The agency holding companies have kicked off the New Year with an aggressive buying spree, acquiring a diverse group of companies, including digital and media agencies, research firms and PR shops. This week alone, WPP confirmed three acquisitions, while Publicis and the Interpublic Group also confirmed buying agencies. MDC Partners kicked off the acquisition surge two weeks ago with its purchase of independent media shop RJ Palmer. WPP, through different subsidiaries, bought stakes in an Australian digital shop and a Scandinavian PR agency and purchased a Chinese research firm. WPP’s Burson-Marsteller bought a majority stake in Helsinki, Finland-based Viestintätoimisto Pohjoisranta Oy, which it described as one of the country’s largest communications firms. Clients include HP and SAP. The holding company cited Scandinavia as a region where it continues to strategically invest in properties. It now generates about $500 million in annual revenues from its Scandinavian operations. WPP’s global ad agency Ogilvy acquired a one-third stake in Melbourne, Australia-based digital shop DTDigital. The company said the purchase is part of its effort to grow its digital assets -- to the point where they account for up to 40% of the company’s revenue by 2017. Currently, digital revenues total over $4.5 billion or nearly 30% of total revenue. Also, research subsidiary Kantar agreed to buy Chinese social media research and consulting agency CIC, which has offices in Shanghai and Beijing. CIC’s clients include L'Oreal, Pepsi, Dell, Nike and Burberry. Kantar said the operation would complement its existing operations in the country, which cover the retail, health, shopper, brand, innovation and custom research sectors. Publicis Groupe gobbled up one of the bigger independent French digital agencies, Mediagong. The shop will be aligned with Leo Burnett France and counts Danone, the global yogurt marketer, confectioner Lindt and Accor Hotels as clients. Despite the rocky European economy, the digital shop posted revenue growth in excess of 25% last year, according to the holding company. The firm is forecasting 20% growth in French Internet spending in 2012. “Digital has become key to our clients, and the French market has the potential for strong growth,” stated Jean-Paul Brunier, president of Leo Burnett France. “This strategic acquisition means Leo Burnett will be among the very few full-service agencies with such a strong grounding in digital expertise." In addition, IPG confirmed the purchase this week of Nicole Weber Communications, a German consumer lifestyle marketing and PR agency with offices in Hamburg and Munich. NWC will become part of IPG’s GolinHarris network. Founder Nicole Weber will continue to lead the NWC team as managing director. The firm has created consumer campaigns for major brands, such as Henkel Cosmetics, Renault and Campari. The spree kicked off two weeks ago with MDC’s purchase of New York media shop RJ Palmer, as part of its strategy to bulk up on the media planning and buying side of the advertising industry. That was followed by the Jan. 10 acquisition by Kantar of a majority stake in Pakistani market research firm Oasis Insights. Kantar cited Pakistan as one of the faster-growing emerging markets.
The NFL is asking for sky-high advertising dollars for the streaming videocast of the Super Bowl to be aired on NFL and NBC sites. The price tag comes to a whopping $55 cost per thousand viewers [CPMs] -- with big existing NFL sponsors getting first crack at buying the game online, according to media-buying executives. One of the NFL's big sponsorship partners, General Motors, has bought up the car online exclusivity category, according to one executive. By way of comparison, the traditional TV airing of the Super Bowl is roughly priced at $35 CPM -- for an estimated 100 million TV viewers and a $3.5 million per 30-second commercial price tag. The Webcast, also to run on Verizon mobile phones, would run in conjunction with the traditional TV airing on NBC Television Network on February 5. According to one media executive's estimate, if the online version of the game gets 5% of the audience of its TV audience -- around 100 million viewers, a level the game has pulled in over the past few years -- this would come to 5 million Internet viewers. This would equate to a price tag of $275,000 per 30-second commercial. On hearing this news, one media executive said: "It's crazy expensive. I don't believe it to be additive audience, but complementary to core TV offering, given it's primarily a social setting event." Another media buying executive said: "A $55 CPM is very high. We'd never do that." Media executives say the seven major NFL sponsors have been getting first crack at the streaming video opportunity, with these partners pushed to ink deals for category exclusivity, pegged to specific media spending levels. Per executives, about half of these major sponsors have bought in, including GM. Some other major NFL sponsors include PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch, Visa, Nike, Verizon, and Gatorade. The package would include a "companion" display ad -- one that would run outside the frame of the video. Separate display advertising, the price tag for banners targeted to other NFL content, has been set at $14 CPM (300x250) and $12 CPM (728x90). If any of the NFL's major sponsorship partners declines to buy, then the opportunity is presented to other TV advertisers running TV spots on-air during the Super Bowl. After this, the inventory has been pitched to non-Super Bowl TV advertisers. An NFL representative did not return messages by press time.
