Kotex is launching a new line of products designed specifically for tween girls. Accompanying marketing is geared toward helping moms to proactively talk to their daughters about menstruation. Research shows that one in three young girls has no idea what's happening when she gets her first period, according to Kotex. Four out of five moms feel only somewhat or not at all prepared to talk to their daughter about her changing body. U by Kotex Tween line offers pads that are sized smaller to fit a tween's smaller body. The pads and liners have tween-inspired designs that come in a glittery package with a helpful informational booklet on the inside to help reduce the anxiety for mom and tween during the conversation. The new product line is being launched through advertising, direct mail and retail. The Kotex brand is refreshing its Web site at www. Kotex.com/Tween to provide tools and tips to empower mom to pick her day to talk to her daughter about her first period. "We will also be reaching out to moms through influential mom Web sites, including a partnership with ModernMom," according to a Kimberly-Clark spokesperson. The brand has also partnered with Lissa Rankin, gynecologist, mother, author, life coach and founder of online community Owning Pink, who is passionate about encouraging open communication among moms and their daughters. "While Tweens represent a niche audience, Kimberly-Clark believes informing moms and tweens on the topic is the right thing to do because so many are unprepared for menstruation and reaching tweens at this age can mean building strong relationships for life," says a Kimberly-Clark spokesperson. "The Tween product line and initiative is an extension of the U by Kotex line's mission to create open and honest conversations around vaginal health and to break down the barriers that have traditionally been associated with this topic." The conversation is especially important given the earlier onset of puberty in girls now than in previous years. Tools include conversation starters, an interactive calendar to help mom pick a day to talk to her daughter, information on first periods and other tough topics as well as a place to connect with other moms. The Kotex brand has also worked with Disney Family to update the "Story of Menstruation" video for its 65th anniversary. The video, available at the Kotex Web site, features Dr. Rankin with other parenting experts in a discussion about preparing for the first-period conversation.
Maytag is introducing a new brand campaign that it hopes will warm up its old-reliable image, while at the same time building on its never-breaks-down brand equity. The famed Maytag repairman gets a cameo in the TV spots, but the focus is now on the contents of the machine, themed "What's Inside Matters." Ads show a family quilt being dragged from picnic to campout to station wagon to laundry room, or a rag doll getting roughed up at a tea party. "We wanted to shift the focus to the mundane urgencies that people connect with dependability," Jim Paul, VP/creative director for Arc Worldwide, the Leo Burnett agency that created the campaign for Maytag, tells Marketing Daily. "The ads emphasize not only the dependable parts Maytag puts in its machines, but the importance of the things people put inside as well." The brand, which is more than 100 years old, built its reputation on that dependability, he says, long characterized by its lonely repairman. "We felt it was time to expand on the parts and pieces story, which is essentially very male, and warm it up -- to put a more relevant human spin on that dependability. It's been a masculine brand in a feminine category. And while we're not running away from the testosterone that comes from focusing on the reliability of the machine and its parts, we wanted to broaden it." It's important to keep the repairman in the ads, he says, "but that role is an evolution. It's a great link to the brand, but we have a more disposable culture now, so he's less of a character." Because appliance sales are closely linked to the real-estate market, the recession has been especially tough on the category. "There's a reason you didn't see these ads six months or a year ago -- we are starting to see some light ahead," he says. The new campaign supports the Maytag Maxima, a front-loading laundry series introduced last fall, which it claims offers the best cleaning in the industry with its trademarked PowerWash cycle. One spot has begun airing on network and cable, and the next will appear at the end of May. Paul says there is also a significant search component to the campaign, and that in the weeks ahead, it will also introduce a Facebook effort, which will urge people to nominate their most dependable friends. Maytag, owned by Whirlpool, plans to extend the "What's Inside Matters" message to kitchen appliances later in the year.
Longer-form digital entertainment content destinations continue to gain popularity among U.S. TV viewers. In March, Netflix remained the biggest digital platform when it comes to the most time spent per viewer, coming in at just under 10 hours a month. Netflix was up 6.6% in March over February, to 9 hours and 53 minutes -- much of this coming from its longer movie content. Tudou.com, a big China-based video site that is similar to YouTube but offers far more full-length movie and TV content, picked up 4.5% month to month to 8 hours and 30 minutes. U.S.-based premium TV content site, Hulu, which runs full-length TV episodes, now averages 5 hours and 13 minutes a month, a 3.3% improvement. Broadcast TV network The CW witnessed its CWTV digital area drop 16.4% to 2 hours and 58 minutes. The CW typically gains or loses because it can be in heavy rerun mode, versus the big four broadcast networks, which tend to run more original TV episodes. YouTube, still the biggest video destination by far in terms of uniques and total video streams, sits in sixth place when it comes to time per viewer, now at 2 hours and 17 minutes -- a 5.2% hike. Shorter user-generated videos are being complemented with longer videos, including some full-length TV episodes. Other notable gainers included the European-based Justin.tv, where its U.S. video viewers showed its largest month-over-month rise, nearly 17% to two hours and 17 minutes. Another TV-based video site -- Nickelodeon Family & Parents digital areas, which sits in 10th place at 1 hour and 32 minutes -- dropped 31.3% from February. Overall, the online video unique visitors -- those using PC/laptops from home and work locations -- gained 3.6% over February to 144.2 million, with total video streams at 14.5 billion, a 7.0% improvement. Streams per viewers were at 100.8 for the month, up 3.3%; and overall, time per viewer was at four minutes and 41 seconds -- 8.0% higher. In terms of unique visitors for March, YouTube was at 111.9 million, up 3.6% versus the previous month; VEVO, 33.3 million, up 3%; Facebook, 31.9 million, 0.6% higher; Yahoo, 26.0 million, an 11.1% improvement; MSN/WindowsLive/Bing, 15.9 million, up 7.1%; and Hulu was at 12.3 million, a 3.7% gain.
