U.S. advertising spending will continue to register moderate growth in the upcoming quarters, similar to the levels achieved in the first quarter of 2012.Kantar Media says ad sales were up 2.6% in the first quarter to $32.9 billion, versus flat spending for the last six months of last year.Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media North America, stated: “Early figures from the second quarter indicate continued modest growth with improvement trickling down to media that have been lagging the overall advertising market.”January was sluggish, says Kantar, but accelerated to 4% gains in February and March.Big sports TV programming was the prime mover behind year-over-year gains: 7.4% on cable TV networks and 7.0% in broadcast TV networks. Two-thirds of the rise came from TV spending on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the NFL post-season games. P&G continued to be the country’s largest advertiser, although Comcast moved into the second slot with the rollout of its Xfinity brand. GM cut spending by nearly 18%, while Toyota increased its outlays by 8.6%. Still, the auto category continued to be the largest with well over $3.5 billion in spending, which includes the manufacturer and dealer levels, although that was down slightly (1.5%) versus last year. Syndication TV spending soared 15.7% due to more programming time and improved audience ratings gains. Getting its usual every-other-year gains from political advertising and Olympics, spot TV witnessed spending increases of 2.5% versus a year ago.Continuing its upward trend, Spanish-language TV tacked on 20.7% from higher automotive spots.Headed in the other direction -- as has been their continuing trend -- were consumer magazines, which lost 4.2%. Sunday magazines were down 4.6%, due to cutbacks from auto manufacturers, food companies and prescription drug marketers. Local newspapers fell 3.9%, while national newspapers lost 7.7%. Print media lost big ad spending from financial services, travel and telecom categories. Radio posted a modest 0.8% increase, although network radio paced that with a 22.9% bump versus about a 2% drop in local radio -- a radio stat provided by a research firm other than Kantar. The outdoor segment was up 4.6%.Internet display advertising dropped 4.1% in the first quarter, per Kantar Media's view of some 2,811 Internet sites. Ad spending reductions came from fewer display ads appearing on the average Web page, offset from higher average CPMs.The bigger and more popular high-traffic sites witnessed flat year-over-year spending, with the many small Web sites moving down by mid-teens percentages.
Recruiting new talent to Adland has been a challenge in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Now WPP’s GroupM is taking a new approach to finding it in China. The company has launched what it says is the first reality show in the country, called “GroupM Young Power,” streamed on Beijing-based video hosting service Youku.com. The 10-episode series features 10 young people competing in an elimination-style competition for a full-time position within GroupM or one of its agencies in China. The episodes begin airing June 20 and will be promoted on sites such as Internet portal Tencent, search engine and content provider Sohu and MSN. “Recruiting talent is a recurring problem faced by all agencies across the advertising industry,” stated Bessie Lee, CEO, GroupM China. The new reality series, she added, is an experiment. “We hope that through this project we can raise the interest level and attract more young people to our industry.” GroupM is looking for entry-level talent -- all of the contestants are under the age of 30. The contestants competing in the series were selected from the applicant pool to GroupM’s annual internship program in the region. In the show, the contestants are tasked with carrying out assignments, like client media briefs. The undertakings include conducting consumer insights research for smart TV, proposing a viral marketing scheme for an original design concept store, and creating a social-media activation project for a leading sports brand. Basic media planning skills, such as how to use competitive reporting tools or how to construct a TV media plan are also being showcased in some episodes. The shop was able to get some of its top clients to participate, including laptop marketer Lenovo, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and Nike. The series also features some of the stars of the Chinese media agency world, including Hong Huang, CEO of China Interactive Media Group.
In what may be an under-the-radar story in Spanish-language TV, the new Fox-owned entry will be a broadcast network. It has signed affiliates in 40-plus markets in advance of its mid-August launch. The network, which will accept ads in English and Spanish, also has signed a trio of top-line launch sponsors. Speaking about how MundoFox will differentiate itself, ad sales head Tom Maney said it will look to appeal to a broader audience than a population with Mexican roots. Its program supplier is Colombia’s RCN, and some content from TeleFutura such as drama “El Capo” will move over. “We are not about what life was like in Mexico yesterday -- we are about what our viewers’ life is like in the United States,” Maney said. The network is part of a Fox Hispanic Media group; it will be the only one with broadcast distribution. Maney said it will benefit from resources within the broad Fox group. None of the affiliates will be owned and operated by Fox, and the network is not ticketed for digital multicast distribution. Its first ad in a bit of corporate synergy will for an upcoming 20th Century Fox film. L’Oréal, Toyota and T-Mobile have signed as charter sponsors, which includes on-air roles, such as interstitials with network talent, as well as a presence on digital platforms. The advertisers on some levels will also have roles on Utilísima, Nat Geo Mundo and Fox Deportes, the other members of the Fox Hispanic Media group. English-language ads are not expected to be anywhere close to dominant, but Maney said the network believes it will attract a “very bilingual audience.” As for programming, Maney and network executives said the goal is to be an “FX or TNT in Spanish.”
