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Currently, Saatchi has three creative teams, but has not had a CD since John Plimmer's departure more than two years back, although Auckland-based national ECD Mike O'Sullivan visits six or seven times a year. That's about to change.

"This year," says GM Jonathan Russell, "we're moving to a different structure, and a Creative Director will be appointed."

The trigger for this was the departure in February of senior creatives Nigel Richardson and Steve Cooper, 15-year veterans at the agency and two of the few remaining links with its brilliant past. "They were guiding lights, and will be hugely missed," Russell says.

Will the new CD be an internal appointment? "I'm keen for a Kiwi," he says, "but there aren't really that many senior Kiwi creatives out there - so it will probably be Australasian."

Revenue has grown by about 70% in two years - 25-30% in the past year, and the agency has retained its #2 position in the capital. Russell acknowledges, however, that Clemenger is still #1, at around twice the size of Saatchi.

And the drift north? "That's stabilised," Russell says. "On the commercial side, NZ Post [a Saatchi client] is still here, as are Mitsubishi and National Bank [both at Clemenger] but we've yet to see national advertisers coming back."

Government business remains buoyant, but Russell doubts there's much new business to be won in this area. "In terms of election promises, the government money has been pretty much allocated already, although overall it will continue to be strong, and there's lots of pitches ahead as the three-year terms roll over.

But while the commercial scene remains static, agency activity is anything but, with an ever-increasing number of Auckland agencies taking interest in the government work. "M&C are beefing up," Russell notes. "So's FCB and Ogilvy."

How does Russell now see the Creative Wellington brand - a brand that Saatchi helped establish in the 1990s? "That's our future," he says. "It's about embracing the concept, and Saatchi Wellington will have a key role in that."

The Wellington brand has, he says, received a boost from the establishment of Peter Jackson's Park Road Post. "We've just spent a lot of time there finishing a major New World campaign, and we've all got to make sure we use it every time. It's an amazing facility that will attract more and more creative talent to the city. There is always, Auckland and Sydney - but we need and want to use Wellington people."

One issue, however, continues to dog Saatchi and the other Wellington agencies - talent.

"This is the biggest issue in town," says Russell. "Be it suits, media, anyone. You know how tight it is in Auckland? Well, magnify that by 10 or 20, and that's the situation in Wellington.

And the work? "When I was a client, I realised early on that you can have the best TVC, but unless the brand delivers at other moments of truth, you're stuffed long term. People see then that the advertising is puffery and can actually turn people off the brand.

"More and more we have to be about the total brand experience - and that's what I love."

---

Y&R

Now: 21 staff (five of whom are Mediaedge:cia).

Two years ago: 15.

Y&R Wellington is a full-service agency with a creative department of seven and a full complement of media and accounts service people.

"Auckland," says MD Chrissie Lahood, "is drifting - like moths to a flame."

Northern agencies are "jumping on planes and heading south", attracted by the three-yearly government pitch cycle. Many of them, Lahood says, are just one or two people on the ground in Wellington with a backroom in Auckland.

Then there's growth coming in the form of new shops set up by people who've left major agencies. "Two people doing really well are Ken Double and John Fisher, (a former Saatchi creative team who set up Doublefish a year ago). "A lot of agencies here now use them." In fact, she says, many freelancers are now getting work direct from clients, and as clients start feeling confident about this trend, we'll see more of it.

But Wellington agencies need to walk the talk, she says. "As government departments work to become more carbon neutral, they'll want partners doing the same. Sustainability is likely to be built into procurement. They may also want their agency based here for the same reason.

"Wellington media people have their shit together - the media agencies share. They have events where they invite media leaders like Joan Withers and Brent Impey to lunch in Wellington. Creative agencies could learn from them. Not all clients want to be serviced just by a suit.

"We do lots of training around social marketing - we go to overseas social marketing workshops and seminars. This is huge for us - and for many other agencies around town.

"We're upskilling and growing. We're investing in our people; everyone here is learning and growing smarter, in everything from te reo Maori to social marketing. We are also using the mighty resources of our Auckland office.

Lahood, a creative for most of her working life, was promoted from CD to MD only in October last year. Just one month later, she'd hired her replacement as CD - Jeremy Southern, who's ex-Clemenger Sydney and Y&R Adelaide. Lahood retains an ECD role - "so I am still very much involved in the creative side".

---

DraftFCB

Now: 2 staff.

Two years ago: None.

FCB had an office in the capital until 10 years ago, when it closed amidst the northern drift. Now, FCB's been back for 18 months - drawn, naturally, by the lure of government business.

Wellington manager is Dennis Carroll, who joined from Y&R Wellington (where he'd also been manager) at the end of 2005. He was joined a couple of months later by senior account manager Anna Goodman, who's ex-Designworks.

Growth, says Carroll, is a priority. The agency's new premises have been set up to accom-modate 10-12 people.

"At the moment, in an average week, we'd have up to 12 people commuting from Auckland on different projects - creatives, media [DraftFCB is, he says, the third largest-billing media shop in NZ] and digital guys." And indeed, when AdMedia called, Auckland-based GM Brian van den Hurk was on hand. "So," says Carroll, "the next stage is to build the resource base here - and we'll be taking on fulltime creatives as we grow."

For the moment, though, the agency works with freelancers and mixes up teams between the two cities. "We work as one business, and try not to characterise a project as an Auckland one or a Wellington one." There's a lot of reverse commuting, as well.

"We've got Public Trust, a Wellington client which has staff in both cities. Ditto Vector Gas. The Ministry of Health was in Auckland, then moved to Wellington, and has just moved back to Auckland. Then there's the Ministry of Education, which has key Pacific Island and Maori audiences in Auckland. For a while there, we were effectively the fourth largest Wellington agency not in Wellington."

The agency is dedicated to social marketing and "absolutely believes" in it as a tool for change. In the past two years, he says, social-change communications have caught up to the commercial sector - "the two are now on a par".

Tendering for government contracts is difficult, he says. "Often there's no relationship and you're effectively responding to a paper-driven initiative. But at the end of the day, it's taxpayers' money - and that's accountable. So while it would be great to have a more commercial approach, government departments do need to work within that constraint."

And it's not all about government business, Carroll says. "There's still a lot of good commercial business here, too."

Carroll doesn't buy totally into the Creative Wellington concept - "it's more of a Creative NZ thing, really".

And have they had the visit from Mr Draft yet? "Nope. But we do hope to see him because they are pretty interested in this part of the world."

---

Frank - The Advertising Agency

Now: 23 staff.

Two years ago: 29.

Frank, says MD Alister Shennan, is emerging from its merger with Redrocks and is now moving into an acquisition phase.

"We've moved the business into that whole environment/sustainability space. We do work for Rio Tinto, a poster-boy for energy. We also do all the work for the Energy Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Environment, and have just been appointed by Environment Canterbury to do all their creative work."

Frank has also landed a "significant" Auckland account (which Shennan declines to name), and is thinking about opening an Auckland branch. The agency already has a designer working out of serviced offices in Auckland. "We're looking at a high-profile project that will be a good launching pad for us into Auckland."

Shennan is not particularly impressed with Auckland agencies looking south. "A lot of those brands couldn't make it work in Wellington, so they left ... and the market has a memory!"

There is a lot more government business around, he says, but it's a lot more competitive. "In an average tender, there can be up to 27 agencies responding to the RFP."

He says Frank does 20-30 RFPs a year, and is one of the leading agencies handling government accounts in the $1m to $2m bracket.

And these people are smart, sophisticated marketers, he says. "Fifteen years ago, they were wearing cardies. Now, the public sector is staffed by a different breed - experienced corporate people who have often spent time at Telecom, Westpac, National Bank and the like, and have chosen to stay in Wellington."

Like most, Shennan is also troubled by the shortage of agency talent. Frank's answer has been to hire young graduates and team them up with experienced people.

