• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 8, 2013

Kris Magel showed up. Maybe a BlackBerry or other handheld device commanded as much of his attention as the proceedings. But, he was there with a pretty good seat.

The broadcast upfront week in mid-May featured loads of presentations. At a certain point, they may have begun to feel like a blur. Yet, on day four, there was Magel, the powerful media buyer with Initiative, attending the CW event.

The CW represents a relatively small part of the upfront market. And it’s not like Magel wouldn’t have easy access to full pilots of its new shows or be able to tap reviews from younger colleagues.

So, why bother with slick clips and appearances by a bunch of unknown actors? Really, would any of that influence decisions he and his inner circle might make about how much money to commit to CW?

Which is the upfront conundrum. Do these glitzy events hold any sway with buyers?

Maybe not. But the fact Magel (and likely other senior buyers) attended the CW showcase suggests there is still some value in networks making the investment to offer them.

Advertiser Perceptions, which conducts an array of research about media buying trends, has released its annual survey trying to pinpoint what the impact might be. The report covers not just the TV showcases, but the increasing number of NewFront presentations by digital media sellers.

The NewFronts, only in their second year, may have had more resonance. Among the 300-plus respondents, 75% said they plan on increasing spending in digital video over the next 12 months. Online video is a growing medium, so the figure may not be surprising. But it dwarfed both broadcast and cable TV.

With broadcast networks, only 16% of respondents said they would boost spending, while the figure was 35% in cable. Still, there are signs buyers continue to appreciate the value of TV.

Almost 75% of respondents said they plan on increasing or maintaining spending on broadcast networks in the next 12 months, while 93% said so for cable outlets.

Advertiser Perceptions vice president Bob Flood said he isn’t surprised buyers are more bullish on cable with “the ratings success as well as the buzz factor" helped along by shows like AMC’s “Walking Dead” and A&E’s “Duck Dynasty.”

Advertiser Perceptions conducted the survey online from June 10-17, which was about a month after presentations wrapped. Among respondents, 70% were from the agency side and the remainder from the client or advertiser side. Nearly 70% held positions of director/supervisor or higher. Respondents in the TV sphere had to work for an entity that plans to spend $2 million or more on TV over the next 12 months. There was no minimum for digital video.

Respondents attended 12 upfront or NewFront events on average. Attendance was counted if it was in-person or via simulcast. The events in question stretched over a period of months.

For TV and online programmers, particular insight might come from a part of the survey dealing with the content of their presentations. It touched on what buyers wanted to hear about and what they remembered.

Networks might have come up short on the topic of measurement, an area buyers are increasingly interested in with pressure to demonstrate ROI. Just over half (51%) of respondents said they wanted to hear more about measurement -- the highest percentage of all topics covered. At the same time, measurement information that was presented didn’t seem to break through much, with only 35% of respondents saying they recall aspects of it being mentioned.

The topic that generated the second-highest yearning for more among respondents was programmers’ technological innovations such as second-screen apps. Among respondents, 47% wanted to hear more about those kind of initiatives. Evidence of the hunger came with 55% saying they recalled the topic coming up.

Networks and online video purveyors can take some heart that efforts to tout cross-platform solutions, social media tie-ins and/or extensions and digital or mobile extensions each had recall rates of over 60%. Cross-platform solutions led with a 65% recall rate, followed by social media and digital/mobile each at 63%.

Broadly speaking, only 12% of respondents said they found overall information in upfront presentations to be extremely useful, while 77% said it was somewhat useful. Advertiser Perceptions President Randy Cohen suggested if networks are investing millions of dollars in presentations, that has to be frustrating.

He said the implication is buyers are left thinking “I'm spending a lot of money, I expect more from you as a network and I expect more from your upfront.”

The research offers some evidence that with the onslaught of NewFront events and other entities joining the upfront line-up, media executives don’t believe there is overkill. Among respondents with vice president or higher ranks, 69% indicated the increase in events hasn't made them less useful, while 24% said they are more useful.

With the presentations, Cohen said buyers indicated they want “more meat and potatoes” and less “sizzle” from the stage. But how much would that matter?

When respondents were asked what would be the most compelling factor in their spending more with a particular seller, 56% of TV decision makers said attractive costs/CPMs, while 47% of the digital decision makers said so.

There’s a lot involved in answering the question about the worth of an upfront event. Success may simply come from firing up employees.

But a case could be made there’s a giant game of chicken going on.

“If you’re the network that stops doing it, are you going to get hurt by that?” Cohen said. “Everyone has to do it because everyone does it.”

Said Flood: “Are you vulnerable by your omission?”

Food for thought: NBC dropped the large gala a few years back. Now, it’s back at Radio City. Don’t expect that to stop anytime soon.