• by John Gaffney , July 10, 2003

Measure By Measure: MediaVest announced it will work with AudioAudit's daily TV audit system yesterday. That's a big deal because MV has the biggest packaged goods brands to potentially use this tool, which focuses on campaign delivery. It's important to understand that at least this auditing effort does not focus on audience. It's about brands and agencies achieving the maximum comfort level with the millions spent on TV advertising. I believe new methods or closer methods of audience accountability are the next step in the TV business. I also believe you will see a surprising amount of broadcast and cable TV networks desiring to be part of that. For example, CBS will want to show agencies not only that they are delivering the right ads at the right time, but that they are delivering to the right audience. And after all parties involved prove the point that network TV represents one of the last bastions of a mass market, the question becomes, "where do we go from here?" And the answer may well land us on the current square where network TV still holds the trump cards.

Just Shoe It: Nike bought Converse for $350 million yesterday. A steal. Get ready for the old canvas Chuck Taylors to become more cool than grungewear. The only thing wrong with Converse was its total lack of effective marketing and the best marketing company on the planet just fixed that.

At The Buzzer: Seems to me that NPR is kicking everyone's posterior on the current Iraqi situation. Listen elsewhere and you get Bush-Rumsfeld defensiveness. Listen to NPR and you find out this is a serious mess.