Chrysler's Ram Truck division has rolled out a new version of the pickup called the Outdoorsman, designed for people who hunt, fish, camp and are more likely to bring a bowie knife than a camera into the boonies. They are, therefore, likely to need storage bins, a good towing capacity, chargers and a rugged-looking vehicle. The Chrysler LLC division is getting that point across with a new integrated campaign that includes TV spots via Ram Truck traditional-media AOR The Richards Group, Dallas, and an Internet program via SapientNitro. While the TV ads offer vignettes of guys in the woods roughing it and doing things like using a bow and arrow to stop a bird from tweeting in the middle of the night, the digital effort includes online ads and centers on a microsite positioning the truck as Father Nature. Alan Pafenbach -- creative director at SapientNitro's Boston office, which services Ram Truck -- says the Outdoorsman project began last fall, "and we did an initial online ad campaign to set up the Father Nature idea and followed that up over the winter and then developed this microsite." Pafenbach says the overall strategy for the site is to parallel Ram's goal of keeping the brand fresh by introducing new products on a fairly regular basis "and to ... target very specific interests of potential customers. So you will continue to see these specialized products brought out on a regular basis addressing different audiences." The idea behind "Father Nature" is that people likely to be interested in this truck are those who go out and participate in nature not as observers, but as "part of the food chain," he says. "It's oriented toward the sportsman and to people who live in areas where there is still a fair amount of hunting and fishing." The microsite at RamTrucks.com puts the truck in the woods with the consumer gazing at the truck at grass level (and each blade of grass seems to move independently). The viewer can use a compass at the bottom of the screen to view the truck from different angles. Each perspective launches a discussion about a specific feature of the truck, with a gruff voiceover that ties it to the sportsman lifestyle. The section on the truck's seat fabric involves the guy talking about how he likes to grab his dog and head for the hills to clear his head. The 360-degree experience also changes to reflect the time of day where the viewer is seeing the ad. The agency redesigned the Ram Web site as well so that it has a lot of video and computer graphics-based content. One element is a Rambox Bass Fishing Challenge (referring to the storage bins within the sidewalls of the Ram flatbed) that launches a separate experience in which site visitors can virtually fish by directing a rod back and forth. The game has a running scoreboard of everyone who is playing. There is also a "World of Father Nature" page driven by Google Maps that shows one's local region for things like fishing areas and Ram dealerships. Pafenbach says the look of the new site, which has textures in metals and wood found in the truck, offers more functionality. "With lots more video content and Flash movies that let you look at different parts of the truck," it is made to illustrate how Ram vehicles are being redesigned. "We made it much more visual and interactive with things like a new colorizing feature where the fit and finish of the vehicles and the quality should come through. That was our assignment." SapientNitro's Miami office handles digital for Dodge and Chrysler, and the Toronto office handles Jeep.
Newcastle Brown Ale, imported by Heineken USA, has launched its first television campaign. The campaign includes three 30-second TV commercials with creative playing off the theme "Taste The Lighter Side of Dark." Last year, that theme was used in videos on the brand's YouTube channel supported by an online campaign spanning music, entertainment and men's lifestyle sites (the brand's core market is men 21 to 34). One of those videos, "The Favorite" -- in which parents tell their son that he's not their favorite child, but give him Newcastle as a consolation gesture -- won a nomination at last year's Cannes International Advertising Festival. The new TV spots, also from the Vitro agency, use dark humor to convey the ale's British origin and its message that it's "the dark beer that's easy to drink." Made specifically for the U.S. market, all take place in a real English pub (The Humble Dog), and all feature British actors. In each, a young man gets horrible news (a terminal diagnosis, a jail term, an imminent thrashing), but the bearers of the news (doctor, lawyer and "goon") soften their sentences slightly after sipping some Newcastle. Newcastle has been nationally available at retail since the '90s (Heineken acquired it in fall 2008), but the pub setting also underlines the brand's "foundation" in on-premise consumption, notes Colin Westcott Pitt, vice president-marketing for Newcastle Brown Ale, Dos Equis and Amstel Light. The ads will air in rotation from April 18 to June 20, and from August 29 to October 24, on CBS, ABC and cable networks including Comedy Central and TBS. The focus will be on the ale's strongest West Coast markets, but major metro regions including New York and Boston are also in the schedule, says Westcott Pitt. Newcastle is now the U.S.'s leading imported ale and ranks eleventh among all imported beers on a volume basis, according to Heineken USA.
