Inspiring Collaboration

Every once in a while it happens.  Two classmates, worlds apart, drawn to the same life experience, but each from their own milieu.

This week's example: 

Hank LeMieux, in NYC, observing (as usual) in a restaurant writes a brief synopsis of an interaction.  He posts on Facebook. (see #1)

Sean Nottage, in The Bahamas, searches for content with which to practice his voice over skills, this time in audio book format. He chooses Hank's story to practice with.  (see .wav file in a Dropbox link as #2).

We give you Booger Pincher, the short story, and Booger Pincher, the audio narration. Enjoy!

#1

So it’s lunch and I’m chewing on my chicken salad sando and my eyes happen to wander over onto those two guys, the New Yorkers over there in the corner. Professional looking, except for the fact that suddenly my gaze seizes upon the one of them — the one on the right side there — because — weirdly — he has not one, but two fingers up his right nostril, in a pinching shape and he’s pinching away at … well, you know what he’s pinching away at.

I know. Gross. Shoulda warned you.

But as he does this he’s staring right at his companion! In the eyes. While talking. Talking about Diblasio and New York and “six figure bonuses” and something about some dude who flew to Syria and crossed some border or somesuch, all the while staring his companion straight in the eyes while he’s pinching away for treasure up his nostril. Companion is like, maybe three feet away from his face. There in the corner.

And I’m transfixed by this absurdity.

I’m like, trying to process how gross it is. But I stare just a millisecond too long and he looks over and catches me staring and suddenly … _now_ he’s self-conscious.

Now he’s embarrassed. Now he jerks out the one finger that had just then worked its solo way deep up his nose, averts his eyes and suddenly appears deeply sheepish.

And I’m like …

So your friend is watching you pick your nose from three feet away directly in front of you and that’s ok, but if someone else across the room notices, _that’s_ embarrassing.

…

#2

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rg4s2bdfz64oj3/Booger%20Pincher.wav?dl=0

JK and CC hit the Dunes

JK's move to Rhode Island in August was finally celebrated appropriately: dinner with John Cianciolo.  Rhode Island is a small state but JK is happy to have the right friends there...

Here's a photo before JK demolished his lobster roll!

Nate's Newsletter

Nate Nourse has published his newsletter on Substack - Here's how to get the latest on Agricultural Issues and Trends!  

https://natenourse.substack.com/?fbclid=IwAR3zpVXkzQKv312J9MsaL6XbolQzkMzYdKA5nhhRnRe4TSEYbWeLmQBdVA8

It includes articles on "Double Cropping Raspberries" and "Water and substrate management for soilless strawberry production."

Enjoy!

A new college arms race?

Adam Weinberg's latest Op-Ed:

From the LA Times

BY ADAM WEINBERG

AUG. 30, 2021 3:05 AM PT

Two of the most persistent challenges facing the U.S. are a lack of meaningful jobs and growing income inequality. And these problems are only getting worse.

Sure, there are jobs out there, at fast-food restaurants or fulfillment warehouses desperate to hire someone — anyone. But what we really need are meaningful jobs that anchor people. This means positions that pay a livable wage, provide benefits and stability, and enhance skills so that people can eventually move on to even better jobs.

Without a college degree, it’s hard to get one of those meaningful jobs. Those who join the workforce straight out of high school used to have an easier time finding steady, well-paying work. But opportunities — especially in manufacturing — are disappearing or being automated out of existence. According to U.S. census data, workers with bachelor’s degrees earn roughly twice as much as those with high school educations.

“Work” is rapidly bifurcating into meaningful jobs and crummy jobs, which only increases the gap between the haves and the have-nots — and fuels income inequality.

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We can’t begin to tame these intertwined problems until we start doing a better job of making college more affordable for lower- and middle-income Americans. That means making sure students can get through college with as little debt as possible, because debt creates problems of its own. We could start by doubling the annual maximum amount of federal financial aid available through Pell Grants, taking it from $6,500 to $13,000.

When the program was established nearly 50 years ago, its $1,400 limit was enough to cover 75% of the cost of attending a four-year public college.