Major broadcasters' mobile TV efforts are expected to be in 32 markets by the end of the year -- covering half of all U.S. television homes. "Increasing market coverage will make this new platform even more attractive to device manufacturers and most importantly to consumers," says Erik Moreno, co-general manager of the Mobile Content Venture, an effort comprised of 12 top broadcasting groups. "With half of the U.S. population covered, we continue to make steady progress toward the launch of mobile DTV." A dozen markets -- 21 stations overall -- have been added to 20 markets announced earlier. They include: KING-TV Seattle (Belo); WTVJ-TV Miami (NBC) & WSCV TV Miami (Telemundo); KUSA-TV Denver (Gannett); WKYC-TV Cleveland (Gannett); KSDK-TV St. Louis (Gannett); WCCB-TV Charlotte (Bahakel) & WCNC Charlotte (Belo); WNCN-TV Raleigh (Media General); KSHB-TV Kansas City (Scripps); WCMH-T Columbus (Media General); KBLR-TV Las Vegas (Telemundo); KJRH-TV Tulsa (Scripps); and WSFA-TV Montgomery, Ala. (Raycom). There are also seven stations in markets already announced: owned Telemundo stations in WNJU-TV New York; KVEA TV Los Angeles; WSNS-TV Chicago; KXTX-TV Dallas; KTMD-TV Houston; and KSTS-TV San Jose, in addition to KTVK-TV Phoenix (Belo). Mobile Content Venture intends to deliver live television and on-demand video content. Broadcasters include Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television Inc., Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom Media, all of which are part of the standalone entity known as Pearl Mobile group, which counts Fox Television Stations, ION Television and NBC as members.
Ready for the final push into the season-ending May period, Fox kept up its dominant ways with "American Idol" taking most of a mid-April Thursday's rating points. Fox averaged a Nielsen 4.9 rating/14 share among 18-49 viewers, this was a one-tenth rating point less versus a week ago. While "Idol" has been under its seasonal average for viewership in its results shows versus a year ago, the show earned a 6.2/19 -- the same rating number as a week ago. The second-best-rated shows of the night were two 9 p.m. shows -- Fox's "Bones" and NBC's "The Office" in a tie at a 3.9 rating/11 share among 18-49 viewers. ABC's "Grey Anatomy" and CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" were in repeats, helping out "Bones" and "The Office." Networks shifted around repeats this week from last week. NBC had originals, for example, while CBS was in reruns the entire night. ABC was also in repeats -- except for "Wipeout," which earned a 1.7/6, this versus a not-much-better 1.5 rating a week before with a rerun. NBC had "Community" with a 1.4/5, down 22% from its last original. But the worst news was that NBC had one of its alums from its 1990s heyday, Paul Reiser, offer up a new series, "The Paul Reiser Show." The comedy ra a microscopic 1.1/3 running at 8:30 p.m. after "Community." NBC's "Parks & Recreation" had a 2.6/7 at 9:30 p.m. up 8% from its last original episode; "30 Rock" at a 2.2/6, up 16%; and "Outsourced" at 1.7/5, up 21%. CW didn't move much: "Vampire Diaries" at a 1.2/4 in 18-49 viewers and 1.3/5 in 18-34. "Nikita" was at a lower 0.8/2 in 18-49 viewers and 0.7/2 in 18-34. In the bigger demo, NBC came in at second place for the night after Fox, with a 2.2/6. CBS scored a 1.6/5; ABC and Univision tied with a 1.3/4; CW reached a 1.0/3.
