Yahoo plans to release research Thursday supporting why traditional media buyers might want to pull time on broadcast TV to allocate budgets to mobile advertising. Supporting consumer behavior, the data accompanies the rollout of three rich media formats: Yahoo Mobile Screen Takeover, Yahoo Mobile Customized Expandable Ads, and iPad Tap to Video Ads. Traditional advertisers who remove one or two TV ads from their mix will not notice any difference on the performance of that campaign if they allocate those funds toward mobile to find new audiences, according to Paul Cushman, senior director of mobile sales strategy at Yahoo. "A creative director who says he can't do anything with mobile is last year's story," he says. "HTML5 will become the major driver for scale and engagement within mobile. The ability for it to provide an app-like experience is significant and should not be underestimated." Cushman, a mobile evangelist, says brands continue to waste ad dollars. The numbers revealing this trend sit behind Yahoo's firewall in mail and Front-Page data, Yahoo's "crown jewel," of which third-party companies can't gain access. The critical data suggests that consumers reach for their mobile devices while watching TV during a commercial break. Yahoo supports between 49 million and 50 million unique mobile Internet users monthly. Commercial breaks during live TV events drive mobile Internet use, according to Cushman. Yahoo's analysis of consumer activity across the company's network found a correlation between TV commercial breaks and spikes in mobile Internet use. During commercials that ran with the 2010 Academy Awards, traffic and engagement on the Yahoo Mobile site increased on average 12%. Browser activity rose 125% on Yahoo News. Users consumed 39% more content on Yahoo Front Page, search rose 13%, and users checked and sent email 6% more. Similarly, for the 2010 World Cup, traffic and engagement on the Yahoo Mobile site rose on average of 10% during commercials. Browsing activity rose 57% on Yahoo News, 24% more users consumed content on Yahoo Front Page, and search activity rose 12% on Yahoo Search. Yahoo has offered the expandable ad format for more than a year, but customized the offering and began designing the other two formats during the past year to create a package for advertisers. Consumers are becoming more comfortable with mobile ads. Research from Yahoo Mobile and Nielsen suggests that the immediacy and portability of the mobile phone drives conversions. When consumers use their mobile phone to do research, about half the time they plan to make a purchase. Yahoo isn't the only ad tech company capitalizing on mobile. Google also touted Wednesday high returns on investments for mobile ads on Google's network. Dai Pham, who supports Google mobile ads product marketing, writes in a blog post that Roy's restaurant managed to achieve click-though rates 539% higher on mobile than on desktop by investing in mobile-specific campaigns and hyperlocal advertising.
Some of the biggest TV advertisers have called on television networks to immediately stop their practice of superimposing logos and promos around the borders of the television screen. In a white paper just released by the Association of National Advertisers' influential Television & Video Committee, the trade group said the practice of "filling sidebar pillars with network logos and promotions" -- often on the right- or left-hand side of the screen while some TV commercials air -- violates time and space that belongs to the advertiser. The practice -- which typically occurs in digital TV transmissions, especially high-def feeds that create the pillar-like borders surrounding TV screens -- has been growing as networks seek to find new ways to brand their own channels and to promote their programming in an increasingly non-linear viewing environment. "Plain and simple, the sidebar real estate of an ad belongs to the advertiser unless otherwise agreed or unless the concurrent program content is part of the regular network programming format (e.g., sports/stock tickers)," the ANA committee stated. "Any network logo or promotion competes for the viewers' attention and therefore reduces the effectiveness and devalues the investment of the advertising." The white paper singles out a recent Turner Broadcasting promo for TBS "Conan" show as a "noteworthy example." The left- and right-hand sides of the screen surrounding an advertiser's commercial feature the name "Conan" running vertically down the screen. "The sidebar pillar real estate belongs to the advertiser and should either be left alone (and black) or enhanced only with the input and permission of an advertiser," the ANA committee concluded. For a full copy of the committee's paper, go to: www.ana.net/sidebarpillars.