And Creative Wellington? "Still seems to be strong - although I haven't heard so much of this since Bigsy left. But the creative product coming out of Wellington is as good as anywhere."

---

Promotus

Now: 22 staff.

One year ago: 12.

Promotus is one of the few Wellington agencies to thrive without the government sector. "It's a hard nut to crack," says MD Sigrun Peace.

"It's tightly held and the pitching process is so rigorous. It takes so much resource - and to be honest, we don't need to. Arguably, if we picked up one really significant piece of government business we'd probably look for more, but we don't want to get speed wobbles.

"We've had amazing growth and a lot of it we didn't have to pitch for. We won Mitsubishi Electric's Black Diamond Technology, and we didn't pitch for it - it just walked in the door. Same thing with the Marac media business.

"We've also set up a business model that's quite unique. We've always been media-driven, and that's been a big part of our success, but I'm a firm believer in the full-service model."

Promotus also partners other agencies. "On Marac, we do the media, Whybin the creative, and I enjoy that. Whybin doesn't have a Wellington office and we've formed a nice working relationship that could lead to bigger things."

A significant part of the agency's growth came from Foodstuffs, an account it shares with Saatchi (Promotus does the retail, Saatchi the brand work). "Foodstuffs asked us to pitch for their print work, which was mainly outsourced," says Peace. "Our pitch was speculative because we didn't have the in-house capability. So when we won it, we set up a completely new division - the print production unit with five new staff - specifically to service Foodstuffs." Interactive is mainly outsourced.

Is the market growing? "The Redrocks merger sort of took one player out," she says, "but Wellington remains fairly constant. And, of course, the main agency brands seem to be gravitating back down here."

---

Clemenger BBDO

Now: 82 staff.

Two years ago: 94.

CEO/CD Philip Andrew (far better known as "Duster") has a rep almost as lustrous as the man he was promoted to replace 15 months ago - the legendary Peter Biggs. He retains his old CD role (and still sits on the creative floor), and he shares overall management with MD Lesley Brown (whose office is on the suits floor).

Clemenger, of course, has the lion's share of the really big government contracts, including ACC, LTNZ, the Ministries of Health and Labour, plus Trade & Enterprise, Wellington City, Civil Defence, and the Alcohol Advisory Council.

Andrew acknowledges the national agencies' renewed interest in Wellington but observes that the "two-city thing" is very difficult. "You have to have replicated cultures in both cities - and cultures are what drives an agency," he says.

"Having said that, there's a lot of agencies moving back because there's a lot of business to be done in this town. Also, there's many ad people with big-agency experience who have set up smaller consultancies - that's a big change.

"The northern drift has slowed dramatically," says Brown. "It's pretty stable here now and other agencies now see a reason to return. But that needs to be established by people on the ground. It's high-maintenance, fast turnaround business and you have to be here."

Interactive, she says, has been a huge growth area. "A year ago, 20% of our client base would be using interactive. Now 90% have at least an element of interactive in their campaigns. The interactive guys are adding a whole new dimension to the agency."

"Government pitches can be very difficult," says Andrew. "If you ask a question, that - and the answer - get sent to every agency in the pitch. Agencies are not used to that - they're more used to doing lunch, having a good chat, and lots of schmoozing. And schmoozing is definitely not a good call with government."

Does Clemenger have a relationship with Aim Proximity (owned by the Clemenger Group, and sharing the same Courtenay Place building)? "We do share some clients with Aim," Andrew says. "And we often pitch with them."

But there are challenges, he says, "because we work with Aim on our own business like ACC but they also work with Saatchi on Telecom". And, adds Brown, Aim (which has Toyota) and Clemenger (with Mitsubishi) also have competing business, "so there are some things we can't even consider working on together".

Andrew says a coup for Clemenger has been the hiring of John Plimmer and Chris Bleackley, who'd left Saatchi to form Cake. "These guys could have worked anywhere in the world, but they wanted to work at Clemenger Wellington.

"We're fiercely proud of what we've created here - we're now rated the fourth most creative agency in Australasia."

"Wellington has grown up so much," says Brown. "It's such a divine, easy city to live in."

---

Aim Proximity

Now: 37 staff.

Two years ago: 27. (Aim Auckland has 80).

"From a purely Direct perspective, Wellington seems to be shrinking - a combination of the Auckland drift and the tendency for Direct to be absorbed into full-service agencies," says MD/CD Brett Hoskin.

"We're now the only large Direct player in the market."

Aim NZ is now ranked by the Won Report as the #7 DM shop in the world. RBR is also in Wellington, of course, and so is Frank, which Hoskin says has a "very online Direct focus" but is becoming more of a full-service shop.

But the creative and full-service side of advertising is definitely undergoing a resurgence, he believes. "Wellington's isolation actually works for us because we have a non-conformist, zanier way of doing things. We tend to be more creative - which is the Wellington way.

"The Creative Wellington brand is good for us to market ourselves off."

Where Aim Wellington has grown, he says, is in the digital space. "We now have a digital designer, developer and Flash developers.

"Our two offices are set up as different agencies so we can work on competing business. So Aim Auckland works on BMW, and we work on Lexus; they work for AA and we work on State."

So, over 50% of Aim Wellington's business is in Auckland. "Where clients reside is kind of irrelevant," Hoskin says. "But for Telecom and Xtra, we have all our Aim Wellington client service working in Auckland - on a separate floor. We also work for Shell Australia, who chose us over an Australian provider."

Like most, Hoskin also identifies talent as a problem in the capital.

"It's hard to secure senior people, and we'd like to see more agency players - to help attract more quality staff."

---

M&C Saatchi

Now: 3 staff.

Two years ago: 1.

M&C had a very low-profile one-suit office in the capital for seven years. "But we had to step up - and it's lucky we did," says Auckland-based national CEO Nick Baylis who, with Strategy Director Jacqueline Smart, pays weekly visits to Wellington.

"This is part of the commitment we made to clients like Te Mana [Ministry of Education] and Police," says Baylis.

The Aucklanders have desks in the Wellington office and have Wellington business cards.

The three suits now on the ground will soon be augmented by two more.

"We're also looking at bringing in a creative resource," he says. "M&C Wellington needs to become a full office in its own right.

"Why? Because if you're going to be an agency in Wellington, it needs to be a proper agency. It works fine at the moment but it's important to have creatives for the culture."

Ideally, Baylis says, M&C would like to get some brand business as well, "which would really cement our presence in Wellington".

M&C has a global policy of outsourcing media. "M&C has a 'village' structure," Baylis says, "which means we have partners." In media, M&C works with Carat Wellington.

"We do Direct ourselves, and we use M&C Direct in Sydney, which is huge."

Creative Wellington is a fantastic brand, Baylis says. "Wellington is probably the best-branded city in the world ... OK, maybe not the world, but it leaves Auckland for dead.

"The creative resource is here - there's no need to import people.

Part of being a Wellington agency is to have Wellingtonians on board.

"Duster will tell you he's been doing it for years, of course. But I think there's a new wave coming ..."

n the latest volley in the growing battle to distribute movies, television shows and other video content online, BitTorrent plans to announce deals today with Paramount, MTV Networks, 20th Century Fox and several smaller studios.

As part of the deals, BitTorrent users will be able to purchase or rent movies such as "Mission Impossible III" and buy TV shows such as "24" when the company's service launches in February.

The deals follow a similar one San Francisco-based BitTorrent struck earlier this year with Warner Bros.

BitTorrent's moves come amid a flurry of activity in the budding online video industry.

In recent months, Apple Computer debuted its own movie downloading service, AT&T began offering a similar service to its DSL and satellite TV customers and Microsoft announced agreements with Paramount and Warner Brothers to offer movie downloads to its Xbox 360 game console.

The movie studios and television networks are responding to consumers who are spending increasing amounts of time and money on the Internet or playing video games instead of watching television or movies, analysts say.