Nissan North America today is launching the campaign for its 2013 Altima. It will be the company’s largest ever. The effort, via TBWA\Chiat\Day, begins with four TV spots and a lot of digital advertising, plus print and out-of-home. The tag for the brand has been “Innovation for All” since the launch of the Leaf electric car last year. For the Altima launch, however, the tag is “Innovation that Excites.” Earlier this year, Nissan launched a brand umbrella campaign, "Our Most Innovative Year Ever," to presage the rollout of five new vehicles over 15 months. The Altima effort touts such features as a redesigned suspension, a category-unique, tire-fill alert feature that tells you when the tire is at the right pressure, new NASA “zero gravity” seats, 3D driver display, and power/acceleration benefits. The advertising push will also bring in the "Wouldn't it be cool" mantra the company has been using for recent campaigns. That theme will also be applied to forthcoming efforts for the 2013 Pathfinder crossover and Sentra compact car. Altima’s support begins with a 60-second spot that will also run on 3D cinema screens. The spot uses computer graphics to show how the new Altima is much evolved from its predecessor. Voiceover is by actor Robert Downey, Jr. Animated banners say things like "Wouldn't it be cool if your car was as smart as you smartphone?" and "Wouldn't it be cool if your car was as fast as it looked?" Print says things like "Go further, go faster, go lighter." Out-of-home in 12 major markets says things like "38 (s)miles per gallon," and "Vroomier." "We kind of decided as an entity a couple of years ago to hone in on innovation as a brand differentiator to set us apart from competition,” says Vinay Shahani, who in April took the reins as director of marketing at the Franklin, Tenn., U.S. arm of Nissan. “We found it has been a successful thing for us.” Shahani tells Marketing Daily that the media mix will include a large digital component. "We know the majority of our consumers in market and ready to purchase are leveraging the Internet to do research and perform shopping tasks, so it makes sense to be there. The percentage of digital is much higher than in the past." The company, for example, is doing a brand-level social media program later this summer called “Innovation Garage,” where people can showcase their own inventions and ideas for a chance to get it chosen for development. Erich Marx, who heads up Nissan's social media programs, says that’s in the works. Also on tap is Altima Experience an online short-video series in five episodes about people who Nissan chose -– based on personal essays -– to travel to the automaker’s proving grounds in Arizona to drive the new Altima. “Those videos will start coming out [Monday], on Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube,” he says. “For each vehicle launch we will have special, fun, quirky, shareable social activation.” Shahani says that in addition to takeovers of traditional portals, the digital mix includes third-party auto sites like KBB.com and Edmunds.com. There is also a renewed focus on behavioral targeting. "We can serve ads based on past behavior," he says. The digital strategy is also aligned with experiential marketing partners like Rodale and the Heisman Tour Presented by Nissan, which give the automaker both grassroots and digital opportunities. The goal, says Shahani, is to grow market share at the expense of Camry, and Accord. "I would say that historically if you look at who our buyer is, we have a younger customer who is probably more interested in the performance of the vehicle and having something that looks unique, that meets their core needs. But we have bigger aspirations with this vehicle, so we can't settle for the share we have enjoyed," he says. "To grow it we have to go after Honda, and Toyota. Their customer bases are older and less emotionally driven [when it comes to cars.] So, obviously when reach out to them we have to talk about reliability and the value proposition."
