The 6th annual Digital Kids Conference presents an exclusive fireside chat interview with Activision VP of Art and Technology Joby Otero at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 25. Otero, who also serves as creative director for product and brand at Skylanders, will discusses transmedia and inter-connected play with ShadyLogic Founder and CEO Marty Poulin, as they share their experiences in helping create different aspects of the mega-hit Skylanders franchise and what it means to bring toys to life.

Activision is poised to broaden its franchise with the launch of Skylanders Giants this Fall. The announcement was made at this year's Toy Fair. The fact that a video game company chose Toy Fair to announce the next game in it's franchise is telling of the integration of video games and

Digital Kids offers an in-depth look at the exploding connected youth market and will help you identify trends and strategies to position your business for success. You'll learn how to build, manage and monetize services, products and interactive content in conference tracks on Business, Content, Market Research, Operations and Safety. digitalkidscon.com/schedule/

Register online by April 20 and save $400 off the all-access door price. digitalkidscon.com/register/

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Wizard101 Creators and Disney Mobile GM to Keynote

April 25: Todd Coleman and Josef Hall, co-creators of KingsIsle Entertainment’s popular online game, Wizard101, will discuss how they moved from hardcore gaming in the world of MMOG and achieved runaway critical and

Event producer Engage Digital presents Todd Coleman and Josef Hall, co-creators of KingsIsle Entertainment’s popular online game Wizard101, in the opening keynote address at the 6th annual Digital Kids Conference in Los Angeles, on April 25-26.

Coleman and Hall will discuss how they moved from hardcore gaming in the world of massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) and achieved runaway critical and commercial success with Wizard101, the top AAA family-friendly online game in North America. Their keynote takes place at 9:30 a.m. PT, on April 25.

Digital Kids Conference provides companies the critical information they need to reach digital kids and connected youth through online and mobile technologies. With five conference tracks, including: Safety, Content, Operations, Business

Walt Disney Studios partnered with the NFL for the film JOHN CARTER for a sweepstakes. To enter, contestants had to visit nfl.com/johncarter and enter a code that was found after watching the trailer on the website. The Grand Prize was a 5 day/4 night trip to New Orleans, LA to attend the Super Bowl XLVII, on February 3, 2013. Contestants could enter from February 5, 2012 through March 8, 2012 and the winner was selected March 14, 2012 and JOHN CARTER released in theaters March 9, 2012. www.nfl.com/johncarter

Box office up sharply in 2012

More releases lead to 21 percent rise over last year

By Andrew Stewart

'The Vow'

Fox’s “Chronicle,” budgeted at about $12 million, had no trouble attracting the teenage male audience, cuming $58 million in the U.S.

Thanks in part to seven more wide releases in the first two months of the year, domestic box office is up a healthy 21% over 2011.

The $1.57 billion total is good news at a time when bizzers are concerned about changing audience behavior.

But the upturn still wasn't enough to outdo record-breaking results in early 2009 and 2010. Moreover, only one film this year has grossed more than $100 million.

So far, it's the volume of releases responsible for the uptick rather than the average gross per film. Sony's

Are You The Real John Carter?

Publish Date: February 1, 2012

By: Kristy Puchko

To celebrate the release of their soon-to-hit science-fiction tent pole John Carter, Walt Disney Pictures is calling out to all John Carters for their strangely specific contest: the Real John Carter Sweepstakes. If your name is John Carter, Jonathan Kharter, Jawn Kartar, Juan Cartir or one of the many other accepted variations, then you are uniquely eligible to score free tickets to a special John Carters-only advance screening of the movie as well as the chance to win a trip for two to Peru, courtesy of Adventures by Disney. 

John Carter director Andrew Stanton attempts to make sense of this curious contest below, in a promotional video that also shares some CGI-enhanced footage of

From AllThingsD.com

Liz Gaines December 28, 2011

Google added 12 million new users to its Google+ social network in December, according to external and unofficial (but somewhat officially blessed) statistician Paul Allen.

Allen, who forms his estimates after repeatedly searching Google+ for uncommon surnames, said Google+ is up to 62 million registered users as of today.

Why the bump? For one thing, Google has stepped up Google+ promotion, including releasing a holiday ad of the Muppets rocking out in a Google+ Hangout. There’s also one with basketball great Bill Walton.

At the current accelerated rate, Google+ would have 293 million users by the end of 2012, but Allen said he thinks Android activations will drive the growth rate higher. That seems more intuition than science,

Kimberly-Clark Lets Walmart Shoppers Use Mobile to Earn 'Cars 2' Merchandise

Promomagazine.com

Jul 5, 2011 1:08 PM, By Brian Quinton

Paper products brand Kimberly-Clark is sending Walmart shoppers on a mobile-fueled race through the aisles with a promotion that taps into the appeal of Disney Pixar’s "Cars 2" animated feature.

The campaign, which will run until the end of July, uses the free CheckPoints check-in smartphone app. Users who download the app and then check in upon entering any U.S. Walmart store will be notified that they can earn points toward Cars 2” promotional items by scanning the on-pack stickers on a wide range of K-C products, including Pull-Ups training pants, Huggies diapers, Kleenex tissues, Viva and Scott paper towels and Cottonelle bathroom