Kraft Foods recently announced the existence of "Operation Spark" -- an initiative aimed at reconnecting consumers with "entrepreneurial" brands Athenos, Stove Top, Breakstone's and Knudsen. Following Marketing Daily's recent coverage of the success of the Athenos campaign that's been underway for several months now, here's the inside story on the new campaigns for Stove Top, Breakstone's and Knudsen. Kraft chose The Martin Agency (Richmond, Va.) to handle all three accounts (and Droga5 to handle Athenos), reflecting the Spark strategy of significantly upping the brands' advertising budgets and using agencies of record new to Kraft to gain a fresh perspective. Breakstone's/Knudsen: "Food Your Other Food Loves" Given that Kraft's sour cream and cottage cheese products are marketed under two different brand names -- Breakstone's in the east and Knudsen west of the Rockies -- the two are sharing a campaign with a creative emphasis on "The Food Your Other Food Loves," with slightly different implementations, reports Noël Talluto, senior brand manager for both brands. The campaign includes four core TV spots (with 15- and 30-second versions): two for sour cream and two for cottage cheese. The spots -- the first in 10 years for these brands -- focus on the products' ability to combine with and enhance other foods. For example, the first creative variations being aired -- for sour cream -- portray a branded sour cream container as a romantic "hero" reaching out to a potato in a kitchen setting, as REO Speedwagon's "Keep on Loving You" provides the theme music. "The campaign's creative conveys that both sour cream and cottage cheese are often partnered with other foods, in an engaging, light-hearted way that brings in the human emotion of love," sums up Talluto. The Knudsen versions of the TV spots and other advertising differ only in the respect that because the brand is produced in California and consumers in that state (Knudsen's dominant West Coast market) are particularly attuned to fresh, locally produced products, the creative brings in that messaging element as a key differentiator, Talluto explains. The messaging in Breakstone's version of the initial spot positions the brand as the "sour-creamier sour cream" that "other food loves." Each brand launched a Facebook page in January, and Breakstone's has drawn 10,000-plus fans, while Knudsen's (which has a much less dense overall population in its distribution area) has drawn a few thousand. "We're thrilled with the results," says Talluto. The brands are driving engagement with at-least-weekly posts that include recipes but also more lifestyle-oriented information, like entertaining tips for the Easter holiday. "We want to engage with and help consumers in many areas that matter to them, not just make it all about our products," she says. The brands have also formed partnerships with online networks that have significant reach among women, including All Recipes and Meredith. For instance, Meredith has created an Easter-themed destination site sponsored by Breakstone's, accessed through its magazine brand sites and search. At that site, consumers can find holiday and seasonally appropriate everyday recipes that include the brand's products, and also connect with bloggers offering entertaining and other holiday tips, and use a ZIP code-based tool that lets them share their own tips and see tips contributed from others in their geographic areas. Banner ads on the brands' own sites and sites reached through paid and organic searches use "thought bubble" creative. A consumer searching for Easter recipes might see an ad that, when rolled over, shows the cake that's to be made from a recipe "dreaming" about being made from Breakstone's sour cream, for instance. "We see a significant increase in searches for all kinds of recipes that include cheeses and dairy products -- and sales bumps for those products -- in the weeks preceding Easter and other major holidays," reports Jill Baskin, senior director of advertising for Kraft Foods' cheese and dairy brands. "We want to make sure that our brands are there when consumers are doing those searches to plan their holiday meals." Coupons are a key element of the campaign, and the Kraft brands are finding that digital coupons are becoming as important as those in FSIs, as digital redemption rates continue to rise rapidly and the digital platform's lower costs balance out the so-far-still-larger reach of FSI's, says Baskin. The in-store elements of the brands' campaign include shelf-talkers showing a scalloped potato dish/recipe that play off the thought-bubble creative concept. The brands also now have two new lines of products being launched in stores nationwide, and the campaign will be expanded to spotlight these going forward, reveals Talluto. These include "Zesty Blends" products (three sour cream varieties infused with jalapenos, chipotle and roasted garlic and herbs), and a line of sour cream dips (ranch, French onion and Southwest varieties). Stove Top: Stuffing as Everyday Alternative Stove Top's new campaign targets the "weeknight warrior" -- moms 35 to 54 who juggle meal preparation as part of their many family/work responsibilities. The brand's research showed that these women are experiencing pressed-for-time "menu fatigue," pointing to a marketing emphasis on the brand's new (launched in Q4 2010) Everyday Stuffing Mix, reports brand manager Ryan Shamir. The Everyday product, offered in two flavors, comes in a resealable canister, can be prepared for one to four servings, and takes two minutes to microwave, whereas other Stove Top products require using the whole box and take five minutes to prepare. The new campaign's messaging takes a humorous approach, positioning Stove Top as the "un-potato" -- a "delicious and convenient alternative to potatoes and other starchy side dishes," says Shamir. The advertising, which spans online ads and social media, out-of-home and in-store promotions (plus couponing in FSIs and in stores), features images of a potato declaring sentiments such as "My favorite color is beige," with the tagline: "Potatoes are boring. Stove Top: The un-potato." Stove Top ads are dominating transportation hubs and buses in key markets, and the campaign includes an ambitious range of digital efforts, starting with a made-over Facebook page that more than doubled fans within its first week (up to over 16,000), reports Shamir. Stove Top has a digital partnership with Technorati, enabling it to build awareness through targeted bloggers within that network, as well as with -- perhaps a bit surprisingly, given the mom target audience -- The Onion. The brand's advertising (including product giveaway offers) dominated The Onion site's home page during a day in March to introduce its message "intrusively" and get the conversation going through bloggers. That site's dominance technique will be repeated during another day this month, according to Shamir. The creative's "funny, sarcastic" tone "resonates with consumers" who are Onion fans, she explains. Online banner ads are appearing on the brand's Facebook page, The Onion and targeted paid-search sites. Outreach to mommy, food and cooking bloggers is also part of the campaign, and a video for use in the social media space is in the works, says Shamir. TV spots may be part of the mix down the line, she adds.
