ABC is close to "wrapping up" deals with major ad agencies, network TV sources said, confirming a report that appeared on AdAge.com. ABC declined to comment on the story, but is expected to make an official announcement next week, after the Memorial Day Weekend. Typically, the network upfront marketplace does not begin until Memorial Day Weekend and usually wraps up by July 4th. However, there has been speculation of pent-up demand for ABC's prime-time inventory, which after several years of lackluster ratings, is considered to be bargain-priced relative to the other major broadcast networks. However, at least two major agency media buyers told MDN they weren't nearly done with ABC, questioning how far along the network actually is. "When you have only five or six major agencies out there and you've basically got an initial idea of what your clients want and what the prices are, it's easy to say you're done," said one media executive. "But seeing as Monday's Memorial Day and Friday is here, I can see how people are saying one down, three to go." Another media executive said he was dubious about the claims. "Last year, NBC said that they had wrapped up their upfront business before everyone else, and then it turned out nothing of the kind happened," the other media executive said. "I think there's a lot of pressure to advance the story and get all of the other agencies that they've done it." In a variation on a theme, the other major broadcast networks--FOX, NBC, and CBS--are all, in the words of one network representative, "in discussions with media buyers, and are close to writing business."
Server crashes generally are considered bad for business. So are angry protesters. But this week, a combination of the two might just be the best thing that ever happened for a new TV ad campaign by fast-food chain Carl's Jr. Traffic this week soared at the site hosting a racy commercial for the "Spicy Burger," starring celebrity heiress Paris Hilton, after reports trickled out over the weekend that public interest in the site was so great that the page crashed. Then, when the watchdog group Parents Television Council protested the ad, traffic surged even more. Such a pattern isn't unexpected, said some industry observers. "People hate advertising because they're being forced to watch it," said Jupiter Research analyst Gary Stein. "But all of a sudden, if they're not allowed to watch it," he continued, it becomes irresistible. "Anything that you're told you're not allowed to see, you want." In fact, Stein said, the server crash validated the too-hot reputation that the ad had built before its release. "They said 'It's way too hot to be on television.' That drew some people's attention, and it drew so much attention that the servers crashed," he said. "It helped to provide validity to that assertion that it's really extreme." The site, www.SpicyParis.com, hosts a 60-second version of the 30-second TV spot the burger chain created to promote their new burger. The ad, produced by Los Angeles-based Mendelsohn/Zien, features Hilton in a bikini washing a Bentley, and then salaciously taking a bite of the burger. The site and the television ad campaign both launched on May 19--the television ad campaign being confined to Carl's Jr.'s markets in the West and Southwest--and the following afternoon, the site crashed as users overloaded the host sever with requests to view the video, a spokeswoman for Carl's Jr. said. This week, the site's market share among other consumer food sites increased more than ninefold on May 24, making it the second-most-visited site in its category, behind Kraft Foods, according to research firm Hitwise. Carl's Jr.'s regular site, www.CarlsJr.com, also received a major boost from the ad; its market share grew almost sevenfold between May 19 and May 24, stated Hitwise. comScore Media Metrix traffic numbers show that hits for the Spicy Paris site remained below 20,000 until May 24, when traffic shot up to 169,000 unique visitors--and then again on the 25th, to 309,000 unique visitors. Weeks before the ad went live on the Net and began to air on TV, rumors circulated that it was too hot for TV, and that Carl's Jr. would be forced to pull the ad. But the buzz only really started to build after the servers hosting the site overloaded and crashed late last week, and early this week the Parents Television Council condemned the ad as "inappropriate for television," and planned to organize its members to ask the FCC to declare the ad indecent. Pete Blackshaw, the co-founder of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and chief marketing officer for Intelliseek, added that the server problems the ad experienced did far more good than harm for the success of the campaign. "Online, these problems are good problems because it underscores demand--it was so popular it broke down the machine," he said. "It's like a badge of honor." Blackshaw said that some agencies might take advantage of the buzz-building powers of server troubles to promote campaigns. "I would expect that some agencies take some liberties with these problems," he said. "I'm sure these agencies are high-fiving each other about the server problems."