They also are trying to learn from the music industry's bruising and costly battle with digital distribution by embracing, rather than fighting, the technology, said Mike McGuire, vice president of research in the San Jose offices of Gartner.

"Over the next couple of years, you're going to see a whole bunch of this experimentation from the studios and the networks," he said.

The deals with BitTorrent collectively represent one of the more interesting experiments. The company's software has been widely used to distribute pirated movies and other files over the Internet.

But BitTorrent -- and the video industry -- is hoping to use its popularity to its advantage by building its new video distribution service around the software.

That should give it an advantage over rival video download sites, said Ashwin Navin, BitTorrent's president and co-founder. Typical digital media stores, such as Apple's iTunes, distribute files from a central bank of computers. That system can lead to lengthy waits for files when many users are trying to access the servers.

In contrast, BitTorrent's software is a peer-to-peer system. Users upload files as well as download them, broadening the number of distribution points. As particular files becomes more popular, more of BitTorrent's customers will have them on their computers, and thanks to its software, will help in distributing them.

"We guarantee it will be a fast download," Navin said.

That may be the case, but other elements of the company's service are still a bit fuzzy. BitTorrent hasn't said, for instance, how much it will charge for downloads. And while the company promises to have "thousands" of titles available when the service launches, it's listed very few of them to date.

Regardless, the company has a tough challenge ahead of it. Apple, with its dominance of digital music, has the inside track to be the leader in video as well, analysts say.

And one key drawback of BitTorrent's service, at least at first, is that customers will be able to play downloaded videos only on their computers. Navin says the company plans to let consumers eventually download to portable devices, so they can watch the videos in their living rooms.

Unfortunately for BitTorrent, by the time it gets to the living room, competitors such as Apple and Microsoft will already be there, analysts say.

Mobile entertainment company Rok is to launch a mobile media store that will let users upload their personal music and movie collections to their PCs. Rok Media Store will also offer movies, music videos and other content to buy, for storage and play on mobile phones.

beta.rokmediastore.com

Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

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Mar. 7--MUMBAI, India -- After a long innings at an agency that was once Trikaya Grey's media department, Grey Worldwide's arm Media and finally Mediacom, Jasmin Sohrabji moves to what she calls a start-up operation: Omnicom's media shop OMD. In a tete-a-tete with ET, she talks about the unique challenges facing this late entrant to a market dominated by global rival WPP.

What are the immediate challenges that OMD faces in India?

Firstly, in terms of getting infrastructure in place, the work is already on. We need to start immediately, and we'll be up and running within a month or so. OMD is effectively launched. The challenge is to gain some critical mass. People are talking about it because it's new. But, it's not going to remain news if you haven't started delivering. We will not be able to attract good talent without critical mass of business.

What is the structure of OMD in India?

It will operate as a 100 percent Omnicom company. In most other markets, the Omnicom agencies have some equity, over time, we'll see how it goes in India. Omnicom globally has a media holding company called OMG (Optimum Media Group) with two brands: OMD and PHD. PHD is a much younger brand, in most of Asia we don't see PHD coming so soon, but it will eventually come.

Will growth come mainly from globally aligned business, or will local clients also play a key role?

The mandate for me is to set the operation up, not to worry about where the business is coming from. There's no agenda that it has to be creatively or business-wise aligned with Omnicom or OMD. I'm free to set the place up, and aligned business is available to pitch for - - but all of them may not be open to looking out.

It's relatively easy to assume that now that it's come to India, clients will give us the business, but I don't want to think of it that way. I'd like to treat it in India as a start-up, not as a global company that's making an entrance. Some of Omnicom's clients in India have come to accept an unaligned agency in India, and it's not like all the businesses are being badly serviced, they've all established themselves. I'm assuming that if OMD has decided to open shop, it has some idea of long-term and medium-term aligning some of this business. But given my heritage, I don't think that aligned business will be predominant.

How big do you see the operations scaling up, in terms of staff?

Harish Shriyan is on board as managing partner, and we're first looking for people in finance and admin. If all goes as per expected in the first year, we'll have a 20-plus team in terms of media -- but that's dependent on the type of business we get. While I've got a list of people I would like to talk to, given that its a start-up its a bit of a chicken and egg situation. The plan is not to wait, but to have a few key people in all functions.

How will OMD India position itself vis-a-vis the already established competition?

OMD's positioning globally has been creativity and insightful thinking. That's a strong positioning and opportunity even for us in this market. Most media shops are positioned on volume, very few go other routes. I'll be carrying forward the OMD Worldwide culture here, which is very much creativity in media thinking. They believe in investing in proprietary research, not just tools.

In a way its very familiar, because when I was at Mediacom, we positioned ourselves on planning and research. We always pitched that way -- our credentials talked about the number of awards won, for instance. At OMD, there's a similar focus on creative thinking, so I feel like I fit in very well. I see it as a progression, so it should be a very easy transition for me. We will be looking for acquisitions -- for allied services and stuff like sponsorships, interactive, we'll be either starting up or looking at acquiring.

The OMD brand name is still relatively unknown. Do you think this will be a disadvantage for a start-up?

I agree it's not as familiar a brand. But in some ways we're better off than if we were aligned to an agency and then moved out to be independent -- for instance, years after Mediacom was established, people used to call us Grey Media. The unfamiliarity is only a temporary thing, if we win businesses, it won't be a problem.

What are the targets for the India operations?

The present agenda is not to say, we have to be ranked in the top two or three in the next year or so. I'm looking at it more as, in the next two-year span, we should be in a comfortable situation. Which means that we'll be seen not as an investment market, but a performing, delivery market.

OMD internationally may have a longer horizon, but that's the target I've set for myself. Of course, the agenda is long-term for OMD. The long-term motivation is not missing out on a major market when going global.

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Foreign companies seeking to launch businesses in Nigeria often prefer to enter the market through licensing agreements with locally controlled companies rather than by establishing their own subsidiaries in the country. This is because of the difficulty of coping with frequent government policy shifts (usually implemented at very short notice) and the significant overhead costs to maintain a local subsidiary. Licensing is most prevalent among multinational pharmaceutical companies but is also becoming customary in the high-tech sector where numerous international brands are partnering with locally established firms to penetrate this new and rapidly growing market for information technology and communication products.

Multinational companies that have established local subsidiaries or affiliates also enter into licensing agreements to extend the local use of their trade names, trademarks and the manufacture of their products. These include Mercedes-Benz (Germany), Procter & Gamble (United States) and Unilever (Netherlands/UK). Notable local licensees include the following: Boulos Enterprises, which imports, assembles and distributes various products for Suzuki (Japan); Cadbury Nigeria, which manufactures beverages under licence from Cadbury Schweppes (UK); General Motors Nigeria, which also imports, assembles and distributes various products (for instance, Chevrolet and Lumina cars); Nigerian Bottling Company, which bottles Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Five Alive brands of soft drinks under licence from Coca-Cola (US); and SCOA Nigeria, which assembles light pick-up vehicles under a licence from Peugeot (France).

Patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs are legally recognised. However, enforcement of intellectual-property rights in the courts is generally very slow. According to the Business Software Alliance and IDC, retail losses from software piracy totalled US$82m in 2005, an increase from US$54m in 2004. Nigeria was among the 20 countries with the highest piracy rates.

Most companies consider the damages awarded by the Nigerian courts to be far too small to be an effective deterrent. Sometimes, the most important victory is simply obtaining an official injunction, which is subsequently advertised in the local newspapers. Injunctions have been issued in the past to protect Araldite (Novartis, Switzerland); Betnovate products (GlaxoSmithKline, UK); Bic ballpoint pens (France); Butterfly sewing machines (China); and Exhar's Maloxine brand malaria tablets (Belgium). Offenders who breach injunctions can be jailed for contempt of court. Even with an injunction, however, the complainant must pursue a lengthy judicial process to determine the substantive issues in the case.