Invidi Technologies has completed its $49 million D round of funding. The addressable advertising company raised monies from various media sectors, including Google, Group M, Motorola, NBC and Verizon. DirectTV was the final participant in the investment pool. This year, Invidi will roll out its Advatar software inside all DirecTV DVR set-top boxes, allowing TV advertisers to deliver tailored messaging to individual households during commercial breaks. DirecTV has 19.2 million customers in the U.S. The exact amount of its investment is unclear. The technology uses specific demographic information and viewer metrics. For advertisers, it helps pinpoint precise reach and frequency, making their inventory more valuable. David Downey, CEO Invidi, states: "Our distribution footprint is growing rapidly from Verizon FiOS to Dish Network to DirecTV." He adds that the "national digital footprint" is the "most effective and efficient way for media buyers to reach the precise target audience advertisers are looking for." Irwin Gotlieb, GroupM's Global CEO, has said his company supports the functionality of addressable technology and advanced advertising. He believes these functions are crucial to the future of television and media. Having completed long-term distribution agreements, Invidi is providing its services to more than 36 million HH cross-platform -- cable, satellite, telecom, IPTV -- in the U.S. and abroad.
Responding to criticism that endorsement roles may compromise the objectivity of its on-air talent, ESPN has released a list of "relevant" endorsement relationships it has approved for its anchors, commentators and reporters. On the approved list is Erin Andrews' role with Reebok, which may have led to the public disclosure in the first place. The Reebok deal was revealed not long after she reported, during the Rose Bowl, that Nike cleats were involved in players losing balance on the field. Among the ESPN talent relationships listed, Reebok is only involved with Andrews, although other shoe companies have many affiliations. Jalen Rose, working the NBA playoffs, is affiliated with Nike. So is former Florida coach Urban Meyer, a college football analyst. Football "College GameDay" commentators Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit will also continue with Nike. But Chris Fowler, the anchor on the show, has dropped his association, which had been previously reported. Under Armour, which makes apparel and shoes, has relationships with several football commentators who appear on ESPN studio shows, including former NFL coach Mike Ditka and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. In addition, Cris Carter, who appears on ESPN's Sunday NFL pre-game show, is affiliated with Nike. Trent Dilfer, who will work ESPN's coming NFL draft coverage, has a relationship with Nike and Callaway golf. Scott Van Pelt, who is on "SportsCenter" and works on golf coverage, is an endorser for Titleist. ESPN issued new guidelines on allowed endorsements in the wake of what executive Norby Williamson called "fair public criticism." The rules prohibit endorsements of apparel or footwear worn by athletes in events ESPN broadcasts, although exceptions will be granted to "players, coaches and administrators" who serve as analysts, "for whom such endorsements are part of the sports coverage/ reporting landscape."
Fans of the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged "Friday Night Lights" can own a piece of the show -- via an online auction coinciding with the final season airing on NBC, which started Friday. NBC Universal's consumer products arm is engineering the auction for props and wardrobe items used on the show, starting April 19. New items at an NBCUAuctions.com will come up weekly through September as the final 13 episodes of the series unfold. Other show items not used in filming, such as jerseys, will be sold on an NBC store Web site later this month. Proceeds from both sale avenues will go to youth football programs, via NBCU's "Green is Universal" program. The fifth season's 13 episodes have already aired on DirecTV. Some episodes from last season are available on NBC.com to try and drum up interest. Auction items include the playbook used by the football coach in the show and his team's trophies. "A worldwide platform and unparalleled access to items directly from the set of "Friday Night Lights," is how Mark Kaminky, of VIP Partnership Group, which is helping run the auction, describes it. "Through the weekly NBCU auctions, fans will be able to bid on and purchase their favorite items ... using their computer, iPad, iTouch or mobile device," he stated. "Friday Night Lights" likely would have been canceled in its early years except for a deal with DirecTV, which helped offset production costs. DirecTV received rights to air new episodes first on its exclusive content channel before they moved to NBC.