Cisco Systems becomes the first company to launch a targeted video ad campaign aimed at 140,000 C-level executives on LinkedIn. The video-embedded ad landing in member in-boxes Thursday will also click through to a landing page explaining how Cisco's intelligent network relates to their business, according to Cisco CMO Blair Christie. Aside from LinkedIn, the social campaign will also appear on Twitter. Ogilvy Los Angeles created the campaign, which includes television, print and takeover pages on dot-coms. The thirty-second video ad for the campaign, Built for the Human Network, debuts on television this weekend during the NFL and the AFC championship football TV games. It highlights machines on an assembly line working together to get products built. When one machine breaks down, another stops production long enough to help the other machine in need. Then it returns to work with the other machines. "The ads will show real-life examples of how our customers can change their business models and change the way they operate by building a network," Christie said. "The ad campaign hopes to show how the network enables customers to do amazing things." This week, Cisco will use the ad to take over the front page of the online versions of Financial Times, CNBC, Wired, The Street and The Atlantic. The ad, which required a rebuild for each site, will have social buttons to share the content. In print starting Monday, The Wall Street Journal will run a six-page manifesto, along with ads in Financial Times, Economist and others. The pages will tell how Cisco clients improve processes. Readers will find the articles on several companies that looked at traditional ways of improving business by adding a Cisco network.
A Wall Street analyst projects cable/satellite/telco operators collectively posted slight growth in the number of pay-TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2011, with cable slowing its slide. Miller Tabak’s David Joyce said Friday he expects the industry to post a net addition of 19,000 customers, while cable’s subscriber loss would be far less than it was in the same period the year before. Cable is expected to post a net loss of 341,000 subscribers, down from 511,000 in the last three months of 2010. In his report, Joyce cited “slightly improving unemployment figures” as propelling some of the improved results. Time Warner Cable, Verizon and AT&T report fourth-quarter results this week. Cable’s better results suggest somewhat sluggish numbers for telco and satellite operators. While Verizon is projected to add 190,000 homes -- up from 182,000 at the end of 2010 -- expectations were closer to 200,000. Joyce suggested that battles with Cablevision may be a factor in the lower numbers, and his figures project that the Long Island-based operator will post a mere 2,000-subscriber drop, better than the 35,000 in the last quarter of 2010. Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the country’s two largest operators, are also projected to deliver lesser year-over-year decreases of 18,000 and about 10,000, respectively. For Q4 of last year, AT&T U-verse is expected to have net additions of 195,000 -- down from 246,000 in 2010. Dish Network, however, should post improved results, with a 60,000 loss -- better than the 156,000 decline at the end of 2010. Joyce projects that DirecTV, which has been bucking industry trends, will post a 35,000 net gain, down from 289,000 the year before.
Raycom Media, the station group with a college sports syndication operation, is going into business with Michael Yudin, a producer who launched Carat’s branded entertainment group in 2005. The arrangement comes as Raycom takes a 50% interest in My Tupelo Entertainment, as part of its acquisition of Tupelo-Honey Productions. Two years ago, Yudin and Cary Glotzer formed My Tupelo, which produces Spike’s “Pros vs. Joes” and Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.” In his producing and Carat roles, Yudin has sought to integrate brands into content. The broader Tupelo-Honey, which is led by Glotzer, has multiplatform sports experience and recently produced an online series about NBA rookie Jimmer Fredette. It also has produced the Arena Football League for the NFL Network and had a hand in “David Beckham’s Soccer USA,” about his first year in the MLS. Raycom said it will now produce about 300 shows in 2012, including ones for ESPN, NBC Sports Network and Yes. It has a longstanding relationship with syndicating ACC sports. Raycom is looking to “develop more original programming” for its stations, stated Pat LaPlatney, vice president of business development for the company. It operates 48 stations in 36 markets, including the CBS station in Cleveland.
