Confirming many reports of a strong comeback, local broadcast stations had a big 23.5% rise in 2010 advertising revenue versus the previous year. Estimates from the TV stations' advertising group TVB, from data supplied by Kantar Media, said local broadcast TV rose to $15.6 billion. TV stations, however, are still down versus the $20 billion advertising totals of a few years ago. National broadcast networks continue to have the greatest share of all TV ad dollars, gaining 5.7% in 2010 to $24.97 billion. Closing in on national broadcasters are national cable networks, which added 10.2% to $21.3 billion for the year. Syndication TV slipped in 2010 -- 2.8%, to $4.1 billion -- partly reflecting lower-priced upfront deals set in 2009, in the midst of a weak ad market and a crushing economic recession. As the economy improved, syndication did as well, recovering in the fourth quarter of 2010 -- the start of a new broadcast season -- gaining 14.7% to $1.2 billion versus the same period the year before. The biggest improving national and local ad category was automotive advertisers -- rocketing up 53.7% to $2.6 billion. The second-biggest category, communications/telecommunications, was 14.7% higher to $1.5 billion. Restaurants were up 8.1% to $1.2 billion; political advertising had an eye-popping 598.8% gain to $763 million; and financial services grew 54.3% to $680 million. The big single advertiser -- after political advertising -- was Chrysler Group LLC, up 66.0% to $371.3 million. AT&T improved 41.2% to $334.8 million; Ford Motor Dealers Association gained 45.2% to $324.5 million; and Toyota Motor Dealers Association was 55.2% higher to $313.2 million.
McClatchy Co. is creating its own online group-buying service, which will operate separately from its partnership with Groupon. McClatchy said the Groupon partnership will continue, however, even as it introduces what appears to be a competing service. The new McClatchy group-buying service could give the newspaper publisher up to 50% of revenues from deals sold and distributed via its newspaper Web sites, according to Ad Age, which cited individuals familiar with the situation. That compares favorably to the 15% revenue cut it gets from the Groupon partnership. The newspaper publisher first partnered with Groupon in July 2010; the plans to introduce its own group-buying service underline some of the threats Groupon faces, including the ease with which new competitors can duplicate its basic group-discount model. This is especially true if they already employ a large local sales force, with established relationships with retail and service providers, as McClatchy and other newspaper publishers do. The McClatchy news comes close on the heels of a similar announcement from Hearst Corp., which plans to introduce group-buying platforms through its various local newspaper properties. Other newspaper publishers are starting to use the group-discount model to sell their own products, sometimes in partnership with Groupon. This week Tribune Co.'s Los Angeles Times announced it struck a deal with Groupon, making a 52-week subscription to the newspaper's Sunday edition available for just $10, for a $42 savings. The deal is limited to subscribers in the greater Los Angeles area.
Following up on bigger TV efforts where marketers get viewers to produce TV commercials, Turner's Adult Swim late-night block is partnering with Pizza Hut to encourage fans to create a special summer spot. Starting later this month, Pizza Hut and Adult Swim will roll out a marketing campaign with on-air and off-air messages enticing its viewers to create a commercial, asking them to describe their favorite moment involving pizza, via video submission. It will then ask fans to view and vote on their favorite videos on www.adultswim.com/fanmade. Recent viewer-generated TV commercials promotions have been pushed for years -- especially for big events like the Super Bowl. Doritos is one company that has invested in such efforts. This year, sister-brand Pepsi joined Doritos in asking fans to produce commercials for the big annual football game in a campaign that started last fall. The Pizza Hut/Adult Swim promotion "Fan-Made Contest" will have Adult Swim recreating the winning video in a custom commercial for Pizza Hut. The winning fan will receive an all-expense-paid trip to watch it being filmed. "Adult Swim fans are, without a doubt, some of the most fanatical, creative and outspoken fans in the industry," stated John O'Hara, executive vice president and general sales manager of Adult Swim and sister network Cartoon Network ad sales and marketing. "Programs like this give us a tremendous opportunity to engage them at a very high level, allowing them to interact with our partners in a way that can achieve great results." The promotion extends to on-site locations. A 10-stop tour will stop at Adult Swim block parties taking place at local venues near college campuses. At each stop, fans can submit their video submissions for the contest, as well as collect free giveaways.
Adam Gerber, who has ample experience on the traditional media side and recognized early the potential in online video, has joined ABC. As vice president of sales development and marketing for the network, he will look to craft broader multiplatform deals across multiple ABC properties. In that vein, he will report to Dan Longest, head of Disney-ABC Unlimited, the group that looks for sprawling deals, using outlets throughout ABC and parent Disney. Gerber's duties will also include heading a team in ad sales marketing, "focused on reinforcing the network's quality-audience positioning." Previously, he was CMO at Quantcast, the online measurement firm. Before that, he was vice president at Brightcove, the online video provider, from 2005-07. He also worked as senior vice president, director of innovation and strategy at Mediavest and at The Digital Edge. "With significant digital and new media experience, as well as substantial media agency work in the television industry, Adam will bring a tremendous level of support and strategic vision to help our overall business evolve with the changing media landscape," Longest stated. On the agency side, Gerber worked in media roles at Ammarati Puris Lintas, JWT and D'Arcy and spent time at AOL (then known as America Online).
