• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 28, 2006

A day after it was announced that he would lead the agency's upfront negotiations, Starcom CEO John Muszynski called for an overhaul of the annual spring bazaar. Looking to follow viewers as they increasingly consume video on emerging platforms, Muszynski said the upfront should be expanded to include those new distribution outlets.

"The upfront must transform from a television upfront to a video upfront," he said as part of his keynote address at Media Magazine's 2006 Outfront Conference (to view John Muszynski's presentation click here).

Advertisers with a platform-agnostic approach should be able to purchase time on broadband, VOD, iPods, mobile devices, and the next new thing--along with their run of traditional spots, he said. The revolution is taking shape, and if a new model doesn't emerge this year, Muszynski said it will be in place by next spring.

"It will incorporate all these different kinds of rolling video," he said.

It may also lead to a diminished emphasis on the conventional upfront, where buyers and sellers scramble to cut deals worth billions in a compressed time period. While the upfront will continue as a way to secure prime placements on top-rated shows and other coveted inventory, Muszynski said the need for more time to develop strategies to follow consumer behavior will create a year-round market.

In that reinvented, always-open market, he said, "investments (will be) valued based on their ability to engage--and not CPMs." Echoing a common theme in the buying community, Muszynski said every deal Starcom makes will seek lean-forward engagement from its target. He also used a twist on the term ROI, declaring that Starcom will pursue ROO, or return on objectives (i.e., client's goals).

In a similar vein, Muszynski pooh-poohed the battle raging between buyers and sellers over how to value Nielsen's new DVR ratings. The ratings gauge viewership via DVR in the seven days after broadcast. Sellers, in general, believe ads viewed in time-shifted mode have value--while buyers largely believe they're worthless, since DVRs enable ad-skipping. But Muszynski said the debate is "a waste of time." "Ultimately, it will come down to which metrics reflect engagement, and those are the ones we'll go with," he said.

In somewhat of a surprise, Muszynski will be heading upfront deal-making for Starcom from his C-suite perch, the agency announced Wednesday. The veteran negotiator will resume that role from Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, who is expected to leave Starcom.

Starcom has been at the forefront of a platform-agnostic approach to placing ads with its "video integration group," which ostensibly would just as soon buy a 10-second pre-roll on a broadband channel as a :30 in prime time--if it achieves a client's goals.

Yesterday, Muszynski urged networks to meet consumer tastes and make their content available on a whenever-wherever basis. "If we can inject advertisers into the equation, we'll all be rewarded," he said. Indeed, Muszynski said that if Starcom had been given the option to insert ads into iTunes broadcasts of ABC's "Lost," the agency would have jumped at the chance.

After Muszynski's provocative address, he joined a panel discussion, where his call for an upfront encompassing multiple video outlets was met with varying degrees of approval.

Jon Nesvig, president of sales at Fox, said his network is increasingly open to multi-platform deals, but warned against becoming too focused on the future at the expense of the present. "We've really got to focus on the future, but we've got to keep one foot in the present," he said. He also said practical issues such as talent contracts prevent Fox from moving as aggressively as "we'd like to" into new content areas.

Bob Flood, senior vice president, integrated media platforms, MTV Networks Music and Comedy Ad Sales Group, said his company is prepared to embrace consumer migration to new platforms and advertisers' desire to follow. He said MTV has split its content creation operations into two groups--one for linear television channels and one for the digital space--to ensure that compelling offerings are available in both arenas.

Jed Petrick, a former top executive at The WB and now a principal at JP Media, said the mobile space is about to enter a boom period, ushering in new opportunities for content and advertising. Comparing it to the early days of the Internet, he said, "It's 1995 in the mobile world today." But it won't take 10 years for the area to blossom--perhaps only five, he said.