Procter & Gamble and Walmart said they will continue as sponsors of "Family Movie Night" on two networks this year with five original productions. The first comes on Fox later this month, with four more on NBC. The initiative by the pair of advertisers that back family-friendly programming debuted last April and four other movies followed. This year's debut will be April 16 on Fox. One film, "Change of Plans," will be available on DVD later this month at Walmart. The five movies this year will run periodically through December. "At Walmart, we're committed to delivering more quality family entertainment options to parents across the country, and our 'Family Movie Night' ... is an anchor to our broader program," stated Stephen Quinn, Walmart U.S. chief marketing officer. Family Movie Night has roots in research conducted by the Association of National Advertisers that showed parents are seeking more programming options to watch with kids. P&G and Walmart have new research showing 69% of mothers in a survey said they wished there were "more family-friendly TV programs that they can enjoy with their kids" and 75% "admitted to having to change the channel because of inappropriate content in a program they thought was family-friendly." P&G ran a well-received "Proud Sponsor of Moms" campaign during the last Olympics.
Discovery Communications' studio arm said it has development arrangements with producers behind hits such as CBS' "Undercover Boss" and NBC's "Biggest Loser." The studio said it will work with All3Media and Shine Group, respectively, on a nonexclusive basis. All3Media's Studio Lambert is behind "Undercover Boss" and Shine Group's Reveille is behind the NBC competitive weight-loss hit. Discovery will also work with Australia's WTFN. Discovery referred to the deals as part of an initiative looking to develop "major content franchises for its global channels business," which operates in 180-plus countries. All3Media is a UK-based consortium of companies that also includes Lion Television, which is behind Discovery Channel's "Cash Cab." Shine Group, also an amalgam of outfits, was recently acquired by News Corp. It is well-known in the U.S. for its Reveille studio, which produces NBC's "The Office." WTFN has created shows carried by Discovery's Animal Planet in Canada and an outlet in Germany. Discovery's international business earns the bulk of its revenues from distribution deals last year -- hitting $760 million, which was up 6%. Advertising is growing rapidly, up 23% to $422 million in 2010. The U.S. networks earned more in advertising -- $1.22 billion -- than distribution, which was $1.05 billion.
Nickelodeon will offer a fifth season of "iCarly," a show partly about a show. The comedy features kids putting on a Web series, with the next season set for 2012. On April 9, the show drew 7.4 million viewers (its season-to-date average), which Nick said was basic cable's most-watched show for that week. The series is executive produced by Dan Schneider, who is also behind emerging Nick sensation "Victorious," another live-action program. The iCarly announcement comes as Nick negotiates with advertisers in the kids' upfront market. In "iCarly," the Web series is sort of a maypole, but the characters also grapple with problems that are challenging to all tweens. The series has a companion iCarly.com Web site and has specials attached. Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) lives in Seattle with her older brother and guardian, providing a twist on family dynamics. Her father is stationed on a military submarine. The hit show debuted in 2007.
Cable operators and networks have been wrangling lately over rights for the streaming of live TV over iPad apps. Both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have riled cable TV channels with new apps that their respective customers can use to watch a range of programming on the Apple tablet from anywhere in their homes. Time Warner has gone to court seeking a declaratory judgment of its rights to stream network content through its TWCableTV app. Amid the squabbling between cable companies and content providers, ESPN this month rolled out an app for the iPhone and iPad for catching live sports from its family of TV properties. While it's not clear how the Time Warner case will work out, the broader push by cable operators and networks to directly deliver live programming via apps spells trouble for subscription mobile video providers like mobiTV. The iPad apps from Time Warner and Cablevision bring the companies a step closer to realizing the "TV Everywhere" concept of letting existing subscribers watch TV across any device, whether at home or not. Comcast's Xfinity TV iPad app for now offers only on-demand viewing by its cable customers, but is expected to make live programming available later this year. So if cable apps will eventually deliver live and on-demand content on any device used anywhere, why would a cable customer pay extra for a service like mobiTV? And if a mobile user mainly wants to be able to watch live sports, there's now the WatchESPN app. That's not to mention the ability to watch movies and TV shows via apps from paid services like Netflix and Hulu. "The advent of free live TV service from cable operators on major platforms like smartphones and tablets is definitely a threat to subscription based services especially with the steep monthly cost of $9.99 per month," noted Deepa Karthikeyan, a senior analyst covering the wireless industry at Current Analysis. She suggested subscription-based mobile video services may need to switch to ad-based models to be able to compete with established TV players. The demise of Qualcomm's FLO TV last year underscored the challenges of making it as a standalone pay mobile video service. In an interview with Online Media Daily late last year, MobiTV CMO Ray DeRenzo said advertising would become a bigger revenue source for the company over time, but that the service would probably never become fully ad-supported. Asked last week about growing competition from cable TV and network apps, DeRenzo pointed out that besides its own mobile apps, MobiTV also powers white-label video services for major U.S. carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile. "As a result, we view nearly all content owners and cable operators as potential partners who can benefit from our technology platform's ability to deliver live TV and video-on-demand to any screen, inside and outside of the home, enabling consumers to experience content when, where and how they want to," he said. DeRenzo added the company remains "bullish on the mobile TV space," with mobiTV's audience increasing to 15 million viewers. But with more and more free or comparable mobile TV options, maintaining growth may prove harder and harder for mobiTV.
