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Irvine, California-based PumpTop TV and THE LOOK have partnered to bring the hottest celebrities in the entertainment industry to gas pump screens across the U.S..

Covering everything celebrity-related from fashion and beauty to lifestyle and fitness, THE LOOK is three sites in one, an online network, a daily editorial and photo site, and an ecommerce store.

Created by Alan Mruvka, the founder of E! Entertainment Television, and launched last month, THE LOOK is bringing PumpTop TV’s audience an inside perspective into the world of celebrities. THE LOOK is creating regular custom content themed to coordinate with PumpTop TV’s topic of the week.

This week, PumpTop TV is featuring an ‘on the scene’ view from THE LOOK at the red carpet of the Warner Bros.’ film Flipped, that includes an interview with writer/director Rob Reiner. Flipped is the newly released romantic comedy, based on the novel by Wendelin Van Draanen, about two eighth graders that start to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites.

Later this month, PumpTop TV will be showcasing tech themed content. THE LOOK will be providing PumpTop TV’s audience with an inside peek at Comic-Con 2010, featuring stars from some of today’s hottest television shows, including Thomas Jane (Hung), Scottie Thompson (Trauma /Skyline), and Sam Trammell (True Blood).

THE LOOK’s Mruvka says, “THE LOOK is always looking for new and creative ways to expand our audience and PumpTop TV’s network is the perfect avenue to do so.”

“THE LOOK has such a wide variety of celebrity content that pairs perfectly with our weekly themes,” says Doug Woo, executive vice-president of AdtekMedia, the parent company of PumpTop TV. “People love celebrities and are always drawn to them. By providing an inside look into the lives of celebrities we feel that THE LOOK will make our audience’s experience at the pump more entertaining and enjoyable.”

Created for women, THE LOOK covers everything celebrity from fashion and beauty, to lifestyle and fitness. As a network, THE LOOK initially features four original series including: On the Scene, Fashion Diva, DIY: Do It Yourself, and Beauty School. Viewers can find these series online at thelooktv.com and in the future on cable, satellite, syndication, mobile and in the international markets. As an editorial and photo site, THE LOOK features hundreds of articles and celebrity photos updated daily. In addition, each celebrity photo is enhanced with an ecommerce rollover capability that allows the consumer to purchase similar items to those worn by the celebrity in the photo. And as an ecommerce store, THE LOOK offers hundreds of fashion, beauty and lifestyle products for sale on the site, both name and celebrity brands.

Nothing seemingly ground breaking on day 1 of the AOpen Forum 2010 in San Francisco but those who did attend enjoyed the presentation by John Curran who is the CEO of mCosm LLC.

He’s sort-of a consultant but a very smart one that isn’t selling marketing fluff, he sells his experience, tells you how the large retailers buy, and those we spoke to were very impressed both by his information and delivery.

Not quite sure how many RFPs Dunkin’ Donuts need to do (or why they keep doing them) but by our count the latest one (this time) put together by IT consultancy Accuvia Consulting this is number 4.

The RFP is for ‘Digital Menu Board solution and Creative Design Services‘ and has already gone out to 18 digital signage software vendors. Why the RFP needs to have such a wide circulation is a bit of a mystery and it seems to us that something distributed to more than a dozen vendors will be seen as “a bit of a broadcasted joke” by the really serious vendors in this space.

Responses to the RFP are due by Friday, August 20th – they are hoping for a pilot installation by October 2010.

The problem is that 99 per cent of the Dunkin’ Donut stores are franchisee-owned and operated so any software vendor who thinks they will get 1,000’s of (gift wrapped) stores by winning the RFP is, err, well, delirious.

The other question that of course keeps cropping up is this; “is there already a preferred vendor in the mix?” i.e is this yet another blighted RFP doing the industry a sad disservice or is this as honourable as it should be?

Let’s give Accuvia Consulting and Dunkin’ Donuts the benefit of the doubt for the moment on that specific topic but one thing’s for sure and that’s all our friends in our #DSTop10 and elsewhere are getting a little tired of answering the SAME old questions for these sorts of guys.

