We have a little deeper knowledge about where Comcast is going with its soon-to-be big broadcast/movie studio purchase: NBC Universal should do its own thing -- but with one exception.
First, Brian Roberts, chairman/chief executive officer of Comcast says he doesn't want to
"Comcast-ize" the company. We have been hearing this for months -- that Comcast isn't savvy about how NBCU makes TV, movies, or other content.
Roberts suggests NBCU will be left to its own devices, which should also help toward getting a nice favorable decision from
Federal regulators. But there is one area he hinted could make a bridge: entertainment marketing.
Roberts said, "We have to learn from the content industry how to market even better than we do
today." This should please the likes of NBCU Chief Marketing Officer John Miller, and Adam Stotsky, president of entertainment marketing for NBC.
advertisement
advertisement
Roberts is so right. For the
most part, the cable industry has given marketing short shrift. Instead, the business has relied on consumers discovering the value of what cable operators bring to the party.
NBC's success
in the 1990s came not just from quality content, but also from how it was sold to consumers. Even today, as a fourth-place network, NBC's strong fan bases for "The Office," "The Biggest Loser" or "30
Rock" are built with good marketing efforts.
As we all know, consumers haven't always had positive perceptions of their local cable operators. For Roberts there are, of course, other
issues -- like promoting all of Comcast's new video-on-demand movie services, as well as its Internet destination area, Fancast.
But Comcast could also use more of an overall brand marketing
re-imaging.
If NBC can help make a still-stodgy brand like Comcast a cool thing with its video services -- like what Apple has become, or perhaps even what marketing muscle NBC executives
have given to Hulu.com -- that will go a long way in making the merger not only a business success, but also a brand that consumers actually root for.