Mediaboss Marketing

Media playback is unsupported on your device

The coronavirus outbreak has been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold in two weeks. He said he was "deeply concerned" by "alarming levels of inaction".

A pandemic is a disease that is spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time.

Hours later Italy said all shops except food shops and pharmacies would close.

Announcing the toughest lockdown seen yet in Europe, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said bars, hairdressers, restaurants and cafes that could not guarantee a metre's distance between customers and non-essential company departments would also close.

The impact of the tightened restrictions - in force from Thursday until 25 March - on the rate of new coronavirus cases would take a couple of weeks to be seen, Mr Conte said.

Dr Tedros said that calling the outbreak a pandemic did not mean the WHO was changing its advice about what countries should do.

He called on governments to change the course of the outbreak by taking "urgent and aggressive action".

"Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled," he said.

"The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same - it's whether they will."

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Governments had to "strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimising disruption and respecting human rights".

"We're in this together to do the right things with calm and protect the citizens of the world. It's doable," he said.

His appeal was followed by the several other countries announcing ever more stringent restrictions to try to prevent the virus taking a hold.

Denmark - which has 514 confirmed cases, up 10-fold since Monday, but no deaths so far - is to close all schools and universities from Friday and will send home all public sector employees who are not in critical roles in the coming days. The government also urged the cancellation of events with more than 100 people attending.

Meanwhile India has suspended most visas for foreigners until 15 April and Guatemala is banning European citizens from entering from Thursday.

The country has already closed schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the country.

It has more than 12,000 confirmed cases and a death toll of 827. Nearly 900 people with the virus in Italy were in intensive care, the WHO's emergencies head Michael Ryan said.

Dr Ryan said the situation in Iran - where the official figures are 354 deaths among 9,000 cases - was "very serious". The WHO had sent 40,000 testing kits to Iran but there was still a shortage of ventilators and oxygen.

"Iran and Italy are suffering now but I guarantee you other countries will be in that situation very soon," he said.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Earlier, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that up to 70% of the country's population - some 58 million people - could contract the coronavirus. She said since there was no known cure, the focus would fall on slowing the spread of the virus. "It's about winning time," she said.

Some German virologists dispute the high figure. Former federal government adviser on disease control, Prof Alexander Kekul, told German media he saw a worst case scenario of 40,000 cases.

The number of confirmed cases in Germany has risen to 1,567 from 1,296, the Koch institute for infectious diseases said.

By Philippa Roxby, BBC Health

The use of the p-word by the WHO to describe the global spread of this new coronavirus is not a huge surprise.

Up until now, it has talked merely of the "threat" or the "potential" for a pandemic. But with cases in more than 100 countries, and increasing numbers not linked to travel, the language has changed.

The WHO no longer 'declares' a pandemic the way it used to, so this is as official as it gets. Yet this doesn't mean the pandemic cannot be controlled, it explains.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

It's a call to action and a plea for all countries not to give up, no matter how large the number of cases.

Practically, countries are being told to continue to do what they have been advised to do. That means some may have to step up their response.

But the WHO is not changing what it's doing or the threat level of the virus.

What the use of the word "pandemic" highlights is the importance of countries around the world taking urgent action to respond to their own outbreaks - because now it's everyone's responsibility to turn the tide on the virus.

France said there had been 48 deaths in the country, an increase of 15 from Tuesday. There are 2,281 confirmed cases. Coronavirus-linked restrictions have been extended to two more areas, France's health minister said.

In the western US, Washington state is banning some large gatherings in certain areas and has told all school districts to prepare for possible closures in the coming days. The governor of Seattle's King County said he expected a serious coronavirus outbreak within weeks.

In the eastern US, New York's governor announced that troops would be sent into New Rochelle, in an attempt to contain an outbreak of the virus, as the total number of US cases passed 1,000 on Wednesday.

A one-mile (1.6km) containment zone was in force around the town north of Manhattan. Some individuals have been quarantined.

Music festivals and other major events in the US, including Coachella festival in California, have been cancelled or postponed. The E3 gaming show set for Los Angeles in June is among those cancelled.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled worldwide as airlines struggle to cope with a slump in demand.

A UK health minister, Nadine Dorries, said she had tested positive for coronavirus and was self-isolating at home.

Several countries - including Sweden and Bulgaria, as well as the Republic of Ireland - have recorded their first deaths, while the number of confirmed cases in Qatar jumped from 24 to 262.