Today, even the most generous Pell Grant only pays for about 28% of the same education. But a $13,000 grant would cover almost 60% of the average cost to attend a four-year public college, and 26% of the average cost to attend a four-year private, nonprofit college.

Schools also have a role to play in bringing the college affordability crisis under control. U.S. colleges with strong admissions pipelines and large endowments need to commit to meeting the financial needs of every student they admit.

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About 75 schools currently promise to meet 100% of students’ demonstrated financial needs. This list includes the Stanfords and Ivies of the world, as well as Denison University, the liberal arts college I lead in Granville, Ohio. But given that there are nearly 4,000 colleges across the country, there’s a lot of room for improvement here. Schools that are in a position to make a difference should make a difference.

Most schools use a combination of grants and federal loans to meet a student’s full demonstrated need. Colleges with resources should use their large and growing endowments to replace loans with grants that don’t need to be paid back.

The hidden and not-so-hidden costs that occur once a student arrives should also be part of the financial aid conversation. They can easily exceed $15,000 on most campuses and can include comprehensive meal plans, books and supplies, and health insurance.

Schools need to move away from the “facilities arms race” that characterized the last few decades and embrace a “financial aid arms race.” A university shouldn’t be measured by how plush its dorms are or how grand the athletic facilities seem, but by how generous its financial aid packages are.

It can happen. It’s a matter of schools taking a hard look at their current endowments and asking: Are we really using them in ways that benefit students the most?

We also need to give families more transparency about how much it costs to attend a particular college. Many families shy away from private colleges because the listed tuition price is not affordable. But these colleges also provide the most financial aid, which means that the average family pays only 46% of the listed price, and lower-income families often pay much less.

In addition, most students start looking at colleges during their junior year of high school but don’t know the actual cost of attending until after they are admitted, often in the spring of their senior year when they may have already made up their minds about where they are going.

There has to be a way for colleges to reveal their true cost earlier in the selection process so families can know which ones they can afford. This is the kind of issue that an organization like the National Assn. for College Admission Counseling could take on because of its mission to influence higher education policy.

The private sector can also help put a college education within reach of more people. Many schools shy away from financial arrangements such as income-sharing agreements, in which a funder basically agrees to bankroll a student in exchange for a cut of the person’s future earnings. Higher-education institutions should not reflexively dismiss such approaches. We should be open to working with entrepreneurs and innovators to develop nontraditional ways for students to be able to afford a college education.

College affordability and income inequality are inextricably linked. Putting a college education within reach of more people will go a long way toward making society more equitable.

Adam Weinberg is the president of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

Back to School

Congratulations to junior Lindsey Cruikshank (l) and freshman Brady Pattee (r) for both attending Denison University this year! Daughters of DA '83 making their mark at Adam Weinberg's school...

Thanks to Doug Cruikshank for the photo! He's in the middle...

Tennis Anyone?

Whit Sheppard posted about the "2nd annual West Chop Club Pro-Am on the Vineyard. Thx to David McNamara and his great team for doing all the nitty-gritty to make it happen, to the amazing pros who made we amateurs feel like kings for a day and to my clutch partner, the young Aussie Jeremy Taylor, headed back to Memphis U. to wreak havoc upon AAC opponents. And to the winners, Will Willis and former world #21 John Lloyd, who proved too tough for Jeremy and I to overcome twice in the same day. ‘Til next year!"

cropped photo shows Whit on the right, and bonus alum, George Loenig '84, on the left...

Edith Corse Obituary (1929 - 2021) - Conway, MA - The Recorder

Registrar during your DA days…

Edith Corse Obituary (1929 - 2021) - Conway, MA - The Recorder

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/recorder/name/edith-corse-obituary?pid=199943848

Hilton Head Island rejoices!

Peter Geary has returned to the island of his youth and good friend Doug Cruikshank found a moment to visit him and wish him well in his new real estate career. Good luck Pete!

It's Just Lunch, Again

 I've reposted the note from yesterday to see if the revised RSS feed will now deliver it to you!

Thanks for your patience.