With the network upfront expected to head into overdrive after the Memorial Day weekend, syndicated television is making a bid for media buyers' attention in daytime, where network soaps have been perceived as particularly weak. In general, the syndication market is difficult to view as a monolith in terms of the completion of upfront deal-making, as major syndicators such as King World and Fox's Twentieth Television set their own calendar for deals, said Mitch Burg, president of the Syndicated Network Television Association. "We do business 52 weeks a year and I think there are a lot of deals being done now," Burg said. "I don't think buyers are just focusing on the major networks." One place where syndicators are aiming to take on broadcast is in daytime. The recent news for the four major networks in that daypart hasn't been good. For the first quarter of 2005, net advertising revenues were down $7 million (2.86 percent) to $210.9 million compared to the same time period the year before, according to Ernst & Young figures released earlier this month by the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association. And as Burg noted, the top-rated shows in daytime are "Dr. Phil," "Judge Judy," and "Maury Povich," with ABC's "General Hospital" at number four. "In addition to new hits like 'Dr. Phil,' shows like 'Oprah' and 'Entertainment Tonight' are still showing high ratings, and these are the shows that lead directly into prime time," Burg said. "And media buyers recognize the value of those shows." Syndication enjoyed a turnaround a few years ago with the introduction of "Dr. Phil," Burg noted. The SNTA has also been trying to generate interest in what Burg hopes are next fall's new hits, such as a talk show featuring supermodel Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart's new talk show (aside from her additional duties serving as the lead in NBC's spinoff of "The Apprentice"), more court shows such as "Judge Alex," and off-network shows such as Comedy Central's "South Park." And while NBC Universal's "Jane Pauley" was a notable failure for syndication, Burg attempted to put it in perspective. "There are 46 shows that won't be returning to broadcast," Burg noted. "Meanwhile, we still have 'Friends' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' which are still in the top five for adults 18 to 49. We have 820 new episodes, while network has 682 and cable has 398." But some buyers say that the strong ratings for syndication have stabilized, and that the concentration of dollars is still between cable and network prime. "And since broadcast is seen as doing better than past years, that could take some of the thunder away from syndication, in terms of realizing major increases in price," said one media buyer.
Demonstrating that multiple media buying networks make good business sense for media agency holding companies, two Omnicom media shops - OMD and PHD - Thursday picked up a pair of competitive accounts in the financial services sector. Retail stock brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corp. has consolidated its media planning and buying at PHD USA, while Rival American Century Investments tapped sister media shop OMD New York. PHD, which had already been handling Schwab's "offline" advertising, including print and out-of-home media buying since 1997, picked up broadcast buying from Rubin Postaer & Associates (RPA), and online media planning and buying from KP Media. PHD won the consolidation after a review, which included incumbent RPA, as well as Havas' MPG unit. Mike Naughton, vice president of media at Schwab said the financial services marketer valued the work done by RPA and KP Media, but said the consolidation was done in order to better integrate Schwab's "media with marketing strategy and execution." OMD, meanwhile, picked up American Century Investments media planning and buying as part of a consolidation of that financial marketer's creative and interactive advertising account at sister Omnicom units: TBWA/Chiat/Day picked up creative duties; while TEQUILA/New York gained interactive media.
Jim Cooney started selling print advertising at a time when two martini lunches were just sitting down to the cliché table. I had the pleasure of working with him briefly at the end of his career when I sold for Newsweek. He was tall, with Irish blonde hair that had turned white, and a belly that encased a career of expensed meals. Back then, magazine reps were all assigned advertising categories and were expected to become experts within that field. Jim had the liquor category and knew his business. Soon after I arrived, Jim begrudgingly accepted an early retirement package. One morning, he stopped in my office, removed his glasses and said to me in his raspy voice, "Kid, they are messing this thing up" only he did not use the word messing. I sat straight and listened. "We're giving it away at 25 percent off now!" He repeated 25 for emphasis. He then asked me if I knew how all of this "garbage" got started. I gathered it was a rhetorical question, because he continued talking. According to Jim, off the rate card rate negotiations within the newsweekly category started years back when those "insert curse word" at Time offered an additional 1.5 percent on top of the earned discounted rate to a large advertiser that ran in both magazines. The caveat was that the advertiser had to buy Time exclusively. The client, so surprised by Time's off-the-rate card offer, called the rep at Newsweek and asked if they would match the deal. Jim said Newsweek's management huddled for a day before deciding not to discount their product beyond the earned discount as published on their rate card. As Jim stood in my doorway many years later, he still applauded his management's decision to uphold their integrity