Kia Motors America is launching its largest campaign ever in the U.S. in support of its 2011 Optima. The campaign, via Santa Monica, Calif.-based David and Goliath, the brand's AOR, begins this weekend as a new made-for-cinema 60-second spot. The ad shows a child waking up in a dream to see the door to the bedroom open wide, revealing a road along a fantastical landscape whose design evokes the kind of holiday diorama one sees this time of year in the windows of Macy's and Bloomingdales. His racecar-shaped bed sprouts lights and rolls out of his room and down the road as the boy takes the wheel at the foot of the bed. As the car rolls over a snowy countryside, he passes such childhood fantasies as a rocket ready for liftoff, Crusaders in armor, a unicorn, a train full of whimsical pigs and a girl who looks out at him just before he enters a tunnel. When the bed disappears into the inky black of the tunnel, the car transforms into the Optima, and emerges with the boy, now grown up, at the wheel. The ad -- like most recent ads for Kia vehicles -- makes sparse use of voiceover, preferring to let imagery, icons and supers tell the story. The only voiceover, in fact, is toward the end: "Nobody ever dreamed of driving a mid-sized sedan ... until now. " Michael Sprague, VP of marketing for the Irvine, Calif.-based automaker, tells Marketing Daily that the use of visual icons makes more sense nowadays, given that as culture gets more technologically centered, visual communication -- paradoxically -- has become more pictographic and icon-based. "What it allows us to do is communicate visually. So our strategy has been not to have much voiceover but to allow music and visuals to communicate the message and use icons to support that," he says. Kia started using pictograms when it launched the Soul crossover last year to represent such functional specs as mileage and telematics. "It's easier to figure where to put an icon for, say 34mpg, than look for the right place in the ad to deliver that message with a voiceover. And if you think about how consumers are getting information now, it makes sense." The spot will run starting Dec. 10 in a media buy encompassing 17,000 theaters nationwide through early January, which Kia says means over 70 million moviegoers will see the ad. Then the ad will air during the national broadcast of the Super Bowl in February, the second time Kia will have advertised during the game. Sprague says that during the second phase of the campaign, Kia will air a pair of 30-second TV spots for Optima featuring creative extracted from the 60-second ad. He adds that Kia's buy in the Super Bowl will be in the first half next year, versus the third quarter in the 2010 game. Kia is also bringing the car to auto shows as part of its "Experience the New Standard" program. "We will have Optima at major auto shows throughout the U.S. with a ride and drive; it is very important to do this," says Sprague, adding that the company will have vehicles at NBA game venues, with product specialists on hand.
Marketers thought Americans spend as much time online as they do watching television, but a Forrester study released Monday confirms it. The average U.S. household watches 13 hours weekly of traditional broadcast TV, equaling the same amount of hours spent online, according to "Understanding The Changing Needs Of The US Online Consumer, 2010." The report, released Monday, bases the findings on Forrester's survey of more than 30,000 consumers. While Gen Yers, ages 18 to 30, spent equal or more time with the Internet, this is the first year where Gen Xers ages 31 to 44 joined the trend. Younger Boomers, ages 45 to 54, also now spend an equal amount of time with both media. The amount of time spent watching TV has remained constant in the past five years, but Internet use rose 121% since 2005. Mobile devices spurred the trend. The percentage of mobile users who report texting on a monthly basis jumped from 54% to 61%, with an increasing amount of older users communicating beyond phone calls. In fact, one-quarter of online mobile owners now log on to the mobile Internet. More than one-third of Gen Yers online mobile consumers connect at least monthly. About 200 million consumers now access their Facebook page through a mobile device globally, according to Forrester. Search anywhere, any time has become a major attraction for mobile users. About 16% of online mobile users now use their mobile phone to check news, sports, or weather, and 13% look up directions or maps. When Forrester analyzed individuals who access the mobile Internet at least weekly, the numbers skyrocketed to 60% and 52%, respectively. Some mobile users go online for knowledge to gain the most updated information, whether it's checking fantasy sports scores on Yahoo or the latest news on CNN. These mobile users are most likely male and college-educated, and their average household income is more than $92,000. It appears that marketers have begun to understand the value of these behaviors. The study finds nearly one-quarter of U.S. interactive marketers plan to pilot mobile search programs in the next 12 months. Shopping also attracts consumers online. In 2010, 60% of consumers shop online, up from slightly more than one-third in 2007. Similar to email, Forrester suggests that consumers are familiar with the task and based on a behavior they already do. Interestingly, the barriers of moving this offline behavior online are higher than for other replacement activities like email, but don't require learning a brand-new behavior. Gen Xers fuel the adoption of shopping online, with 68% participating in the activity. Although fewer Boomers buy online, they outspend Gen Xers by more than $4.5 billion a year. Aside from buying stuff online, the use of social networks has seen the biggest jump in adoption since 2007. In fact, they connect 62 million U.S. adults, according to Forrester. Gen Yers are the biggest social network users, with nearly two-thirds reporting they update or maintain a social networking site profile at least monthly.