Yahoo has acquired the fledgling IntoNow, a company with a mobile platform that functions much like interactive TV. IntoNow, which went live in January, recently inked its first advertising deal with Pepsi. IntoNow has built a database that allows users to point an Apple mobile device -- an iPhone, iTouch or iPad -- at a TV screen and use the app to relay information about what they are watching to a Facebook page or Twitter feed. The system recognizes five years' worth of episodes across 130 networks. The system -- based on audio signals -- also can be set up to recognize particular ads, which is powering the Pepsi deal. There, users that point when watching a particular Major League Baseball-themed spot can have a barcode beamed back to their devices. They can take it to a retailer and get a free Pepsi Max bottle. That is similar to the request-for-information or RFI ads that are sparking interactive TV ad campaigns. There, viewers can use a remote control during a particular spot to click-through and order up a sample product or coupon to be sent to them. Terms of the Yahoo acquisition were not disclosed. IntoNow plans a three-pronged revenue model: generating dollars from the commercial tagging that Pepsi is using; placing advertising in the app that users need to operate it; and licensing its technology. The IntoNow identification technology also works with respect to online video, which is likely to be helpful to Yahoo. Yahoo Senior Vice President Bill Shaughnessy stated that technology offers opportunities "especially in regards to our video content, search, mobile and connected TV experiences."
TV operations at McGraw-Hill continued to benefit from automotive advertising and more informercial business during the first quarter. The company's broadcasting group revenue grew by 10.2% to $20.6 million in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year. Net income at McGraw-Hill's Information and Media Group -- at which its TV operations are located -- was up 34.5% to $37.4 million. In addition to higher automotive and service time sales (infomercials and other direct-response business), the company says there was an increase in retrans revenue. McGraw-Hill says this will offset usual off-year declines in political advertising. Overall, the company witnessed 16.2% higher net income to $120.0 million, with revenue up 7.7% to $1.3 billion -- due to continued strength from its financial publications and services. The company's biggest revenue generator, financial-ratings service Standard & Poor's, picked up 10.4% in revenues to $442.9 million -- with net income up slightly, 0.8% to $190.4 million. Its new division, McGraw-Hill Financial, had a 16.2% rise to $324 million, with net income 35.3% higher to $96.3 million. The group includes TheMarkets.com, and research and desktop financial software tools. Conversely, McGraw-Hill Education continued to suffer -- it was down 4.6% in revenue to $302.7 million, with 22.2% deeper net losses to $75.5 million. The company said there was declining revenue from educational products, coupled by ramped-up investments for digital infrastructure and product development. Foreign exchange rates added $2.6 million to the operating loss for the first quarter.
Keith Olbermann, set to serve as the anchor -- in more ways than one -- in Current TV's strategy to grow visibility, will make his debut June 20 in the prime-time lead-off spot. His week-nightly show, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," will air at 8 p.m. Olbermann has been off the air since leaving MSNBC, after years of offering left-leaning commentary. Current, where Olbermann is the chief news officer, has much less distribution than the NBCUniversal channel. Current is in about 60 million U.S. homes, versus MSNBC's 100 million homes. When the announcement was made that Olbermann would be moving to Current -- where former Vice President Al Gore has a stake -- he stated: "Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference." Joel Hyatt, one of Current's founders, stated that Olbermann will "be back, speaking truth to power." Current chief Mark Rosenthal added that a heavy digital presence will be created for Olbermann. Olbermann's show will serve as a lead-in for a new documentary-style show airing in the 9 p.m. slot. "4th and Forever" focuses on a Long Beach, Calif. high school with a venerated athletic program, but suffering from other issues, partly due to its location.