We’ve all heard about “generation gaps” where there are completely different perspectives and attitudes on a range of subjects based on an individual’s age and place in the society. The biggest generation gaps occur during periods of great transformation, when protocols of the past seem out of sync with current problems. Because of the great transformation going on in the media industry today, we wondered if there was a “generation gap” about future trends within our industry. Do those who have been working in media since pre-cable days (those with more than 25 years of media experience) have different ideas about how the media industry will evolve, compared to those with approximately five years of media experience, who came of age with devices such as tablets and smartphones? We polled both groups -- “More than 25” and “Less than 5” -- by asking them the same questions to see if there is indeed a media generation gap. The questions we asked were: 1. How do you think the media marketplace will look in five years? 2. How will viewers view content? 3. What will the sales model look like for buying and measuring media? Our respondents work in diverse areas and platforms -- research, marketing and sales at agencies, content providers and suppliers. This is by no means a definitive sample but rather a cross-section that suggests a need for further study. Here's the executive summary of our study; for the complete version, click here. 1. Rate of Change: The greatest difference between Less than 5 and More Than 25 was in assessing the rate of change. Those who grew up with the Internet see much more rapid and transformational change than those in the More Than 25 group, who have “seen it all” and believe that there are entrenched metrics and business operations that are difficult to change in the industry. Yet there were many in the More than 25 group who see the merging of platforms through such advancements as connected TV as pushing the rate of change forward. 2. Span of Change: There was also a difference on how each group discussed the type of change. While the Less Than 5 group focused on social media and cross-platform issues, the More Than 25 group had a more expansive outlook that spanned issues beyond social media and cross-platform. 3. Degree of Change: The Less Than 5 group was more consistent in its belief that we will see many changes in the next five years, while those in the More Than 25 group differed in their opinions. Some believed there would be little overall change and others saw a potential for great change within the same time span. 4. Top Medium: While the Less Than 5 group sees mobile and social media as the future preeminent forces in media, many in the More Than 25 group believe TV will continue its dominant place in the media landscape. 5. Impact of Social Media: Because the Less Than 5s have grown up with computers and the resulting technology, they tend to believe social media is the central force in the new media landscape. The More Than 25s see social media in partnership with, or even as a secondary driver to, television. 6. Impact of Mobile Media: Increasingly, mobile is becoming the Less Than 5 group’s media consumption mode of choice. This was not as strongly expressed by the More Than 25s. 7. Targeting: Both groups saw the impact and benefits of the increasingly interactive aspect of media. Both saw the communication process being more highly targeted and one-to-one, volleying back and forth from sender to receiver. Marketing efforts will talk to a “person” or a “custom segmentation” rather than to a demographic or generic group. The Conclusion: Is there a generation gap in media? The degree of difference is surprisingly small, given the expertise, insight and life experiences of the two groups. Both share many assessments -- but it is clear that there are points of differences that will propel radical changes in platform importance and measurement as one generation hands off responsibility to the next. Whether it is the experience of the More than 25s having lived through the “future shocks” of the past, or the unbridled optimism and youthfulness of the Less Than 5s, the upshot is that both generations must work in tandem to construct a strong business model for an industry embroiled in change. Whether it will be “business as usual” or an entirely new framework remains to be seen.
Just in case you still don’t know, it’s worth repeating: Reality shows are phony three-quarters of the time. Mike Fleiss, creator and executive producer of ABC’s "The Bachelor," said recently at the Banff World Media Festival: “I think most of the shows are fake.” But not, of course, “The Bachelor.” Reality shows reach phony-levels 70-80% of the time, he said. You know the drill. Reality series are “loosely scripted,” Fleiss said. “Things are planted…salted into the environment to seem more shocking.” But this isn’t true of talent and other competition shows, he said. (There have been claims in the past about some skewed judge and public voting). What does this mean for viewers? Light deception doesn’t amount to much hue and cry -- at least not the cry, part. I’m not sure about the hue. What does this mean for marketers? Reality shows still present opportunities for companies when it comes to brand entertainment activities – stuff that adds back many impressions which have been lost to broadcast television in particular. Real life has rare and big dramatic moments interspersed by long periods of boring activity. Perhaps we should then call these shows: “Edited real-life television where people are put into manufactured settings and activities.” Real-life performers go on to other things, such as Bethenny Frankel (“Real Housewives”), Jesse Palmer (“The Bachelor”), Bill Rancic (“The Apprentice”) and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi (“Jersey Shore”). If these reality performers were truly part of real-life TV, shouldn’t they go back to their “real” lives? (The vast majority, in fact, do.) TV producers, to their credit, can get stuff to appear “real” and not scripted. And because they are cheap to produce, the genre is here to stay, networks say. And here’s the real key, according to Fleiss: "(Viewers are) not requiring a pure delivery of non-fiction content (from the shows).” From all this we can figure, TV watchers are then hopeful that real people on TV have more dramatic lives than themselves -- in which they can fantasize and be entertained. What makes a bad reality show? Contestants who make viewers roll their eyes or shrug their shoulders, boring storylines, and, of course, bad hair? Hey, that sounds like real life.
Sure, video viewers are watching more TV shows, movies and other long-form content via broadband video -- but which devices are getting the most action? The answer: gaming consoles and connected TVs, said Ooyala in its recently released report on first-quarter viewing habits. That includes over-the-top devices like Boxee, Roku and Google TV. The share of time spent watching long-form videos on connected TVs and gaming consoles rose from 57% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 88% in the first quarter of 2012. “Users are switching toward longer content, independent of how much they watch connected TV overall,” said Matt Pasienski, data scientist for Ooyala. This audience is also much more likely to hit "play" when they encounter a video: the conversion rate when presented with a video for these users was 75% higher than PC users. In addition, this group is the most engaged -– they complete three-quarters of all videos watched, more than users of other devices. How should publishers tweak their strategies based on this insight? Ooyala said viewers are not changing the kind of content they’re watching -- instead they are now more frequently choosing to watch TV and movies on new connected devices. Publishers should analyze and adjust the video lengths and be sure to offer relevant recommendations to leverage these new habits.