"The Closer," a series frequently cited as an example of cable TV's original programming success, will conclude a seven-year run next year. TNT said 15 more episodes will be filmed. The show has been a summer hit since its launch and earned lead actor Kyra Sedgwick an Emmy last summer. TNT said Sedgwick made the decision to end the show, suggesting the network still felt the show had mileage. Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, stated that the show was "pivotal" in "setting a new course for TNT's original programming, while also serving as a prime example of the storytelling strength possible on cable television." The series will pass the 100-episode mark in 2011, giving it life in syndication for years to come. TNT used the series last summer to help launch its popular new drama "Rizzoli & Isles," with both shows averaging more than 8 million viewers. Sedgwick plays a detective from Georgia who joins an investigation unit of the L.A. police force and proves to be an expert at cracking the toughest cases. The series premiered in June 2005. TNT ran 13 episodes in season one before bumping it up to 15 each subsequent year. TNT and TBS have both invested heavily in programming, from the run of original dramas on TNT to comedies such as "My Boys" and the late-night "Conan" on TBS.
The days of top college basketball teams avoiding tough competition early in the season are ending. The NCAA is helping, but ESPN's cash may be the driving reason they will stop playing in the so-called cupcakes. Starting next year, ESPN will launch annual doubleheaders featuring four of college hoops' marquee teams -- Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State -- playing each other on a rotating basis. Over the three years of the contract, the doubleheaders will be at a neutral site with a round robin -- so Duke, for example, will play Michigan State in 2011 and the other two teams in the subsequent years. The event will be billed as the "Champions Classic" and will take place in mid-November as the season kicks off. ESPN executive Nick Dawson stated that the event will serve as "a tremendous pillar for the start of the college basketball season." The NCAA is increasingly rewarding teams that play tougher schedules by giving them some priority during the selection and seeding process for the NCAA tournament. But ESPN's payments to the teams likely do not hurt. The event should give ESPN a prime opportunity to attach a blue-chip sponsor. Referring to the event being held in New York, Atlanta and Chicago over the three years, Kentucky head coach John Calipari stated that it is "a unique opportunity for our fans across the nation to see us play in three major cities against top-level competition."
ESPN has acquired the bulk of intellectual property rights held by PVI Virtual Media Services from Cablevision. PVI made its mark by developing the yellow first-down line that appears in all football broadcasts, while capabilities also include virtual product placement. ESPN will hire most of PVI's staff, including engineers, working at its base in New Jersey. PVI has also developed applications in the field of interactive TV and 3D graphics.(ESPN has a fledgling 3D network.) Separately, some of PVI's technology has been sold to an undisclosed other party. In sports, PVI technology allows for the virtual placement of an ad on the field in a football broadcast or behind home plate during a baseball game. Also, in-game stats about a player's performance can pop up on the screen during a game -- an opportunity that should become even more important as interest in fantasy sports grows. PVI has deals with ESPN, but also competitors such as CBS College Sports, Fox Sports Net and the Big Ten Network. Chuck Pagano, an ESPN executive vice president, stated: "PVI has developed some of the television industry's leading virtual content, and now the addition of their engineering team will help ESPN continue to invent ... production enhancements." The virtual product placement option has applications in scripted TV -- allowing a network to insert a Pepsi bottle, for example, on the counter in a scene, which has already been shot.
Comedy Central has a new logo -- which may seem tangentially to put YouTube on notice. On a straightforward boxy, simple background, there's a small "c" which is encircled by another larger, backwards "c". Below that, in a minimal looking font, appears the lower-case word "comedy" and then the word "central" --- inverted. That twist seems to play on the network's upside-down view of its funny world. The logo itself looked like the copyright symbol, which is interesting considering that Comedy Central is at the center of Viacom's ongoing $1 billion copyright lawsuit with YouTube for copyright infringement -- a suit started in 2007. Earlier this week, Viacom appealed a recent judge's decision that said YouTube's use of video for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" was within its rights, specifically because it took down the material quickly after being notified by Viacom. According to reports, Comedy Central says the new logo works with new digital platforms that the network is looking to expand -- especially mobile and some forthcoming new mobile apps. The network's previous logo, for over a decade, had been variations of the word "Comedy Central" stretched over a globe with three cartoon-ish bending skyscrapers peeking out the top.
