The world’s largest and most-recognizable fast-food chain is bringing entertainment, news, sports and video content to diners, creating a substantial advertising platform in the process. McDonald’s is launching McTV in partnership with ChannelPort Communications. The McTV network will be installed in 800 McDonald’s restaurants around Southern California and Las Vegas, reaching 18 to 20 million viewers per month, according to ChannelPort. The network could go national if it proves profitable, according to the Los Angeles Times. McTV will feature entertainment content from BBC America, local news, and a variety of local-focused content produced by Vimby through its partnerships with local filmmakers in dozens of cities around the country. The Vimby content will include profiles of high school and college athletes and working mothers from the local community, as well as content covering fashion, art, music, nightlife, lifestyle and culture. Content will be broadcast on high-def screens, measuring 42 to 46 inches, located near dine-in seating areas. The network will carry eight minutes of advertising per hour interspersed between content pods from 20 to 22 minutes in length, with at most 1.5 minutes of advertising for McDonald’s itself. This isn’t the first attempt to create a digital out-of-home video network piggybacking on the iconic fast-food chain’s numerous venues. Turner Broadcasting tried to develop a place-based video network serving McDonald’s locations back in the early 1990s, but the project ran aground on financial and logistical obstacles. More recently, in 2006 Akoo launched m-Venue, which allowed customers to order free music and video content from their mobile phones, which was then played on digital displays in McDonald’s restaurants, as well as other types of venues. Akoo subsequently refined its business strategy to focus on mall food courts and college dining halls. However, the idea of DOOH networks serving fast-food and casual dining restaurant chains has taken root rapidly in recent years. In June, Taco Bell agreed to install an ad-supported video network throughout its 5,600 locations nationwide, through a partnership with Indoor Direct, whose video network (before the addition of Taco Bell) reached 1,036 locations, including franchises for Denny’s, Carl Jr.’s, Hardees, and Wendy’s. Should the McTV network go national, McDonald’s offers potential reach far in excess of rival national fast-food chains. McDonald’s serves approximately 27 million Americans per day through some 14,000 franchises and corporate venues nationwide. Only Subway operates more locations, at around 23,500 in 2010. Pizza Hut operates about 7,500 locations, Burger King 7,200, Dunkin’ Donuts 6,500 and Wendy’s 5,900.
Canoe Ventures has issued guidelines for networks, operators and advertisers as it looks to tip viewers off to an ad with interactive capabilities. Under Canoe’s plans, spots will include an “ExpandTV” logo on the screen, signaling that the remote control can be used for further engagement. The ExpandTV tipoff is intended for both advertising and programming,with an opportunity to explore additional content. Canoe has trademarked ExpandTV. In its guidelines available at ExpandTV.com, Canoe offers some options for a “brought-to-you-by” message that might accompany the logo-on screen. One example would be: “[Network] presents [XYZ] program, enhanced with ExpandTV and brought to you by [Advertiser].” Canoe also suggests that an “Enhanced with ExpandTV” message be included in tune-in ads in print. Canoe is a consortium of the six largest cable operators seeking to build a national interactive TV platform. It hopes the brand will become an industry standard, appearing in spots it facilitates and others that operators may serve themselves. The Canoe guidelines say that the “Expand” and “TV” cannot be separate colors, but the full logo can be in many hues to be more visible, depending on the background. The logo itself cannot be altered. “Otherwise, the brand’s image could be negatively affected over time,” Canoe writes. The ExpandTV logo was “developed with the intention of being complementary to other logos,” although it does not have to be attached to a network or other moniker. The ExpandTV mark can vary in size, but never be less than 25% the size of a complementary logo such as a network’s. On one level, Canoe hopes the ExpandTV logo will offer viewers “peace of mind” that their privacy will be protected as they engage in interactivity. So in that sense, it will function as sort of a “UL” mark. Vicki Lins, Canoe CMO, stated that the cable industry now has a “program that the entire industry can rally around to promote the adoption of iTV.” ExpandTV was developed by a group headed by Canoe that also includes: the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB), the Cable & Telecommunications Association of Marketing (CTAM), Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs) and the six Canoe owners (Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable). Bob Liodice, head of the Association of National Advertisers, stated that the group supports the industry’s “move to accelerate viewer awareness of and comfort with interactivity.”
