ANA Marketing Maestros

A Fight on the Value of Television Advertising

By Bill Duggan

A fight broke out at the recent ANA TV & Everything Video Forum. The “contestants” were David Cooperstein, Vice President, Research Director at Forrester Research and David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer at CBS. 

David Cooperstein had just finished presenting research from a joint ANA/Forrester survey that asked national advertisers about their attitudes towards television and video advertising. Highlights of that presentation included advertiser responses that spending in television was down and that the medium had become less effective. But the research also pointed to opportunities in areas including branded entertainment, addressable TV, and online video. ANA members can get the full survey report here.

In the Q&A session that followed, David Poltrack commented, “The frustration is just great. Essentially all morning long we heard about all the great things we're doing with advertisers to create new and exciting ways to use television (comment: those presentations were from Subway, Kraft, Cisco, and Pepsi), and then we get this report that is totally contradictory and inconsistent with what we know.”

ANA tries very hard to program events with a fair and balanced perspective. So allow me to provide some observations about television.

Television viewing is at an all time high. The average U.S. viewer watches 4 hours and 49 minutes of television per day—up 20 percent from a decade ago, according to Nielsen.

Television provides advertisers the opportunity to build mass reach quickly (arguably better than any other medium). Super Bowl XLIV (this year’s game!)  was the most watched television program of all-time with 106.5 million average viewers.

However, the abundance of television viewing options has greatly fragmented the audience. American Idol was the top rated program of the 2008/2009 broadcast season with an average household rating of 15.1.  Ten years ago, ER was the top rated program of the 1998/1999 broadcast season with an average household rating of 17.8. Twenty years ago, The Cosby Show was the top ranked program of the 1988/1989 broadcast season with an average household rating of 25.3. Marketers can target audiences more narrowly given all the options, but audiences are generally smaller than ever before. 

Consumers are increasingly multitasking when the television is on. A generation ago we’d simply watch Happy Days or Dallas. But today, kids are on the computer and other mobile devices, which are distractions from viewing, although there has been some recent buzz in the industry that some social media can complement viewing. Remember that Nielsen reports “opportunity to see” and not engagement or true viewership of individual commercials.

Sixty-two percent of the marketers in our survey believe that television is becoming less effective. Only seven percent stated that television is becoming more effective while the remainder believe that it’s no more or less effective. So advertisers, and a lot of them, have the perception that television’s effectiveness is declining.

And then there’s the issue of spending on television—which was part of the “David versus David” debate.  Per MAGNA, total television ad spending has declined from $55.6 billion in 2008 to $48 billion in 2009—that’s almost a 14 percent drop. In the defense of television, however, other most other media had even steeper declines in 2009 so television share of spend actually increased. In 2010, television spending is expected to rebound somewhat to $50.5 billion but that’s still well below 2008 levels.

 
Meanwhile, opportunities for television indentified in our survey include:

• Eighty percent of advertisers agree that branded entertainment will play much more of a role in television advertising.
• Seventy-eight percent of advertisers are interested in addressable television to target consumers more precisely.
• Forty-six percent of advertisers plan to spend more on ads in online video/online television shows in 2010.

Plus, television is increasingly available via the web “on-demand” and on mobile devices providing consumers more options to watch.

Television is alive and well and the current times are both exciting and challenging for the medium. This is a blog so your comments are not only welcome but appreciated. David and David—anyone else—please jump in!

The Path to Brand-Specific Commercial Ratings

By Bill Duggan

Nielsen recently announced that this past Super Bowl (XLIV) was the most watched television show of all time with 106.5 million average viewers.  Also, Nielsen provided a special report on the viewership of individual Super Bowl commercials.

Of course, ratings for individual national commercials are not yet available.  The current C3 metric that Nielsen provides for national ratings refers to the ratings for average commercial minutes in live programming plus three days of digital video recorder playback.

ANA and Nielsen have been collaborating on an initiative to increase the granularity of ratings that could indeed lead to individual commercial ratings.  Advertisers deserve such granularity to answer the question, "How many people actually had the opportunity to see my spot?"  

The just-released white paper, “The Path to Brand-Specific Commercial Ratings,” has details of the work Nielsen and ANA have done.

By the way, a Doritos commercial featuring two men in a gym being attacked for stealing someone else’s Doritos was the most watched commercial of Super Bowl XLIV (and also the most watched commercial of all time!) with an estimated 116.2 million viewers. 

Nielsen’s full rundown of the most watched commercials of Super Bowl XLIV is here.