Moving closer to the world of Hulu and other premium TV sites, YouTube has extended its video uploads beyond its current 15-minute limit. "Your creativity isn't bound by a time limit, so why should your video uploads be?" says a YouTube blog released Thursday. The blog didn't offer up what -- if any -- new limits there could be. But it suggested that much longer videos -- seemingly one to two hours or more in length -- could be uploaded by users. "So go find that movie you wrote and filmed last year and share it with the world! Or upload your son's championship high school basketball game or the insightful lecture you just gave on the emerging economics of green tech. As long as it's your original content, it's fair game regardless of length," notes the blog. Be it dancing toddlers or acclaimed British cabaret group Fascinating Aida (shown here), YouTube is a pop-culture forum open to all. But there are some restrictions, says YouTube. Longer videos will only be available to those users who have never violated copyright rules and who have followed YouTube's community guidelines. YouTube says it is changing its limit now because it has copyright violations under control. Although YouTube did not refer to premium TV content, analysts note that the company appears to be looking to even the playing field with sites such as Hulu, which allow viewers to typically watch regular half-hour and hour-long TV shows. Some premium TV content owners that have deals with YouTube, such as National Geographic, are already able to upload longer videos. Earlier this week, Netflix made a deal with Walt Disney, which will allow the mail order/streaming video rental service to offer digital streaming of current shows on ABC and ABC Family -- for example, 15 days after those TV shows' episodes originally debuted.
The Hub, a network targeting kids 6 to 11 and their families, will form an advisory board to help it better develop educational and other programming, while ensuring the proper use of advertising. The seven-member board, chaired by a former director of an industry self-regulation body for children's advertising, includes a former Army colonel specializing in "forensic pediatric" and a dietitian. The fledgling network said the board would offer "recommendations that impact the health, education and safety of children and their families." The network, a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, launched in October. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said the ratings have been satisfactory, but expects them to improve markedly. The network, by one measure, is averaging 108,000 viewers in prime time when it encourages co-viewing by parents and kids. The Disney Channel, a seasoned rival, is averaging 2.6 million. Helen Boehm, a former director of the Children's Advertising Review Unit, will serve as chair. CARU works with trade groups, such as the 4As and ANA, as part of industry self-regulatory efforts on children's advertising. Boehm is a professor at City University of New York, but also held a top role at MTV Networks and Nickelodeon in responsibility and standards. Margaret Loesch, CEO of The Hub, stated: "Now more than ever children -- and families -- are besieged with the influences of a tech-savvy and high-pressure outside world. As a television network, we realize the enormous influence we exert and the responsibility that this brings. We have a unique opportunity to be a positive influence in children's development and in their lives."
Nielsen Thursday notified clients that it will restate ratings for nine TV stations in four of its metered markets due to a problem with the "software logic" used to process its ratings data. Nielsen said it has identified the problem, and is in the process of implementing a solution that will ensure it will not impact audience estimates for November, a crucial period for local TV advertising sales. Nielsen said the nine stations affected were in Albuquerque, Austin, Birmingham and Indianapolis, and that they all fit into a category known as "parent + satellite stations," meaning that they were local stations (satellites) that rebroadcast the signal of another local (parent) station, a technique used to broaden the stations' combined geographic reach. Nielsen's policy is to report the combined audiences of those stations as a single entity. Nielsen did not explain what caused the faulty ratings processing software, but said it detected the problem while comparing its metered ratings data with diary data in for those stations, and said that it found that demographic estimates for those stations were "misreported." "The 'overnight' household ratings for these stations and all reported ratings for all other stations in these markets were not impacted," Nielsen said.