The situation is, however, beginning to change. In 2005, the Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) launched the Strategic Action Against Piracy (STRAP), a campaign designed to combat piracy and to establish a suitable environment for the management of the copyright system. The NCC's STRAP officials have embarked on a campaign to prosecute offenders for copyright infringements. A landmark case in this regard is the prosecution in March 2007 of the chief executive officer of Multichoice Nigeria Limited, Nigeria's largest cable-television company, for broadcasting European league matches without the consent of the copyright owners, Entertainment Highways Limited.

The Copyright Optical-Discs Plants Regulations (2006) for the first time empowers the NCC to exercise administrative and enforcement measures over the production processes of optical-discs manufacturers and replicating plants engaged in the replication and or duplication of copyrighted works.

Property-right infringements are most common in the music, video and pharmaceutical industries, and they are fuelled by the availability of reproduction equipment, raw materials and a vast informal sector operating out of unlicensed premises and in some extremely remote parts of the country. The NCC estimates that 9 out of every 10 CDs, VCDs and DVDs sold in Nigeria are pirated.

Once conferred, a patent gives the patentee the right to prevent the making, importation, sale or use of the patented product; the stocking of the product for sale or use; and the application of the patented process. However, the scope of protection conferred by a patent is determined by the terms of the claims. This is interpreted by the descriptions (and plans and drawings, if any) that are included in the patent.

The courts review any opposition to a patent. If they declare a patent null and void, they may also order that royalties be returned. Although the courts tend to uphold patent rights, the judicial process is slow and awarded damages are not substantial; hence, relatively few companies bother to secure judicial protection.

Most brand-name manufacturers have registered their marks in Nigeria. Nevertheless, trademark theft is not uncommon, and trademark owners have recourse only to the slow processes of the congested courts.

Although the government has come under increasing pressure to act against patent and trademark piracy, the authorities have not yet responded with legislative revisions. Any eventual legislation would probably be based on the recommendations of government officials (specifically, the Nigerian Law Reform Commission's working draft of a proposed law) in co-ordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria, a local pressure group of intellectual-property practitioners.

Enforcement of legal provisions on copyrights is similar to that on patents and trademarks, that is, an action in court. As with patents and trademarks, the most powerful weapon appears to be a court injunction restraining the other party. When the substantive suit is finally determined, however, the court's award of damages often barely covers the legal costs. This acts as a disincentive, preventing rights owners from seeking to enforce their rights.

Conventions. Paris Convention; Universal Copyright Convention; Bern Convention; World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Convention; WIPO Copyright Treaty; WIPO Performance and Phonographic Treaty; Rome Convention.

Basic laws. Patents and Designs Act (1970) Cap 344 LFN 1990; Trade Marks Act (1965) Cap 436 LFN 1990; Copyright Act (1988) Cap 68 LFN 1990 (amended by the Copyright Amendment Decree 96 of 1992); Copyright Optical Discs Plants Regulations (2006).

Patents

Duration. Twenty years from date of application. Patents cannot be renewed but must be maintained by paying annual maintenance fees.

Priority claims. Because Nigeria is a Paris Convention country, foreign priority can be claimed if the application for the same was made not more than 12 months before the filing date in Nigeria.

Novelty. An invention is considered new if it does not form part of the state-of-the-art and if it has not been made available to the public anywhere at any time prior to the date of application (or the foreign priority date, if not more than 12 months earlier). The invention may have been displayed at an official internationally recognised exhibition within six months prior to application date.

Fees. Around US$60 for official fees; US$300-500 for attorney and other fees.

Unpatentable. Plant or animal varieties, biological processes, inventions contrary to public order or morality, and scientific principles and discoveries.

Compulsory licensing. Application may be made to the courts for a compulsory licence if, after four years from the patent application date or three years from the grant date (whichever is later), a patent is not worked in Nigeria, is insufficiently worked, work is prevented by importation or the patentee refuses to grant a licence on reasonable terms, thus prejudicing development of industrial and commercial activities in Nigeria. Compulsory licences may also be granted if necessary to work a patent capable of being worked but which has not been so worked.

Industrial designs and models

In accordance with the Patents and Designs Act (1970) Cap 344 LFN 1990, industrial designs may be registered and protected for five years, and protection is renewable for two additional five-year terms.

Fees. Around US$35 for official fees; US$300-500 for attorney and other fees.

Trademarks

Types. Only goods may be registered. Services may not be registered, though the proposed Industrial Property Law would allow such registration (when promulgated). The international classification of goods now applies. Goods registered under the old classification are to be reclassified as soon as possible on payment of the necessary fees.

Duration. Seven years from application, renewable for additional periods of 14 years thereafter.

Legal effect. Registration confers legal rights.

Fees. US$55 for official fees; US$300-500 for attorney and other fees.

Not registrable. Marks that are similar or identical to a prior registered mark or a pending application; deceptive or scandalous matter; names of single chemical compounds.

Copyrights

Types and duration. The Copyright Act of 1988 covers six broad groups: (1) literary works, which encompass computer software; (2) musical works; (3) artistic works; (4) cinematographic films; (5) sound recordings; and (6) broadcasts. Performer's rights and folklore are protected as neighbouring rights.

For the first three types, protection is for a period expiring 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies (or for a corporate author, 70 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published). However, protection for photographs (classified under artistic works) expires 50 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published. Protection for types 4-6 expires 50 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published, recorded or broadcast. Copyrights cannot be renewed.

Legal effect. Copyright generally confers the exclusive right to control use of the work in Nigeria. Reciprocal extension of copyright protection is possible where Nigeria is a party to a relevant international agreement. The copyright owner has the right to claim authorship of the work, except when it is included incidentally or accidentally when reporting current events by means of broadcasting. The owner can also object and seek relief in connection with any distortion, mutilation or modification of the work, and any other derogatory action in relation to the work, where such action would be prejudicial to the author's honour or reputation. Publishers, printers, producers or manufacturers of works in which copyright subsists must keep a register of all works produced by them, showing the name of author, title, year of production and the quantity produced.

Any qualified person may apply to the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) for a licence to produce and publish a translation of a literary or dramatic work that has been published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction for teaching, scholarship or research. The NCC also maintains a databank on authors and their works. Notification to the NCC by the rights owner is necessary to obtain protection for the work. There are no fees for this service.

Applications for patents, trademarks and industrial designs are submitted to the Patents and Trademarks Registry.

Patents. Patent applications in Nigeria must include the applicant's full name and address and, if that address is outside the country, a Nigerian service address; a description that is sufficiently clear to enable a skilled person to put the invention into effect, with any relevant plans and drawings; a claim or claims; signed power of attorney (if the application is made by an agent); information on prior foreign application (if any); and, where desired, a declaration by the true inventor requesting to be mentioned as such in the patent and stating the holder's full name and address. The official fees (around US$60) must be paid on submission of the application. The governing law does not provide for examination for novelty or patentability of an invention. Patent examinations are conducted for formal correctness only; patents are granted at the patentee's risk as to existence of a prior patent. After the patent is granted, the registrar publishes notification of the grant, including a description of the patent. This process generally takes 2-4 months and is finalised with the certificate of registration (Letters Patent). Besides the official fees, other costs are generally US$300-500. The registration procedure is usually straightforward since there is no substantive examination process.

Grant of a patent is not conditioned on its publication in the Federal Government Gazette; publication merely serves as notification to the public of the details of the patent as granted. In the past, the registrar published notifications of grant of patent in the gazette, usually 1-6 years after the grant. Because of administrative lapses, however, the Patents and Trademarks Registry has not published details of any grant in the gazette in more than ten years. Nevertheless, the absence of publication does not affect the validity of such patents.

