ANA Marketing Musings

The Most Socially Responsible Industry in America -- Advertising

The cornerstone principle that underscores all marketing is commercial free speech. When commercial messages for legal products are truthful and non-deceptive, marketers should be completely free to market their products and services unencumbered by government regulation – or the threat of such regulation.

I raise this point – at this particular moment in time – because of the outrageous attempts by Congress to vilify advertisers and marketers for many ills in American society. As noted by my colleague Dan Jaffe in his blog, Senators Harkin and Clinton bashed food marketers for undermining the health of our children by causing obesity. Representative Moran called for the restriction of ED ads. And Senator Grassley outlined provisions to eliminate the tax deductibility of prescription drug advertising.

I have no problems with politicians calling upon various industries to support initiatives that seek to improve the social well-being of all Americans. But I do have big problems when those calls threaten to impose governmental regulation and control -- particularly when the underlying issues are poorly supported by the facts.

I am particularly frustrated when the good work and socially responsible initiatives of our marketing industry go unrecognized and unappreciated – particularly by those grand standing in the political arena.

* Think of the great work done by the Advertising Council and its media partners who provide more than $1.5 Billion in donated media to educate the public on a variety of issues including drunk driving, seat belt usage and, of course, the well-being of children.

* Think of all of the great work done by the Partnership for Drug Free America and the enormous success it has had in curbing drug usage – particularly among teens and young adults.

* Think of all of the great work done by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit and the National Advertising Division of NARC – our self regulatory body -- to ensure truthful and non-deceptive advertising.

* Think of all of the great work done by the Family Friendly Programming Forum – the advertiser-sponsored group associated with the ANA that has successfully delivered outstanding prime time network programs so that parents and kids can watch television together.

* Think of all the great work done by the AAF, the 4A’s and the AEF to promote improved advertising and marketing education at our country’s higher institutions.

The marketing industry has done more than its share to contribute to the well being of people in America. Our industry’s social responsibility track record is second to none – and I encourage any and all politicians to take a fair and balanced look at the incredible good that we do.

All of us – the media, the agencies and our marketers -- should be very proud of the indelible contributions we have made -- and will continue to make – to American Society.

Television Has a Great Future – Believe it or not

In my last blog posting, “Who’s Killing Television”, I focused most of my remarks on key issues that the Television industry needs to address in short order. At ANA’s Television Advertising Forum yesterday, I reiterated those concerns – and, in fact, added one or two more.

However, despite my concerns, I am, actually, quite optimistic about television’s long-term health and well being. Over time, I believe television will retain its “championship status” as the preferred medium-of-choice by marketers for a number of very important reasons:

* First and foremost, I believe the convergence of high definition TV and the digital power of the Internet will flourish in the years ahead. This is such a “natural” and will lead to a cavalcade of exciting opportunities for all advertisers and marketers. Brian Roberts of Comcast pretty much said that in his speech at the 4A’s media conference earlier this month.

* Second, convergence will be channeled through one of the most important future tools for marketers – the set-top box. This virtual in-home computer will become the advertisers’ best friend and will be the foundation for lots of positive change for television advertising. In particular, the data that cable and satellite companies will be able to provide to advertisers will – for the first time -- deliver important measurements and metrics and facilitate the level of accountability so needed by the marketing community.

* Third, television advertising inventory will continue to expand with the proliferation of channels and programming. With more channels and, theoretically, more content to fill those channels, the laws of supply and demand just may tip the scales back in the direction of marketers. Advertisers will be able to use television more selectively, hopefully moderating the growth of CPMs and bringing them in line with more reasonable measures.

* Fourth, television sponsorship will continue to unfold in new, creative ways with consumers giving greater permission to advertisers to engage them. Specifically, I am pointing to the evolving opportunities afforded by branded content as well as the development of video-on-demand. These vehicles will provide alternatives to the traditional 30-second spot by generating more personalized advertising and content specifically focused at target consumers.

* Fifth, the quality of programming will continue to improve – particularly at the networks. I think this year is one of the strongest we have seen in a long time. If the networks keep getting it right, opportunities will abound for advertisers to cost effectively reach the millions of eyeballs they expect from the television medium.

* Finally – and what I am most excited and interested in -- is the technology enabling more consumer targeting. I believe this trend will continue to accelerate and proliferate. Whether it’s the targeting technology offered by companies like Visible World or the addressable alternatives available through set-top box management, marketers will gain increased ability to zero-in on their core consumers, bringing greater efficiency and effectiveness to their marketing planning and execution. Of course it is incumbent upon marketers to collect consumer information in a fair manner that takes into account legitimate personal privacy concerns.

The television industry has some of the smartest and savviest people in the marketing community. They are very much aware that television is no longer the bedrock for brand communications. That’s why they need to move aggressively to mitigate their structural issues and leverage the spectacular opportunities they have before them – and do so with purpose and passion. If they need a wake up call, they need look no further than the Pepsi One re-launch – which has no television commercials in its marketing plan.

It’ll be interesting to see how the “drama” plays out. Kind of like a soap opera – don’t you think?

More thoughts to come from the ANA Television Advertising Forum…