Jim Wareck and John Knight simultaneously descended on Northampton, MA recently for lunch with Eric Suher.  All are well and were happy to be back in each other's company.  

It's Just Lunch

 

Jim Wareck and John Knight simultaneously descended on Northampton, MA recently for lunch with Eric Suher.  All are well and were happy to be back in each other's company.  

Let's see if this post successfully gets distributed via the new RSS feed.

This is also a test

Original RSS feed has been deleted, new one created.  This is another test, in the hopes that you get another email from the blog. It will look different.  It also should include a poll question in the email (not this post).

Thanks for putting up with my testing.  Hang in there for actual class content! (feel free to send anytime!).

JK

This is a test

I found a new RSS feed provider and need to test it with a new post.  This is that new post. 

problems?  email JK at jgknight83 AT gmail.com. (AT=@)

Going Dark???

So Google is sunsetting the email subscription feature that this blog has used for years.  I haven't thought much about the proper substitute or alternative method of collecting new subscribers. Any ideas from the class?  email JK at jgknight83@gmail.com.

So if we go quiet for a while and you get an email inviting you to subscribe again, you'll know why.

Thanks for the support!

Bahamian Fourth

This just in from the "aging better than most" files, Sean Nottage hosted John Sory recently in the Bahamas. Well done!

5 Guys walk into a restaurant in Worcester, and Knight moves...

 

Kudos to Jim Wareck for organizing a multi-state mini reunion!  Centrally located Worcester, MA (the heart of the Commonwealth) served as the meeting point for Eric Suher (W MA), Pete Crow (NH), and Nelse Clark and Will Wolf (Boston) to connect with Jim (New Haven CT) and catch up.  It may take months for the blog to uncover the stories that were shared last night...

Jim says he chose Worcester in honor of John Knight's move back to the east coast from Colorado.  John's wife took a new job in Providence, RI and the family will move to E Greenwich RI in June.  JK says he is grateful for the help of John Cianciolo and Peter Eleftherio in the house hunting and general understanding of all things RI. It's nice to have a network ready, willing and able to help.

At the time of the gathering in Worcester, JK was handing off the reins of the Deerfield Club of the Rockies to Chris Miller '84 and an appropriate dive bar on S Broadway in Denver.

Big day for DA83!

Chuck Demers R.I.P.

 

Sunderland, MA — Charles Oneil Demers, 91, died peacefully on April 29, 2021 after a long and accomplished life. He was born on October 29, 1929 in Chicopee, MA, the only child of Ovila and Juliette (Deroy) Demers.

Chuck attended Mt. Carmel Elementary in Willimansett and graduated from Holy Rosary High School in Holyoke in 1948. After completing a post graduate year at Suffield Academy in CT, he matriculated at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he was a member of the varsity football team and the ROTC. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and following graduation, and his marriage to Kathleen Wierciszewski, he began a three-year tour of duty at Camp Lejeune, NC. He retired at the rank of first lieutenant in 1956.

Chuck began what was to be his life-long career as a professional athletic trainer in 1956 in Minor League Baseball. He worked first for the New Orleans, LA Pelicans (a NY Yankee affiliate) and then with the Springfield, MA Giants (a San Francisco affiliate). He decided that a career in professional sports was not a good fit for his family and he accepted a position at his alma mater. After three years at UMass, he moved north to Deerfield Academy where he spent the next thirty-five years, retiring in 1999.

While at Deerfield, Chuck was fortunate to be able to take time away from the Academy, not only because of the school year schedule, but also because of the unwavering support of the school's administration, to pursue many professional development opportunities. He served as a trainer for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City. He was appointed to the 1980 Moscow Games, but the US boycotted that event. Chuck was the coordinator of medical staff at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid. He was also a host trainer at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Chuck spent many summers at NFL training camps, working with the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. After retiring from Deerfield, he was a volunteer football trainer for the University of New Hampshire's football team, where his grandsons Brian and Brent Barbato played, for seven years. Chuck came full circle in 2007, as the last group of athletes to benefit from his seasoned skills were the members of the UMass football team.