A provision for priority registration allows for filing an application to register a patent (within six months for a design and 12 months for an invention) after the same patent has been filed overseas. This confers on the registrant the same rights that would have applied if the patent were filed in Nigeria on the same day it was filed overseas. For example, a design patent filed in London on January 1st 2006 and then filed in Nigeria no later than July 1st 2006 enjoys protection in Nigeria with effect from January 1st 2006 if eventually registered.

Priority is defined by the Paris Convention, to which Nigeria is a signatory. The provisions of the convention are incorporated into Nigerian law under the Patents and Designs (Convention Countries) Order of 1971. This order declares the 75 countries and jurisdictions listed as convention countries.

Trademarks. A trademark application, which must be accompanied by a signed power of attorney, states the name, description, address and nature of the business of the proprietor of the mark and gives an address for the service of all correspondence on the applicant (usually the agent's address). The application is examined for registrability and to confirm that the trademark does not conflict with any other registered trademark or pending application. If the results of the search are positive, the registrar will issue an acceptance notification to the application (usually within three weeks of filing the application), and the mark will be forwarded for publication in the trademarks journal. Upon being advertised, any party wishing to record an opposition to the registration of the mark has two months to do so. If no objection is raised, the Patents and Trademarks Registry will issue a Certificate of Registration. The official fee to register a trademark is US$55; other costs, including attorney fees, are US$300-500. Registration lasts for an initial term of seven years and is renewable for consecutive 14-year terms.

Ordinarily, the trademark-registration process should take no more than 12-18 months. However, because of the largely irregular publication of the trademarks journal and frequent disruption to staffing at the Registry, the procedure has been known to last much longer even when no opposition has been lodged against the application. The certificate of registration provides conclusive evidence of the registration of the trademark.

Industrial designs and models. Registration for these applications are filed with the Patents and Trademarks Registry, and designs are published in an official gazette. The process usually takes about three months. Official fees are around US$35; other costs run US$300-500.

Copyrights. The Copyrights Act of 1988 (Cap 68 LFN) created the Nigerian Copyright Council on August 17th 1989. The council became known as the Nigerian Copyright Commission in 1996. There is no formal registration procedure for copyrights in Nigeria, since a copyright attaches automatically to a work on its creation. For evidentiary purposes, however, it is prudent for a rights owner to notify the Nigerian Copyrights Commission of ownership of the work, which is then noted by the commission in its records. There are no charges for this service. Obtaining absolute protection for copyright can be difficult. The high costs incurred in trying to curb the activities of pirates, even when ownership rights are clear, usually deter rights owners from pursuing remedies.

Johnnic Communications, a South African media and entertainment group, opened the Nu Metro Media Store in Lagos in June 2005 to sell books, music, CDs and DVDs. Nu Metro is entering into partnerships with Nigerian producers to create a structured distribution network that aims to curb piracy. According to Israel Edjeren, marketing manager of Nu Metro, "We are here in Nigeria primarily to legitimise the distribution of the Hollywood movies and strengthen the hands of our brothers here [the local producers] by joining our forces together to create an enduring modern and effective movie-distribution structure." The company's first product release in Nigeria is the "Celebration Collection", a series of 12 of the most popular Nigerian home movies. Anthony Ward, director at Johnnic Communications, noted that Nu Metro's entry into Nigeria's home-entertainment market, estimated to be worth more than N5bn, would elevate the industry and make it more viable for practitioners and stakeholders.

The fast-food industry in Nigeria is rapidly expanding, especially in the commercial and wealthy capitals of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Debonair Pizza, Steers Steak House and Nando's, of South Africa, launched franchises in 2004.

Nigerian Breweries began local production of the Heineken brand of beer in 2004, under licence from its majority shareholder, Heineken Breweries of the Netherlands. Prior to this, Heineken had been entering the Nigerian market strictly as an import. To meet local preferences, Nigerian Breweries unveiled a new big (60 cl) bottle of the beer.

New licensers typically identify the potential of local partners by assessing their handling of products with similar marketing characteristics. The existence of long-established trading companies and business conglomerates has substantially simplified this task for new licensers. Many simply approach all the major trading houses, then list those interested in the product that do not already distribute, manufacture or market competing brands. Other relevant factors may be the prospective licensee's existing branch network, available transport for distributing products around the country, and financial and human resources. Good sources for information are bilateral chambers of commerce and Nigerian consulate offices in home countries.

Local conglomerates are chosen most frequently as licensees for international brands. The following are some examples: AG Leventis Nigeria (Mercedes-Benz, Hoover); CFAO Nigeria (Otis Elevators, Mitsubishi and Renault); Mandilas (Electrolux, Carrier and Volkswagen); Paterson Zochonis Industries (Thermocool, Cusson's Imperial Leather); SCOA Nigeria (Peugeot); John Holt (Yamaha); UAC of Nigeria (General Motors); and UTC Nigeria (Kenwood household products).

The Patents and Trademarks Registry, the Designs Registry and the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion are other avenues for interested parties to gather relevant information, particularly on terms of similar agreements.

Licensers may not restrict their licensees' freedom of action, except as necessary to safeguard patent rights. For example, limitations are permitted on the scope, extent, territory or duration of the agreement, but they may not go beyond what is necessary to protect patent rights. Tie-in clauses presumably would be allowed if patents could not operate without them.

Although the Trade Marks Act does not use the term "licensing", it makes provision for registering a person other than the registered proprietor of a trademark as a registered user. This provision has been interpreted to permit the licensing of a trademark and to allow the registration of such licensee as a user of the mark.

Under the Patents and Designs Act of 1970 (Cap 344 LFN 1990), licensing agreements must be registered with the Registrar of Patents to be effective against third parties. But only the licenser can institute civil proceedings; licensees may sue in their own name only after the licenser has unreasonably or negligently ignored a request to sue. Nevertheless, the licensee's right does not prejudice the licenser's right to intervene at any time in the court proceedings.

The National Office of Industrial Property (NOIP) Act of 1979 set out requirements for companies to register any contract involving the right to use trademarks or patented inventions or covering the supply of any form of technical assistance. This includes technical expertise in the form of plans, diagrams, operating manuals or detailed engineering drawings; plant and machinery; and operating staff, managerial assistance or personnel training.

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), successor to NOIP, approves management contracts and technical-service agreements covering training, research and the transfer of technical know-how for all industries, including manufacturing, engineering and agriculture. According to central-bank guidelines, a maximum of 5% of project cost is now allowed for consulting fees, but this is limited to projects with very high technology content for which indigenous expertise is not available. NOTAP reports to have licensed 3,000 patent-rights agreements to date between Nigerian enterprises and foreign companies across all sectors.

NOTAP was given the mandate in 1998 to commercialise locally developed research-and-development findings, inventions and innovations from research institutes, universities, polytechnics, private laboratories and workshops. The office has undertaken some initiatives to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to make effective use of intellectual property through NOTAP's Patent Information and Documentation Centre.

Management service agreements also can be registered with NOTAP, which issues a certificate of registration. Approval is granted to transfer fees only for technology-based projects for which indigenous expertise is not available. Service agreements for such joint ventures should include a programme for training Nigerians for eventual takeover. A company seeking to register its technology-transfer agreements must go through NOTAP, which is empowered to deny registration for agreements it finds unacceptable.

Royalty and fee payments require prior permission from NOTAP. Permissible limits for licence or technical-service charges/royalties are 1-5% of net sales value. Approval for management service agreements is limited to 1-5% of the Nigerian company's net profit before tax. If the Nigerian company is not expected to generate a profit for some years (which is known as the gestation period and usually applies to agriculture), this is limited to 1-2% of net sales for the first 3-5 years.

NOTAP charges a presentation fee of N10,000 and a registration fee of N35,000 for contracts valued at N1m-10m; N50,000 for contracts valued at N10m-20m; N100,000 for contracts valued at N20m-50m; N200,000 for contracts valued at N50m-100m; N300,000 for contracts valued at N100m-250m; N400,000 for contracts valued at N250m-500m; N500,000 for contracts valued at N500m-1bn; and N750,000 for contracts valued at N1bn and above. There is a penalty fee of N20,000 for every agreement that is not registered within 30 days after its effective commencement date.