Is there too much sex in advertising? That's somewhat true for a majority of Americans. But another 40% find themselves shrugging their shoulders at sexual imagery in TV and print ads. A new poll says more than half of Americans -- 56% -- are bothered by sexual imagery in ads. But 37% of Americans "aren't bothered" at all. After that, another good chunk of Americans -- 32% -- are only "somewhat bothered." At the bottom of the list, 25% of U.S. consumers are "very bothered." (The 56% of Americans who are "bothered" by the sexual imagery in ads is made up of those who say they are "somewhat bothered" (32%) and those who are "very bothered" (25%).) A survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults during the first week in October by Harris Interactive and Adweek Media came to these conclusions. Looking at gender, a strong percentage of those troubled by sex-related content in ads are women -- almost three-quarters of women (73%) are bothered, with one-third (34%) saying they are very bothered by the amount of sexual imagery in ads. This research is similar to results that have been garnered in previous studies, as well as reactions from male consumers. Over half of men (53%) say they are not at all bothered by the amount of sexual content in advertising. Breaking down the current survey by age, older consumers generally are more troubled then younger consumers. The survey shows less than half of those 18-34 (46%) and half of those 35-44 (50%) say they are "bothered"; but three in five of those 45-54 (60%) and two-thirds of those 55 and older (66%) are "bothered" by sexual content in marketers' messaging. Over half (55%) don't want any change, and say the current amount of sexual imagery is acceptable. However, there are those who take the contrary positions: They want more sex in their ads. Over one in five (22%) say they would like to see more sexual imagery.
With the FCC considering new regulations, the broadcast industry's trade group is launching an ad campaign to forestall any government action it deems harmful. The National Association of Broadcasters will debut the campaign that promotes broadcast TV's vitality and potential next month. The NAB, which represents TV and radio broadcasters, has prepared 30-second TV and radio ads asking its members to clear inventory and run them gratis. That includes asking radio stations to air spots for TV stations they compete with for ad dollars. The ads ask with a rhyme: "The future of broadcast TV? It's HD, 3D, mobile TV, technology, not regulation from Washington, D.C." The spot also promotes broadcasters' roles in providing local news, and mobile emergency alerts. The NAB is hoping to get the attention of lawmakers as the FCC considers regulations on the increasingly contentious "retransmission consent" negotiations between TV stations and cable/satellite/telco TV operators. Also, the FCC could move to reclaim broadcast spectrum to be used for wireless and broadband initiatives. For companies such as CBS and Univision, which each have TV and radio stations, it makes sense that their radio outlets would run the pro-TV spots. But would independently owned radio stations? Maybe payback is in order. An NAB spokesman said some TV stations with no skin in the game ran spots earlier this year as Congress considered a bill that would make radio outlets paying another stream of royalties for songs played. The NAB is making the spots available to members in January, a time of year when ad sales tend to be light. The ads are in English and Spanish.
As the season winds down, NFL football ratings winds up -- and NBC gets a windfall. On the back of continued big NFL ratings -- this time featuring the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys -- NBC grew almost a full rating point to a Nielsen 6.9 rating/17 share among 18-49 viewers. The closely fought game between two major NFL brands rocketed to a 8.7 rating/23 share among 18-49 viewers for the last two hours of the contest. NBC says the game tied its best result in the five-year history of "Sunday Night Football," the best Sunday or Monday Night NFL game in nearly 12 years. The week before, NBC earned a 5.8 rating among 18-49 viewers. In second place was CBS. Early in the evening, it had a nice boost of a 5.7 rating/16 share from the afternoon remains of the New New England Patriots blowout of the New York Jets. That's more than double its 2.1 rating for the Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers the week before. CBS then got some strength from the finale of the "Amazing Race," which reached a 3.7/10. All that lifted CBS into a second-place win on Sunday, getting to a 3.8/10, up over its 2.6 average Sunday night rating the week before. Without the benefit of its own early-evening NFL viewers, Fox could only manage a 2.9/7, good for third place -- down from a 4.7 the previous Sunday. Still, Fox's comedies delivered their usual strong performance among young viewers. Fox had a 3.5/10 against NBC's still first-place -- and robust -- 5.8/16, among 18-34 viewers. ABC moved up two-tenths of a rating point to a 2.7/7. Most of its shows were on par with their numbers of a week ago. But the network got a big push from "Brothers & Sisters," which improved four-tenths of a rating point to a bigger 2.6/6. Univision was at a 0.6/2 versus its 0.7 rating of a week ago among 18-49 viewers.