Paving the way for more online activity, 99.4 million U.S. households will be online by the end of 2016 -- of which 97.9 million will have broadband services -- according to a new forecast from Interpublic Group's Magna Global. As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, about 84.7 million homes -- or 71.5% of the total -- were online, while 90% of these homes accessed the Web using broadband services. Magna now predicts that 61.9 million U.S. homes -- or 50% of the total -- will subscribe to DVR services by the end of 2016, which would be up from 39.2 million -- 33.5% -- at the end of last year. By 2016, Magna expects that Video On Demand -- which it now defines as all Over-the-Top services -- will reach 70.1 million households, or about 57% of all TV-viewing households). This compares with 52.5 million VOD households -- 45% -- at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. Overall, the "increase in broadband access and DVR/VOD penetration means consumers are still watching TV. They're just doing it differently," says Alex Feldman, a manager at Magna Global. "The Web is supplementing traditional TV and at the moment, we're not seeing the Web and DVRs take away from the sheer volume of traditional TV consumption." For a number of reasons, Feldman insists that DVR and VOD do not threaten the Web. "Pros for DVR usage include size and quality of the screen and more limited premium content options available online," he says. "The pros for Web viewing include limits to DVR box storage space and consumer's ability to catch up with content he or she may have forgotten to record." Last week, Magna predicted that U.S. advertising sales would increase 1.8% in 2011 -- less than last year's 3.2%. Meanwhile, online media spending will show an 18.7% gain this year, Magna said. Earlier this year, Magna said it expected digital display advertising to grow by 11.6% on a normalized basis during the year. Standouts should include mobile advertising, which Magna saw soar by 60.1%, along with paid search, which it estimates will grow 11.1% this year. Overall, however, Magna suggested that growth remains hampered by "continuing weakness in unemployment ... the absence of a meaningful pick-up in the overall economy and constrained deployments of capital among businesses of all kinds."
The rural Minnesota and North Dakota hospitals that recently banded together under a group named Essentia want to reassure consumers that just because the name has changed, the quality of care at the hospitals remains the same. Via a print, television and digital marketing campaign, the Duluth, Minn.-based hospital system (formed in late 2010) uses the work of three accomplished photojournalists to demonstrate the network's commitment to patient-centered care. Rather than use traditional doctor/patient photography found in most hospital advertising, Minneapolis agency Russell Herder took the work from three photojournalists (Joe Rossi, Becca Dilley and Britta Trugstad) to capture images from the clinics, hospitals and communities they serve. The intention is to demonstrate the network's understanding of its patients' lives in ways that other organizations can't. One video spot depicts photos of people playing in the snow, gathering for coffee at local restaurants, and other iconic shots from the communities they serve. "It's true what they say -- 'There's no place like home,'" goes a voiceover. "And that's why at Essentia Health, you're a neighbor, not a number. After all, we live where you do, giving you our best, no matter what, no matter when. So if you're looking for a home for health care, there's no place like Essentia Health." The spot concludes with the campaign's tagline, "Here with you," as a message underscoring the network's commitment to and understanding of the communities it serves. "At Essentia Health, 'Here with You' is far more than a marketing phrase. It's a belief system. We are truly engaged in helping patients and families achieve active and fulfilling lives in the large and small communities where they live," said Kris Olson, Essentia's vice president of marketing and physician services, in a statement. "The visual imagery in this campaign captures the core of our region and its people; from children in Fosston to fishing in Detroit Lakes, seniors in Ada to sledding in Fargo. We are more than physicians and nurses; we call this home as well."