China - where the virus was first detected - has seen a total of 80,754 confirmed cases and 3,136 deaths. But it recorded its lowest number of new infections, just 19, on Tuesday.

What are your experiences relating to the coronavirus outbreak? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

Link:
Coronavirus confirmed as pandemic by World Health Organization - BBC News

The new coronavirus has appeared in the Lehigh Valley, one of more than 40 cases identified in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The virus that causes COVID-19 has been deemed a global pandemic infecting more than 125,000 people worldwide and resulting in 4,600 deaths.

Dont panic. Federal and state health officials say there are common-sense steps that with diligence can limit the spread of the disease locally. Here youll find information on where coronavirus is in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, symptoms and precautions for COVID-19, and more. Follow the links for more.

The coronavirus. (Centers for Disease Control)

A coronavirus is a kind of virus that commonly circulates among people, like the one that causes the common cold. This, however, is a novel coronavirus, one not previously identified, according to the CDC.

The new coronavirus causes COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019. There currently is no vaccine or treatment.

As of March 12, 21 patients have tested positive for the new coronavirus in seven Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Wayne. Most of the cases are in Montgomery County, south of the Lehigh Valley. (This map will be updated as more cases are announced.)

No deaths have been reported in Pennsylvania.

The Northampton County COVID-19 case is an adult and in isolation to prevent spread of the disease, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed. The department has not been more specific with any of the COVID-19 cases in the state, citing patient confidentiality.

As of Thursday, at least three school Lehigh Valley school districts have said they have patients or employees being tested -- Allentown, Whitehall-Coplay and Easton Arts Academy.

In New Jersey, at least 23 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus and one has died.

Though Pennsylvania has not issued any formal recommendations for events to be canceled or schools to close, some individual organizations and campuses are doing so on their own.

Here youll find a list of Lehigh Valley advisories, closing and cancellations. The list is being updated as we get more information.

Fever, cough and shortness of breath may appear up to two weeks after exposure to someone with the coronavirus, according to the CDC. Coronavirus symptoms could be mild and are different from the flu, allergies or common cold.

If you think you have coronavirus symptoms, call ahead to your doctor. Not everyone will receive a coronavirus test a patient must meet specific criteria.

After a positive test, state health officials will reach out to anyone who has been in contact with that person to see if they also need testing.

This undated photo provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows CDCs laboratory test kit for the new coronavirus.CDC via AP

To protect yourself from the coronavirus, the CDC recommends washing your hands often and avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

To protect others, do what you normally should during flu season: Stay home if youre not feeling well. Cover coughs and sneezes. Regularly disinfect frequently touched surfaces like phones and doorknobs. Wear a facemask if you are sick it can prevent the spread of viruses from someone who is ill, but it wont prevent a healthy person from contracting it.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure reminded local residents to limit interactions with vulnerable populations: the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes and people with compromised immune systems.

Microbiologist Xiugen Zhang runs a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at the Connecticut State Public Health Laboratory, Monday, March 2, 2020, in Rocky Hill, Conn. The Connecticut Department of Public Health has received federal approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to run diagnostic testing for the coronavirus at the department's lab in Rocky Hill. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)AP

As more coronavirus cases appear, health officials are placing those with COVID-19 into isolation, either at a hospital or at home.

That is different from a quarantine, which is where people who have been exposed to the virus are separated and their movements restricted to see if they become sick, as the Pennsylvania Department of Health recently explained.

Isolation, on the other hand, is what happens to people who are already sick so they dont spread the disease to others. If isolated at home, the patient can still go outside but is advised to avoid close contact with others like shopping.

Health officials recommend stocking up a two-week supply of food, medicine and water in case of a 14-day quarantine. Residents should also have cleaning products on-hand and arrange for caregivers and extra medication as needed.

Students walk along Marshall Street on the Syracuse University campus Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Classes will move online after spring break next week to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

State health officials advise against relying on social media for coronavirus updates. Instead, consult your state health department at health.pa.gov or http://www.nj.gov/health and the CDC website.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

See the original post:
Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley: What to know | Symptoms and treatment for COVID-19; Pennsylvania coronaviru - lehighvalleylive.com

I think it's safe to say that by about 2010, email marketing was a full-fledged marketing tactic. If your business wasn't using it to engage with consumers, then you may have been missing out on critical new lead opportunities. Today, I believe the golden egg is A/B testing. If youre not A/B testing, you may already be behind your direct competitors.

