Super Bowl pricing usually gives buyers nosebleeds. But one West Coast ad agency has a novel idea to bring down the entry price substantially, as part of an advertising co-op with other marketers. Los Angeles-based agency Cesario Migliozzi wants to pool the resources and images of eight modestly sized marketers into one 30-second spot. The price for each marketer will be $395,000, which includes the cost of media buy ($375,000) and their part of production of the spot ($20,000). The agency says it is in talks with marketers such as American Apparel, Virgin Mobile, Facebook, Smart Cars, Vespa, The Hard Rock Café, Puma, The Athlete's Foot, Scion and jetBlue. Michael Migliozzi, partner and creative director of the agency, believes the weak economy, already in recession, is the right time to coordinate such an unorthodox deal. "Now the economic climate allows for it," he says. "You are not being cheap--you are being smart." Logos from all eight marketers will appear on the screen at the same time for the entire length of the spot. The entertainment backdrop, says Migliozzi, will mimic an old-style 1940s musical, complete with tap dancing. TV networks typically don't allow re-selling of their advertising time. Migliozzi says that is not the case here. "We are not re-selling," he says, "We are doing a co-op." Migliozzi says he has experience in this area, having done advertising work for retailer-manufacturer "co-op" TV spots, which feature logos and/or brand names of two different companies. For example, the agency has done creative work for electronics retailer Radio Shack and Verizon, and another project with sports apparel retailers Champs and Nike. Migliozzi says he has been working on this co-op Super Bowl plan for over a year. NBC executives did not respond to emails and phone messages by press time. NBC is broadcasting "Super Bowl XLIII" on Feb. 1, 2009. Last week, a similar plan was offered by an apparel manufacturer, Weatherproof Garment Company, which wanted to get nine other advertisers to contribute to a 30-second Super Bowl spot; each would pay $300,000. The small apparel company spent $3,000 to run an ad in last Wednesday's Wall Street Journal to appeal to marketers. Even if some of these deals are approved, TV networks and the NFL have final approval of all creative content of any Super Bowl commercial.
FedEx does not absolutely have to be in the Super Bowl. But its absence is noteworthy. The company, which has delivered some memorable spots while having a presence in 18 bowls since 1989, is definitely out this February. It's not that the value of advertising in the Big Game has deteriorated -- that somewhere north of $2.5 million is not worth 30 seconds to capture, say, 100 million people's attention, company ad executive Steve Pacheco wrote on a FedEx.com blog. It's the economy. An investment of that size now, running FedEx's typically humorous spots, could send the "wrong message" to employees. "Make no mistake, our advertising presence ... has strategically allowed FedEx to establish itself as a household name," Pacheco wrote. "But times have changed. As a country, we are in unprecedented economic waters ... there is a time to justify such an ad spend and a time to step back." Word of Pacheco's frank post was first reported by Brandweek. The executive, in a remarkably frank blog posting, went on to write: "In the ultimate medium where the message is king, being in the game simply sends the wrong message both to employees and other FedEx constituents. A Super Bowl ad buy is not where we should put dollars at this time, although, in the past, the value of doing so for FedEx has been indisputable." He added that FedEx may return to the game sometime down the line. "We look very forward to the time when it makes sense for FedEx to advertise in the Super Bowl again," he said.
Nickelodeon is launching a new online site for kids. UpickDaily.com allows its young users to share, vote, poll and post their thoughts on various topics. In essence, the site lets kids be their own content providers and news aggregators about TV, movies, games, sports, stars and more. Steve Youngwood, executive vice president, digital, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group, said in a statement: "UPickDaily gives kids an online hub where they drive the content and can tell the world about their pop-culture trends, events or anything that is top-of-mind." UPickDaily will evolve daily. Sample kid-created content includes a poll asking about superhero movie preferences (http://www.nick.com/upickdaily/movies/upd-20175701.jhtml) and a poll asking which sport is better: basketball, gymnastics or cheerleading? (http://www.nick.com/upickdaily/sports/upd_20197173.jhtml#comments). Kid-friendly videos and photos will be pulled from the Web and matched to posts by topic. Kids can tag, share, blog, vote or "pick" a particular piece of content, and UPickDaily will showcase the hottest picks on an ongoing basis -- either in the "featured" section or in "U Top 5" UPickDaily regularly checks content to ensure that it remains a safe, child-appropriate environment. UPickDaily.com is part of Nickelodeon Kids and Family's portfolio of digital sites, which targets kids, tweens, teens and parents. The sites tend to focus on the most popular online activities: gaming, socialization, community and video. In 2008, there were an average of 131 million visits and 2.4 billion minutes spent at Nickelodeon digital sites, per comScore U.S. Media Metrix). Nickelodeon is in its 29th year; the U.S. TV network is seen in more than 96 million households. Nickelodeon is a division of Viacom Inc.