The Digital Signage RFP, circa 2010 needn’t be very complicated…

1. prove to me you will be in business for the next three years
2. show me why your menu board is better than the others
3. convince me your pricing model is the way to go

We surely all know who the top 12 digital signage vendors (or so) are? From that list and say with the addition of half a dozen, perhaps local or national specific vendors, it’s relatively straightforward to select 3 or 4 of those who are best suited or have proven track records in the vertical or sector you are looking at.

The best consultants that Dunkin’ Donuts can hire are NOT those who can put together a humongous RFP but those who can (and will) impartially say to them; “go in-depth in your labs with the likes of STRATACACHE, WireSpring, Harris Broadcasting, Real Digital Media and NEC and then decide which 3 to go to pilot with”. There’s no reason to waste everyone’s time answering long lists of questions – we loved one of the questions in the RFP about whether the solution supports video townhall meetings? – it’s a freaking menu board for heaven’s sake!!

There are a few consultancies who are impartial enough to do this selection process properly (and indeed put their reputations on the line) but unfortunately there seem to be very few organisations who are smart enough to recruit or listen to them.

Mood Media Corporation, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with stock symbol MM yesterday appointed Vanessa Warren as senior vice president of corporate marketing.

Vanessa will be reporting to Mood Media Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Lorne Abony. Vanessa heads up the group’s brand and communication activities across 40 countries in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

The press release stated “She will be responsible for managing all aspects of commercial and trade marketing as well as international communications across all key stakeholders. She will be instrumental in building the brand profile and supporting investor relations”.

Lorne Abony, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Mood Media Corporation told us “In-store marketing has huge growth potential as retailers increasingly look to create memorable and entertaining shopping experiences. Vanessa’s role will be instrumental in developing Mood Media Corporation’s global brand. She brings fantastic industry experience and enthusiasm to this position and we are very excited about the role she will play in growing the business,”

Ms. Warren was most recently group marketing manager, Mood Media, the sensorial media division of Mood Media Corporation.

Vanessa told us “This is a very exciting time for Mood Media Corporation and I am pleased to be part of a growing business. I look forward to showcasing the company’s strength in music and visual technology to new clients and helping to drive greater awareness of Mood Media Corporation’s brand,”

Mood Media Corporation specialises in providing businesses with multimedia solutions to influence purchasing decisions and increase consumer expenditure, using a mix of music, visual media and scent marketing. Mood Media Corporation works with each individual client to make sure their multi-media solution reflects their brand and is customised to their business needs.

PLASA 2010 will see LED screen manufacturer Lighthouse Technologies launch a new product, dubbed DuoLED to the market.

DuoLED is described as a lightweight mesh product that has all the advantages of transparency and ease of handling but with an extra benefit – namely that with a simple flick of a switch it can also be used as a standard (LED) display panel.

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You are going to have to wait until 2014 for Phoenix Island to be complete but Daktronics tell us that by the end of this year the installation of a multi-million dollar Daktronics LED display system is set to be complete.

Last week Sanya Phoenix Island Development of China and Daktronics Inc. (NASDAQ-DAKT) of Brookings, South Dakota, USA, announced that they would be teaming up to embellish the brand new Phoenix Island with light emitting diode (LED) stick video elements.

Approximately 33,0000 linear meters (108,000 feet) of ProPixel® LED stick elements will be installed on the outside of the buildings – the owner of the island envisioned covering every building on the island with top quality LEDs!!

Working with Daktronics from the very early concept stages, the curtain-wall on the outside of each building was specifically designed to house the Daktronics LED stick elements. The specially designed exterior will allow for a sleeker, continuous look, without the appearance of add-on features and should look amazing.

Jon Minor, Daktronics (Shanghai) Sales Director told us “Early involvement in the design process allowed us to bring our experience in this type of application to the customer’s project team. Our willingness to support the customer’s design needs combined with an unparalleled product positioned Daktronics as the company of choice for the owner in his effort to create a globally recognized luxury facility.”

Jon Settingsgard, Daktronics Product Manager told us that “ProPixel® technology was designed specifically for large scale, multi-building applications such as this,”

He added “Phoenix Island will become a global landmark, and our stick elements will help get it there.”