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a marketing experiment where two different versions of a campaign or a piece of content are tested on your audience to discern which performs better. In other words, version A is shown to some of your audience and version B is shown to the others.

One of the things we love most about A/B testing as a marketing tactic is that it doesnt discriminate it can work for any business. It doesnt matter what industry your business is in. It also doesnt matter whether your business is B2C or B2B or whether you offer products or services you can use A/B testing to learn more about your audience and make changes so that youre reaching them in the most effective way.

When To Use A/B Testing

When is the best time to A/B test? The short answer is always. The more realistic answer is whenever you can.

With the chaos that is managing a business and dealing with many moving parts, it may be unrealistic to commit to A/B testing on everything you put out. While conducting continual A/B testing is ideal, its important to set goals and be intentional about your testing.

Here are the pieces of content that I recommend definitely A/B testing:

Emails

Webpages

Facebook ads

Social media posts

Blog titles

Calls to action

You also may want to conduct A/B testing to determine the optimal length of content and the best time to publish it.

Essentially, you can split test everything that your target audience sees from your business, and the more you can do so, the better grip youll likely have on what engages your audience the most.

The Main Benefits Of A/B Testing

1. Improved Content Engagement

Each time you A/B test and then use those results to inform the decision you make for future content and campaigns, youre making smart improvements to your content that are proven to garner more engagement.

For example, our team A/B tested the graphics for a Facebook ad for one of our multifamily apartment community clients. The results showed us which image style and coloring was most effective on our audience. Version B of the ad graphic garnered over 2,000 more clicks and had 20% more engagement. Since then, we've switched the style of images to be similar to version B and have seen a steady increase in engagement with our Facebook ads.

2. Reduced Bounce Rates

If you notice that visitors are leaving, or bouncing, quickly after arriving on your website, then you can use A/B testing on the copy, blog post headlines, images and more to see what best catches the eyes of your visitors. Ultimately, this can help you keep visitors on your website longer and reduce bounce rates.

3. Increased Conversion Rates

With A/B testing, you can figure out what kind of content converts more website visitors into buyers. With this marketing tactic, its extremely easy to see what works with your audience and what doesnt.

How To Conduct Efficient A/B Testing

Step 1: Pick one variable to test.

We've found that A/B testing works best if only one element is different for each version. You could use a different image for a social media post but keep the caption and URL the same, or use a different headline for a blog post but keep the image and body copy the same.

Step 2: Divide your audience equally and randomly when possible.

You may not always have control over the audience who views your A/B testing content, but with content like emails, you can control and split the audience evenly. Our team uses marketing automation software, which automatically splits traffic between the different versions, for our A/B testing.

Step 3: Test versions simultaneously.

You may not be able to fully trust the results if you test two different versions at different points in time. Unless the variable you're testing is posting time, keep the test versions on the same schedule.

Step 4: Give tests time to run.

Allow your tests to run for enough time to produce useful results. For example, no matter what content we're A/B testing, the minimum amount of time we run a test is a month.

Step 5: Measure your results.

There are many metrics you can use to gauge how your content performs for instance, bounce rate, open rate, exit rate, engagement and number of conversions. Choose one or two that align best with your main goal, and see which version performs better. In our experience, when it comes to A/B testing email subject lines, the open rate is a helpful metric. With website copy, weve found that measuring bounce rate and exit rate tell us whether our target audience is engaged.

Further, determine whether the results are statistically significant (i.e., large enough to warrant a change).

Step 6: Take action based on results.

Use what you learn even if its that your original content performed better than any of your other tested versions. As well, dont make only one change; apply what you learn to multiple facets of your content.

Not much is free in the marketing and advertising world, but we've found that A/B testing is one of the most cost-effective solutions. The insights and knowledge you can gain about your audience's preferences are invaluable, and you can use them across all levels of the content you produce.

Pay attention to your results, and weave A/B testing into the fabric of your business.

See the article here:
A/B Testing: The Benefits And How To Use It Efficiently - Forbes

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks announced Wednesday that he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, have been diagnosed with the virus.

Hanks is there working on an as-yet-untitled Elvis Presley movie for Warner Bros. He is playing the singer's manager Colonel Tom Parker. Baz Luhrmann is directing.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros. told CNN the project was in pre-production at the time of Hanks and his wife's diagnosis.

"We have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is currently in pre-production in The Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus)," Warner Bros. said in a statement provided to CNN. "We are working closely with the appropriate Australian health agencies to identify and contact anyone who may have come in direct contact with the individual. The health and safety of our company members is always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world."

