MEC North America is rolling out a new ROI analytics tool, dubbed Crossmedia, that compares and optimizes the sales effectiveness of media plans across all paid, owned and earned media channels. The shop is telling clients they can expect to average 5% to 15% efficiency gains across their media plans by utilizing the new approach. “We had tools to use in order to optimize TV for sales, but clearly with the move to a more paid, owned and earned view of the world, we realized we had to start developing tools and capabilities that supported the broader landscape,” said Theresa LaMontagne, managing director, of MEC’s 2-year-old Analytics & Insights practice. The agency worked closely with WPP sibling Ohal, a London-based consultancy that works with numerous clients (Danone and PepsiCo among them) to develop econometric models and other techniques for optimizing advertising and marketing spending. Among WPP media shops, Ohal works exclusively with MEC to develop proprietary optimization tools, per LaMontagne. The Crossmedia tool utilizes more than 1,000 econometric studies developed by Ohal overlaid with behavioral and segmentation data supplied by MRI and Simmons Research. LaMontagne said that a number of clients have agreed to use the new tool, but declined to identify any without their approval. Since she joined the agency two years ago, charged with expanding and improving the shop’s analytics and insights capabilities, the A&I unit has nearly tripled in size to about 65 staffers, LaMontagne said. The Crossmedia tool is being rolled out globally, although its implementation will vary by region given the differences in the media landscapes of individual markets.
Industry-wide initiatives like Canoe Ventures may have floundered, but at least one major cable TV operator is muscling ahead with enhanced TV advertising buys that offer digital targeting, measurability and even interactivity. Comcast Spotlight, the spot and local cable TV advertising sales division of Comcast Corp., this morning unveiled Comcast Media 360, a new unit focused on helping marketers and agencies to leverage developing “cross-platform” advertising options. The new unit, which is headed by Group Vice President Andrew Ward, has also struck a deal with Publicis’ Starcom MediaVest Group Exchange (SMGx) for three undisclosed clients to tap the new units' enhanced ad capabilities later this year. “Our clients are demanding addressability, interactivity and accountability on all platforms,” SMGx Executive Vice President of Innovations Tracey Scheppach stated in the announcement, which did not elaborate on the SMGx clients involved, or what they might be doing with the new Comcast unit. Comcast said the new ad applications will include: • Targetability: utilizing consumer segmentation tools and Comcast’s infrastructure to deliver commercial messages to well-defined geographic and/or demographic groups. • Interactivity: utilizing interactive platforms like request for information (RFI) and telescoping to long-form video-on-demand (VOD) content to enable deeper consumer engagement with advertising content. • Accountability: working with independent third-party research companies to measure the impact of advertising.
Some of the networks took advantage of upfront week to push for a new ratings currency that would include seven days of DVR playback versus the three days of playback included in the current ratings system (C3). But not so fast, says Bill Duggan, group executive vice president, the Association of National Advertisers. Rather than go there, advertisers want the TV industry to finally focus on what they call the "holy grail" -- ratings detailing audiences of individual ads versus the average rating for all ads within specific shows that the current system offers. For advertisers, C7 is just more of what they don’t want, he says -- an unclear picture of exactly who and how many viewers are watching which specific ads. “For more than five years, ANA has been advocating for brand-specific commercial ratings as that would help answer the question: “How many people actually had the opportunity to see my spot?" Duggan wrote in his “Marketing Maestros” blog May 18. Duggan said the last poll of its members on the subject, conducted last year, revealed that 82% of advertisers were interested in commercial-specific ratings. He calls the response "a landslide." He also listed a handful of additional benefits that commercial-specific ads would offer, including serving as a copy-testing tool that would identify stronger and weaker executions and enable advertisers and agencies to respond accordingly. Specific ratings would also serve as indicators that viewers were tiring of seeing certain spots (commercial fatigue). Also, specific ratings would provide greater insight on the impact of pod position, length of spot and national versus local placement, Duggan asserted. They could also zero in on the value of in-program and in-game integrations and sponsorships and determine whether ads simply worked better on one network versus another. “Brand-specific commercial ratings would go a long way in better evaluating television’s contribution to the marketing mix, as well as in assessing the overall ROI of television advertising expenditures,” wrote Duggan. The question of whether such ratings should be currency would be up to individual buyers and sellers, Duggan wrote. But at the very least “they should be available.”