A Canadian TV campaign from January touted the miracle health benefits broccoli has to offer. The company behind the campaign, however, might surprise you. Was it a local grocery store chain? A group of farmers? No and no. The Television Bureau of Canada made the big revelation in September that it created the five-week campaign in an effort to prove that TV ads can sell anything. And they have the metrics to prove it. The campaign, created by john st., Toronto, increased broccoli sales by 8% compared to store sales from last year. In addition, a whopping 188,574 pounds of broccoli made its way into Canadians' grocery carts during the campaign. The "Miracle Food" TV campaign consisted of three TV spots, each starring an obsessive broccoli-lover as the veggie's spokesman. One TV spot, "Parachute," begins with a skydiver surviving a fall after his parachute fails. "It's a miracle," proclaim fellow skydivers. One rogue extreme sports enthusiast, however, doesn't believe his feat was miraculous. He believes broccoli, packed with 12 vitamins and minerals, is a bigger miracle. See it here. "Octuplets" is set in "Little House on the Prairie" days, showing a wife giving birth to eight babies, at home, sans midwife or modern-day meds. The wife believes it's a miracle. The creepy broccoli-lover from "Parachute" sits at a nearby table, with a different opinion. Babies are just babies, but broccoli is a real miracle, he says as he strokes his veggie stalks. Watch it here. A man and his dog survive a tornado by taking cover in a "Chimney." Too bad it doesn't rate high in sketchy broccoli-loving man's book. See it here. "The TVB wasn't setting out to prove that television should be the only medium on every media plan, but they did want to debunk many of the rumors plaguing the medium," said Chris Hirsch, associate creative director/copywriter at john st. "And while we all know television is generally just one ingredient in the media plan, we think this experiment firmly plants television as an essential option for advertisers." Each TV spot directs viewers to the faux Web site, TheMiracleFood.ca, where users can read the history of broccoli, view four broccoli recipes and read articles touting broccoli's nutritional benefits. The reveal print ad, seen here, is copy-heavy, describing TVB's January experiment with broccoli. "They say the camera adds 10 pounds. In our case it added 188,574," reads lead copy. Hirsch explained why broccoli, of all things, was selected as the "tough sell." Not that I'm complaining, I love broccoli. "When your target is the advertising and media industry itself, we knew we couldn't just tell people that TV works. We needed to prove it, with a product that was already a tough sell to begin with. So we chose broccoli. We figured while we're at it, why not choose a product that may make a few people a little healthier along the way." The biggest challenge of the campaign was keeping the secret under wraps. "Productions such as this often involve close to a hundred people, so keeping the lid on the fact that it was a fake campaign for the duration of the campaign was definitely the hardest part. We just wanted to prove that the rumors of TV's death have been greatly exaggerated," concluded Hirsch.
"The Closer" and "The Biggest Loser" are closing and losing -- respectively. Kyra Sedgwick is leaving, ending the longtime TNT drama; fitness trainer Jillian Michaels is departing NBC's "The Biggest Loser" -- which gets TV Watch's mind working in mysterious ways. Why are these things happening? TNT's "The Closer" has been the network's -- and perhaps cable's -- biggest ad-supported drama hit to date. After six seasons, it is still on top of the leaderboard (along with TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles") at around 8 million viewers for its original first-run episodes. "Closer" will end with the show's 2011 season. Still, seven seasons and out? Seems kind of quick. What happened? Money problems? TNT and its TV producing studio, sister company, Warner Bros, didn't elaborate on production budgets or casting costs or network licenses fees structures. That's typical television M.O. Little secret: Many cable dramas like "The Closer" have viewers that skew way older than many broadcast network shows. Brad Adgate, senior vp and corporate research director for Horizon Media, says many cable dramas/comedies are not strong in the 18-49 demo or 25-54 demo. Many cable series' best numbers are in the "50 plus" viewer category -- typically the least desirable for TV advertisers. The goods news was, "Closer" was still big among all viewers -- which is always worth something to marketers. The show was also a launching pad for a number of TNT dramas, including now top-rated "Rizzoli & Isles." In Michaels' case, NBC's strong-performing reality show, "The Biggest Loser," already has some replacement trainers waiting in the wings. After eleven editions of the show that started in 2004, Michaels has been branching out -- with fitness DVDs, and last summer the weak-rated health-fitness NBC show, "Losing it with Jillian." "I want to take a year off TV and focus on becoming a mommy and doing more charity work," she tweeted. OK it must be a good time of year to make changes -- New Year's resolutions and all. In this iffy economy we always worry about pressing money and health issues -- for the networks, actors, producers -- and, sometimes, for older, out-of-shape viewers.