"The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment," the statement said.

Warner Bros. is owned by CNN's parent company.

The Sydney Opera House where Wilson performed said on Thursday that disinfecting efforts are underway there and health officials are tracking down concertgoers who attended the performance given by Wilson last Saturday.

A Sydney Opera House spokesperson told CNN that "the Opera House is in touch with NSW Health and Queensland Health and will be acting on their advice."

The spokesperson added that "This includes getting in touch with anyone, including patrons and staff, who may have been in contact with the couple while at the Opera House."

What happened

According to Hanks, he and his wife were alerted to something being wrong after they "felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches."

"Rita had some chills that came and went," he wrote on his Instagram post. "Slight fevers too."

The couple were tested for the coronavirus, he wrote, and found to be positive.

How it happened

Neither Hanks nor Wilson have said how they may have contracted the virus.

An official with Queensland Health, the Australian government department which is overseeing efforts to control the outbreak of the disease in that area, did not name the couple but said all of the new cases "contracted the illness outside Australia and traveled to Queensland with the virus," the publication reported.

Their ages

How they are doing

Chet Hanks posted a video on Instagram, saying he had just talked with them and "They both are fine."

"They're not even that sick. They're not worried about it," the younger Hanks said. "They're not trippin' but they're going through the necessary health precautions obviously."

Colin Hanks tweeted his gratitude for the support his family has received.

"My parents are receiving excellent care in Australia and doing well (and in good spirits) given the circumstances," he wrote. "Despite the fact I'm in LA and haven't seen them in over three weeks, we have been in constant contact and am confident that they will make a full recovery."

What's next

According to Hanks, he and his wife are taking it one day at a time.

"The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed," he wrote on Instagram. "We Hanks' will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?"

"We'll keep the world posted and updated," he added.

CNN's Sandra Gonzalez, Chloe Melas, Angus Watson and Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.

See the original post here:
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: What we know - CNN

WU HONG/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

There may be a glimmer of hope may being the operative word in regards to Chinas movie theaters re-opening after being shuttered since the Lunar New Year holiday over the COVID-19 outbreak.

We hear from multiple sources, both industry and on-the-ground in the PRC, that China Film Group, the state-owned film enterprise that oversees theaters, dates films, finances, produces and more, is planning to re-open its Beijing offices as early as next week. That move would come as a positive sign to the major Hollywood studios that the PRC is slowly getting its exhibition back up and running, an infrastructure of some 70K screens that since their closing has amounted a $2 billion-plus loss.

The hope is for Chinas theaters to re-open by mid-to-late April in time for the May Day holiday (coincidentally, the global-day-and-date release of Disney/Marvels Black Widow on May 1), a maneuver that raises several questions rather than an expected boom for a country which saw its box office reach a high of $9.2B last year. Before China closed its theaters this year, its box office through the first 20 days of this year stood at $3.9B, +157% over the same period a year ago. The worst case scenario is for cinemas to re-open in the PRC by July.

Related StoryColin Hanks Says His Parents Are "Doing Well And In Good Spirits" After Coronavirus Diagnosis

Such murmurs about exhibitions slow crawl back emerge in the wake of Chinas COVID-19 cases slowing down, just as cases in the U.S. and other countries are surging. CNN says that at its worst, such embattled provinces as Hubei reported thousands of new cases a day but according to Chinas National Health Commission yesterday there were only 24 new cases. Forty percent of those originated from abroad including travelers from Italy and the U.S.

On Tuesday, in a show of confidence, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited one of the most infected regions, Wuhan, which has 67,7K of the entire countrys 80,8K cases. Reports are that the government has cleared some neighborhoods free of infection, with temporary shelters used to isolate those diagnosed already closing.

In cities like Shanghai and Beijing, the government has encouraged citizens to return back to their way of life, though with extreme safety. In addition to hotels, restaurants and retail businesses resuming operations, we hear that Chinese exhibition offices have re-opened, and U.S. entertainment corps too like Universal and Imax, in accordance with government guidelines. Those rules include rotational shifts of no more than four hours per employee with 30% of the workforce occupying an office at one time, not to mention sanitization and personal safety protocols. Shanghai Disney recently reopened their Disney village with a limitation of no more than 5K visitors a day.

Theres also word that theaters can start applying to the government to reopen.