Chuck was a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) for over 60 years. He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Athletic Trainers of MA Hall of Fame in 2010. Colleagues would attribute his success to his passion, tremendous work ethic, and commitment to professional development, as well as his devotion to the well -being of his charges, whether they were high school, college, Olympic or professional athletes. Chuck was humbled by the extraordinary opportunities and accolades afforded him and he commented often how fortunate he was to have a career he loved.

Chuck, a devout Catholic, was a communicant at the Holy Family Parish in South Deerfield, MA. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the South Deerfield Polish American Club, where he enjoyed participating in Pitch tournaments. Chuck was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics and fishing. He held the family record for catching the largest fish.

Chuck's greatest love was the one he felt for his family. He was a patient, kind, generous and caring patriarch and a wonderful example to his heirs. They loved his dry sense of humor and greatly appreciated his sage advice and unwavering support. Chuck is survived by his wife of 67 years, Kathleen, of Sunderland, MA. She was the love of his life, his best friend, a loyal supporter of his many adventures away from home, and a kind and patient caregiver during the last chapter of his life. He also leaves three daughters, Kathleen Barbato and husband, Dennis, of Plymouth, MA; Debra Dohrmann of Rockport, ME; and Lisa Wesolowski and husband, John, of Hampton, NH; his grandchildren, Brian Barbato and wife, Carly, of Deerfield, MA; Brent Barbato and wife, Julia, of Salisbury, CT; Bridgette Malinosky and husband, Tim, of Plymouth, MA; Benjamin Dohrmann and wife, Katherine, of Pasadena, CA; Anna McIver and husband, Matthew, of Rockport, ME ; Matthew Wesolowski and wife, Jennifer, of West Islip, NY and Jocelyn Wesolowski, of Manchester, NH; and his great-grandchildren, Charlie, Teddy, Blair, Bryn, Annika, Caleb, Alma, Benji, Sophia and Olivia. He was predeceased by an infant daughter, Julie Ann, and a son-in-law, Richard Dohrmann. He also leaves his special aunt and uncle, Doris and Roger Simard of Ludlow, MA and many cousins.

Funeral services will be private. Wrisley Funeral Home is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund in memory of Chuck Demers to be awarded to a student/athlete from Frontier Regional School through the South Deerfield Polish American Citizens Club, P.O. Box 154, South Deerfield, MA 01373.

Beantown Buddies

 

Two middle-aged guys ate some tasty barbecue and talked families, hockey, Boston, the good ol' days in JW and other sundries. Shouldn’t have waited this long to do it!

Great job to Bob Fitzpatrick and Whit Sheppard!

Just Can’t Get Enough!

Of Nelse Clark and his beautiful daughter. 

More & More - personified!

Two of the MOST social in the class held a strategy lunch then were stopped by the paparazzi for this photo outside their namesake on NYC. Schmidt and LeMieux in their natural habitat. 

Let's hope there is more of this to come for all classmates!

How big is YOUR chainsaw?

Congrats to Ed Goodson for cleaning up a fallen tree in his back 40!

CZUJ'S Throwback Thursday pic was AWESOME

 

Taking the Plunge

 Whit Sheppard sent this from Acapulco where he is on Spring Break with his daughter.  Enjoy!

One Deerfield!

I'm sure you'll be receiving plenty of email from DA about the giving day on Thursday - but let me be the first to encourage your participation with a video plea (which I can't get to load...) Links for the video and the GIVING page are below.  As seen on my Facebook page - I'll give DA $83 for every 10 classmates that make a gift by Thursday night.

The JK video plea: https://www.givecampus.com/n7aup3

The giving page: https://www.givecampus.com/nygx40

Dave Hagerman Obit

 https://rand-wilson.com/obit_view.php?id=457&placeholderpic&fbclid=IwAR04O469oGghnfO4swbOyM8Jto5_ThgtgF1-eqWOY021xj8nKTb47sY48KI

David S. Hagerman | February 11, 2021 | Obituary

David S. Hagerman age 75, son of Elizabeth (Eames) and Donald S. Hagerman, died on February 11, 2021, in Hanover, NH.