Cisco Redefines Speaking in Person

By Cara Brooke Schultz

At last week’s 2010 ANA TV & Everything Video Forum Presented by YouTube, Cisco wowed the crowd by executing a virtual presentation. Now this wasn’t just any presentation where a talking head appeared on a TV screen—instead Cisco brought in a vertical life-size screen, which sat in the middle of the stage. Carlos Dominguez, Senior Vice President of Cisco Systems was walking around the stage talking to the audience about the importance of video when all of a sudden the lights dimmed and a life-size image of Marilyn Mersereau, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing, appeared standing on stage. You heard a few “ah’s” radiate from the audience and then Marilyn asked a question that required audience participation. Members in the audience raised their hands and she responded. Not only did it seem as if she was standing on the stage in New York City (not in sunny California), but she could also interact with everyone as if she was in New York City. Watch a short clip of what people experienced firsthand at the conference:  

Opportunities & Key Threats for TV and Video

By Bill Duggan

For the fifth time since 2002 ANA has partnered with Forrester Research on survey work to better understand advertiser perceptions and use, both now and expected in future, on television and video.  Forrester has summarized the key research findings and provided their perspective on the results in their report titled TV Advertising Budgets Are Under Siege. Meanwhile, the following provides a topline from ANA’s point-of-view.

Overall:
The death of television has been greatly exaggerated. While it’s true that television budgets have been reduced (per the title of the Forrester report), those reductions are more a reflection of broader economic conditions impacting all media. The reductions in television spending have, in fact, been less severe than most other media. 

From the broadest perspective, when asked to “comment on the value of TV advertising for the specific needs of your company” representative responses were:
• Pro: “Television is essential for building broad reach and brand awareness.”
• Con: “Television’s effectiveness/value is diminishing.”

The ANA/Forrester survey helps point to many opportunities, as well as some key threats, for television and video.

Opportunities:
• Branded entertainment: Eighty percent of advertisers agree that branded entertainment will play much more of a role in television advertising. Thirty-eight percent plan to spend more on branded entertainment in 2010 as an alternative to the traditional 30-second TV spot.
• Addressable television: Seventy-eight percent of advertisers are interested in the ability to target consumers more precisely—by demographics, zip code, or purchase behavior. However, advertisers don’t expect to pay much of a premium for such targeting.
• Interactive television: Seventy-five percent believe that interactive television will be an effective source of lead generation, but only 28% plan to spend more on interactive ads in 2010 as an alternative to the 30-second TV spot. Advertisers may want to see the interactive television advertising landscape further develop before they increase spending.
• Brand-specific commercial ratings: An overwhelming 82% are interested in having ratings for individual commercials (also called brand-specific commercial ratings) available for analysis.  
• Online video ads: Forty-six percent of advertisers plan to spend more on ads in online video/online television shows in 2010 as alternatives to the traditional 30-second TV spot.
• Place-based video: Sixty-four percent agree that place-based video in stores, elevators, and other locations will become increasingly important.

Threats:
• Overall effectiveness: Advertisers believe that television advertising is not as effective as it used to be. Sixty-two percent of respondents think television advertising has become less effective in the past two years.
• Clutter: Sixty-nine percent of advertisers would like fewer commercials in a pod in order to gain visibility.
• DVRs and video-on-demand: Sixty-six percent think that DVRs and video-on-demand will reduce (61%) or destroy (5%) the effectiveness of the 30-second television commercial.
• Shifts to other media: Advertisers plan to spend more on various forms of non-television media including social media (77%), web advertising (73%), search (59%), email (46%), and mobile (46%).

ANA members can download the complete report at www.ana.net/thoughtleadership.

Whales, Babies, and Hotels from Hell Can Only Mean One Thing…Super Bowl Commercials!

By Cara Brooke Schultz

The day after the Super Bowl, the second most popular water-cooler topic would have to be the multi-million dollar commercials. Here are just a few of my top favorites:  

Bridgestone’s ‘Whale of a Tale’ commercial reminded me of the movie ‘Hangover,’ with the outlandish aftermath of a bachelor party gone-wrong.

HomeAway.com’s ‘Hotel Hell Vacation’ advertisement brought me back to a similar experience I had at a hotel in Israel. Needless to say, I found the commercial to be more than entertaining.

Although we all expected the E*Trade baby to make another appearance, the ‘Milkaholic Girlfriend’ commercial got a ton of laughs from my Super Bowl party.

Budweiser’s 'Clydesdale Befriends Cow' commercial received a cohesive exclamation of “Awww” from the females at my Super Bowl party.

