Confirming what many already suspected, a recent poll from LinkedIn's Research Network and Harris Interactive found that advertisers are spending less ad dollars on print newspapers in favor of online. The poll results are a dagger in the heart of America's beleaguered newspaper publishers. The LinkedIn-Harris poll of 1,015 top executives at ad agencies and their corporate clients from June 22-June 30 found that while the number of advertisers using print and online are still roughly equal -- 88% and 92%, respectively -- the trend lines for the two media are headed in opposite directions. Some 74% of advertisers that use Internet say they are using it more than they did one year ago, while 49% of advertisers that use print say they are using it less. Another 41% of advertisers that use print say their spending has remained steady with a year ago. On the upside, 54% of advertisers that spend money online do so as part of a broader, multimedia campaign strategy, versus just 14% that only advertise online. The poll also had some good news for mobile advertising, which has struggled to find its footing in the U.S. market: 69% of advertisers that employ mobile advertising say they are using it more than they did a year ago, suggesting the medium has proven itself -- at least to marketers willing to try it. Radio and TV are roughly even, according to the LinkedIn-Harris Poll, with the proportion of advertisers that use radio and/or TV exactly even at 46%. Both are also experiencing slippage, although not as much as print. Among advertisers using radio, 46% say they are using it the same amount as last year, and 43% say they are using it less. Also, 48% of advertisers that use TV say their spending is even with last year, versus 38% that say they are spending less. Harris also found evidence of significant regional differences. In the South, 57% of advertisers say they use radio, and 56% say they use TV, versus just 39% for each medium in the West. The erosion of print media is bad news for newspapers, which have seen total print advertising revenues tumble from $10.5 billion in the first quarter of 2006 to $5.9 billion in the first quarter of 2009 -- the most recent data available from the Newspaper Association of America. While conventional wisdom holds that newspapers are losing print ad dollars to the Internet, polls like the LinkedIn-Harris survey provide empirical evidence to prove it.
A real-life "Apprentice"-style competition that Ford has backed at a grassroots level for several years is coming to TV, allowing the automaker to expand its involvement. The competition, the "Ford HBCU Business Classic," features African-American college students competing to develop the most viable business plan. A documentary-type, hour-long special on TV One -- which will carry the same name as the competition itself -- will chronicle the five finalist teams from historically black colleges and universities. Ford will advertise in the show, which will have multiple airings after its Aug. 2 debut, with exclusivity in the auto category. In 47 million homes, TV One targets an African-American audience with general-interest entertainment and lifestyle programming. Radio One and Comcast are the lead investors. The TV special offers a behind-the-scenes look at the competition's final round -- from the five teams' arrival in Atlanta to their 48 hours of final prep through their presentations to a panel of judges. The teams come from universities, including Howard and Florida A&M, with one of the judges being "Apprentice" winner and businessman Randal Pinkett. TV One Chief Revenue Officer Keith Bowen said the show is "a real-life reality competition show that has all the drama that one can find in other, not-so-real reality competition shows. And it has a wonderful, underlying purpose -- to help educate and develop future business leaders in a hands-on way that goes beyond what they can learn in a classroom alone." The winning team receives $35,000 in scholarship funds and an additional $15,000 for their school. Ford has provided the funds since the competition debuted five years ago. Crystal Worthem, multicultural marketing manager for Ford, said in the current economy, "it is as important as ever that we continue to foster the development of future business leaders and entrepreneurs."
The Big Ten Network is tacking logos for a collection of new series debuting this football season on a bus that will tour eight states next month. The shows come under a "Four Pack" umbrella brand. Big Ten Network's Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will cover 3,000 miles in a customized, chartered bus. The promotional vehicle will travel to the 11 Big Ten campuses in August, where the network will broadcast 90-minute specials revolving around a pre-season practice at each conference school. The "Big Ten Football Tour" bus will plug "Breakdown," "Sites & Sounds," "Behind the Schemes" and "Big Ten Football and Beyond," each of which will air once a week throughout the season. In addition to the on-the-field aspects, shows will also include interviews with head coaches, coordinators and position coaches. The Big Ten Network also will produce a separate 30-minute football preview show for each Big Ten school. The tour starts Aug. 11 at Ohio State and ends Aug. 25 at Iowa, with viewers able to follow its path and win a sweepstakes for tickets on a Facebook page and Twitter feed.
While Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance?" scored another big victory, which was expected, it was Univision that opened some eyes on Thursday night. The Spanish-language network pulled in the second-best 18-49 numbers on the night for any broadcast network -- a Nielsen preliminary 2.0 rating/6 share. (Fox won the night overall among 18-49 viewers with a 2.2/7.) Perhaps more eye-opening: Univision scored the best results of the night among younger viewers, easily winning with a 2.3/8 among adults 18-34. Univision did this on a night against one of Fox's best-skewing young-targeted summer shows, "So You Think You Can Dance?" To be fair, Univision's results came against a number of network reruns -- all of which typically raises its summertime profile. This was also against an 8 p.m. hour of a Fox "Bones" repeat, which pulled down its overall average among 18-34 viewers to a 1.7/7 for the night. Fox's "Dance" was still tops on Thursday in both major viewing group categories: a 2.9/9 among 18-49 viewers. The 100th episode of the show, which featured noted actor Katie Holmes, help "Dance" climb in 18-49 viewers from a 2.5 rating a week ago. NBC, CBS and ABC each aired some originals on the night. CBS had a 2.0/7 among 18-49 viewers for "Big Brother," which is about its average this summer. ABC went with two leftover originals of "Samantha Who?" -- each taking in a 0.9/3. NBC had about the same results for "The Listener," a 1.0/3. After Fox and Univision, CBS had a 1.9/6 among 18-49 viewers. Then came NBC ( 1.1/4), ABC (0.8/2) and CW (0.5/2).