Carat USA, the Aegis Group media shop, has completed a detailed new study of the Hispanic consumer segment and concluded that marketers are spending dollars against the sector in highly inefficient ways, due to continued reliance on old assumptions and outdated methods of communicating with the Latino population. The new data has led Carat to conclude that 90% of Hispanic media budgets are targeting only 20% of the Latino population -- and are missing the opportunity to “drive significant business value among 80% of the Hispanic market.” Among the major findings: a significant decrease in traditional word-of-mouth influence from friends and family. Just like the rest of the population, Hispanics have been empowered by the digital revolution and are highly engaged with digital and social content (such as online ratings, reviews, and blogs). Digital information now influences the majority of Hispanic purchasing decisions, the agency research found. Previously, children had greater influence in purchases made by parents, and marketers have sought to tap into that persuasion factor. Today, however, 50% of U.S. Hispanic consumers say they no longer shop with their children, opening up a significant opportunity to market to individuals directly through social media channels, per the report. Another key finding per the study: Impulse purchases and self-indulgence are rising as a mindset among U.S. Hispanics. Nearly 60% of the Latinos surveyed indicated they no longer wait for things to go on sale before purchasing them. And more than half of the respondents said they now make purchases to keep up with the latest fashions. The green movement has not passed over Hispanic households; nearly 40% now make purchasing decisions based on whether they believe a product or service is environmentally friendly. “Our research shows there is an immediate opportunity for marketers to maximize their media value and use their dollars more efficiently and effectively by embracing this tremendous cultural shift,” among Hispanics, the fastest growing population segment in the U.S., stated Doug Ray, president, Carat USA. “Advertisers can now tap into a more current set of passions and motivations, some of which are entirely different from those typically identified with Hispanic shoppers, even as recently as five years ago.” The study also found there is less focus on acculturation by Hispanics and a growing shift toward “self-actualization.” Nearly 60% of Latinos prefer to “enjoy life” versus feeling a sense that they must place duty ahead of personal goals and fulfillment. Personal passions tend to be more indulged than in the past, when needs of the family were seen as the foremost driver of behavior, per the report. The study concluded that marketers must embrace social media activities that are designed to be inclusive of Hispanic audiences via a “total market” approach. Given the burgeoning array of Hispanic video programming content, the study recommends increased investment in Spanish-language cable channels. Genres to consider include travel, adventure, celebrity gossip, sensationalist-type content, and dramatic situations. The study was based on a survey of more than 2,000 Hispanic adults ages 18 and older. The majority of the surveying was done online, with about one-quarter of the respondents interviewed by phone. --
TV automotive advertising was one of the few silver linings in Gannett Co.'s otherwise weak third-quarter financial results.Non-political TV advertising revenues were 4.7% higher in the third quarter versus the same period in 2010. Overall, Gannett TV revenues sank $10.8 million to $168.8 million -- a decline mostly attributable to political advertising, which dropped $18.4 million during the period.Other good TV news: retrans revenues improved 26.7% in the quarter to $20 million. Digital online revenues at its television stations were up 27.5%.The news was less positive at Gannett's publishing business, which saw national advertising revenues drop 17%. Gannett owns the nationally distributed newspaper USA Today. Advertising categories such as entertainment, automotive and financial dropped. Overall publishing revenue, including circulation, declined 5.3% to $917.8 million.However, digital revenue for the company rose 10% to $272.6 million, which is now 21.5% of total operating revenue for the company. Total revenue at Gannett for the period fell 3.5% to $1.27 billion, with net income sinking 1.6% to $99.8 million from $101.4 million.For the fourth quarter, the owner of 82 newspapers and 23 television stations expects continued lower results for political advertising, which totaled $52.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Gannett expects percentage declines in the low teens. Just looking at non-political advertising spending, Gannett forecast high single-digit percentage hikes versus a year ago.
Young-skewing TV networks might take note of major changes in four years: U.S-born Hispanics will command a dominant share of a key young TV viewing group. Viacom-owned Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más, says young Hispanic-Americans will make up 65% of all 18-29 viewers by 2015. Among the other results of the study: these Hispanic "millennials" are living at home even longer, which it says is the result of the recession and a lifestyle that delays marriage and kids. That translates into sharing more home responsibilities. The survey says Hispanic millennials may not be all that rebellious, respecting parental authority more than many of their non-Hispanic millennial colleagues. But they might disagree with their parents on a significant point. While work is important, the study says they are very reluctant to take on a "live to work" mentality. Nancy Tellet, senior vice president of research for Viacom International Media Networks, stated: "We need to develop strategies that consider this demo, to better serve the Hispanic market and deliver results." Viacom says its research comes from traditional, nontraditional and social media techniques, including national online surveys, texting and Facebook interaction, as well as local focus groups and in-home studies in Los Angeles, New York and Houston.
Among its many other uses -- magazine reader, game console, music library, news aggregator -- the iPad is also proving to be a compelling portable DVR for millions of users. ABC, the earliest and arguably most aggressive network TV presence on the iPad at its launch, now reports passing several milestones in streaming media to the tablet. The company tells Online Media Daily that its full-episode ABC Player for the iPad has been downloaded 3 million times in more than a year and a half on the platform. That popularity has resulted in 47 million video streams served to the device so far. Albert Cheng, EVP and chief product officer, digital media, Disney/ABC Television Group, says the app has proven to be an effective and integral extension of the prime-time strategy for the network. The iPad itself has become an exceptional vehicle as an on-demand viewing vehicle. “ABC is committed to delivering the best possible viewing experiences to our fans wherever they are and in whatever format they choose,” he says. “The ABC Player iPad app is an important part of that strategy, and has given us key insights into consumer behavior. For instance, we've learned there is greater engagement with fans on an IPad [where] they love consuming media.” Just as a number of media companies have discovered when comparing consumption patterns between the desktop-bound Web and tablets, the latter trumps the former when it comes to hang time and depth of involvement. “It's such a personal experience,” Cheng says. “As a result, we see greater engagement with our content, with people watching more episodes than those online.” The ABC Player app offers the last four or five episodes of most of the current series for replay. The player can track and save a user’s progress in viewing episodes from sessions to sessions. The episodes include four or five sponsor breaks of about 30 seconds each. ABC says iPad viewing preferences generally follow on-air, with top-rated shows such as "Grey’s Anatomy," "Modern Family" and "Private Practice" proving among the most-watched on the app. The ABC Player app remains the most popular free iPad app from a TV network in the Apple App Store -- ranked No. 5, right before NBC’s full-episode app (No. 6), HBO Go (No. 9) and Hulu+ (No. 10). TNT, PBS CineMax and Cartoon Network also now offer full-episode replay apps.
It’s that time of year when the editors of MEDIA magazine invite nominations and submissions for its annual “Agency of the Year” awards. There is no pro forma submission process and any individual or organization is encouraged to provide any information by Oct. 31 to help with the selection process. The magazine’s main criteria are open-ended and focus on agencies, clients and media suppliers that demonstrated “strategic vision,” “innovation” and “industry leadership.” Please contact Assistant Managing Editor Carrie Cummings at carrie@mediapost.com.