• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 9, 2009

NBC Universal counts on its cable networks as principal growth drivers. Bravo, which Nielsen says posted a 34% gain in ad revenue for most of 2008, is at the core. Will the recession slow the robust growth? Network executives say the high consumer recall of its ads and well-received product integrations will continue the momentum.

Research provided by Bravo shows that spots on the network for three large advertisers generated higher recall than broadcast and cable overall. By one measure, of the top 10 product placements in 2008, eight aired on Bravo series, such as "Top Chef" and "Make Me a Supermodel."

One potential trouble spot: major revenue producer "Project Runway" is gone.

As 2009 dawns, Susan Malfa, senior vice president of ad sales, and Tony Cardinale, senior vice president for research and strategic insights, spoke with MediaPost about the outlook for the year ahead. The conversation's various topics included whether brand integrations lead to actual purchases and how much Bravo's upscale audience will be impacted by the recession.

MediaPost: With NBCU banking on cable networks as growth engines, is there more pressure, given the economic turmoil?

Cardinale: We don't think of it as pressure. There are expectations that we've created and that we're absolutely comfortable with.

MediaPost: What is your main pitch to advertisers?

Malfa: There's a return on investment that you can see in commercial recall going up. And if you're doing product placement, brand likeability and intent to purchase increases. Those are metrics that count--and that gets us as close as possible to a consumer taking action.

MediaPost: Are you using set-top box data from TNS or TiVo to develop a sort of single-source metric showing viewing data and its impact on purchase behavior?

Cardinale: For an advertiser, it's getting a message into the right consumer's head. The holy trinity an advertiser is looking for is a high-quality viewer, a high-quality environment and a high quality of viewer attention. When we've partnered with brands that we've integrated in our shows, or brands with a presence on-air and online, the intent-to-purchase data is always positive. 

MediaPost: Before the recession, ad growth at Bravo seemed to be on a path of continued growth. Has that changed?

Malfa: Bravo is still exceeding expectations. We're not doing anything differently than what we were doing before.

Cardinale: Advertisers that have had their budgets cut are putting pressure on their agencies to buy smarter. We think we have a property that you buy when you're doing that.

MediaPost: Procter & Gamble's CEO recently said that companies that pull back on spending in tough times "miss [an] opportunity." Is that something you are pushing with advertisers?

Malfa: We're doing some "recession consumer behavior" research so we get information for ourselves. We can become a resource for our media partners to help them navigate through this sort of recalibration. Research specifically shows that those that continue to advertise have succeeded in growing share. Just intuitively, when you stop having visibility, you lose awareness.

MediaPost: Can you elaborate on the sort of partnership where you are assisting your advertisers in navigating through the recession?

Malfa: Even several years back, it became clear that our industry was shifting as fragmentation developed. We needed to become an idea and a thought partner. It's about a consultative selling process. We know our audience deeply. It's about taking our knowledge about how people behave and sharing it.

MediaPost: With the research on how consumers behave during a recession, what have you found?

Cardinale: We're in the process of developing a [study] to help our advertisers understand who is most resistant to the recession and where to find them. So far, we've found that Bravo consumers are less likely to change their behaviors than viewers of other networks. There's more purchasing power in our audience.

The work I'm doing is not just for Bravo, but for the benefit of all properties under the Women@NBCU umbrella. The idea is that we'll be able to work with a cosmetics or auto advertiser and identify where to find--and how best to connect with--people who have an affinity for their product category, and act as they did a year ago.

MediaPost: So you don't believe an upscale audience may be cutting discretionary spending differently than the population at large?

Cardinale: Everything is relative, and all the data that we've collected says that the Bravo viewer is still spending and is better-positioned to weather a situation like this.

MediaPost: Back to P&G, the CEO also said the current climate offers "an opportunity for us to buy more media at a lower cost." If some advertisers are dropping out, have large advertisers asked for this?

Malfa: There are conversations about different ways of supporting an ad buy--with marketing or research or other pieces of the puzzle that will bring more to the table.

MediaPost: Does the sales team get involved in show development in order to ensure there are product placement opportunities to sell?

Malfa: All the people who need to deliver some aspect of the business talk about the shows in development. We don't design them for product placement, but the question is asked: 'Might this work or not work?'

MediaPost: "Project Runway" has been one of your most successful shows with product placement. Will there be a major revenue impact with the show off the network?

Malfa: No. We have a plethora of shows and more in development rolling out. It's just one of many. Placements in "Top Chef" are on the top-10 list. So if it's not ["Runway"], it'll be something else.

Cardinale: We know how to do [product placement] well. We've done it with the last 10 shows; we'll do it with the next 10.

MediaPost: If companies that use product placement are required to also buy spots in a series, can that feel like overkill to a consumer?

Malfa: I know there's been research on this, but it is an additive lift and experience for the viewer when you have both.

Cardinale: Likeability of traditional commercials is higher when the brand is in the show.

MediaPost: Speaking of multitiered deals, how does online play a role?

Cardinale: In every case study we've looked at, digital makes the TV portion of the buy perform better. It taps into viewer passion. The people who go online are the center of the bull's-eye. Those people who are uber-fans. If you're going to isolate anyone as an advertiser, you want to draft off that affinity.

MediaPost: Much has been made about "Fashion House," a reality show in development said to be similar to "Runway." Have you begun discussing the show with buyers?

Malfa: It's too premature to talk about that.