Born in Marion, MA on July 18, 1945, he was a graduate of Holderness School Class of 1963, Deerfield Academy Class of 1964, and The University of New Hampshire Class of 1968 where he was enrolled in ROTC. Having been commissioned as 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Germany and Vietnam. He returned home to his first of four daughters, Casey (Hagerman) Bobo.

David got his mentor wings as a teacher, coach, and dorm parent at Deerfield Academy where he served as Athletic Director for ten years. It was during the family's years at Deerfield when they welcomed their second daughter, Kulin (Hagerman) Reardon, and third daughter, Jamie (Hagerman) Phinney. With his growing family of females, David moved to the northwest corner of Connecticut where he was asked to join the leadership team at Salisbury School, serving as Associate Head of School, Assistant Hockey Coach, and Head Lacrosse Coach for the next thirteen years. It was during this time when his youngest daughter, Whitaker (Hagerman) Willocks joined the roster. With David’s trademark stern face, firm grip, and resolute mind, he would influence years of Salisbury graduates as they turned from boys to gentlemen. From there, he became Head of School at Pingree School in Hamilton, MA, and in his later years, he transitioned to fundraising at Cardigan Mountain School and Dartmouth College. Weekends were spent traveling back and forth to watch his children’s and grandchildren’s athletic contests, joined with mostly empty hunting expeditions, maple sugaring, reffing, and finally, his daily walks on those cold and sunny New Hampshire mornings.

Amidst the years on school campuses, David was happiest on the sidelines of games either as a coach or proud parent and grandparent, listening to the Red Sox inside his red barn sugar shack, and boating along the Maine coastline with his wife, Brooke Giddings Hagerman.

He is survived by his wife Brooke Giddings Hagerman of Lyme Center, NH; and his children, Casey H. Bobo, and her husband Mike of Concord, MA; Kully H. Reardon and her husband Tom of Cohasset, MA; Jamie H. Phinney and her husband Brian of Andover, MA; Whitaker H. Willocks and her husband James of Meriden, NH and their mother Parnell Patten Hagerman of Bailey Island, ME; and his grandchildren, Jake, Luke, Mac, Jack, Finn, Casey, Tommy, George, Charlie, Beau, and Lincoln; and his sisters, Judy H. Baldwin of Eugene, OR and Susie Hagerman of South Berwick, ME.

A future celebration of David’s life will be planned. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring David's legacy with a donation to Salisbury School. Please designate your gift to "Financial Aid in Memory of David Hagerman".

Donation in David’s honor to Salisbury School: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/15114/donations/new

Possible on the slopes especially

 

Kudos to Pete Townsend (R) who made the effort to seek out Adam Feiges (L) on the slopes of Colorado.  Adam has moved full time to CO from IA and Pete continues to live on the North Shore of Boston.  Great job guys!

It is possible...

 

Kudos to our intrepid Doug Schmidt who found a way to visit John Sory during his holiday sojourn in Florida.

Both are looking good and are hopeful for 2021.

Happy New Year to all in '83!

DA The Football Power?

These two stories caught me eye:

First, the DA senior who committed to play for Northwestern (Div 1, Big Ten!) without having played any football this fall - 

https://www.recorder.com/DA-NLI-Signings-football-Donnie-Gray-Grant-Jones-37853862

and

the redshirt junior at Boston College who is a top TE in the nation who has just declared for the NFL Draft.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/17/sports/bc-tight-end-hunter-long-declares-nfl-draft/

Great news all around...

The Morley Tree

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/dec/11/morley-quest-earn-olympic-berth/?fbclid=IwAR0qWhd4jWS89Ku4AhRCKB6GSf-qMkFlqgOCFVf_UBwQm6FFH4ELXexwbyk

Another apple has fallen right next to the Morley Tree.  One of our class Olympians, David Morley, swam for the Bahamas in the 1984 Olympics.

His daughter Emily was the first Bahamian rower to participate in the Olympics (2016).

Now daughter Laura is training night and day in Indiana to make the 2020 (2021) Olympics in the pool.