Edge Shave Gel is hitting the airwaves for the first time in at least three years with a new TV spot via AOR JWT. The ad -- intended to appeal to regular guys, versus super athletes and the elite -- started Tuesday night on cable networks like Comedy Central, History, MTV, Spike, TBS, ESPN, and Versus, and goes on Fox later this week. The new spot uses a "ready room" theme that has the main Edge spokesperson, played by actor John Behlmann, walking through different environments -- a locker room, garage, and vestibule before a wedding -- where guys get ready "for whatever it is they're getting ready for." Jeffrey Wolf, senior brand manager for Edge, says the timing of the new campaign is in part to mark the second anniversary of parent St. Louis, Mo.-based Energizer Holding's acquisition of Edge and Skintimate from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. $275 million. "Their focus had been driving volume in the short term versus equity building. We are trying to drive brands. The good news is since Edge is still seen as a pioneer out there, brand awareness and equity are strong," says Wolf, who adds that the company discovered from its own study via Millward-Brown that the Edge brand is in good health, "but we can't rest on our laurels because of the competitiveness of the segment." Wolf says the idea is to create a single brand voice and be true to the "Edge guy," who he describes as more "every day" than the celebrities, athletes and the like who traditionally populate ads for men's grooming products. "What you will see from Edge now through summer is a heavy TV presence that will be the lead communications vehicle," says Wolf. "Right now it's one ad, but we are hoping to evolve over time and make Behlmann our brand spokesperson." Since the company acquired the brand, it has been doing equity-building programs starting last year around social media and sponsorships. The company did a campaign in the social space that called out the Edge's equity as a solution to irritation, extending the definition from the epidermis to day life. "We have also tied to the [Ultimate Fighting Championships], which is an example of how we are in passion points as a way to build equity and break through to consumers," says Wolf, who adds that the most recent such effort, "Ultimate Shave, Ultimate Games," involves Edge (and sibling brand Schick and Quattro) brand integration in Sony's PlayStation and games like "Killzone" and "Gran Turismo 5" that offers free upgrades.
The TV networks named by consumers as their most favorite may not be the ones they actually watch, according to TV measurement companies. A new study from Syosset, NY-based Beta Research reveals that consumers' top 10 "favorite" channels are: Discovery Channel (57% of the respondents); History (55%); Food Network (54%); Investigation Discovery (52%); HGTV (51%); National Geographic (51%); History International (50%); Cooking Channel (47%); DIY Network (47%); and Science (47%). Nowhere in this top group are top-Nielsen-rated cable networks: USA Network, TNT, ESPN, TBS, or Fox News, and no broadcast networks made the list. Beta also asked viewers about the increased likelihood of buying products advertised on a particular network. Here, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, and HGTV each grabbed a 31% number. Boy-targeted channelDisney XD had 31%; Food Network, 29%; ESPNU, GAC, and Planet Green were at 25%; ESPN2, ESPNEWS, MTV, and Science were at 24%. The study was conducted online in January 2011 among a national sample of 5,959 cable subscribers. Respondents were asked whether specific brand attributes described specific networks. Percentage numbers are based on viewers age 18+ for each measured network. Beta says the study measured basic cable networks with over 50 million total subscribers and the four major broadcast networks. A total of 59 networks were evaluated.
TLC is using the Royal Wedding as its sort of "Shark Week," stuffing its prime-time schedule with all aspects of the nuptials. The network will simulcast on a Times Square billboard as it airs the wedding live Friday. As part of its stunt, the network will carry the wedding on a Clear Channel digital billboard as well as its pre-show, beginning on the Times Square screen as early as 4:30 a.m. It is also using the outdoor-cast as part of a broader stunt that involves a fashion show linked with its "Say Yes to the Dress" show. It is holding the on-site marriage of three couples, and offering a performance by pop singer Colbie Caillat. The Clear Channel billboard is visible from the new red steps that serve as a resting place behind TKTS in the heart of Times Square. Onlookers, however, may be able to choose from other screens in the Square to watch the ceremony as coverage from ABC and Fox News -- maybe even MSNBC --could also be available. The Weather Channel recently launched a new series with a live simulcast on a Times Square billboard. This week, TLC is airing wedding programming that includes an exploration of how Prince William and his bride-to-be reached this point, a look at William's brother Harry, and a recounting of what it was like to be a bridesmaid for Princess Diana years ago. While the Royal Wedding may be a brand, TLC faces competition from numerous networks in pre-event coverage and could suffer from any viewer fatigue.
As networks search for ways to build engagement through Facebook, Turner's truTV has a novel tactic: a bonus episode. After receiving a major uptick in "Likes" for the show page, the network will offer visitors an added episode of "Operation Repo" late Wednesday. The Turner network challenged viewers to boost the number of "Likes" to more than 500,000 by the end of April. With the number now at close to 540,000, truTV will make a new episode accessible on Facebook, after the first part of "Repo's" eighth season ends. The network said it has created the full episode for the page. It was not clear if it would also air on the network or be available on its Web site. Full episodes of "Repo" are available at truTV's Web site. TruTV uses the Facebook page as it would a show microsite -- with available clips and other content ripe for interactivity. The Facebook stunt was an "example of how truTV is able to activate its very loyal and engaged fan base," stated Mary Corigliano, senior vice president of brand strategy and digital content/multiplatform development. "Repo" follows a repossession team that will confiscate items -- from luxury boats to planes -- if an owner fails to make payments.
