| Friday, Jan 12, 2007 |
What's inside:
Today's Media News
1. Wolf Steps Down As MTV President, Viacom Shakeup Continues by Joe Mandese
2. Traffic: Bad For Commuters, Good For Advertisers by Erik Sass
3. They'll Be Lining Up For These Ad Buys, Seriously by Erik Sass
4. CBS Restructures Sports Sales, Will Focus On Multimedia, Multiyear Deals by Wayne Friedman
5. Climate Group Seeks Marketing Partners, Will Clients Warm To The Idea? by Tom Siebert
6. Silver Screen Floats Red Herring, CineMedia Sets IPO, Will Pay Off Theaters by Erik Sass
7. KFC 'Idol' Ad: Can You Spot The Difference? by David Goetzl
8. Mag Bag: PC World Mag Editor Murdered by Erik Sass
News Briefs
9. ICON Taps Julie Friedlander, Will Head National Broadcast
10. TV One Adds 1 Million-Plus Subscribers in December
11. Wilks Buys Several Midsize CBS Radio FM Stations
12. Wahlberg Stars In New Spike TV Series
13. Ruder Finn Taps Terrana As VP, Media Affairs
14. AT&T Universe TV Delivers New England Sports Net
Today's News
1. Wolf Steps Down As MTV President, Viacom Shakeup Continues
by Joe Mandese
Fifteen months after surprising the media world by taking a job inside a major media company, the industry's best known consultant Michael Wolf has resigned as president of MTV Networks. The move is the latest in a series of top management shakeups at Viacom over the past year - a year that coincided with its split up from CBS, and which was supposed to drive its growth both strategically and among shareholders.
The move follows Wednesday's resignation of Gail Berman as the No. 2 executive of Viacom's Paramount studio unit, and the firing of former Viacom chief and one-time MTV wunderkind Tom Freston, who has been blamed for passing on an opportunity to acquire MySpace.com and catapult Viacom into a dominant online player.
It's been a rocky year for Viacom for sure, but Wolf tells MediaDailyNews that his resignation was all part of a plan, that he has accomplished most of what he set out to do organizationally, and that this is the ideal time for him to step down. He also said he would soon reemerge in a senior management role at another major media company.
"I have decided to leave. This was never a long-term gig for me. It was always intended to be transitional to help Judy build up the organization she needed," says Wolf, referring to MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath. Among other things, Wolf says his brief tenure at MTV saw the restructuring of the networks' advertising sales organization, its cable affiliate sales team, and the creation of a digital media sales group, as well as the acquisition of more than $1 billion in Internet related acquisitions.
In a related move, MTV Networks also announced the departure of Nicole Browning as president of affiliate sales and marketing.
Wolf, in fact, played a very direct role in MTV's advertising sales efforts, leading its upfront strategy and playing a hands-on role in last year's deal-making while the ad sales group was still in a transition after the retirement of long-time sales chief Larry Divney. By most accounts, MTV beat the cable upfront sales marketplace by a wide margin, in what was an especially difficult upfront sales season for sellers.
He also installed Hank Close as president of domestic ad sales for MTV Networks, and hired Nada Stirratt from Advertising.com as executive vice president-digital advertising to oversee MTV Networks burgeoning online and new platform sales team.
In other moves, Wolf recruited Colette Chestnut from WPP's JWT unit to serve as CFO and Adam Cahan from Google as executive vice president business strategy and development of MTV Networks, and was a key player in MTV's acquisition of online media asset Xfire.
Wolf joined MTV Networks after long, colorful stints as the media industry's top management consultant at McKinsey, and at Booz Allen Hamilton before that. During those years, he had the ear of the industry's most powerful media titans and helped influence their direction. At MTV Networks, he succeeded McGrath's long-time No. 2, Mark Rosenthal, who left for what also proved to be a relatively short-lived job as head of Interpublic's now defunct Interpublic Media Group.
While Wolf says the timing of his departure was all part of a bigger plan, he inevitably will be seen by some as another casualty in the ongoing turmoil in the executive ranks for Viacom, and the fact that Chairman Sumner Redstone, and CEO Philippe Dauman reportedly have been frustrated by their inability to convince Wall Street that the once cutting edge "new media" conglomerate is moving quickly enough into the new world of media 2.0.