ARTICLE

GO LAURA GO!

Happy Holidays!

 Thomas Perry and his lovely wife always bring cheer to the holidays!

What Liberal Arts Colleges Can Do to Stay Relevant

Here's another stellar example of the depth of Denison President Adam Weinberg's thinking on the role of liberal arts colleges and the challenges they face.

I don't know how much editing there is in this podcast, but Adam doesn't miss a beat for 30 minutes straight! Rockstar level...

Denison University President Adam Weinberg talks with EAB’s Thomas Fringer about how the pandemic has impacted Denison and about what Dr. Weinberg believes liberal arts colleges can do to stay relevant. Despite their reputation for teaching students to examine ideas from multiple points of view, solve problems, adapt, and collaborate, liberal arts colleges face growing challenges. Increased demand for highly specialized degree programs, stackable credentials, and certificate programs are forcing virtually all colleges to adapt to some extent.

Dr. Weinberg shares how Denison has embraced change through innovations like their Denison Launch Lab, which offers students access to specialized boot camps and skill-building experiences to make them stronger job candidates. Finally, Thomas and Adam discuss the three most important areas of focus that all higher education institutions have to commit to regardless of their mission, to survive the present challenges.

https://soundcloud.com/officehours-with-eab/what-liberal-arts-colleges-must-do-to-stay-relevant

EAB · What Liberal Arts Colleges Can Do to Stay Relevant

Congrats Charles!

 https://www.wealthadviser.co/2020/10/27/291393/cambridge-associates-adds-private-client-practice

Cambridge Associates adds to Private Client Practice

SUBMITTED

27/10/2020 - 10:42AM

Global investment firm Cambridge Associates (CA) has added Charles B Grace III to its private client practice, who will serve as Managing Director of Family Enterprise Solutions. 

He will be based in New York and report to Mary Pang, the Head of the Global Private Client Practice.  

Family Enterprise Solutions is a dedicated team within Cambridge Associates’ private client practice which is devoted to supporting wealthy families in establishing family office strategy, goals, structure, governance and other considerations of importance. Grace will partner with investment teams and clients to develop the structural building blocks needed to best complement each family’s unique goals and long-term investment program with CA. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of engaging with CA throughout my career and have long admired the firm’s talent and strong commitment to the family office space,” says Grace. “I’m excited to be part of such an exceptional team, and I look forward to helping CA’s world-class clients prepare for generational wealth transfers, establish governance processes, and educate family members on how to preserve and grow their wealth.”

Grace has been active for 20 years in the family office community advising ultra-wealthy families and serving as a resource to multigenerational families and family offices. He joins CA from the Family Office Exchange (FOX). Prior to FOX, he spent almost 10 years working inside $1 billion multi-family and single-family offices.

“We’re delighted to welcome Charlie to the firm. His expertise, hands-on experience and thought leadership will be instrumental in helping our investment teams across the US, Europe and Asia to solve the distinct challenges of managing private wealth,” says Pang.

Nearly 40 years ago, Cambridge Associates began applying its endowment model to the intricacies of private wealth. Today, the firm serves 230+ wealthy individuals and families, working to help each realise their investment goals and fulfil their legacies. 

Hank's new podcast!

If the writing on Facebook wasn't vivid enough for you, then lament no longer.  Hank has just released his new podcast on Society and Culture.

Check it out!

Listen to "Hank LeMieux's podcast" on Spreaker.

Shuffling off...

From Jim Wareck: As I bring LA 1.0 to a close, in advance of a several month hiatus starting in Idaho, I went exploring and caught my first glimpse of the elusive Al Kerr in his natural habitat."

Then I did the same with Andy Stewart!

Good luck with your transition away from LA, Jim!

UPDATE: 9/9/20:

From Jim's FB post today:

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. And you may find yourself living in another part of the world. If you find yourself in Boise this Fall....scenes from the drive. Snake River Canyon, ramp for Evel Knievel's failed attempt. The Golden Spike joining East and West .

More Madden! The interview...

Want to learn exactly how Dave Madden is going to change the console/PC gaming world?

