• by Ken Liebeskind , March 27, 2002

The highlights of the Television Advertising Bureau's Annual Marketing Conference at the Javits Center in New York yesterday were the keynote address by Bob Costas and taped remarks from Tom Brokaw, the scheduled keynote speaker, who was on assignment in Beirut. Costas joked about the Olympics and interviewed an American gold medal winner, while Brokaw offered some pointed comments about Sept. 11.

The rest of the show was dedicated to business. It started with remarks from Tom Wolzien, senior media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who presented the latest revenue figures. The good news for TV is that after last year's debacle, revenue should grow this year, with higher growth in 2003 and 2004, he said. Wolzien projected growth of one percent this year and five percent for each of the next two years. Network and spot will grow slightly this year (up one and three percent) while cable will drop two percent, he said.

Irwin Gottlieb, chairman/CEO of Mindshare Worldwide, had more good news, suggesting TV will beat other media out of the recession. "I'm cautiously optimistic, because TV recovers ahead of the rest of advertising," he said. He attributed this to the upfront, which "locks up commitments ahead of other media."

Mel Karmazin, president/COO of Viacom, traded barbs with Gottlieb, discussing the coming upfront and scatter market pricing. He said CBS and UPN have confidence in their schedules and won't lower prices this year. But he called on the industry to do a better job competing with newspapers for local spot advertising.

The biggest category for local spot advertising is automotive. The TVB's show was held in conjunction with a large auto show in New York and much attention was paid to the category. A number of representatives from the auto industry spoke at the show, including Michael Browner, executive director of media and marketing at General Motors, who argued that cost controls are needed on spot advertising because auto companies are selling less cars. He also called for an improved verification process, so advertisers can verify that their ads have run.

Representatives from Mercedes-Benz USA, Toyota Motor Sales and Nissan North America also spoke. Mercedes will use network ads for a new SL model the company is introducing this year, although it usually uses cable and spot to target luxury car prospects. Nissan will spend more to advertise new SUVs and pickups. Toyota is targeting a new model to younger buyers and will use TV as part of a media mix to reach them.

An interesting session after lunch dealt with EDI - electronic data interchange - the electronic form of buying media currently being developed by several players in the industry. Abby Auerbach, TVB's executive vice president, led the session, discussing the TVB panels that are currently working to get EDI rolling. Problems with technology vendors and the preference of buyers and sellers to continue generating paper billing statements are hindering the progress, but 800 companies are already using electronic invoicing. In the future, EDI will enable the entire buying process -- from avails to orders to negotiations to billing and payment -- to be done electronically, which will save time. Agencies, rep firms and broadcasters will be able to use it.

During the show, the Ad Council also gave out the Silver Bell Award, which honors media companies that exemplify extraordinary generosity and leadership in disseminating the Ad Council's public service messages. Dennis Swanson, president/general manager of WNBC in New York, won broadcaster of the year. General Motors won an award for its Keep America Rolling campaign after Sept. 11 that demonstrates that "a simple compelling message advertised heavily on TV works."