Adobe today will release a series of advancements for Project Primetime that supports TV ad content across connected devices. The new offering, Primetime Simulcast, allows media companies to simultaneously broadcast traditional channels online with dynamically inserted ads across devices. Primetime Simulcast supports apps for iOS and Android devices. Jeremy Helfand, vice president of monetization at Adobe, said it should reduce costs by providing a unified workflow integrating player and streaming ad server analytics. It cuts down the need for media companies to piece together solutions living in silos. Some 181 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 37 billion online content videos in April, and video ads represented nearly 9.5 billion, about 1 in 5 videos viewed online for the month, according to comScore Video Metrix. Google Sites generating the highest number of views at 17 billion, followed by Hulu with 901 million and Yahoo Sites with 742 million. The average viewer watched 21.8 hours of online video content, with Google Sites at 7.2 hours and Hulu at 3.8 hours, earning the highest average engagement among the top ten properties, according to comScore. Eliminating buffering would improve user experience and increase engagement rates making advertising more valuable for site visitor, publishers, media companies and clients. Media companies forced to become technology providers attempted to build bridges to close the gap between siloed platforms, which created challenges with the organization. Adobe wants to help marketers think about what workflows will look like in the future as the two platforms -- linear and digital – combine. The Primetime Simulcast tool also complements Primetime Highlights, which allows broadcasters to convert live streaming to short ad-supported video clips of news, entertainment and sports highlights. Adobe released the next version of Auditude, a video ad managed and monetization platform, to insert and measure online video ads. The integration of AudienceManager and third-party site data enables publishers to understand who views the ad and target their content accordingly. A feature in the platform, Partner Management, will now allow media company partners to share revenue and allocation of sales rights with syndication partners.
Just days before the 2012-2013 upfront TV ad market is set to begin, the TVB, the television stations’ advertising trade group, is making a case that spot TV can be cheaper than network TV -- at least as it concerns program pricing in the scatter market. Analyzing the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2012, research says among 25-54 viewers, spot TV can give marketers a 25% savings in prime-time versus network scatter buys -- $31.51 versus $37.03 for network. In addition, there is a 42% cheaper spot TV media buy in early morning ($11.18 versus $20.02 for network); 31% in early news ($14.96 versus $19.98); and 60% for late night ($13.37 versus $28.81). The research even says that spot TV is cheaper than national syndication scatter TV pricing: $21.38 versus $32.54 for an adults 25-54 schedule. The comparison was made using comparable geographic/distribution outlets. The data used TSA -- Total Survey Area -- levels to mimic network scatter’s geographic buy distribution pattern. TVB worked with SQAD, the TV cost-forecasting firm. TBA is a geographic area term that includes a market’s DMA -- Designated Metro Area -- plus certain counties located outside the DMA. DMA, a Nielson area definition, pertains to the counties in which TV stations obtain the highest proportion of a viewing audience. For years, media analysts have theorized that spot TV is more expensive than other national TV media -- but perhaps more targeted for marketers. Steve Lanzano, president of the TVB, stated: “Comparative research found that spot TV offers marketers three significant, fundamental advantages –- cost, inventory, and targetability. At the same time, spot TV provides a more accurate representation of the ratings deliveries in local markets because a 5.7 national rating for a program may be as low as 3.3 in one market or as high as 10.0 in another."
MundoFox, the Hispanic-targeted network set to launch in August, has added a presence in Chicago and says it expects to add affiliates in New York and Houston soon. The network, with Spanish-language versions of U.S. programming, such as NatGeo Kids, the UFC and original programs, is a joint venture between News Corp. and Colombian broadcaster RCN. The network said it could have deals available in about 70% of U.S. Hispanic homes, having landed a presence so far in 40-plus markets. Stations in Los Angeles -- the largest Hispanic market -- and Miami -- No. 3 -- have already been landed. MundoFox held an upfront presentation last week. The network is "poised to be a legitimate competitor in the U.S. Hispanic broadcast space, given what appears to be its significant investment in content … combined with a robust promotional plan,” stated Marcy Greenberger, a top executive at Tapestry, part of Starcom MediaVest Group, which recently cut a large deal with Univision. Among MundoFox affiliates are stations owned by Entravision, the largest station group for competitor Univision Communications. Fox owns the station in Washington, D.C. Upcoming shows include what MundoFox touts as a Spanish version of “Sex and the City,” as well as a police drama and a supernatural drama.