Watch this for 8 minutes!

https://www.beet.tv/2020/08/console-games-are-ripe-for-tv-like-ads-simulmedias-dave-madden.html#.Xy1Vmt51VgI.linkedin

Or read this:

LOS ANGELES – TV-like advertising is starting to find a place in video games that people play on consoles like Sony PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox as the entertainment software industry undergoes a massive shift in the way games are distributed.

Pioneering the effort to put commercials into video games is Simulmedia, an advertising technology startup whose financial backers include venture capital funds and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. The company recently began testing video ad inserts in console games — one of the last vestiges of ad-free gaming — in a move that could revolutionize the way marketers reach target audiences who are elusive to other media channels like linear TV.

Dave Madden, who used to oversee in-game advertising and brand partnerships for video game giant EA, this summer joined Simulmedia to lead its push into console gaming advertising. In this conversation with Beet.TV, he describes how a growing number of gamers are willing to trade a few seconds of their time to watch a TV commercial for in-game rewards.

“That’s the big opportunity for video game publishers and advertisers to work together,” he said, describing console games as ripe for a more modernized business model that includes advertising. “Games are maybe the largest media format worldwide right now.”

Advertisers including credit-reporting company Experian, Unilever’s Dollar Shave Club and Turner Broadcasting have tested Simulmedia’s platform to connect with target audiences, The Wall Street Journal reported.

‘Scalable Model’ for Advertisers

Traditionally, console games have been ad-free, with video game publishers making almost all their money from sales of compact discs or downloads. As smartphones become gaming devices, video game publishers started to experiment with different revenue models including “freemium” games that were free to download, but charged money for in-game content.

They also started to experiment with ad formats like rewarded video, which asks players to watch a commercial in exchange for rewards like upgrades, vanity items and virtual currencies to help progress more quickly through the game. Simulmedia is bringing that revenue model to console games that are in millions of households.

“The big opportunity and area for brands to participate is building a scalable model around helping unlock all that valuable added content for free in exchange for engaging with a 15- or 30-second ad,” Madden said. Video ads also look much better on a bigger TV screen than on a smartphone, he said.

More than 214 million Americans play video games, and 73% of them own a game console, according to the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group for the gaming industry. Thirty-eight percent of gamers are ages 18-34, compared with about 23% of the general population, making them a key audience for advertisers.

Increasingly, those gamers are playing “live-service games” like “Fortnite,” the multiplayer battle royale game from Epic Games that has 350 million players worldwide. “Fortnite” has experimented with different kinds of advertising including sneak peaks of movies and an award-winning effort by burger chain Wendy’s, whose ad agency VMLY&R created a branded avatar in the game.

With so many people playing video games on consoles, phones, tablets and personal computers, they’re harder to reach through traditional media channels like linear TV — and that’s where Simulmedia sees opportunity.

Opt-In Audience

Simulmedia is mindful of the sensitivities of gamers who don’t want their gameplay to be interrupted with intrusive ads. That’s why its platform only shows ads to audiences who have opted-in to see them. The company found in a survey that 75% of console gamers would be willing to watch commercials in exchange for content.

“The difference with gaming in terms of an advertising medium is that it has to be permission-based,” he said. “If you were to insert an ad into a video game that was interruptive and the player didn’t expect it, by and large you would expect some pretty big backlash from the playing audience.”

Social

David Morley and his Bahamian commercial real estate company have been more prevalent on social media recently.  I thought this was a good shot of our classmate.  Keep on keepin' on David!

Happy Summer!

Here's Nelse Clark with his daugher exploring an eastern shore.  Hope your summer is as wonderful!  Thanks to Vivian Clark for posting on Facebook...

He IS the game...