"Managing the transition of our business from the traditional linear world to one that embraces a digital world is our No. 1 priority," Dauman told investors in November.
An MTV spokeswoman says the company is searching for a new president-COO and a new head of affiliate sales and marketing and that Rich Eigendorff, executive vice president-COO of MTV Networks' music group, will lead the transition and search under McGrath.
2. Traffic: Bad For Commuters, Good For Advertisers
by Erik Sass
If anyone is still skeptical about the efficacy of outdoor advertising, a new study publicized by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America on Thursday seeks to put those doubts to rest. Somewhat perversely, the report celebrates the most annoying aspect of many Americans' daily routine--sitting in traffic.
"Americans are spending more time in their car than ever before as commute times are significantly up, traffic is more congested and the Baby Boomer generation mainly moves via auto," the report noted somewhat gleefully. Even better, it went on, "congestion is getting worse in heavily populated areas and smaller metro areas as well."
The OAAA's data comes from a new study, "Commuting in America: The Third National Report on Commuting Patterns and Trends," by Alan Pisarski of the Transportation Research Board, part of the not-for-profit National Academies based in Washington, D.C.
Collating and analyzing data from a number of studies, Pisarski found that average daily commuting time grew from 21.7 minutes in 1980, to 22.4 minutes in 1990, to 24.5 minutes in 2000. Although his data set only extends to 2004, it's easy to imagine this trend continuing into 2007 and beyond. States that saw the largest increase in daily commute times were Georgia and West Virginia, due to the massive growth of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the former, and the extension of Washington, D.C.'s suburbs into the latter along I-81.
Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of OAAA, was quoted as saying: "This study points to several demographic trends which validate the value of the ability to reach consumers outside the home." Coming on the heels of a record-breaking year for the out-of-home category, the OAAA's opening volley in 2007 hints at the industry's hopes for another blockbuster. Judging by the historical record, there's grounds for optimism: every year since 2001 has broken revenue records.
3. They'll Be Lining Up For These Ad Buys, Seriously
by Erik Sass
Advertising is everywhere. The latest media outlet: airport security checkpoints, courtesy of SecurityPoint Media, a new company based in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the new system, approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), advertisers will be able to reach a captive audience of travelers with messages on trays, tables and carts used at security checkpoints.
The Feds gave it their blessing, but the ad revenues will go to individual airports, helping insolvent municipal airport authorities raise much-needed cash. The TSA will benefit from free trays, carts, and tables provided by SecurityPoint Media or its competitors. At press time, SecurityPoint did not return calls about financial estimates.
The news follows a six-month trial run at Los Angeles International Airport, where the airport authority decided to forego payment in return for free advertising of airport services, such as in-terminal transportation. The only commercial advertiser that bought space was Rolodex.
But are checkpoints really desirable ad environments?
There are some obvious objections: The audience is bored at best--and at worst, harried, annoyed or angry. But it could be a boon for businesses centered in the airport, such as car services, newsstands, bars and restaurants, as well as a broader range of companies hoping to tap into the concept of safety.
Jack Sullivan, senior vice president and out-of-home media director for Starcom, was enthusiastic about the prospect. "For some advertisers, it could be great. For example, I can imagine a lot of insurance companies being interested, or any other company with a product related to security or well-being," he says, adding, "but the ads have to be tasteful."
Sullivan dismissed fears that the advertising might distract from the TSA's main mission: secure airline travel. "People are reading way too much into this. It's just putting an ad on the bottom of a bin," he says. "It's a very simple, easy, non-invasive way of reaching people. If you don't like it, you can put your coat over it."
4. CBS Restructures Sports Sales, Will Focus On Multimedia, Multiyear Deals
by Wayne Friedman
CBS is creating a new year-round multimedia selling and market sports selling division: CBS Sports Properties Group.
The group is an outgrowth of CBS' NCAA Marketing Group, where CBS not only sells the TV time on the NCAA properties--especially for its high-profile NCAA March Madness college-basketball tournament--but overall NCAA sponsorship, licensing and merchandising deals.