It may seem as small consequence compared to the human tragedies that have befallen Japan since an earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on the devastated island nation, but the natural disasters are also wreaking havoc on the advertising budgets of Japanese brands, especially imported cars, in the U.S. Asked what categories were most likely to experience cutbacks in ad spending as a result of the tragedy, about two-thirds (65%) of agency executives cited Japanese automotive and electronics brands, according to a survey of 20 major agencies conducted March 16 & 17 by media planning and buying software supplier Strata. Two-thirds of the agency executive said it was either very or somewhat likely that Japanese auto dealers would reduce their ad spending. Asked how much they expected to see Japanese auto dealers reduce their ad spending two-thirds of the agencies said it was somewhat or very likely. On the plus side, U.S. agency executives said they expected to see a corresponding increase in ad spending by domestic auto dealers seeking to take advantage of potential share gains. Overall, the shops surveyed by Strata said cutbacks by Japanese brands would have little or no impact on their business. Only 15% cited a "moderate" effect. ""It will be a positive impact because inventory is up and costs are down," an anonymous agency executive told Strata, adding, "But actually it could go either way. In the short run, PACS may buy up ad inventory negatively affecting us by raising the rates we can offer other clients. In the long run, inventory may ease because Japanese brands can't advertise, and so this may help our business by making advertising inventory cheaper."
The Hub, the fledgling kids/family network from Discovery and Hasbro, will debut a limited series featuring an animated Warren Buffett, who also provides the voiceover. Tabbed "Secret Millionaire's Club," four half-hour shows have the animated Buffett as a clandestine adviser to kids learning about basic business and other matters from the investor extraordinaire. Buffett is credited as a creator, while producers are A Squared Entertainment and Andy Heyward, former CEO of DIC Entertainment. As to Buffett's compensation, a Hub representative said that is a matter between Buffett and the production company, A Squared. Overall, as the kids' upfront approaches, the Hub -- which was launched in October -- said it has nine new original series on deck for the 2011-12 programming year. The Hub, which runs kids' programming during the day and promotes co-viewing in prime time, is in 60 million homes. On tap is "Clue," based on the venerable Hasbro game, presented as a live-action series with six teens that come together and work to solve a crime mystery. Taking advantage of the Hasbro properties, there is also "Scrabble Showdown," a game show with families competing in word games and puzzles testing "speed, spelling and vocabulary." "Majors & Minors" is a new reality-competition series in music with 16 young performers. No one is voted off, yet one winner gets a recording deal with the RCA/Jive label and a role in a tour. The Hub also said it has acquired syndicated episodes of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"
Bloomberg Launches Media GroupM Bloomberg LP, which publishes Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets, unveiled plans to launch a new, integrated media group combining all its properties. The new Bloomberg Media Group -- which includes not only the magazines, but also Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg.com and Bloomberg Mobile -- is intended to make it easier for advertisers to buy "integrated solutions" for campaigns spanning the various properties. The Bloomberg Media Group will be headed by Paul Bascobert, president of Bloomberg Businessweek (who will retain this position). Overall, the Bloomberg Web site and the Businessweek.com reach over 20 million users on a monthly basis, the company said. The move is interesting because it suggests Bloomberg, which provides business information to subscribers through its iconic Bloomberg terminals, is hoping that advertising revenues from consumer media will contribute a larger share of its total business in the future. At the same time, the increased emphasis on consumer media also gives greater exposure to Bloomberg's business information products. In 2009, Bloomberg joined forces with The Washington Post to create a new business-oriented wire service. Time Inc.'s Target Media Partners with Informa for Health Content Time Inc.'s Targeted Media has partnered with Informa Healthcare Communications as the content provider for Targeted's new series of cover wraps, called "The Educated Patient." Informa's educational content for physicians and patients will be featured in the cover wrap, which will appear on popular consumer titles distributed to doctor's offices, offering a mix of health content and targeted advertising. John Kenyon, vice president of Targeted Media, explained: "Given that we're delivering medical advice directly to patients, accuracy is paramount in everything we do. It still, however, must be delivered in a way that patients want to read." Disney Adds New Magazines For Kids Disney Publishing Worldwide is set to launch a series of new magazines targeting kids in the U.S., where the company currently publishes Disney FamilyFun. The new titles include Phineas and Ferb, centered on the world of the characters from the eponymous hit cartoon, which debuted in 2007 and has achieved high ratings in the 6-11 and 9-14 age cohorts. The bimonthly magazine will be available via retail and subscription. DPW is also preparing the launch of three special interest pubs later this year, each coordinated with the launch of Disney and Marvel movies -- "Thor," "Cars 2" and "Captain America." These magazines will be available for newsstand purchase for $9.99. Disney is also planning to launch a regular subscription monthly around the Cars franchise this fall. Tayman To Tech Editor At TimeTime has appointed John Tayman technology editor, where in addition to print coverage, he will be responsible for overseeing online coverage of tech and gaming on the Time Web site's Techland.com blog. Tayman formerly served as editorial creative director at Men's Health.
Sun Life Financial has been running a clever spot where a couple of ingenuous marketers ask to have the name of an Idaho resort town changed to Sun Life Valley. Nestle got the marketing tactic done in real life. Thursday, the company had Raisin City, Calif. -- pop. 167 -- renamed "Raisinets City" for the day in honor of its candy. The stunt had "Raisinets" costumed characters in a parade and appearing in the town square. All of the raisins used in the candies are grown in the surrounding area, although Raisinets themselves, which date back to 1927, are made in Wisconsin. A representative for Nestle said it didn't pay a rights fee to the Raisin City government, although it will give Nestle products to a local food bank. The promotion was aimed, in part, at offering a celebratory atmosphere for the residents; 70%-plus work in raisin growing. It was "National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day." Last year, Kraft had a $150,000 deal with Irving, Texas to attach the Mac 'n Cheese brand to the implosion of Texas Stadium, where the money went to local causes. "Raisins are what we're known for ... we're proud of our agricultural heritage," said Juan Sandoval, Raisin City Community Coordinator.