads posted stronger results than traditional TV ads for top-of-mind brand recall (+57% “Beyond the :30” vs. +43% traditional), brand favorability (+8% vs. +3%), and intent to search (+16% vs.+ 9%). These results illustrate the strong promise of “Beyond the :30” ads, including enhancing brand awareness and promoting purchases. “In the current advertising environment, it is important to recognize that viewers can easily skip over advertising, but our study found they are less likely to do so if the ads are as entertaining as the programming and present a more enjoyable experience,” said Kara Manatt, EVP and managing director, intelligence... Read More