• by Wayne Friedman , March 1, 2010

San Francisco, Calif. -- Media discussions at the American Association of Advertising Agencies media conference here, called "Transformation 2010," were held at a pace as if executives were chasing a fast-moving horse.

In part they were -- by way of consumers.

Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post, said, in speaking at the event: "Consumers are consuming news as if galloping on a horse. They are on the go, developing news and transforming everything. Citizen journalists are on the rise."

This set the stage for other discussions of the morning, including media benchmarks, a new magazine industry marketing campaign, problems surrounding digital data, and structural solutions for local TV stations, as well as a continued trend of consumers who are moving towards self-entertainment.

"Self-expression is the new entertainment," said Huffington, although she felt some people were having a problem with this "because they weren't getting paid." All this, she added, "is a huge opportunity for advertising and marketing. The most engaged consumers are the most loyal ones. Trust is the new black... The content provider is not at the center of the universe."

Leaders of some major magazine groups used the 4As conference to announce a new business campaign, "Magazines: The Power of Print." This effort comes from various groups, including Conde Nast, Hearst Magazines, Meredith and Time Inc.

The campaign will roll out in the May issues of the members' monthly titles, and in the April 5 issue of their weeklies. It will cover nearly 100 individual titles during the effort, as well as some companion Web sites.

Also looking to change its media profile is television.

Outgoing president/CEO of the 4As, Mark Goldstein, gave a vision of what an addressable advertising future could like -- even if the price might seem high.

Goldstein, who is also CEO of North America, GroupM and chair of Media Policy Committee, uses an example of a client whose target is adults 25-54, and who wants to buy a prime-time show with a $150,000 unit cost price tag. This result comes out to a $27 CPM for adult 25-54 viewers, he says.

Under the current system, if that client also wants upscale viewers, the CPM skyrockets to $165 for those adult 25-54 viewers, he notes. But under addressable advertising -- in targeting $125,000-plus viewers -- that CPM actually drops to $100. "Is that high?" asks Goldstein. "I might not think so because there is no waste."

Over the course of a client's typical $25 million buy, addressable advertising could save a marketer, say, $10 million. "It was only possible because we have redefined the benchmark," he says. Look for other fundamental benchmarks to change for local TV stations.

"The Television Bureau of Advertising is pushing for a structural transformation of buying and selling local TV advertising -- something that will help revive the business' future," said Goldstein.

Abby Auerbach, executive and CMO of the Television Bureau of Advertising, says TV needs to move from a cost-per-rating point basis to a cost-per-thousand viewer impressions -- CPM -- since that's the way the media world works with almost every platform.

Also, she says should be a 30-day cancellation of media buys, not the typical two-week cancellation policy that exists today. Auerbach also says HRA rules need to be eliminated -- the so-called higher-rate advertiser rules.

This happens when a higher-paying advertiser typically pushes out a lower-paying advertiser, which causes those marketers problems in having to scramble to replace their media buys.

TV stations should guarantee delivery, she says, since much of spot television isn't guaranteed. This would give marketers their ads in flight where they need it. It would also help smooth the flow of inventory control.

While digital media platforms have been hailed as the future, much is still unproductive concerning digital data and how it is used and analysis. "What's broken is that we are moving down a path that isn't scalable," Adam Gerber, CMO of Quantcast, at another 4As panel discussion. "Publishers don't give the data that marketers want." He adds that what is given is also "defined by the marketplace."

Privacy and other issues are a problem with data, says David Smith, CEO of Mediasmith Inc. He notes there are some unscrupulous businesses taking data that they probably shouldn't be taking. "There is a misuse of data," he says.