"Age/sex demos are dead." So went the refrain last week at the NAB Show in Las Vegas and, later, at an event my company co-hosted in New York. But despite all the chatter, and despite the industry's consistently and increasingly warm reception of the new generation of media-measurement solutions, many marketers seem inexplicably (to me at least) reluctant to let go of traditional television ratings. It's like something out of that not-quite-classic '80s flick "Weekend at Bernie's." You know, the one where two corporate lackeys score an invitation to their boss's island retreat, and show up for a weekend of fun in the sun only to find their host dead? Of course, they prop him up, slap on some dark glasses, and drag the guy around from party to party, thinking that his mere presence lends them the appearance of credibility. Sound familiar? Of course it does, because traditional TV ratings are Bernie: Everyone wants to keep them around, but in reality, they're not doing anything for you. When you need actionable ratings that demonstrate ROI and deliver the right audience for your product, you need to follow the data. That was the gist of a panel I spoke on at the NAB Show, "Set Top Boxes: A Measurement Game Changer?" (And by the way, can you imagine a more rhetorical question?) Dave Thomas of Nielsen talked about his firm's adoption of set-top-box (STB) data to enhance its local ratings. Rentrak's Bill Livek discussed using STB data for local ratings and segmentation analysis. And Jeff Boehme from Kantar announced his company's "new" approach to marrying STB data to purchase data. I spoke about how buyers and sellers are actioning our data in the upfront. From the client side, Pat Dermody of Sears Holdings and Matt Seiler of MediaBrands summed it up well: There is lots of innovation now in TV advertising, and they look forward to even more in the future. All in all, the session turned out to provide an excellent overview of the competitive landscape. It's a landscape that, thanks to Nielsen's IPO, is beginning to garner more serious attention. Just last month Deutsche Bank Analyst Matt Chesler published a report in which he wrote that "perhaps one of the more promising uses [of STB data] is for marketing effectiveness and ROI, as companies match second by second viewing data with actual purchase behavior from third-party databases." This point was driven home at the aforementioned event at The Lambs Club in Manhattan, a great new spot in Midtown that's already attracting many media notables (a new Michael's?). Titled "Superheroes of Media: The New World of Accountability in the TV Upfront," the event featured Jeff Hayzlett, former CMO of Kodak and bestselling author, who delivered a keynote address that was followed by a panel of media experts. Hayzlett shared the CMO's perspective on why innovation is critical and how ROI measurement is fundamental for the CMO. Then came the panel of "superheroes:" Donna Speciale, President of Investment and Activation at MediaVest ( introduced as "Wonder Woman"); David Poltrack, President of CBS Vision ("Superman"); Bruce Lefkowitz, Executive Vice President of Sales at FX ("Batman"); and TRA Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer Bill Harvey ("Spiderman"). Brian Steinberg of Ad Age, aka Professor Charles Xavier, moderated the panel. Participants shared several key insights my readers will appreciate: Donna pointed out that we need to focus on dissecting the behaviors of all of the individuals we are trying to reach in order to home in on purchase behavior based on each client's needs. Bruce said that TRA's Purchaser Rating Points, an alternative currency for "ratings," demonstrate the absolute and relative value of a program to an advertiser. And, perhaps most notably, David reiterated his believe that nobody's relying on age/sex demographics on their own anymore. They can't afford to. And that brings us back to Bernie. While the industry is decisively moving away from age/sex demos, the reality may be that the obsolete metric continues to make appearances at this and future upfronts. But it's only a matter of time. After all, didn't that long weekend finally come to an end?
Plenty of TV critics still complain cable networks are mostly just a bunch of reruns. That criticism isn't entirely wrong. But have you seen the broadcast networks lately -- and, more importantly, have you seen your DVR list of recorded shows? TNT bought off-CBS rights to "Hawaii Five-0," which hasn''t even completed its first year. Early buying may be because there are fewer good dramas to go around -- and comedies are even scarcer. Typically, cable networks and TV stations in the syndication market like around four years worth of episodes -- 100 or so -- in order to run them five times a week. Of course, it isn't just cable networks. Broadcasters are getting more frugal with their original scripted shows -- offering "year-long" series with 21 original episodes, or 20 or 19 in some cases. And what does all that mean? More reruns. And if reruns don't do the trick, networks grab up cheaper reality TV shows. ABC just canceled two long-time scripted afternoon soaps for two magazine-type shows. Future cable schedules will continue to have reruns as a staple -- even as original shows look to gain ground. And we are not only talking about reruns cable networks buy from broadcasters, but reruns of their own original shows. Some would say that the time-shifting activity of DVRs -- playing a show out of its originally intended live first-run airing -- is a rerun philosophy or sorts. TNT's early purchase of "Hawaii Five-0" also takes on some significance: Rerun/repeat programming, while seemingly a cheap alternative to original shows, actually gives big value to a network or station. TNT paid a not-very-cheap $2 million an episode for the CBS series. In the future, when perhaps all programming will be on a video-on-demand basis and less dependent on scheduling strategies, all programming will, in effect, be repeats -- repeated from when the very first homes watch it.