About Sanya Phoenix Island

With six luxury apartment buildings, five-star hotel, conference center, signature seven-star hotel and domestic and international ferry terminals, Phoenix Island will be a landmark vacation destination and the highest hotel in the region of Hainan. Phoenix Island lies in the middle of “sunshine center” of Sanya, surrounded by the sea and connected to downtown Sanya by a 390 meter (1,280 foot) long bridge. Phoenix Island includes seven projects: a 200 square meter (2,150 square foot) super star hotel (which includes the hotel and an international conference center), 360 round view resort centers, a business club, a walking street, international yacht club, Olympic center and an international harbor.

Congratulations to Vanessa Warren who has been appointed senior vice president of corporate marketing for Mood Media Corporation (TSX:MM)

At a Best Western Hotel in Brampton, Ont., this weekend, we noticed a bright, nicely placed, nicely sized Samsung screen in the breakfast area off the lobby.

However, the digital screen was incredibly busy with no less than eight different sections, with an ad taking up the largest section and others with weather, sports, news, date and time, U.S. dollar value, and traffic information, much of the different information provided by Toronto’s CP24 radio and television. While, admittedly, people spent a fair amount of time over their continental breakfast, waiting in line to make their own waffles (rather fun and different), or checking in and out in the adjacent area, it was difficult trying to figure out what to watch.

But what’s strange is that we couldn’t find out what network or software was behind the screen. The pleasant ladies at the front desk didn’t know, and couldn’t come up with an answer even from a manager.

“We’re part of a chain and all we know is that someone came in and installed it,” we were told.

If anyone knows, we’re simply curious. (A smaller, separate TV screen – we believe computer-controlled for messages – on a post in the lobby simply was blank.)

Speaking at last week’s Intel Channel Alliance event, in Hillsboro, Oregon, Eric Thompson, Intel director, North America channels and distribution, spoke about a new Intel strategy designed to allow channel partners fresh opportunities to grow their business in markets other than desktops, servers and notebooks.

Two of those opportunities were described as digital signage and digital surveillance and security (DSS).

Raj Maini, digital signage marketing manager for Intel outlined a potential opportunity for solution providers, talking about the projected number of installations that Intel sees coming by the year 2015 “There’s tremendous growth potential in digital signage. We’re expecting a growth rate of 26 percent annually. Right now there are about 1.5 million units installed. In 2012 we expected that number to jump to 4 million and in 2015 to hit 8 million”.

We don’t have full details on what that ‘potential opportunity’ actually is and whilst Intel always projects ‘dominance’ of some sort or other I think if everyone was completely honest Intel might admit that it still doesn’t quite know how it is going to play in this space either – even with rumours of them launching their own media players come September!

For example; How does it encourage the use of Intel processors? Will it recommend one brand of software over another? (Will it, heaven help us, launch its own?), Will it expect or push Wind River (described as ‘a world leader in embedded and mobile software’ and a company recently purchased by Intel) to play in this space and of course the million dollar question is how will it work with display / screen / panel manufacturers?

Two ‘negatives’ if you will:

1. Wind River offers an open, extensible mobile platform based on Moblin, a Linux platform highly tuned for mobile devices. It also happens to be PERFECT for digital signage. So why are all the announcements that they seem to make Windows partnerships instead?
2. There’s a real danger that the ‘panel’ guys will eat them alive with integrated devices in 18 months or so and Intel could easily be left on the outside looking in.

There’s no question that Intel has all the right tools to make an impact on the sector (Atom, Moblin, Brand Superiority, etc.) but we think at the moment they are failing to think and act either tactically or strategically – at the highest levels of their organisation: Digital Signage is just another ‘PC variant’.

In some of the digital signage software vendors that we most respect in the marketplace we’d bet that Intel is probably 60% of their product today, already down from 85% two years ago!

Medium UK, a value-added distributor specialising in visual communications is the latest business to see the attraction of UK based signagelive.

Medium UK will, we understand, be the ‘lead’ distributor of signagelive in the UK. Jason Cremins, told us this is because “Medium UK is able to support its channel partners with true turnkey digital signage solutions, from initial customer demonstrations and trials, to installation and commissioning services, technical support and pre- and post- installation training”.