The banks will not facilitate remittances of foreign-currency payment for royalty or fees due to a licenser without proof of NOTAP registration.

In terms of commercial property ownership, Europe is shrinking as UK supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury's snap up property on the Continent (p28).

But care needs to be taken because with expansion comes the danger of clone operations. Variety is the spice of life, so it is important that in the march on the Continent, these British brands retain the flavour of the countries they are entering, and do not do away with the qualities that make each of them individual.

Banking back

There has been a turnaround in the UK's high streets. A decade ago banks deserted the main shopping areas, but now they have returned in force (p50), while mega stores, book stores and phone shops are in danger of shrinking or being replaced entirely by all-singing, all-dancing "media" shops (p46). Should we lament these changes and start asking what will be left of the high street? Banks, and media stores, are hardly a colourful collection of retailers. But what will stop this onslaught? The high street should not be forever a slave to covenant, so it is time landlords looked at wide-ranging offers to save our high streets from blandness

JOHNSON & JOHNSON'S $3 billion global media review came to a dose last week, as it consolidated duties in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Interpublic Group of Cos/ new J&J-dedicated media shop, J3, takes over the $1.3 billion business in North America, with communications-planning assignments distributed among independent Naked, WPP Group's JWT and Interpublic's newly created Sandbox (see box).

In putting communications planning at the center of its marketing development, J&J is following such players as Unilever and Procter & Gamble Co. Communications planning marketing mixes customized to a brand based on what research shows to be the best times, places and channels for reaching the brand's key consumers.

But J&J's system has a twist. The North American assignment, which has yet to be fully portioned out to J&J's brands, constitutes an extended trial of three agency models: keeping communications planning within a brand's creative agency at JWT, putting it within an untested holdingcompany shop with Sandbox, or placing it with a planning boutique at Naked.

"There will be specific brands assigned to Sandbox, Naked and JWT," said Kimberly Kadlec, worldwide VP-chief media officer, J&J. "We're working with marketers now to assign those.... But the idea is to build some significant success models and grow this model globally."

Among others who have tried communications planning, most have kept it within media shopsUnilever at WPP Group's MindShare globally, P&G with Publias Croupe's Starcom Media Vest Group and Aegis Group's Carat in North America.

"It really became apparent there was a true gap in strategic thinking as it related to media," said Ms. Kadlec. "Communications planning really embodies what I believe the brands were missing."

J&J's media-buying-and-planning assignment-what it terms the "media leverage AOR"-also includes a novel twist by incorporating such far-flung disciplines as creative production, promotion, event marketing and other nonmedia outlays not normally covered by such assignments.

One of the main reasons, Ms. Kadlec said, is "to take advantage of the new resources that are available at the media companies themselves. NBC has a digital studio. Meredith has a creative and marketing team. Time Warner does a lot of creative. ... There are new offerings from large media companies that we would like to leverage better, and we believe this team will help us do that."

While J&J didn't consolidate media buying globally, it did unite it regionally in an effort to better leverage the scale of its media outlays, Ms. Kadlec said. In addition to Interpublic's North America assignment, OMD will become regional agency of record for Latin America and AsiaPacific (with UM and Initiative retaining Japan and some Southeast Asian island countries). Aegis Group's Aegis Media will take regional duties in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from Initiative.

Loyd Grossman is extending his eponymousbranded food range into snacking with the launch of a premium nut mix line.

The TV presenter and writer has teamed up with Premier Foods, which produces his range of sauces, pasta, bread and soups under licence, and nut processor Sun Valley Snacks to develop a product called Loyd Grossman Indulgent Nut Mix.

Three variants of a cashew, pecan, almond and macadamia nut mix have been developed - Caramelised Red Onion, Black Olive and Sundried Tomato.

Principles Agency, the strategic advertising, marketing and media shop based in Leeds, has designed the packaging to reflect the Loyd Grossman brand's values of sophistication and indulgence.

The pack design uses the same core black and cream elements as the rest of the range and reflects the nuts' healthy properties. The useof understated shades of maroon, purple and red for the variants is intended to appeal to upmarket consumers.

The product is being rolled out first in Sainshury's. A supporting press advertising campaign, also created by Principles Agency, is planned for later this year.

Sales of nuts, seeds and dried fruit hit the £500m mark at the end of 2010, a growth of 50% since 2001, according to Mintel. However, sales of peanuts have shrunk by 4% over the past five years to £117m as consumers perceive them as high in salt and fat, instead opting for healthier, more upmarket alternatives such as Brazil nuts, walnuts or almonds.

BIG Brother fans flocked to see two former housemates open a store in Middlesbrough.Richard Newman and Lea Walker, otherwise known as Dicky and Dolly were in the seventh series of the show.They appeared at the Virgin Media shop, in the Cleveland Centre, on Saturday.Fans chatted to the pair about the current show and were invited to enter a prize draw for eviction night tickets.Visitors to the store were also given the opportunity to try out the media products on offer.Paul Williams, retail director at Virgin Media, said: "We've always found that combining mobile phones with music and entertainment is a perfect way to engage Virgin customers and our brand new store will certainly showcase the latest and greatest phones and technology that Virgin has to offer. "Having Dicky and Dolly there to open the store is an added bonus."

To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com. Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Aug. 9--Tower records is gone.

And as of last month, Virgin Megastore is too.

So are scores of local independent record shops, slaughtered by the iPod, iTunes, Amazon.com and "big box" stores like Best Buy and Target.

R.I.P. record stores, you old dinosaurs you. Right?

Wrong. Independent record stores are alive and well in the Chicago area. Some even claim to be--gasp--making money. Some crazy folks are even opening new ones.

Customer service is one reason. But another, perhaps more surprising factor is the growing demand for LPs.

Two of the newest record stores--Permanent Records on Chicago Avenue and year-old Revolver Records on 18th Street in Pilsen--opened specifically to specialize in vinyl, carrying thousands of used and rare records.

It's a quest for tangibility that is, in some ways, driving the vinyl craze. To some music lovers, CDs, at about 16 grams, feel less substantial than a 180-gram audiophile vinyl record. And that's not counting the record jacket, with its poster, perhaps, and liner notes and art on the back and front.

There's something alternative, even subversive, about vinyl, especially when everybody is carrying around iPods.

"If everybody from your mom to your grandparents has ear buds in their ears, how do you differentiate who's cool?" said Eric Levin, president of the Atlanta-based Alliance of Independent Media Stores. "The girl at the end of the dorm hall spinning records is infinitely cool. It's a huge youth movement. Vinyl is just out of control. It's like somebody pushed the cool button again."

Elliot Pence--a 19-year-old sophomore at DePaul University who sports an inner-lower-lip tat that reads "romantic," a nose ring and an occasional pompadour--concurs, noting a trend toward nostalgia among his peers.

"I think vinyl is definitely coming back, along with vintage clothes and just wanting something different," he explained.

Pence said he had only ever been to Virgin once. "And that was to buy movies," he said.

"I like to buy from independent places, to try to keep them open, 'cause I like them better than giant corporations. They're so much more personal and the staff really knows their stuff and actually cares about the music."

The Jazz Record Mart on East Illinois Street was looking pretty alive on a recent Tuesday afternoon with a half-dozen customers sifting through its bins, including Gustavo Verdesio, a University of Michigan professor with a collection of 2,500 albums in his Ann Arbor, Mich., home.

On this summer day, Verdesio was looking to add three or four more. In his hands he had CDs by jazz pianist Fred Hersch and jazz saxophonist Chris Potter and a rare album by jazz pianists Tommy Flanagan and Kenny Barron that he didn't even know existed before he spotted it in the bin. It was $7.99.

