How does a regional pizza chain compete with the mega marketing budgets of giants like Papa John’s, Pizza Hut and Domino’s? A willingness to try new strategies certainly helps. Case in point: Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, a chain with 26 franchised locations in Denver and surrounding areas. Anthony’s has been relying heavily on out-of-home because of its low CPMs and effectiveness at brand differentiation. But this year, the chain is switching from 90% OOH to 90% television. Moreover, it’s running nearly a dozen different spots. Anthony’s’ creative and media agencies, Cultivator Advertising & Design and Explore Communications (both Denver-based), worked with John Le Bel, an Anthony’s franchise owner and head of marketing for the chain’s franchise organization, to devise a strategy for realizing impact with TV on a small budget. Goals include introducing a fresh, compelling approach within the market, ensuring that all franchisees get equal benefit from the campaign (out-of-home tends to work best in the urban, high-traffic locations, as opposed to outlying areas), targeting two core audiences (males for single meals and moms for family meals) and of course, driving pizza sales. The key on the media side was the franchisees’ willingness to spend most of the year’s budget on running the television in a concentrated flight period (fourth quarter 2011 and first quarter 2012) -- using the medium’s ability to achieve much greater reach, but also much greater targeting than OOH -- and to rely primarily on social media and grassroots marketing for exposure during the remainder of the year, says Mindy Gantner, media director for Explore Communications. The spots are running in Denver on all of the national broadcast networks and 14 cable channels, including comedy/sports channels to target guys (such as Comedy Central, ESPN, Cartoon Network, and the Golf Channel) and food/women’s channels to target moms (such as Food Network, HGTV, Oxygen, Bravo and AMC). The creative: 15-second spots designed to convey that Anthony’s takes its pizza seriously, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. All of the spots share the brand’s key message/tagline of being “authentic, New York-style pizza.” However, five of them focus on the “craft” of the pizza (“hand-tossed by the slice, or by the pie”) – and on contrasting this to the mass-production techniques of “the fast-food chains.” One, for example, points out that “Most fast food chains don’t toss their pizza. Why? Because it requires skill.” Another promises “no footage of fake-happy employees” and “no down-home CEO” and “no end-shot of the gratuitous, perfect pizza”(although it reneges on the last point, in tongue-in-cheek fashion). The other six spots are devoted to terrible jokes, told by a pizza slice in front of a mike (“What do pizza and jokes have in common? Their…delivery.”) These ads end with the message: “Pizza shouldn’t be a joke,” as well as the reference to authentic New York-style pizza. Cultivator used economical filming and production techniques (including employing local voiceover talent) to execute its creative, given the importance of preserving the required budget for media, notes Cultivator co-account director Matt Neren. Gantner stresses that social media—which are managed/maintained by the franchisees--are being integrated with the television. For example, the brand is currently running paid Facebook text ads to specific target audiences in Denver, incentivizing them to become Anthony’s Facebook fans by offering exclusive deals and promotions. In addition, in a tie-in with the joke commercials, Facebook fans will be offered free slices of pizza for submitting their own jokes. “The strategy is to build up the Facebook fan base so that Anthony's can continue communicating with their enthusiasts with special offers throughout the year,” says Gantner. “The TV spots don’t specifically reference Facebook, but the TV will be running at the same time as the paid Facebook campaign, so the increased advertising awareness should boost response for the social media effort.”