In last week's column I wrote about the television industry's continued search for supplements to -- and ultimately, replacements for -- the dead weight (i.e., the "Bernie" of "Weekend at Bernie's") of traditional media measurement: age-sex demos. This week I want to show you why more and more buyers and sellers of media are moving away from using current currency by itself and toward more actionable set-top-box data paired with other types of data: behavior-based, and -- for our purposes here -- purchase-based. Because if you take a close look at a single product category, and compare the story told by ratings indices derived from Purchase Ratings Points (PRPs) to that told by Plain Old Ordinary Ratings points (from age-sex demos, hereafter referred to as POOR points), you'll be shocked by how differently they end. So let's dig in, to yogurt. Yes, yogurt -- a $210 million television-advertising market. But have you ever thought about who the target audience is for yogurt marketers? Go ahead, guess. If you said -- based perhaps on Jamie Lee Curtis' Activia-driven comeback -- that most yogurt buyers are women, you'd be right. So historically, marketers have spent that $210 million targeting women 25 to 54. End of story for the POOR points. But as there are many types of yogurt-eaters, so too are there many types and brands of yogurt. And in order to find the right audience for your particular brand and type of yogurt, you need to understand a few things about your audience. POOR points might tell you what your audience is like, but who are they as individuals? Where are they? What do they like to do (besides watch television)? What do they like to buy? The chart below shows which prime-time shows actual purchasers of two types of yogurt were most likely to tune into last week, as PRP-based indices (a relative measure). If you're looking for a Greek-yogurt-buying audience, the strategy is clear: Go with "30 Rock." But if you're selling Yoplait? You might want to spread your spend around a bit more: "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Brothers & Sisters" are also great bets. POOR points can't tell you that. POOR points by their very nature introduce waste into your media plan, and that costs you money. This money can be redeployed to programs that offer you the right audience: viewers who actually buy the products being advertised. And that's what the new generation of industry solutions does. They deliver actionable information based on real data, and that's why they're fast becoming the providers of the new industry vehicle for media buying and selling. That's why networks, advertisers, and marketers looking for a renewed level of accountability in their media strategy are turning away from POOR points and in the direction of metrics like the PRP-based indices above. That's not to say that POOR points are -- for lack of a better term -- pointless; they're still relevant insofar as they will continue to provide validation of your data-driven approach. But to understand how a program rates for a particular type of purchaser, you need actionable data, and you need accountability. You're not going to get that from the POOR guys.
These jobs aren't forever, Katie Couric told David Letterman recently. That message will be confirmed this week, when CBS is expected to announce her departure as head of "The CBS Evening News" (she just announced the news herself, actually.) Being the main anchor of a big TV news broadcast used to be akin to a Supreme Court judgeship -- you held the job until basically you couldn't do it anymore. CBS' Walter Cronkite held the job for decades; so did Dan Rather. Couric? Just five years. We know her remarks to Letterman had a point. Those early evening newscasts aren't what they once were. Not that TV news executives haven't tried to change things. When Couric came aboard, CBS had been touting that its news brand would be aggressively extended -- to online, social networks and mobile devices. But has that been enough? News producers owned up to the fact they bit off more than they could chew -- looking to make big changes, getting away from what CBS does best. Through it all -- even with some personnel losses -- CBS has still gotten its share of news scoops. But that's not the measure of a good TV show anymore. With the fractionalization of viewers -- and news consumers going into many directions to get what daily news they need -- ratings and subsequent ad dollars mean much more. So do personalities. Even cable news has quicker changes, such as the recent departures of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Fox News' Glenn Beck's. Now Couric looks to go elsewhere -- most likely to syndication. While that might allow Couric to do more of what she does best -- one-on-one interviews -- the syndication business has been no easy street. Think about Oprah Winfrey, who is leaving after 25 years. Though she could have gone on for perhaps another couple of decades, money and afternoon viewership for syndicated shows have been tough to come by. Cash license fees for Winfrey's show and others have been on the decline for years. It is also no picnic for any former big TV broadcast network personality to make the transition. Jane Pauley, anyone?