Advertisers are rolling out their holiday-themed ads, many of which are sure to feature a cartoon reindeer or other festive animated character. However, recent research from the Nielsen Company suggests that, although marketers have a lot to gain with animated ads, they may be sacrificing audience engagement with commercials that don't resonate as well with savvy consumers. The use of animation in television advertising (vs. live action ads) has become an attractive option for marketers, freeing advertisers from many of the creative limitations of live action film, and often times providing significant cost savings. In an analysis of television ads across all product categories, the study found that, in general, live action ads were more effective than animation ads. For all major categories, live action ads scored 22% higher than animation-only ads in Brand Recall (the percentage of TV viewers who can recall the commercial and its advertised brand 24 hours after viewing it). For marketers looking to utilize animated advertising to drive grocery sales this holiday season, says the report, that creative style does seem to work more effectively for some CPG categories. For example, animation ads for the food ingredients and seasoning category, essential for every holiday dinner, resonated significantly better with consumers. Impact of Animation on Brand Recall CategoryOnly AnimationOnly Live Action All +22% Food Ingredients and Seasoning +28% Source: The Nielsen Company, October 2010 Live action creatives were more effective than animated ads across all major demographics as well. While live action ads resonated equally among both genders:
How much would you pay for say, the 2010-2011 season-ending May episode of "Grey's Anatomy" -- in January? That is, right now. Well, we don't really know whether that episode is actually completed. But if it was -- and somehow was available digitally or otherwise -- maybe in the future ABC might charge $50 for an exclusive viewing. (That is, if they could also keep everyone from blabbing how it all went down). In much the same way, a new digital media company, Prima Cinema, wants to sell same-day theatrical release movies into consumers' homes for a mere $500. Oh, by the way you almost need to buy a $20,000 digital projection system -- somewhat akin to what movie theaters have now. I guess this is a far cry from the $1.99, $2.99, or so movie rental you can get at your local Blockbuster Video. And that's just the point. It isn't for everyone. The $500 movie price is for the super-wealthy billionaire types -- those that discard big bathroom towels like tissue paper. For years, even before HD video, rich Hollywood professionals could get initial releases of movies, theatrical prints to be seen in their homes. What Prima Cinema is doing is just an extension of this. Prima's backers include Universal Pictures and the venture capital arm of Best Buy. From Prima's perspective, this is just carving out another digital entertainment window -- albeit a small one. It is targeting an initial 250,000 homes. Still, this activity goes hand-in-hand with a new effort to push Premium VOD -- where new theatrical movies could be seen 30 days after its theatrical release for $20 or $30. All this would slice more into the beleaguered DVD rental business (and regular VOD business) where movies can be typically seen 90-days after theatrical release. So, why not TV? We are told media companies want to give consumers their entertainment "anytime, on any device". Networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox don't want to make Google TV deals. (The inside read here is: There's not enough money). CBS feels the same when it comes to Hulu. Forget about cheap or free. Why not go in the other direction? Charge a lot more for TV -- and then see what happens. The "Glee" finale for $50 dollars, commercial free in February? TV consumers might come running and put down the Benjamins. Sometimes their entertainment craving has no economic bounds.
"Terriers"? I had no idea it was a buddy detective series on FX. I thought it was about -- well, gnarling dogs. Indeed, I believed I saw print ads showing a gnarling dog. I didn't dig deeper. I never got a chance to see any TV promos of the show, which I'm sure would have showed off wise-cracking, not-always-by-the-book, ex-police force, hot-headed law-enforcement types. FX-style, of course. According to FX, what I saw wasn't actually wasn't a print ad -- but a series of billboards located in Los Angeles (also in New York). Even then, John Landgraf, president of FX, said the promos weren't the problem. Because he says the promos tested well. So don't go blaming the marketing department. Still, the title of the show "Terriers" doesn't refer to anything -- other than perhaps a tangential association between the show's star, Donal Logue. and the dog breed. Both love their beards?! But the campaign's initial marketing/communication message didn't push me aggressively to see other information about the show -- the next phase of the marketing campaign. ABC's "Cougar Town" executive producers say its name is also misleading and they wish that it had some other moniker. The show is not about a lot of older women on the make. It's more about an unusual extended family structure. The difference here? "Terriers" is now canceled, while "Cougar Town" lives on with good, but not great, ratings. Landgraf believed if marketing was truly the problem, he would have actually picked up the show for the second season -- albeit to change the marketing slant in year two, I'm guessing. Still, what about the name? Seems that didn't totally work. (Ah hah!) If it had gone to a second season Landgraf would have changed the name to "Terriers: PI." Guessing ABC should change that other show name to "Cougar Town: Funky Family Edition."