At the end of February, the Beijing Film Bureau and the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control issued safety guidelines for cinemas, which led some to believe that theaters were being given a greenlight to re-open. Response on Chinese social media was heated, some suspicious about handing out so many personal details and that such a move was too early with exhibition believing such guidelines were onerous.

Among the host of precautions outlined by the Beijing authorities are for cinemas to obtain permission from relevant departments and establish an epidemic prevention and control plan once resuming operations is approved. Seating inside auditoriums will be required to be in alternate rows, with no adjacent seats sold. Theaters will also be disinfected after every screening and at least eight times per day in public areas. Moviegoers will be asked for personal information which will be registered at the box office.

However, the local government the next day clarified that the directive was for future use, as a means to prepare for when cinemas come back online. Chen Bei, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Government, in a video posted to Weibo by Beijing Daily News, said conditions were not yet in place to resume operations: We have not yet made a request to allow the film industry to open. The designation of such a guideline is to lay a solid foundation and prepare for the smooth start of business under the conditions allowed by the epidemic prevention and control situation.

That said, we heard that some independent exhibitors in the PRC actually did open for business, showing older movies from back in December, i.e. Sheep Without a Shepherd. However, in a recent given day there were only 20-30 showtimes listed on local ticketing website Tao Piao Piao in the 1.43 billion populated country, which would count as many as 100K showtimes daily when business is running normally. Macaus cinema and casinos have re-opened, we understand, as have some theaters in Yunnan province, in southwest China. Still, the big circuits remain closed.

USC professor and China expert Stanley Rosen tells us, China is a big place and Beijing is far away and unable to monitor every development. The central governments policy is to control the virus and get the economy moving again, which of course can be contradictory. Beijings policies are often contradictory, so local areas and local officials have to decide what they can do that will help the local economy and local stability even if it violates one of Beijings contradictory precepts. In this case, some localities with no cases of the virus may well have decided that the benefits to the local economy and a very bored public would justify a quiet opening of some theaters.

So once China Film Group throws its doors back open, what can we expect? Heres what some industry sources are expecting, though not definite in any way:

Many predict that the first wave of films to be released in China will be the older local one that were stockpiled, i.e. Detective Chinatown 3 and The Rescue. Even major studio international distribution execs believe its a good idea to lead with local movies to get the masses back in the habit of moviegoing. Unlike those U.S. titles that have been cleared in China, theres no concern that these have been pirated as they havent seen the light of day. Some say it would be good for the China box office to get two big features in before Disnys Mulan or Black Widow arrives (both of which havent been dated yet by China Film Group).

Those U.S. titles that have been cleared for release in China and are awaiting release Jojo Rabbit, Ford v Ferrari, Bad Boys 4 Life, 1917, Dolittle and Sonic the Hedgehog when will they be released? Will they all be dumped into Chinas cinemas on the same day? Is it worth releasing them given that theyre likely pirated? There really isnt a consensus here from sources, some believing that these pics may will still have a shot at making whatever money they can. Even though theaters can apply to reopen, some international distribution execs believe its a chicken-and-egg scenario. A chain like Wanda will want new movies, not old ones.

And what about Mulan? Given the back-up of product, it could go as late as a month-and-a-half, if not more, after the pics global day-and-date of March 27. By the time it hits China, wont it too have to worry about piracy? Those close to the film arent so worried. Should the movie become the blockbuster that it was built to be, that in turn would become a great selling factor in China. Should Mulan be pirated before its theatrical release, sources believe theres still an audience among Chinas moviegoers who would want to see the Disney spectacle, which is an homage to many of the local epic war pics that the country currently makes, on a big screen. A youhaoxi website recently reported that in a recent poll, the want-to-see for Mulan among Chinese moviegoers was north of 63%.

The question, of course, remains how many want to head back. A recent Weibo survey showed that out of 5,500 respondents, 88% said they would not return to cinemas until the epidemic is contained.

Stateside, despite all movie theaters remaining open, both at the Cinemark in New Rochelle, NY, a city which New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo designated a containment zone, sending the National Guard in, and in Santa Clara County, CA which issued a health ban of gatherings over 1k people, U.S. exhibitors remain worried.

As Chinas exhibition begins its healing process, an unfortunate bleaker picture at the global box office unfolds.

DeadlinesTom Grater contributed to this report

Originally posted here:
As Chinas Coronavirus Cases Slow, Are Re-Openings Of Movie Theaters Far Behind? - Deadline