The new division, to be headed by Chris Simko, who will be its director, says a 12-month operation expands reach. At present, the group is limited to the winter/spring games and events schedule.
"The creation of CBS Sports Properties Group was to make sure that internally, with all our divisions, we are really talking with each other," says Simko, who had been senior vice president of sports sales and marketing of CBS Sports, and will retain that title. "What is important is to create not just short [campaign] flights for advertisers, but multi-year deals."
The new group will look to sell to advertisers and sponsors all CBS sports-related assets on its CBS-owned television stations; cable sports network CSTV; CBS Interactive, CBS SportsLine.com and a newly formed local media group called R.I.O.T (radio, local Internet, outdoor and local television) that was announced late last year.
In 2002, CBS got the rights to become the marketing agent for NCAA properties. Simko says CBS will search for other such deals in the future.
In addition to his NCAA sports-selling responsibilities, Simko also works deals for the PGA, USTA and other college sports. He joined CBS in May 1994, and was named vice president of sports sales in March 1999. Previously, he also worked at TV sports-production company TWI. Simko will continue to report to John Bogusz, executive vice president of CBS sales and marketing.
5. Climate Group Seeks Marketing Partners, Will Clients Warm To The Idea?
by Tom Siebert
Making the rounds at yesterday's Ad Club meeting was Andrew J. McKeon, a former investment-banking consultant who is now a true believer in the inconvenient truth of global warming.
In November, McKeon launched the nonprofit Climate Change Foundation--the name is supposed to be taken literally on two levels--and is looking for support from the ad community and marketers. The idea is to help make Americans aware of the seriousness of global warming and to raise money for the cause.
"My goal is to approach companies like Starbucks and the Gap--companies that want to have a good position on this issue and engage with their customers," McKeon says. "I want to get them to ask their customers to add an extra nickel or quarter to the price of what they're paying for, and use that money to fund projects to fight global warming."
The nickels and dimes will add up, McKeon says: Change for change, in other words.
McKeon is currently forming a board for the organization. One member is the former head of global control for Goldman Sachs and current chairman of Patriot National Bank, Angelo de Caro. McKeon is also looking to recruit from the advertising or marketing community.
"This is an imperative moment in our time," McKeon says. "Even if there's only a 17% chance this is true--and I think it's much, much higher than that, almost a certainty--that's like playing Russian roulette."
6. Silver Screen Floats Red Herring, CineMedia Sets IPO, Will Pay Off Theaters
by Erik Sass
One of the nation's leading pre-show in-theater movie advertisers, National CineMedia, is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) of 38 million shares at a projected price of $18-20, the company announced Thursday. Listing on the NASDAQ under the "NCMI," the company hopes to rake in about $674 million, a large portion of which will go toward a $686.3 million debt owed to its founding members, AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group--two of the largest movie-theater owners in America.
Overall, cinema advertising has boomed in recent years. The most recent figures--from 2005--have revenue surging 20.6 percent to almost $528 million from about $438 million in 2004, according to a report released by the Cinema Advertising Council (CAC). The 2005 results, tabulated by Miller, Kaplan, Arase and Co., follow several years of sustained double-digit growth--and the industry hopes for similar growth in 2006 and 2007, according to Bob Martin, president of the CAC.
Big brands using cinema advertising in 2005 included American Express, the Army National Guard, Hyundai, Nike, Toyota, Unilever, Verizon, Wal-Mart, and X-Box. According to Cliff Marks, president of National CineMedia: "Retail has also been a big one, with companies like Radio Shack and Wal-Mart really getting serious now. We're also seeing wireless companies like Verizon and Cingular using us more and more."
Marks also boasted of NCM's satellite delivery system, recalling: "We've invested about $150 million to digitize." According to Marks, that translates into an ability to "narrowcast" ad content for different audiences: "That allows us to target specific films or ratings genres, in specific markets, for specific brands, using a digital satellite feed." Marks noted that "NCM has 11,000 digital screens, and over 90 percent digital coverage of our audiences. "It's also a boon to advertisers running "just-in-time" creative programs: "It allows us to change creative on a weekly basis, which is great for people who have tight production deadlines."