Cross-channel promotion is nothing new in the still-strong cable and satellite TV distribution world. But channel-carriage promotion is another story. With growing numbers of new bandwidth-hungry HD channels, where is the endgame? Comcast's recent takeover of NBC Universal has caused immediate changes as the company looks to boost carriage of its mid-size cable channels. One newly acquired Comcast channel is Universal Sports, a modest 60 million subscriber sports network with a mix of carriage via cable, local digital TV stations, IPTV and other distributors. For the most part, Universal Sports positions itself as an Olympic sport channel -- featuring track & field, skiing, ice skating and gymnastics. Another key sport is professional cycling. One of Comcast's pre-takeover channels is the 80-million subscriber Versus, mostly known for its NHL hockey games, mixed martial arts events, college football, and, for a long part of its heritage, cycling, including the granddaddy of all cycling events, the Tour de France. So it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise that since Comcast's takeover, there has been heavy promotion to get Universal Sports better TV household distribution. Part of this marketing plan seems to be promoting Universal Sports on the better-distributed Versus. Universal Sports' cycling events -- including the Giro d'Italia, the second largest grand tour after the Tour de France, and the Tour of the Basque Country -- were touted during Versus' recent airing of classic cycling events - the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The message to cycling fans is clear: If you want more cycling coverage, just call your satellite or cable operator. DirecTV carries Versus, but not Universal Sports. Last September, during a protracted contract carriage dispute with Comcast, DirecTV took Versus off the air for about a month, replacing it with NBC Universal's Universal Sports - which was airing another of the three-week grand tours of cycling, the Vuelta a Espana. This type of on-air promotion isn't new. No doubt when ESPN or Discovery or others were in the throes of expanding their channel rosters, similar channel-carriage promotion activity arose. But lately there has been a notable shift - as many established cable network groups slow their traditional cable network launches while pushing more Internet sites or mobile apps for TV content. The massive Comcast takeover of NBC Universal has pushed the largest U.S. cable operator to find more traditional homes for its now larger channel, including some previously underserved NBC Universal networks. Other NBC micro-cable networks, Sleuth (soon to be called Cloo) and Chiller, will probably be getting the same marketing treatment, if they haven't done so already. No doubt the days of gaining massive amounts of established cable or satellite consumers (IPTV operators have a different financial distribution position) are slowly ending. But Comcast still has obvious leverage -- and intends to use it, especially to monetize its big controlling investment in NBC. It needs to find whatever few channel positions are left as they still represent the potential biggest pool of TV advertising and consumer revenue.
I've never understood the appeal of social TV watching -- meaning, logging into a social site to talk about TV while you're watching TV -- but someone out there must, because media companies keep on pushing the idea. The latest to do so is NBC: the network is launching a new online social platform, NBC Live, which will entice users with polls, trivia, insider commentary, photos, and -- most importantly -- a social stream which allows visitors to comment on what's currently playing and interact with other viewers. This all sounded kind of neat until I learned the underlying rationale: NBC just wants to get people to stop using their DVRs and go back to watching shows live. This makes it seem quite a bit less cool. From one perspective sure, it makes perfect sense: many advertisers and TV execs feel that DVR time-shifting is undermining the value proposition behind TV advertising, mostly by allowing viewers to skip ads, and they'd love to reverse the trend. But from another perspective the whole thing is a quixotic, backward-looking waste of time. First, while it might be possible to resurrect "appointment" TV viewing for live shows and build a whole social ecosystem around this live viewing, the fact is the TV shows would have to be pretty extraordinary to make this worthwhile for most viewers. The convenience of time-shifted viewing is so great I have to guess it outweighs the incentive of getting to talk to your friends about what's happening on screen. I can only see this really working for major sports events, like the Super Bowl and World Cup, or much-buzzed-about shows like the Sopranos; is anything on network prime time going to be as compelling? Then there's the irony of designing a whole social media strategy whose ultimate goal is to... get people back in front of broadcast TV ads (which they will probably still ignore, especially if they are talking to each other about the show during the commercial breaks). On that note, I'm curious if NBC Live lets you chat during the ads? I'm sure they would be happy to have people talk about the ads, demonstrating engagement, but how can you make sure they don't stray off-topic?