Delving deeper into original content, Hulu just unveiled three new series and seven exclusively licensed TV shows previously unavailable to U.S. audiences. Premiering throughout the summer, the half-hour shows include " Spoilers," the movie ‘revue’ for movie lovers hosted by filmmaker and geek god Kevin Smith; "Up To Speed," Richard Linklater's travel series, and "We Got Next," a scripted comedy from producer Kenya Barris, which follows a four-man pickup basketball team. “We want to offer exclusive shows,” Andy Forssell, SVP of content for Hulu, said. ”In an on-demand world, viewers are going to actively choose to watch TV shows that they really love.” U.S.-exclusives include “Rev.,” “The Yard,” “Pramface,” “Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind,” “The Promise,” and “Little Mosque,” along with the second season of the sci-fi thriller, “The Booth at the End.” The additional offerings come on the heels of Hulu’s upfront, during which it revealed a slew of performance metrics. In February alone, U.S. consumers watched 2.5 billion videos on Hulu -- which amounted to about 1,000 videos a second -- according to Jean-Paul Colaco, SVP advertising, Hulu. Along with representing 20% of the overall online video marketplace, Hulu now claims a 40% share of the premium video market, he said. The original Hulu service continues to ramp up users and content, while Hulu Plus -- the company’s U.S. subscription service -- surpassed 2 million paid subscribers in the first quarter of the year. During its second-ever upfront, Hulu showed off several original projects, including “Battleground,” a drama with comedic moments set in the world of political campaigns, and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock’s “A Day in The Life." Hulu also debuted several new products in development, including “Don’t Quit Your Daydream,” based on a documentary by Adrian Grenier that features a cast of famous musicians traveling across America in search of could-have-been musical artists, and “Flow,” based on the life of a hardworking kid from the wrong side of the tracks who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Following HBO and more recently, Netflix, Hulu broke into original programming this past January. Soon after, the online TV service ordered “Battleground,” 10 new episodes of “A Day in the Life” and “Up to Speed” -- a six-part documentary from Richard Linklater, director of “The School of Rock” and “Before Sunset.” Original content is seen as a way to complement Hulu’s ad-supported model. While Hulu Plus exceeded the company’s expectations in 2011 -- reaching a reported 1.5 million paying subscribers -- ad revenue was lower than estimated during the second half of the year. (Overall, Hulu said it had $420 million in revenue in 2011.) Securing its status as a natural go-to for advertisers, Hulu just committed to only bill brands and agencies for ads that viewers watch in their entirety. The 100% completion rate commitment includes all ads sold by Hulu itself, and will apply to both Hulu and Hulu Plus. In beta for several months, Zenith Media, General Mills and Horizon Media helped Hulu test the new model. More recently, Hulu introduced its ad swap product, which allows viewers to replace existing ads for those they feel are more relevant. Since the launch of ad swap, Hulu has seen over 9 million substitutions, according to Colaco. Despite such innovations, recent reports suggested that Hulu was considering withholding its services from non-paying TV customers. The would-be move by Hulu toward the new model -- dubbed “authentication,” because viewers would have to log in with their cable or satellite TV account number -- was reportedly behind the recent decision by Providence Equity Partners to cash out of Hulu after five years. Hulu, for its part, has yet to address the “authentication” rumors.
It’s not just soccer. From NASCAR to the NFL Draft, growth in Hispanic sports viewership is climbing significantly. At the same time, sports advertising as a whole continues its steady jump, according to Nielsen. In February, an average of 73,000 Spanish speakers watched the Daytona 500, up 55% from 2011. In April, an average of 492,000 Hispanics watched the NFL Draft, up almost 100% since 2008. Also, for the recent NBA regular season, Hispanics accounted for 12% of the total viewers, a 20% bump from the year before. NBA games that were part of a Noche Latina (Latin Night) program saw increased viewership, highlighted by the March 5 game on ABC between Los Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers) and El Heat (Miami Heat), where Hispanics made up 15% of the audience. Hispanic sports fans may be younger than the general population. Nielsen says in a new sports report that 6.9 million Hispanics watched at least part of March Madness this year. Median age was 39, lower than 44 for African Americans and 48 for whites. In the first quarter of 2012, national network and cable sports generated $3 billion-plus in ad spending, a 9% increase from the same period last year. Back at the Daytona 500 on Fox, Nielsen said brand recall for the full audience was up, with some of the most-recalled ads from Mountain Dew, Toyota and Sprint. In baseball, Nielsen says social-media conversation in the first quarter leading up to opening day had the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox dominating the conversation, using a metric tracking Twitter and Facebook posts, message boards and other outlets. The Yankees had 9.4% share of voice with the Red Sox at 6.3%. The Detroit Tigers, which signed free agent first baseman Prince Fielder to a massive deal, came in third at 4.9%. Surprisingly, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim did not make the top 10 as interest surrounded the signing of star Albert Pujols.