Congratulations to Dave Madden on becoming the undisputed expert and leader of "in game advertising".  He was just poached from EA Sports to lead all in game ad development for Simulmedia.  Incredible stuff! Announced in a post by Simulmedia Founder & CEO...

https://www.simulmedia.com/blog/2020/07/27/video-game-ads-dave-madden/

Simulmedia to Integrate Premium Video Game Ads, Welcomes EA’s Dave Madden to Lead the Efforts

Dave Morgan

Founder & CEO

JUL 27, 2020

Simulmedia is excited to announce a strategic extension of our business and an exciting new hire to lead it. We are augmenting our linear TV ad platform to include the distribution of permissioned, video ads in premium console-driven video games. Dave Madden, EA’s longtime head of in-game advertising and brand partnerships, has joined Simulmedia as EVP/ Games & OTT.

While we have long led the market in providing advertisers with automated, data-driven buying across all of the top 115 national broadcast and cable TV networks in the US, our advertising clients have urged us to deliver performance and reach beyond the audiences that watch linear television. They also want high-reaching video streaming channels to be available on our platform, and premium video gaming represents an enormous opportunity to do just that.

Playing video games is one of the largest and fastest growing media activities for young adults and teens in almost every major market in the world. We know that integrating high quality video advertising into these environments will take a thoughtful approach, a deep understanding of gamer sentiment, and critical technology developments to ensure uncompromising privacy protection, frequency control and trusted audience measurements.

We have spent the past 10-plus years bringing a digital approach to TV advertising to solve similar challenges, and Dave Madden has more experience than any other executive in the world in introducing successful, gamer-friendly ad formats into premium video game environments.

Dave has been pioneering player friendly models for brands to interact with gamers for two decades, first with WildTangent, the company that invented Brand Boost, the “rewarded ad” for games, and then as the head of Electronic Arts advertising/sponsorship and brand partnerships. His teams have built cutting edge partnerships with global brands such as Coca Cola, Gatorade, McDonalds, Unilever, P&G, Adidas and Nike across games including EA Sports, FIFA, Battlefield and The Sims, as well as establishing industry leading eSports sponsorships, including the first ever virtual stadium in competitive gaming for Pizza Hut in the Madden 20 NFL Championship Series.

We believe that this could be a massive market opportunity. John Frelinghuysen of LEK Consulting projects that ads in premium video games could represent a $3-5 billion market in the US in five years.

So, what are we doing?

First, we are spending a lot of time talking and listening to advertisers, publishers, platforms and, most importantly, gamers to understand how to best accomplish the integration of TV advertising and premium video gaming.

Second, we have begun running pilot tests delivering opt-in, rewarded video ads within premium game environments to better understand how gamers will respond to them.

Third, we are working with Nielsen to incorporate their smart TV viewership data into our new metrics as a way to help advertisers and publishers better understand how video game audiences compare to TV.

And fourth, we have begun significant development efforts to build out the needed infrastructure to deliver high value advertising in premium gaming environments and to insure not only the protection of gamer privacy and publisher proprietary data, but to avoid many of the problems of today’s programmatic digital ad ecosystem, including receiving irrelevant, redundant ads, finding yourself retargeted, and turning over delivery decisions to bidders in an auction.

Here are what some of our clients and collaborators are saying:

“Experian is always interested in reaching more new customers in engaging, fun, premium media environments, especially younger audiences that are harder to reach on TV,” said Steve Hartmann, Head of Integrated Marketing at Experian. “We work with Simulmedia to help deliver our television advertising and are looking forward to supporting its new efforts to extend its platform, measurement and distribution to the enormous audiences playing Triple-A video games.”

“An emerging challenge for many advertisers is understanding how their video game audiences compare to those they reach on linear TV,” said Kelly Abcarian, general manager, Advanced Video Advertising, Nielsen. “With the addition of our smart TV viewership data into Simulmedia’s new premium video game ads metrics, we are helping build transparent and robust metrics for one of the media industry’s fastest-growing new markets. With this latest offering, Simulmedia is serving a specific market need by delivering advertisers a new, unique and verified ad inventory that connects with consumers wherever they are consuming content.”

I expect many of you reading may be asking, “When will this in-game inventory be available?” While we’re eager to scale it, for now we’re completely focused on delivering an experience that’s right for gamers, advertisers, studios, publishers and hardware manufacturers. A handful of them already have been working with us for months to help us build something that will work broadly. We’re so grateful for their support and commitment.