The cable industry has made big strides getting consumers to use video-on-demand television, but the conversation during an important industry meeting on the subject Tuesday night indicated it’s still not enough to stimulate demand from other key stakeholders: advertisers and agencies. Following a presentation showing that consumers are not only embracing programming, but advertising on VOD platforms (see related story in today’s edition), some top ad executives questioned whether the cable industry’s inroads actually “scale” for big advertisers, and suggested that the real on-demand opportunity may be online, on tablets or in the cloud. “How are we framing video-on-demand?,” asked Mark Stewart, vice president-global media services for Kraft, during a panel debate at conference organized by AAMP (Advanced Advertising Media Project). “Is it from the distribution experience? Or is it from the consumer experience?” From a consumer point-of-view, Stewart said, VOD has already taken off, but is being fulfilled by other platforms including online video services such as Hulu, Netflix and a variety of mobile and tablet computing applications. He suggested that cable operators are playing “catch-up” with consumers, and observed how three big cable players – HBO To Go, Comcast and Time Warner – recently have been running ads promoting iPad access to their programming. Marcien Jenckes, senior vice president-general manager of video services at Comcast, countered that those alternative platforms have, in fact, been part of Comcast’s strategy to create a more fulfilling TV experience for its subscribers by enabling them to “time-shift” and “place-shift” where they watch the programming they subscribe to. But he also noted that Comcast’s pure VOD service currently is serving “half a billion” video streams a month and continues to grow. At its current level, Jenckes said Comcast’s VOD service is bigger than Hulu and would rank as the “eighth largest site on the Web.” Even so, he acknowledged that neither Comcast, nor the cable industry at large, has truly reached scale “yet,” and he suggested that part of the problem is due to the lack of consistency across the cable industry. “We need to do a better job,” he conceded, adding, “This is going to be the future of our business. And not just our business, but the future of the media business.” Kraft’s Stewart suggested that the real opportunity for cable VOD is to “build a great consumer experience,” and that if the cable industry does that, ad budgets will likely follow. But he also said as impressive as Comcast’s half billion monthly streams may be, they don’t necessarily “scale” for Kraft’s brands, which are mostly national. He said the cable industry effectively is asking national marketers to retrofit their coverage models to fit the footprint of cable operator’s VOD distribution, which may not make sense for many brands. “VOD has never been productized,” quipped moderator Bob DeSena, founder and CEO of Engagement Marketing Group, which has been helping the 4As and TV technology provider BlackArrow coordinate the AAMP initiatives. DeSena said there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding VOD and that the research revealed last night, and another “live, in-market” trial scheduled for next year will shed new light on the subject for advertisers. During the question and answer session that followed, 4As Executive Vice President Mike Donahue noted that the VOD momentum is important, but asked what kind of progress was being made with “addressable” TV advertising on cable TV systems. “The Holy Grail for agencies and clients is addressability,” Donahue said, referring to the technology that would enable advertisers to target specific TV commercials to neighborhoods, households, or even individuals within households, giving it the same precision to compete with online and direct response media. Donahue implied that the cable industry, especially its Canoe Ventures initiative, has essentially stalled the deployment of addressable TV advertising in favor of “interactivity” and VOD. Kraft’s Stewart responded that from a marketer’s point-of-view, the jury is still out on the inherent value of addressable TV advertising. He said the fundamental question for advertisers is, “Just because it’s addressable, can I use it?” He noted that there’s a big push in the industry to make advertising more granular via addressable and “hyper-local” targeting technologies, but he questioned whether the returns marketers and agencies would gain from those efforts would justify their investments. “It’s quite frankly the Nirvana of television advertising,” countered Cablevision Executive Vice president Barry Frey, who said Cablevision has been deploying addressable TV advertising for about two years. “You want to put dog food commercials in the households that have dogs,” concurred Andy Donchin, executive vice president-national broadcast and media investments at Carat.