Network television got a lot closer on Thursday night -- sometimes broadcast television's most closely watched night of television -- as CBS gained on Fox. Preliminary Nielsen results show another steep drop for Fox's "American Idol" -- down nearly 30% for last year's Thursday opening night to a 5.6/15 among 18-49 viewers. The show was only four-tenths of a rating point ahead of CBS' "Big Bang Theory" -- also running at 8 p.m. -- which came in at a 5.2/14. For the night, Fox was still ahead of CBS -- at 3.9/10 to a 3.5/9 -- among 18-49 viewers. CBS was seemingly unharmed by the arrival of "Idol," back with its Thursday results show. (On Wednesday's "performance" show, "Idol" recorded a 27% drop from its season 10 opener a year ago.) "Big Bang" was only down one-tenth of a rating point versus a week ago. Better still, CBS' new comedy "Rob" at 8:30 p.m. also held up against the second hour of "Idol," down 12% to a 3.6/9. At 9 p.m., "Person Of Interest" was up a bit to a 3.3/8. CBS' "The Mentalist" at 10 p.m. was at a 2.9/8, up 7%. But other networks seem to suffer with "Idol." ABC had a 2.5/6 on the night, and NBC was at a 1.7/4. ABC's "Wipeout" was down 18% to a 2.2/5; "Grey's Anatomy" was off 11% to a 3.4/8; and "Private Practice" dropped to a 2.1/5. NBC's "30 Rock" was off 11% to a 1.6/4; "Parks & Recreation" climbed a bit to a 2.0/5. "The Office" was even at 2.9/7, while "Up All Night" down 5% to a 1.9/5. "The Firm" saw another 10% decline to a 0.9/2. Univision came in at a 1.5/4, and The CW was at a 0.9/2.
Meredith Corp. has completed its acquisition of FamilyFun from Disney Publishing Worldwide. The deal covers the magazine as well as related assets, including special interest publications, the Toy Hopper and other digital magazine applications. Disney Interactive’s Moms and Family online portfolio will retain all existing FamilyFun content for digital use. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; however, Meredith said it will not have a substantial material impact, suggesting that the price was relatively modest. The March 2012 issue of FamilyFun will be the first published by Meredith Corp. With a rate base of 2.1 million and an audience of 6 million, Family Fun targets mothers of children ages 3-12 with ideas and suggestions for cooking, crafts, celebrations and travel. Meredith National Media Group President Tom Harty stated: “This acquisition significantly enhances our leadership and reach among women in both the parenthood and food spaces.” Previously, Disney Publishing Worldwide President Russell Hampton stated that the company will focus on “our core children’s magazine and book businesses, our rapidly growing digital initiatives, and our Disney English-language learning program.” This is the second big magazine acquisition by Meredith Corp. in recent months. In October of last year, the company acquired cooking mag Every Day With Rachael Ray and its related digital properties from their previous owner, the Reader’s Digest Association. That acquisition was part of a larger expansion of food-related content offerings, including the launch of Recipe.com; acquisition of the EatingWell Media Group; introduction of six new Special Interest Media food titles; and expansion of Meredith’s food content to tablet platforms.
A criminal investigation has been launched by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in connection with the death last month of Suzanne Hart, the Y&R executive who died after an elevator malfunctioned at the midtown offices of the WPP agency. The New York Post was the first to report the development, citing unnamed sources. Officials at the Manhattan District Attorney’s offices could not immediately be reached for comment. Hart was killed on Dec. 14 as she attempted to enter an elevator at 285 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, a WPP-owned building which houses a number of the holding company’s agencies in New York, including Y&R. The Manhattan DA joins a list of several other city units already investigating the mishap, including the Buildings Department, the Department of Investigations and the NYPD. A major focus of the investigations is maintenance work performed on the elevator by Transel Elevator Inc., which the building had used to perform routine maintenance on the elevators. DNAinfo, a New York-based journalism organization, reported earlier this week that Transel performed work on the elevator car involved in the accident just hours before the mishap occurred, but allegedly failed to report the work as required by city regulations. The required report would have triggered an inspection before the elevator would have been put back into service. Meanwhile, the 85-year old building has reopened. Last fall, WPP had confirmed plans to sell the building and relocate staffers to a modern facility further north in the city. The move is planned for 2013.