With the recent success of “Good Morning America,” ABC is launching a p.m. spinoff as a summer experiment. The hour-long “Good Afternoon America” is scheduled for a nine-week run starting July 9. “GMA” personalities Josh Elliott and Lara Spencer will headline the show, with Sam Champion, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos making appearances. ABC has been running talk show “The Revolution” in the time slot, following “The Chew” and leading into “General Hospital.” “GMA” has been posing a significant challenge to NBC’s “Today” recently and topping it in certain metrics. “GAA” will emanate from its parent’s Times Square studio. In the fall, the eight ABC owned-and-operated stations will begin airing Katie Couric’s new show at 3 p.m. Conceivably, with both shows featuring a mix of news, lifestyle and celebrity content, there could be an opportunity for a pairing to develop over time.
Gregg Liebman, senior vice president, ad sales and sports research, Turner, started in the industry on the agency side before moving to the networks. This gives him a uniquely long-term perspective on the industry in general and in research specifically. In my interview with him, Gregg talks about his extensive research background from both an agency and content provider perspective, the importance of quality custom research in conjunction with syndicated services, Turner’s groundbreaking approach to research, and some predictions about the media landscape in the next five years. Gregg also talks about some specific custom research projects such as the recent biometric study Turner conducted in partnership with InnerScope. Watch the videos of my interview here. Below is an excerpt: CW: Gregg, can you share some of Turner’s recent custom research projects? GL: Sure. One that we are proud of is trying to understand the value of shared news stories. One of the brands I represent is CNN and we know that news is “cultural currency” and even “social currency” within the social media sphere. As you know, people often share stories through email, Facebook etc. We wanted to understand this behavior. We also wanted to be able to demonstrate to advertisers that there is value to advertising within the program and being associated with those stories that people are passionate about and are sharing. So we decided to partner with InnerScope to do some biometric research because we think that the engagement with this type of content is at the subconscious level. We believe that traditional survey work probably wouldn’t get at how people really connect [to] and react [with] content This co-produced research with InnerScope was presented at the ARF. We saw multiple times lift in engagement with the ads associated with the content that people share. It really makes sense that when someone you trust is recommending a story, it becomes more of a “lean-forward” and engaging experience for you. CW: Let’s talk about return-path data. What type of work have you done with it, and where do you think it is in the industry at this point? GL: I would like to answer the second part of your question first. I think that it is still in the very early stages. It is a valuable tool for long-tail networks that the Nielsen sample is not really adequate to measure. I also think that there is a lot of fascination with actual census-level viewing behavior and data from millions of set-top-box households. Clearly the industry hasn’t yet figured out many of the key issues such as the demographics, issues of when the set-top box is on but there is no viewing (which we know happens a lot). There are still many key questions that need to be answered before it becomes mainstream. I don’t think it was the savior that many people thought it was a few years ago, but there are a lot of insights and intelligence that can be learned from that data. We’ve looked at commercial retention and viewing behavior during the breaks that we weren’t able to get at with minute-by-minute Nielsen data. So those insights have helped us manage the way we schedule our network to boost viewing behavior and make it more valuable for advertisers.
Who will win the next TV season? How about a major change? CBS will take the 18-49 crown, according to Brad Adgate, senior VP and corporate research director for Horizon Media. Adgate says that 19 returning shows and the Super Bowl should finally put the network over the hump. He adds that Fox’s “American Idol” is down 25%, weakening and and looking for more “creative” changes (according to Kevin Reilly, president of Fox Entertainment). Yes, we hear J. Lo is thinking about moving on. CBS’ program consistency wins over TV buying executives. And not making any excuses during the upfront, CBS executives talked to reporters about keeping to the basics: such as taking careful preparations to develop shows, even after they are on the air, and protecting new shows with strong lead-ins. CBS says that a couple of weeks ago it was in a virtual dead-heat with Fox among 18-49 viewers in C3 ratings – commercial ratings plus three days of time shifted viewing. Then Fox inched up one-tenth of a rating point. Still, this was good news for CBS, especially going into next season. What about ABC and NBC? Not in contention. Upfront-wise, CBS wants 10%-plus CPM hikes. Considering the rocketing high 12- 17% gains that broadcast and cable networks pulled in last year, media buyers believe 7- 8% might be more reasonable. CBS says if it doesn’t get its price, it may hold back some inventory. We’ve heard and seen this one before. With all its good news, consider that CBS is still broadcast network-based. Unlike other media companies, it doesn’t have big cable network assets or theme parks like Disney or NBC Universal. To be sure, CBS would tell you the CBS Audience Network is a strong digital video player. But those revenues are still light – as is the case for many content providers – in comparison to other businesses. CBS would also say that growing program license fees and retransmission dollars are changing some of its profile. After TV, CBS mostly has radio and outdoor as revenue generators. Says Adgate: “Television is the new medium out of those three.”