and walk away from that business. The media sales business Jim Cooney knew was built on relationships, editorial pride, and a rate card. The business that got away from him no longer revered editorial excellence and used rate cards not as a menu, but a starting point in which to potentially place an order. Jim Cooney left 444 Madison and his career without attending his own goodbye party. Today, rate discounts are the barometer that reads a media sales market that has become as commoditized as Jim Cooney feared it would. What if we turned back the clock, or mimicked how Saturn sells cars and media were again purchased off a published rate card everyone was using? Media buyers, if there was a way to ensure that every client was paying the same price for the ad inventory you were purchasing, how would your media department distinguish itself if price negotiations were removed from time spent working with publishers? Obviously, this is not possible given the reality of how media is bought and sold today. But, here is something to think about for tomorrow. Rate negotiations take time, effort, and incur emotional debits. When the majority of deals get done, publishers (either the sales person or their sales management) often feel bad about the rate in which they have agreed to do business. They are of course glad to have earned the business, but the rate paid is not the rate they felt was fairly proposed initially. There is an ideal opportunity for media buyers who secure ad inventory at rates a media sales person has submitted on their proposal. Don't misunderstand, I am not suggesting buyers pay rate card prices, but I am suggesting that those buyers who don't reach for their hammer every time a proposal comes their way, can get rewarded with value that can distinguish themselves in the eyes of their client, well beyond a few more percentage points off a competitively proposed rate. Buyers, you would be surprised how far a publishing organization will go to exceed your expectations if you surprise them by agreeing to the rates they proposed for their inventory, right off the bat. I have watched it happen time and again. We would upgrade those clients that paid our requested CPMs to a home page fixed position when it was otherwise unsold. When I was selling print, I watched my publisher consistently move one of my clients into open premium positions because they paid a higher page rate. Buyers who can be more giving on rates can negotiate a secure place in line for these upgrades that invariably occur. Receiving more value by paying a higher rate may sound strange to us, but not to Jim Cooney.
Professor Michelle Nelson at the University of Wisconsin was the lead researcher on an intriguing study* that examined what game-players thought about product placements in computer games. Using netnography and questionnaires, Nelson studied 805 postings on a blog called Slashdot that revealed gamers' beliefs about the effectiveness and appropriateness of product placement tactics as well as how it affects them. When discussing the topic, players were fairly positive about brands when they added 'realism' to the games. Those who were negative about product placements were also negative about advertising in general. While some players did not think they were influenced by product placements, others reported instances of purchasing a brand that they became very interested in as a result of the game. A survey of gamers tested the comments and observations gathered from the netnography. Relationships between attitudes toward advertising, attitudes toward product placement in games, and the perceived impact on purchasing behaviors were all positive. Thus, gamers' attitudes toward product placements in games functioned as an intervening, mediating factor on how brand advertising affected their purchasing behaviors. Red Bull Influences Purchase A much discussed instance of where a brand influenced gamers' purchasing behaviors was Red Bull in the game "Wipeout." Several players told stories of how they came to know and use the high-energy drink as a result of the game. Some first thought Red Bull was a fake brand within the game, as they were familiarized with it almost two years before the product hit local store shelves. One player commented: "I freaked when I realized that it was a real drink and immediately picked some up (good stuff!)." In other cases, game-players expressed disappointment because they could not purchase the brand where they lived. Other comments picked up by the researchers revealed how the game itself (a high-energy challenge quest) helped build the brand image. The synergy between the 'bad-ass' attitude and the energy needed to play the game - provided by the virtual drink - led gamers to try the product in real-life. In this case, Red Bull was actively sought out by consumers after exposure in a game, desired even in places where the brand was not yet available. A great lesson for marketers: The game context, the quality of the integration, and the active participation of gamers in the marketing process created new paths to sales. This Is No Game The potential of product placement in games is just beginning. Marketers are aware that the young male demographic is playing games, not watching TV. The question is: Will they be smart enough to take their cue from the gamers and not allow marketing tactics to dominate, but rather build presence, continuity, and resolution in the context, challenge, and emotional frame of the game experience. Please click to view some notable product placements, courtesy of iTVX. *Advertainment or Adcreep? Game Players' Attitudes Toward Advertising and Product Placements in Computer Games. Michelle R. Nelson, Heejo Keum, and Ronald A. Yaros. Journal of Interactive Advertising, Volume 5, Number 1, Fall 2004.