7. KFC 'Idol' Ad: Can You Spot The Difference?
by David Goetzl
KFC, which caused a stir last year by embedding a promotional message in a spot as a way to combat DVR ad-skipping, will again try a sleight of hand. The marketer will air a one-time-only spot during Fox's "American Idol" that differs from an ongoing campaign. Viewers who take notice will be able to win a prize via its Web site.
The 30-second spot on next Wednesday's broadcast for the Buffalo KFC Snacker differs slightly from a current spot for the sandwich. The first 10,000 people to visit KFC.com and identify the alteration will receive a coupon for a free Snacker.
A KFC official said the company will attempt a flurry of publicity leading up to the broadcast to tip viewers off about the spot, but the commercial itself won't mention the promotion.
The company has already promoted the ploy in an email blast to an estimated 200,000 people, and has a link in place on its Web site. No paid media support is expected.
Advertising Age estimates that a spot on the Wednesday edition of "Idol" goes for $620,000.
Perhaps unfortunately for KFC, Fox has already agreed to air the spot. Last year, ABC declined to air an ad for the Buffalo Snacker, since the word "Buffalo" appeared on screen when a viewer fast-forwarded through it using a DVR. ABC claims that it was subliminal advertising that sparked a wave of publicity.
KFC, which calls it a "hidden message," similarly gave away free sandwiches claimed via KFC.com.
8. Mag Bag: PC World Mag Editor Murdered
by Erik Sass
A senior editor for PC World, Rex Farrance, 59, was murdered Tuesday morning by masked gunmen who broke into his house and shot him in the chest, according to police in Pittsburg, California, where Farrance lived with his wife, Lenore Vantosh-Farrance, and 19-year-old son, Sterling.
The attackers also pistol-whipped Farrance's wife in what Pittsburg police say was a drug-related attack aiming to seize illegal drugs in Farrance's possession. However, Farrance's son Sterling has vehemently denied this allegation, saying marijuana found on the property is his--and grown only for medical purposes.
Danny Arar, another senior editor at PC World, told the AP: "We're all in shock here. Rex loved his work. He really cared about covering technology in a way that was useful for readers. He cared a lot about people, period, including his co-workers."
Blender Ups Rate Base
Dennis Publishing's youthful music title Blender is increasing its rate base by 10%--from 725,000 to 800,000, the mag boasted on Monday. The change took effect with the January/February issue, on sale now. Blender positioned the rate-base jump as a simple acknowledgement of the magazine's growing popularity, underlined by 220% circulation growth since its founding in May 2001.
The rate-base increase could reap a substantial revenue increase if advertiser demand holds up. According to year-end data from the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), in 2006 Blender's ad pages increased 12.4% over 2005--ending at 707, while rate-card revenue surged 38.7% to $57.8 million.
Blender executives highlighted the contrast between its recent performance with the music magazine category as a whole, which has been struggling. Rolling Stone, a mainstay of the category, saw ad pages drop 7% to 1,584, Spin ad pages fell off 10.6% to 520, and Vibe is down 3.3% to 1,201.
Prevention Looks for 40+ Picture of Health
Prevention and ABC News are sponsoring an interactive search for a 40+ woman to be its new "Picture of Health"--a spokesmodel who will get $5,000 for herself and $5,000 for her favorite charity. She will appear on "Good Morning America" and serve as a guest editor for Prevention.
In order to participate, women over 40 just need to go to the Prevention Web site, compose a brief essay of no more than 250 words describing what good health means to them, and then upload a one-minute video testimonial detailing their healthy lifestyle.
A group of finalists selected by Prevention will be profiled in the magazine, and a winner will be chosen by popular vote on abcnewsnow.com. Entrants are urged to include stories about health challenges they've overcome, or friends they've inspired to seek a healthier lifestyle.
The five finalists will appear in the June issue of Prevention; the winner will both appear in and serve as a guest editor of the October issue. In an official statement Liz Vaccariello, Prevention's editor in chief, said: "We're looking for women who are healthy inside and out: smart and informed, who eat right (most of the time), exercise with some regularity, have managed a unique health challenge, and yet still keep their lives clicking, women who inspire the people around them to live healthier lives."
