Burlington Covers Tracks for Stunt: Marketers still haven't recovered from the failure of Cartoon Network's 2007 Boston stunt, which infamously prompted the city to brace for a terrorist attack and included such fallout as network exec's resignation and a $1 million fine. In hopes of avoiding a similar stir when planting 500 unattended messenger bags around New York City last week, Burlington Coat Factory coordinated the stunt with local police to make sure nobody was caught off guard. They also made a concerted effort to keep all of the bags—each containing a gift card to the retailer's new "store in a store," the Factory—on pre-approved private property and monitored by event staff. Planners reportedly interviewed bloggers who covered the Boston incident to find out how to stay on the right track. [NYP]
Most-Watched Emmys Since 2006: Producer Don Mischer and host Neil Patrick Harris received most of the credit this week for a positively reviewed Emmy presentation and a highly watched telecast. Ratings were up to 13.3 million viewers for Sunday's show, a 1 million gain from last year's highly criticized outing. The 2009 show marks the biggest audience the Emmys have drawn since 2006, and many think the quicker pace of grouped awards—by comedy, reality, long-form, variety, and drama—made for a more accessible broadcast. [Variety]
Traveler Promotes Conference With Web Presence: For its third annual World Savers Congress, a conference to promote social responsibility within the travel industry, Condé Nast Traveler tried to extend the conversation to readers who couldn't make the New York event. A new Web site, truth.travel, launched last week with real-time coverage of the conference, new blogs, and aggregated Twitter feeds from staffers and other attendees attending the show. World Savers hosted brands including Timberland and featured presentations from cause-oriented celebrities such as Mandy Moore, Edward Norton, and Wyclef Jean. [WWD]
Audience Sourcing Gains Favor of Movie Marketers: More and more distributors are marketing films directly to theater audiences and repurposing the taped content online and in advertising. The latest film to get the treatment is Paramount's supernatural thriller Paranormal Activity. Stunt screenings in Los Angeles have already provided fodder for the trailer, and now, when the film sees limited release this weekend, the studio will set up Webcams at theaters to get confessional and unstaged audience reactions. [BrandFreak]