In May, shopkick announced it was taking its mobile shopping technology to TV through a partnership with the CW network. The deal would allow people using the shopkick app to unlock exclusive deals when certain commercials aired during CW programming. Six months later, the cross-media program is rolling out with Tuesday night’s episodes of “90210” and “Ringer” on the CW. The network will provide subtle on-screen prompts during the prime-time shows reminding shopkick users to open up their app to receive deals. Through a smartphone’s microphone, the app will automatically recognize TV commercials from participating advertisers. Once the TV is identified, it delivers rewards in the form of redeemable “kick” points and special offers on products. The launch advertiser for the initiative is Macy’s, with other shopkick retail partners to follow. Macy’s was among the first to work with the startup when it launched its mobile app last year that allows shoppers to earn points simply by walking in the door via in-store technology. The app also provides information about promotions and provides kicks for scanning codes on select items. In addition to Macy, other retailers that have teamed with shopkick include Old Navy, American Eagle Outfitters, Target, Toys 'R’ Us, and most recently, Giant Eagle supermarkets. Shopkick says it now has 2.1 million active users, more than half of whom are women. For marketers, shopkick’s effort to expand its reach to TV holds the promise of linking commercials directly with retail purchases via smartphones. Marketers have also taken advantage of audio recognition technology in Yahoo’s IntoNow app and the Shazam to offer bonus content and discounts when the apps are used in conjunction with particular TV shows and ads. This summer, for instance, Lifetime turned to IntoNow to promote the upcoming season of “Project Runway,” by allowing viewers to tag each episode with the app to get free digital content including photos and videos, participate in fashion-related polls, and interact with friends and other fans. For shopkick’s TV integration, other CW shows lined up include “Vampire Diaries,” “Nikita,” “America’s Next Top Model,” “Secret Circle,” “Supernatural,” “Gossip Girl,” and “Hart of Dixie.”
Chrysler Group LLC's Ram Truck brand will have a big presence during this NHL season thanks to a new program that involves the brand, the automaker's Great Lakes Business Center, and Southeast Michigan Ram dealers. The dealers have had a long-standing program with the Detroit Red Wings team, but the new program for the first time involves big TV media presence, a lot of branding at Joe Louis Arena where the Red Wings play, and a limited-edition Detroit Red Wings Edition Ram 1500 pickup truck that Southeast Michigan dealers will sell. The deal, making Ram the "Official Truck of the Red Wings," puts Red Wings forward Johan Franzen in television spots and billboards, and goalie Jimmy Howard in a Ram mural inside Joe Louis Arena. The 30-second TV spot, "Ram vs. Mule," starts at center ice of the arena with a Ram 1500 parked to the left of the centerline and Johan "The Mule" Franzen standing to the right. After an opening title that says Ram vs. Mule, the camera cuts back and forth between Franzen and the Ram truck as the voiceover describes common qualities they share such: Ram's capability on snow, Mule great on ice, handles hostile road conditions/handles hostile road games, menacing grille/menacing grille. The spot ends with the Ram as "The Official Truck of Hockeytown." In a mural at the venue painted by Toronto-based hockey artist David Arriggo, Howard is pictured under the Guts Glory headline wearing a Ram branded goalie mask. A second announcing that "Good Things Come in Eights" touts the 390 horsepower V8 Red Wings Ram and references the days when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup championship in eight games. Concourse curtains depict the Ram truck grille, and there is also in-game virtual signage and in-ice Ram logos. The arena will also have Ram sponsorship of the "Score-O" intermission promotion and the "Stars of the Game" feature, and fan-engagement promotions throughout the season. A 30-second team spirit video on the big screen exhorts attendees to shout "HEMI. POWERED. HOCKEY" during intermission. Sam Elliott does voiceover for the national TV campaign for Ram but he's also doing the radio ads for this regional Red Wings promotional effort. It also comprises print ads will run throughout December on the back sports pages of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Oakland Press and Macomb Daily newspapers. The television, billboard and newspaper ads were created in partnership with Doner, Detroit. The radio spots, murals, program advertising, arena video and other in-arena elements were created in partnership with The Richards Group in Dallas.