Verdesio was thrilled.

"It's the sensual experience of touching the records," he said, explaining why he goes online for music as a last resort. "If it's secondhand, it's the arbitrariness of how the records are located. And there are people around you, so you get a feeling of community. Buying online is a lonely experience. I have nothing against lonely experiences but it is nice to alternate."

A few aisles away, Ashley Crawford was clutching a CD by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. In town from Mystic, Conn., to visit family, Crawford said she prefers visiting record stores to ordering on the Internet.

"I try not to buy records online," said Crawford, a high school music teacher with a collection of about 200 records and so many CDs she has lost count. "I like seeing and holding what I am about to buy."

Somehow, there's just something more real about a record or CD as opposed to the kilobytes that make up an MP3, record store customers said. How do you give someone a download as a gift, anyway?

About 3 miles west, Lance Barresi, co-owner of Permanent Records on West Chicago Avenue, copied onto a Post-It note a quote from a Detroit publication that amounts to an anti-download manifesto for the independent record store: "Is that what music is to you: undersized, inconsequential and disposable?"

"Most people don't care about that kind of thing," said Barresi, who, with store co-owner Liz Tooley, owns more than 10,000 albums. In the store on this particular afternoon, he was listening to Caribou's "Start Breaking My Heart." "But the kind of people who are interested in it are devout."

Levin of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores said that when he throws a record on a turntable in his Atlanta stores, people sometimes look confused.

"They say, 'Hey, that doesn't sound like my download,'" he said. "And it is inherently different. There's magic in that groove."

Take a favorite album, one from before all music was recorded digitally first, play it on CD and then play it on vinyl, said Val Camilletti, owner of Val's Halla in Oak Park, a store packed with used records of every genre, from ballet to classical to hip-hop to rock.

"Play the CD and you will hear that it sounds perfect and it sounds fine," Camilletti said. "Put the LP on, and what happens to me is a kind of tingle in the back of my neck and a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can't describe it. It is literally the warmth or the actual expansion of what sound is."

Permanent Records even started a label, also called Permanent Records, to press 180-gram records of CDs by bands like psychedelic rockers Warhammer 48K.

"We've always done well with vinyl," said Brian Smith, general manager of Reckless Records' three Chicago stores. "If they want a mainstream release, they're more likely to go to Best Buy."

Three miles south of downtown is Revolver Records, opened in June 2006 by Marlon Hernandez, a man with a 30,000-album record collection. On a weekday afternoon, the store was filled with the smooth soul of the Stylistics.

Revolver, like Permanent, is banking on vinyl for survival. The focus is on soul, funk, jazz, rock and hip-hop.

"We're doing fairly OK," Hernandez said. "I make most of my money off of vinyl and rare stuff ... We sell a lot of soundtracks, particularly Blaxploitation stuff, 45s."

For Camilletti of Val's Halla, vinyl is key to keeping the store, which has been open 35 years, afloat. "It is the cushion that helps us survive financially. And it is the fun stuff for us."

Levin said: "People think that people aren't shopping [at record stores] anymore. It was rough going for awhile for a lot of us. But I am working on a 20-year plan, not a two-year plan. We haven't had a downward trend in sales."

In some ways, the tangibility factor goes beyond a record or CD simply being something solid compared to a song downloaded on an iPod, customers and owners say. The experience of actually going into a local record shop feels like a more authentic experience.

It's part of what Camilletti calls "the mystique of music."

"If you want to learn about music, you've got to do it in a store," said Rick Wojcik, owner of Dusty Groove America, a store that actually got its start on the Internet in 1996 before moving into a good old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar shop in Hyde Park, and later, in Wicker Park. "Stores allow customers to connect to the music in a way you don't get from sound samples on a blog."

Back at the Jazz Record Mart, deejay Jeremy Williams was browsing albums looking for some to add to his collection of 500 records.

He does buy online, he said, but loves browsing the record stores.

"I probably wouldn't buy a CD here because of MP3s. They are a lot cheaper," he said. "But I look for dance records. You can't buy records at Best Buy."

- -- -

Want to get your groove on? Search the racks at these survivors:

Dusty Groove America, 1120 N. Ashland Ave.; 773-342-5800, www.dustygroove.com. The storefront for this locally based e-business that's popular worldwide is just as organized and unfussy as their site, making for easy navigation amid the tables of soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop and world music.

Jazz Record Mart, 27 E. Illinois St.; 312-222-1467, www.jazzmart.com. New digs or not, you can almost smell the history soaked into the stacks of jazz, blues, gospel and R&B albums in this large room filled with warm tunes, friendly staff and good vibes.

Permanent Records, 1914 W. Chicago Ave.; 773-278-1744, www.permanentrecords

chicago.com. Visitors are welcomed to this new shop -- which specializes in independent and underground music of all genres, with a focus on rock -- by robin-egg-blue walls, and lots of posters and records on display, along with books, magazines, DVDs and other music paraphernalia.

Reckless Records, 3161 N. Broadway Ave.; 773-404-5080, www.reckless.com (plus locations in Wicker Park and the Loop). Savvy hipster employees serve up a side of guidance -- when prompted -- with the stores' heaps of vinyl, DVDs and CDs in genres from rock to underground hip-hop.

Revolver Records, 1524 W. 18th St.; 312-226-4211. This intimate storefront in Pilsen is packed with jazz, rock, hip-hop, soul, R&B, and rare and reissued vinyl. There's an impressive graffiti-inspired mural emblazoned on one wall, plus T-shirts and a listening station.

Val's Halla, 239 W. Harrison St., Oak Park, 708-524-1004, www.valshalla.com. A year ago Val's moved to this one-room space with new and used CDs on one side and vinyl on the other. All genres are represented, with a slight emphasis on pop and rock. The walls are pretty much covered with posters, memorabilia and vintage magazines for sale. And then, of course, there's the Elvis shrine bathroom.

* AYLING QUITS SANCTUARY

Sanctuary Group chairman Robert Ayling and three nonexecutive directors have exited the London-based music company's board. Ayling departed along with James Wallace, Tina Sharp and John Preston, following the Aug. 2 announcement that Universal Music Group had secured acceptance from Sanctuary shareholders of its £44.5 million ($87.7 million) bid for the company. Wallace was senior independent nonexecutive director/chairman of the audit committee, Sharp chaired the remuneration committee, and Preston was a member of the audit and remuneration committee. Sanctuary's board now consists of chief executive Frank Presland and finance director Paul Wallace. Sanctuary hired Ayling in April 2006 to solve financial issues that had nearly brought the company into bankruptcy. Ayling was chief executive of British Airways from 1992 to 2000.

-Lars Brandie

* MOBOSS WAP ALBERT FOR O2

The 12th edition of the United Kingdom's Music of Black Origin Awards, taking place Sept 19, will be the first industry awards ceremony to be held at London's new 02 Arena. The venue, on the south bank of the River Thames In Greenwich, opened July 7. Owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it was previously known as the Millennium Dome. The MOBOs have been held at the 126year-old Royal Albert Hall in London for the past three years. The London-based MOBO Organization stages the event.

-Juliana Koranteng

*ITALY'S DIGITAL SALES UP 44%

The value of digital music sales in Italy soared In the first six months of 2007, according to research that auditing company Deloitte conducted on behalf of industry body FIMI. Digital album sales increased 66% in 2007's first half, while singles grew 33% compared with the same period in 2006. The overall value rose 44% to euro2.7 million ($3.7 million). Unit figures were not available. According to FIMI president Enzo Mazza, "Digital sales now account for about 7% of the Italian market. We estimate that can be divided into roughly 3% online and 4% mobile."