ABM: Ad Pages, Revenue Flat Through October
American Business Media's latest report has both ad pages and revenue up less than 1% for January-October 2006, compared to the same period the year before. In October, ad pages were down 2.2%, compared to the same month in 2005.
The leading categories for January-October 2006 were architecture, design and lighting, which grew over 11%, and aviation, aerospace and military, which grew more than 9%. With the small rise in overall ad pages and revenue, B-to-B publications did slightly better than consumer magazines, which posted a flat year with 0% growth in overall ad pages and revenue.
Safian, Vamos Move Up at Fast Company and Mansueto
Robert Safian has been appointed editor and managing director of Fast Company, according to Mansueto Ventures, which publishes Fast Company and Inc. magazines. Safian will be responsible for editorial operations as well as advertising, marketing and circulation. Mark Vamos has been appointed to a new position, editor-at-large for Mansueto Ventures, where he will supervise a variety of projects at both magazines and their Web sites.
Joe Zee Named Creative Director at Elle
Elle magazine has named Joe Zee to a new position, creative director, for its U.S. edition. In this role, Zee will oversee the magazine's visual appearance. He assumes the new position on Jan. 29th. Before this position, he worked for Conde Nast, producing and styling stories for House & Garden and serving as fashion director for W.
News Briefs
9. ICON Taps Julie Friedlander, Will Head National Broadcast
Another top Madison Avenue media buying executive is joining the world of barter media. Julie Friedlander, former senior vice president-account manager at Publicis' Zenith Media unit, has joined barter media giant ICON International as associate director of national broadcast. The move follows a number of recent top hires by ICON rival Active International. Barter media firms help advertisers and agencies obtain advertising inventory from media companies in exchange for underutilized products or services instead of cash.
10. TV One Adds 1 Million-Plus Subscribers in December
TV One added more than 1 million new subscriber households in December 2006, according to Nielsen Media Research universe estimates, growing from 33.8 million households to nearly 34.9 from December 2006 to January 2007. TV One, targeting African American viewers, increased its subscriber base by 42% from January 2006-January 2007, adding 10.3 million households during the period. In December, TV One launched on basic cable on Comcast's cable system in Memphis, as well as on Comcast systems in Grand Rapids, MI, Tucson, AZ, Taos, NM, Gallup, NM, Silver City, NM and Lawrenceburg, TN.
11. Wilks Buys Several Midsize CBS Radio FM Stations
Wilks Broadcast Group has acquired radio stations in Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio, from CBS Corp. The price tag was $138 million for the properties. The stations included in the transaction are KFKF(FM), KBEQ(FM), KMXV(FM) and KCKC(FM) in Kansas City, and WLVQ(FM), WHOK(FM) and WAZU(FM) in Columbus. Wilks operates radio broadcast stations in mid-size U.S. markets.
12. Wahlberg Stars In New Spike TV Series
Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo will star in Spike TV's new original scripted eight-hour dramatic event "The Kill Pit," scheduled for a summer premiere. Director Steve Shill ("The Sopranos," "The Wire") will direct the first four hours. "The Kill Pit" revolves around a downtown bank robbery by a team of American Iraqi-War veterans.
13. Ruder Finn Taps Terrana As VP, Media Affairs
Ruder Finn has hired Angelo Terrana as vice president for media affairs in their Washington, D.C. office. Previously, Terrana was the communications director for Congresswoman Melissa Hart (R-PA) and Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA). He was also a senior account supervisor for Hill & Knowlton. He will report to managing director, Neil Dhillon.
14. AT&T Universe TV Delivers New England Sports Net
AT&T U-verse TV is delivering more eyeballs for the New England Sports Network. In a new agreement, AT&T-U customers in in New Haven and Hartford, Conn., market areas have access to NESN's sports programming, including all Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins game telecasts, as well as Quinnipiac University basketball and hockey and other regional collegiate sporting events and shows.
Friday, Jan 12, 2007
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