The Ohio Tourism Division is launching a website to showcase Ohio attractions, restaurants and destinations that have been featured in movies and on television. The goal for the “Scene in Ohio” site is to capitalize on the “travel-motivating factors of mainstream media,” says State Tourism Director Amir Eylon. Travelers are visiting places they have learned about from their favorite television shows and movies, Eylon says. The website makes it easy to find those places along with other nearby sites to encourage a longer getaway, Eylon adds. The interactive site is kicking off with more than 50 locations, but users are encouraged to add to the site’s content. Listings pull photos and videos from social media networks, show Yelp consumer reviews for applicable locations, and offer social media sharing capabilities. The website’s main feature is a list of locations searchable by category (movie, television, and food), keyword and zip code; photos and videos from social media channels; Google maps; and Yelp reviews where available. The map feature also shows users the locations of other nearby “Scene in Ohio” sites as well as a brief highlight of stars born in Ohio or with strong Buckeye connections. Each “On-Screen Ohioan” listing includes an overview of the star's career and Ohio connection, an interesting “factoid” and a link to their profile on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). In addition to sample itineraries for “movie buffs” or “foodies,” visitors can build and share their own Ohio itineraries. Ohioans and visitors alike can share additional movie, television and restaurant sites that may be added to the website. Sites and experiences of all sizes located across the state range from the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield ("Shawshank Redemption") to Cincinnati's Fountain Square ("Ides of March") and from Thurman Cafe in Columbus ("Man v. Food") to Wendy Kromer Confections and City Bake Shop in Sandusky ("The Martha Stewart Show"). Research has shown that tourism often increases after places are featured on TV or in movies. The Journal of Travel Research cites two of the most notable increases: a 7% increase in tourism for Savannah, Ga., after "Forrest Gump," and a 300% increase in tourism for the Wallace monument in Scotland the year after "Braveheart" was released. Many restaurants across the U.S. report double-digit sales increases after being featured on Food Network or Travel Channel programs.
Looking to raise their digital awareness with the rise of social media, 10 major local broadcast TV groups have made a long-term deal with ConnecTV, a free real-time social network. ConnecTV allows viewers to interact with other fans watching the same program, while providing related content and promotions synced with programs being viewed. It will launch in early 2012. As part of the commercial agreement, the broadcasters's local advertising inventory appear within ConnecTV. In addition, a number of the broadcasters have made an undisclosed investment in ConnecTV. The broadcast groups include: Barrington Broadcasting Group, Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television Inc., Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., Post-Newsweek Stations and Raycom Media. These TV groups own 201 stations made up of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW and WB affiliates in 45 of the nation's top 50 markets. They cover 76 million TV homes. Nine of the 10 broadcast groups had previously formed a digital TV venture named Pearl, which, as part of this partnership, which will look to expand the base of participating local broadcasters for ConnecTV. Alan Frank, president and CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations, stated, on behalf of Pearl: "We looked long and hard for a partner that could create a compelling environment that would encourage, enhance and monetize [America's TV] dialogue, even during live programs including news coverage or sporting events -– and we found it at ConnecTV." ConnecTV was founded by interactive television veterans Ian Aaron, former president of Gemstar-TV Guide and CEO of TVN Entertainment; Alan Moskowitz, former senior engineer at MobiTV and member of the founding engineering team at TiVo; and Stacy Jolna, former GM of TV Guide OnDemand (TV Guide SPOT) and chief programming officer and founding executive team member of TiVo.