-Mark Worden

*ROK LAUNCHES MOBILE MUSIC SERVICE

U.K.-based mobile-technology developer ROK Entertainment Group has launched an international digital-entertainment service. ROK Media Store aims to challenge the dominance of Apple's iTunes Music Store and iPod players. Free "jukebox" software available at rokmediastore.com allows users to upload their CD collection to a computer hard drive. Users can then side-load their collection onto memory cards to play on mobile phones. Copyright is protected via ROK's proprietary encryption and compression technologies. The site also sells online music from a catalog comprising tracks from independent labels; ROK says it is talking to the four major labels about expanding its selection. Tracks cost £0.79 ($1.59) for U.K. buyers, euro0.99 ($1.36) in continental Europe and $0.99 for U.S. customers. Video material will be made available later this year. "The majority of mobile phones come with a memory card," ROK marketing director Bruce Renny says. "And as there are far more mobile phones than there are IPods, we're aiming for that much larger market."

Since the start of 2005, 22 EPs have appeared on The Billboard 200 or the Heatseekers chart. In 2007 alone, eight EPs-defined by Billboard as releases priced less than $9.99, with five to nine different songs (or fewer than five, if the release is not named after one of the songs)-have entered one of those charts, and six of them came out on independent labels . All told, 15 of the 22 charting EPs have been indies. And the trend has retailers and labels taking notice. (For a major label EP strategy, see story, page 45.)

"I've definitely noticed an uptick in EP sales recently," says Michael Kurtz, executive director of the Music Monitor Network, a coalition of independent regional music chains. "They've emerged as an inexpensive way for fans to get the feel of a band, and for bands to keep their relationships with fans going between records."

Some indies are releasing EPs out of necessity. In July, Sub Pop put out the Flight of the Conchords' "Distant Future" EP to play on the success of their HBO show, because that same success prevented the band from being able to find time to record a fulllength; this week, that EP tops the Heatseekers chart. Meanwhile, many other labels view the EP format as a way for bands to experiment with their sound at a reduced level of risk.

When Beirut released its debut album in spring 2006, its immediate success came as somewhat of a shock to the band's label, Ba Da Bing. Label head Ben Goldberg realized that the band wouldn't be able to quickly turn around a fulllength, but that there were a few songs in the can that would not really fit in with the sound of the next album. "We had a collection of live songs we wanted to record, and we wanted to give people a taste of the live show, so we went ahead and put out the EP," Goldberg says. The risk paid off; the "Lon Gisland" EP charted and has since sold 14,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Goldberg says, "EPs are an opportunity to experiment with things, to test the water and to open up a band's sound. EPs are also more quickly forgotten than full-lengths, so the risk is lower." Despite this, Goldberg still sees major problems with the format. "They're honestly not my favorite things, because they're not cost-effective. They cost as much to make as a regular CD, even though the sale price is lower."

Victory Records head Tony Brummel echoes this viewpoint. Despite releasing Straylight Run's "Prepare to Be Wrong" EP, which has sold 58,000 copies, and Aiden's 24,000-selling "Rain in Hell," Brummel says, "I'm totally not interested in the EP. They're not financially feasible and often tend to lose money. Major retailers charge the same to stocka record, be it an EP, a CD or a single. We've released EPs thinking they would help a band's other albums, and they've done nothing. I think people really want full-lengths."

But Eric Levin, Atlanta-based head of indie retail coalition Alliance of Independent Media Stores, says he's seen a resurgence in 7-inch and vinyl EP sales, and that putting them out is smart from an A&R standpoint.

"The consumer is OK with paying four or five dollars for an EP,"hesays. "Itkeepsthe band's name out there, and because music production and recording has become so much easier, they make more sense to produce now than ever before."

Steven Peterson, of Long Beach, Calif., band Run Doris Run, may be a case in point. "An A&R guy we worked with told us releasing a few EPs was a better move than releasing one full-length, because the more music out there with your name on it, the better," he says. "Besides, we'd rather release five great songs than a full-length with five great songs and five mediocre ones."

In some cases, consumers will also purchase EPs with minimal promotion from the record label-and catering to completists can result in decent numbers. Sub Pop's Steve Manning says that he purchased almost no ads and didn't push interviews for Iron and Wine's 2005 EP "Woman King." Yet it moved 94,000 units, according to SoundScan. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Is Is," released last month, has moved 25,000 units and peaked at No. 72 on The Billboard 200 by offering live recordings of previously unreleased fan favorites.

"When a band has a rabid fan base," says Mike Fratt of six-store Nebraska-based chain Homer's Records, "an EP is a great way for us to keep them coming back and have fresh product on the shelves."

007 Lifetime Achievement Award George Feldstein, Crestron Electronics, Inc. - Rockleigh, NJ 2007 Residential Electronic Systems Contractor Volunteer of the Year Ray Lepper, Home Media Stores L.C. - Midlothian, VA 2007 Manufacturer Volunteer of the Year Joaquin Rivera, Stewart Filmscreen - Torrance, CA 2007 Sales Representative of the Year Don St. Peters, St. Peters Sales Agency, Inc. - Indianapolis, IN 2007 Electronic Systems Contractor of the Year Logic Integration - Englewood, CO 2007 Electronic Systems Technician of the Year Mike Musgrave, Audio/Video Entertainment - Laguna Niguel, CA CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Media, the largest independent media services agency in America and the fastest growing in the industry, has updated its website and logo to reflect the entrepreneurial and trusting service the independent shop provides to its clients and media partners. It is the first branding and image revamp in ten years. To see the new site, visit www.horizonmedia.com.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071105/NYM181LOGO )

"Our new blue logo speaks to our name and all the possibilities associated with looking out on the horizon," stated CEO Bill Koenigsberg. "The most important message I wanted to communicate in updating the site is the Horizon position of 'business is personal' which recognizes the trust that agency and client must develop with one another. Once that trust is built, it is the bridge to taking greater risks with innovative strategies and clients feel comfortable with us leading them. It's that personal connection with clients that is the true motivating driver and that is why Horizon Media is known for having clients for life. It drives people to go the extra mile."

The homepage clearly depicts that message with an image of Horizon's CEO who greets visitors and personally invites them to "please step inside our office and find out why ... " The 2006 Media All-Star CEO of the Year (as selected by Media Week) goes on to inform how Horizon goes the extra mile to make it personal and explains "first, because our commitment to client success is passionate and ingrained in corporate culture. Second, because we are passionately committed to the growth and development of our talented employees."

From the homepage, visitors can browse a menu of options to learn more about the independent media shop. A click on Mission provides the company's mission statement to help clients sell products and build brands by providing effective marketing counsel and profound insight regarding brand consumers and their targeted communication channels.

Once inside the website (or Bill's office as it appears from the site), a new Horizon becomes visually clear. Who we are provides insights such as Bill's perspective on the advantage of independence, trust as the key ingredient to client relationships and talent training and growth. Click again on About Us to see the senior team leaders and learn more about their talent and expertise. Communication Planning provides an overview of brand strategy, channel and consumer insights as well as research.

Media Channels provides an intimate look at the different media groups and the key talent that runs each division from traditional to non-traditional media. Fast Facts provides a list of key facts about the fastest growing independent agency in America including key milestones and annual billings. A separate icon for Press Releases will provide up to date information for press and other visitors to read recent announcements from Horizon. Another icon for Contact us allows visitors to contact the agency for inquiries or services questions. Join Us provides a full overview of the media shop's human resources and talent growth initiatives for a career in marketing services, buying or planning.

About Horizon Media

Founded in 1989, Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest U.S. independent media services company. Dedicated to helping clients sell products and build brands through insightful marketing counsel, media-neutral strategic planning and effective negotiation and placement, Horizon's exceptional holistic approach to brand marketing and development has resulted in estimated billings of $1.8 billion and established the company as the fastest growing agency in the industry. Headquartered in New York City with a full service office in Los Angeles, Horizon also has offices in Orlando, Atlanta, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Horizon is also the founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.horizonmedia.com.