Suffering from a combination of a secular downturn and the broader economic recession, radio had its steepest monthly decline in revenue in years in November, when overall revenues tumbled 20% compared to the same month in 2007, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. Although the RAB doesn't release dollar figures for monthly revenues, the percentage drops tell the whole story. Local revenue-- traditionally the bread and butter of the radio business--was down 21%, while national plummeted 24%, for a combined decline of 22%. Even worse, the rate of growth for off-air revenues--which include Internet radio ad revenues--slumped to just 1%, down from an average growth rate of 9% in the third quarter. Radio broadcasters had pinned their hopes for new revenue growth on Internet advertising, which continues to grow, but has slowed markedly as the economy suffered a sharp downturn. Moreover, the decline in radio revenue has shown clear evidence of accelerating over the course of 2008. In the first three quarters, it suffered declines of 5%, 6% and 9% respectively, while in the first two months of the fourth quarter, it fell 10% and 20%, respectively. Nor is there much hope for a turnaround in the near future; heading into 2009, BIA predicts total radio revenues will fall at least 10%.
NBC continued its big December Sunday run against mostly network repeats, with another strong NFL game. For two weekends in a row, NBC moved its late-season NFL ratings into the 6-plus range among 18-49 viewers, as the New York Giants bested the Carolina Panthers. That gave NBC a Nielsen Media Research preliminary 6.0 rating/15 share. For the night, NBC put up a 4.8 rating/13 share, tops among 18-49 viewers. NBC was also the leader for 18-34 viewers with a 4.0/12. Fox came in second, mostly from a NFL overrun of the Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins contest, which grabbed 5.5/16 numbers. Fox averaged a 3.0/8 among 18-49 viewers. Fox was in reruns for its animated comedies for the rest of the night. Even in repeats, "Simpsons" and "Family Guy" scored solid results among 18-34 viewers with a 3.0/9 and a 2.9/8, respectively. CBS tied ABC for third place with a 2.0/5. CBS was running all original programming, and ABC was in reruns--which, in theory, means that ABC made out better financially. The rerun strategy has been CBS'--and it has gained financial benefit against other networks for some time. The net usually grabs more viewers during its reruns versus other network repeats. CBS ran originals of "Million Dollar Password," "Cold Case" and "The Unit" on Sunday. Univision was after CBS and ABC with a 1.4/4, with its best coming for the 10 p.m. hour of "Show de los Sueños: Los Reyes de el Sho," which earned a 1.8/4. CW could only manage a 0.3/1 from a "Jericho" repeat, on par with what it has done in recent weeks, and a 0.4/1 from theatrical movie "Three Amigos!"
This holiday season has brought an unwelcome surprise to unprecedented numbers of people in the media business - pink slips. If you're among the unlucky, you're probably going through some predictable emotions. Noted psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross's five stages of grief pretty much sum up the emotional roller coaster many of you may be riding right now. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. You may not experience them all and you may not experience them in rank order, but Ross says you can expect to experience at least two. In my 12 years as a recruiter, I've talked to countless media executives that have lost jobs. I'd say denial and anger are the more common one-two punch with an overlay of depression. Denial. Even with unemployment rates at an all time high and lay-offs occurring in every industry, we all can't shake the "it won't happen to me" delusion, until, of course, it happens. You're crushed, left high and dry by the company you've been loyal to for years. Or maybe you were just unlucky enough to be part of the "last in/first out layoffs and it's way too late to regret leaving that other job for a mere 15% to 20% salary boost. But the tears dry quickly as you move into phase two: Anger. Now that you've had time to reflect on all you've done for the company, all the blood, sweat, tears, overtime, and lost weekends that went into producing the best work possible, you're downright mad. And here's where it can get tricky. Whether the anger is justified or not it is often rashly directed at the person who gave you the bad news. Placing blame is easy in this state but burning bridges is something you will quickly regret once you've entered the acceptance stage. Avoid the temptation of trashing your boss or your company to anyone that will listen. If you have to complain, even if you're justified, try to keep it to your loved ones and trusted friends that don't work in media. And, this should go without saying but no angry e-mails, IM's, Facebook postings or Twitters. In other words - no digital trail. Once the anger has subsided, even if it hasn't gone away completely, depression sets in. Feelings of hopelessness are normal, especially with daily announcements on the economy's downward spiral flooding the news. But as with any break-up, you'll find love again. So shove this phase aside and prepare yourself to move on. Who needed that job anyway? Finally, the acceptance phase. You've come to terms with the harsh reality and now it's time to reorganize and plan your next steps. Pull out your Rolodex and start planning your triumphant return, because they haven't seen the last of you yet. Editor's note: If you've lost a job in the media industry recently, or are afraid of doing so, despair not. Beverly Weinstein's column will reappear here regularly dispensing sound advice and practical tactics for managing your career in a volatile employment market. If you have specific questions about what you should do, please post them below, and Bev will help you out. Or if you feel uncomfortable posting your queries publicly, feel free to email Bev anonymously at bev@markhammedia.com