Almost 30 years ago, on July 29, 1981, 750 million people worldwide tuned in to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana tie the knot -- mostly through quaint old live television. If you missed it, there were news programs rerunning endless highlight reels, and maybe you had a VCR, a kid in AV club, and a blank tape. Chances are, you didn't have cable yet -- MTV, the cable station that brought cable subscriptions to a new level with their "I want my MTV" campaign, would debut just three days after the Royal Wedding. Archive interviewee Linda Ellerbee covered that wedding and had this to say: "I was lucky enough to work in television news when nobody ever asked you how much did you spend on the story, they only asked you, did you get the story and did you get it right, fast and first? There were about 90 people full-time in the London Bureau of NBC, and yet we sent over another 90 for the wedding of Diana and Charles, just to make sure that we were fully covered on this story. I was one of the people that went over. I had a great time. Let's face it, when you come right down to it, being a journalist is like being paid to have a front row seat on history. I don't know that it was all terribly serious, and as it turns out, the wedding lasted; the marriage didn't. But we spent gobs of money on it. Television loves a costume story." A generation later (sorry, Linda) television still loves a costume story. And this time, in this economy, money is an object for some of the old standard-bearers of TV news. This time we'll see a lot of smaller outlets producing usable content -- the equipment has become affordable, user-friendly, and efficient, and social media sites are ready and willing to host the content. Not only will the audience numbers be a lot higher for this iteration, there will be more content from this much-heralded event -- both professional and amateur. As people in each time zone wake up to their first cups of coffee, for better or worse, social media outlets will be trending higher and higher with royal commentary and perhaps a record number of streaming video recaps will be available. Leading up to the big day, even T-Mobile's brilliant viral "T-Mobile Royal Wedding" spoof video has had over 10.5 million pre-wedding streams on YouTube alone. Whether or not a spectacle like this is deserving of worldwide coverage will always be debated. In fact, we're still debating whether Tiny Tim's 1969 marriage to Miss Vicki on "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson was a big deal -- even though it garnered a spectacular 50 million viewers. One thing's for sure, Prince William will not be tiptoeing through any tulips....
Influencing friends and business partners -- that's what it comes down to in modern TV dealing. Fox's regional sports cable TV operation loaned some $30 million to Frank McCourt so his Los Angeles Dodgers could make payroll. But if not Fox, it would have been Time Warner Cable. That's one way to influence things. If McCourt didn't have his personal finances tied up in some messy divorce proceedings, things would have gone differently. This was part of the reason Major League Baseball thought ill of the entire Dodger situation -- and looks to take over the team. But was it because of Fox gaining some undue influence over a key major league baseball team? Seems that had a lot to do with it. Of course, TV media companies have had a long history of ownership of professional sports teams: The Tribune Company with the Chicago Cubs, and TBS with both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. Increasingly TV networks are a major piece of the financial puzzle for sports teams. Perhaps more so now that TV cable operators like Fox Sports and Time Warner Cable are more desperate to keep sports franchises in their respective corrals. Surprisingly, Time Warner Cable stole the Los Angeles Lakers from Fox to start up its own regional TV service with a big 20-year deal. So Fox rushed to renew with the Dodgers with it own 20-year deal. And it wasn't just Time Warner Cable. Fox took an opportunity to stop the Dodgers from creating their own sports channel from day one. Looking at the TV environment, we know what works and what's at stake. A potential cancellation or curtailment of the NFL season will throw its TV network partner into a tizzy -- much more than recent sports league season cancellations, the NHL lockout in the 2004-2005 season and Major League Baseball's 1994-1995 strike. So what's left are teams working more closely with their TV distribution entities -- willing to do more than they ever have. Major League Baseball might be wondering if this is fair play on Fox's part -- as the commissioner hasn't approved the Fox/Dodgers distribution deal as yet. As far I can tell, there isn't a problem. The business of divorce and baseball continues to get messier and complicated. Major League Baseball should recognize the new TV world and its media partners' needs. After all, media companies like Tribune and Turner have had this kind of influence -- and then some.