CIMM's Set-Top Box Data Lexicon is a compilation of terms and definitions associated with Set-Top Box data and its measurement. This Word-A-Week column highlights a term and definition from the Lexicon to help forge a common language for Set-Top Box data usage and expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. We have Set-Top Boxes, whether Analog or Digital (What Are Set-Top Boxes?) and hardware that helps to migrate from analog to digital. But there are ways to transmit signals that either bypass the box entirely or that are in place of a box, whether it is considered Over The Air (OTA) or Over The Top (OTT). In either case, the method of capturing usage data from the box faces challenges. The ability to bypass the box is not an inconsequential matter when it comes to Set-Top Box measurement. On the one hand, the current percentage of OTA (over the air) television homes on a national basis in the United States is less than 10% according to Nielsen and many pundits say that over time this percentage will diminish to a relatively small level. But on a local basis, the issue of OTA is more pronounced and impacts the ability to use Set-Top Box data as local measurement without significantly modeling the data. The percentage of OTA in some markets is substantial. For example Milwaukee, a top 50 market, is 22% over the air. Here are the terms and definitions associated with bypassing the Set-Top Box: OTA abbr Over The Air CIMM DEFINITION : Can either mean terrestrial television signals that are not transmitted digitally or, with cell phones, the ability to distribute and upgrade software wirelessly. 2 : Households that receive broadcast signals only on their television sets, with no connection to cable, satellite or another form of Alternate Delivery System (ADS). An individual, operating TV set in the home can also be designated as OTA if it has no such connection as described above. (Source: Rentrak) Over The Top CIMM DEFINITION : When the TV receives a signal that is irrespective of the Set-Top Box. 2 : Content viewed that is delivered via broadband streaming or download. (Source: TIVO) Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
Competing TV screens or complementary TV screens? The CW has been cheered by media buyers not only because it offers a similar number of commercials online as it does on its traditional network, but because its young-skewing viewers "watch" the commercials to completion. (Media buyers also love that the CW's online CPMs are more in line with traditional TV CPMs -- way less than other premium digital TV content.) Some research executives would tell you that existing Nielsen measuring technology or any ratings measurement -- doesn't report "viewing" but rather "tuning." With the coming of future digital inventory, this will become more glaring. A recent study by Digital Clarity said 80% of those 25 and under use a second screen to communicate with friends while watching TV. That would represent virtually all the young-skewing audience of a network like the CW or MTV. So while viewers may "watch" commercials to completion online, we know this: they are doing something else while those ad messages are running. Now extrapolate this to older-skewing networks. Why? If the proponents of TV Everywhere get their way, all shows online will have nearly the same number of commercials as those on traditional TV. And one big, big not-too-friendly consumer function: they won't be able to fast-forward through those commercials. That will mean that use of second screens will surely rise among older viewers. Those who have DVRs -- now 40% of U.S. TV homes -- have changed their entertainment behavior dramatically when it comes to traditionally delivered commercials. Many DVR viewers -- some would say virtually all - fast-forward through commercials. Does anyone really believe viewers will go back to running to the kitchen for a snack or muting the volume of commercials when dialing up "Modern Family" on the ABC Full Episode Player? What will they be doing? A variation on what they did in the past: changing channels - or, using a digital world term, changing content. Many TV networks will then only hope that viewers -- if not looking at commercials -- will at least turn to their second screens to promote/share program content with other viewers. But then again, maybe they'll do something totally unconnected with traditional TV content or messaging. Then you'll have issues.
Apple's admittedly cool video-tossing technology AirPlay got a viral burst yesterday when legendary tech geek Robert Scoble raved that "AirPlay is the Most Important New Protocol Since RSS." Of course, AirPlay is the iOS feature that lets iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad users transfer a video they are watching on these devices to the TV screen via an Apple TV box. When Apple first introduced the technology last year, it had limited use, since only a few native Apple apps had the capability and the full video file itself had to be on the device. The recent iOS updates widened the scope of AirPlay to include third-party apps. At his Scobleizer blog and Business Insider, Scoble brought us into his living room to show off how a video aggregation app like ShowYou or the video series TED now can be shared on your TV straight from the iPad. Scoble argues that this changes everything. While set top devices like Xbox, Google TV or even Apple TV can find videos on your hard drive or on YouTube to show, the process of finding the one you wanted to show everyone was just too tortuous to bother with. Scoble contends that just as RSS changed reading behaviors by pulling such a vast range of content to the user so easily, AirPlay paired with the right third party apps allows for similar video aggregation and consumption. In the "Age of AirPlay," Apple's killer feature will help sell its hockey puck-sized streaming media device. I tend to see more of the limitations of Airplay than Scoble. It is a nice feature for those who do own the iOS+Apple TV combo but I find it hard to believe the feature is enough to sell units. Tech dweebs like us may have all of these toys at hand, but unless Apple starts licensing the AirPlay feature to other set top boxes, TVs, BD-players, etc. it seems unlikely to achieve tremendous scale. Apple announced it had sold about a million of the Apple TV 2.0 units several months after launch but we haven't heard any stats since. I am not holding my breath for Apple to license anything to other living room OEMs. I do agree that video aggregation via AirPlay maps well against the other iPad habits we have been seeing evolve in the last year. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, a lot of iPad owners seem to be time-shifting content consumption to their prime time session with the tablet. This certainly has tremendous potential for Web video. Think of all of the interesting videos you come across each day that are too long or ill-timed to merit your attention during the flow of the workday. What if all of those things could be pushed over to your iPad app for later viewing on the device or tossed onto the big screen? That would be a game changer, because ultimately technologies themselves do not create new markets so much as the habits people develop with the technological tools they are given.