Bob Shullman, President IPSOS Mendelsohn, is a veteran in the marketing research and strategy discipline for a range of important media brands. Through his efforts, Ipsos Mendelsohn has become synonymous with expertise in the high-end consumer marketplace. In my interview with him, Bob talks about his work at Mendelsohn, the merging of IPSOS and Mendelsohn in 2008, and trends in the affluent marketplace. Bob also offers some interesting insights into future economic trends as it pertains to the wealthiest American consumers. The videos of the interview can be viewed here. Below is an excerpt. CW: Bob can you give me some predictions on media landscape over the next five years -- and the affluent market in particular? BS: The media environment will be volatile over the next five years, just like we are seeing today and over the past few years. In our monthly Affluent Barometer survey, we ask wealthy consumers when they think the recession will be over. While the government is saying that the recession was over about 18 months ago, about 90% in our monthly survey say we are still in a recession and it will be over in 2013 or 2014. And the Affluents are doing better than a lot of other people. This indicates to us that the affluent market will spend more time “nesting” over the next couple of years, because most affluent consumers tend to have families. So you will see an affluent group that is very focused on their home, home-related activities, children-related activities -- whether it is their kids or their grandchildren. CW: Where do you see the economy headed in the next couple of years -- and how that will affect the behaviors, attitudes and purchasing of the affluent market? BS: We field a monthly barometer in which we assess economic confidence of the affluent market. And every quarter we conduct a companion piece of those consumers who earn less than $100,000 household income so that we can compare the two economic groups. The affluent consumer is more confident than the general marketplace, which I don’t think is a surprise to anybody. The less-than-affluent see the recession going on longer. Media brands should know that the affluent market is getting sick and tired of keeping their wallets in their pockets. We call it “Frugal Fatigue.” I think the affluent market is saying, “I think this environment in which we live is going to continue for a while and if I wait to do what I want to do, which I probably have the money to do now, I may be waiting a very long time or forever.” With the type of work we are doing here at Mendelsohn, we are seeing the affluents thinking more about spending. We ask the question “If the economy were to improve, what is the likelihood that they would start spending more?” -- and quite a few affluents state they would start spending more. According to the study’s findings, those who indicated that they would spend more rather than less are in a ratio of three or four to one. This has been going on since 2009. The affluent want it to be over and they are getting frustrated, and they are starting to spend again.CW: Is the affluent market as polarized politically as the rest of America seems to be? Or are they fairly consistent in their views? BS: They are actually quite polarized. As I think most people would expect, there is tendency to have more Republicans, but there are many Democrats and there are many, many Independents. The affluent are a very educated group, in general much more so than the non-affluent. They are well entrenched with news and are more likely to know what is going on and they are finding it frustrating the way things are going. If you are a Democrat, you are much more optimistic about the economy. If you are a Republican, you are more pessimistic about the economy. And if you are an Independent, at least the way we are reading the results today, you are looking at the economy more like the Republicans.
TV watching is one of those weird borderline activities, at once social and antisocial: yes, you’re in a room with other people, but your shared experience derives from the fact that you’re all staring vacantly at the same thing. Anyway, regardless of how social it really is, “social TV” is frequently touted as one of the next big frontiers for social media -- and also a crucial area for TV broadcasters and content creators to establish a foothold. With that in mind, a new Emeryville, CA start-up called ConnecTV is creating an online network targeting local and network TV watchers, which should allow them to interact with other viewers while watching their favorite programs. For viewers who choose to participate, the ConnecTV network will automatically check them in whenever they start watching a particular program, and then deliver an array of program-related content to another device (“second screen”) like a laptop or iPad, which can be used as an adjunct to the viewing experience. As noted, this includes an online platform to interact with other fans. In the company’s own words: “Imagine a free social TV app that lets you play along with friends live on your laptop or tablet while you watch your favorite television show or sporting event. Here's how it works: Your TV is up there. Your ConnecTV app is down here on your second screen. ConnecTV identifies your show and instantly syncs on your tablet, PC or Mac so you can...hold viewing parties and chat with friends. Play games for prizes. And get more info and news about your favorite entertainment and sports stars.” The ConnecTV online network, currently in beta, was co-founded by Ian Aaron, a former president of Gemstar-TV Guide; Alan Moskowitz, former senior engineer at MobiTV and member of the founding engineering team at TiVo; and Stacy Jolna, former General Manager of TV Guide OnDemand (TV Guide SPOT) and Chief Programming Officer and founding executive team member of TiVo. Its broadcast partners include Barrington Broadcasting Group, 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 -- together representing 201 stations reaching 76 million households in 45 of the top 50 media markets. It is supposed to begin general service in January 2012.