Cars.com’s advertisement led us through the entertaining life of Timothy Richmond.  We watched as little Timothy put out a stove fire, neutralized a jelly fish sting, delivered a baby Bengal Tiger, and saved a cheerleading squad from a killer tornado. Although Timothy Richmond seems closer to Superman than your average Joe, he still needs help making his next automobile purchase—don’t we all?

Chime in—what were some of your favorite Super Bowl commercials?

2010 ANA Key Findings Report--ANA Recession Survey 4th Edition

By Bill Duggan

ANA recently fielded the fourth wave of what has become known as our “recession survey.”  Over the past two years ANA has polled our members at six month intervals to determine how marketing and advertising budgets are being impacted by economic conditions. 

The recession may be officially over, but it appears that marketers have reset their expectations and a greater degree of frugality has set in. Cost savings and reductions may be the “new normal” even as the economy improves. However, the deepest cuts are likely to have already been made.

Highlights from the most recent survey:

• Marketers are still being pressured to reduce their costs and spending in light of the economy, though reductions are less severe than were reported in the three previous surveys. 
• The top four ways marketers are reducing costs and spending:
  1.  75 percent are challenging agencies to reduce internal expenses and/or identify cost reductions.  
  2.  73 percent are reducing departmental travel and expenses.
  3.  53 percent are reducing advertising media budgets.
  4.  50 percent are reducing advertising production budgets.
• Though the majority of marketers forecast no change in spending for the balance of 2009, predictions about advertising budgets in the next six months suggest some degree of optimism since the last survey.
  1.  59 percent expect budgets will stay the same.
  2.  22 percent forecast that budgets will be reduced (versus 39 percent, 49 percent, and 53 percent respectively in the last three surveys).
  3.  19 percent are hopeful budgets will increase.   
  

Full survey results are available at www.ana.net/recessionsurvey.   

Has Social Media Overtaken One of the Biggest TV Advertising Events of the Year?

by Adrienne Tallacksen

Is it April already? I could swear this is an April Fool’s Joke. It turns out that Pepsi is sitting out this year’s Super Bowl and is instead focusing on social media. Rather than spending millions on a Super Bowl ad, Pepsi has opted to promote its Pepsi Refresh Project campaign using social media tools including Facebook and Twitter. The campaign is aimed funding community projects through grants distributed by Pepsi. The projects are submitted and then voted on by visitors to the campaign’s website.

   
Pepsi’s agency, TWBA Worldwide, is quoted as saying, “The Super Bowl is just too extravagant for something like this.” This brings to mind a number of issues—cause marketing, social media, and a post-recession backlash against excess are just a few. Now that companies aren’t feeling the pinch of the recession as much, will more turn back to cause marketing? How will traditional media play into Pepsi’s campaign, if at all? Does corporate responsibility mean being frugal with your ad dollars?

Obviously, many brands feel that the high prices of Super Bowl ads are worth it. Pepsi says it’s trying to create a movement through this campaign.  Is social media the only venue brands can use to create movements, or is there a place for traditional media in movement marketing, too?

Live Is Good!

By Bill Duggan

ANA continues to advocate for a “Live Only” data stream for local television ratings. Nielsen is making three data streams available to the industry and has decided that all streams should be “plus” streams to including viewing in DVR playback: Live + Same Day, Live + 3 Days, and Live + 7 Days.

It’s critical to recognize that local ratings are based on program ratings and not commercial ratings (national ratings are commercial ratings).  All of the “plus” streams include program viewing in DVR playback but do not recognize commercial skipping in DVR playback.  Ratings would be significantly overstated as a result.  And prices charged to advertisers could potentially (and unfairly) increase as well.  With DVR penetration over 30 percent this is already an issue which will intensify as DVR penetration grows further—an increasingly number of viewers will skip commercials in DVR playback. 

Given that three local reporting data streams can be produced by Nielsen, it is reasonable for buyers to request that one of these streams be Live Only.  To have all three streams be “plus—”including DVR playback of programs but with no recognition of commercial skipping—seems unfair and unnecessary. 

On January 15 ANA and the 4A’s conducted an industry meeting to discuss local television ratings.  Read more about that at www.ana.net/localratings

Has Twitter Twiddled Out?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

It flew out with a bang—Twitter was everywhere—celebrities, athletes, and global companies were sending tweets across the Web. So are more people than ever sending tweets? Or are people falling off the Twitter bandwagon and deleting their twitter accounts like Miley Cyrus, Courtney Love, and Chris Brown.

According to ComScore’s assessment of Twitter visitors, “The site peaked with about 21.2 million visitors in July 2009 and dipped to 19.9 million in December.”

However some people are saying that Twitter users are more engaged with Twitter now then they were previously. Twitters users are following more feeds, have gained more followers, and are writing more tweets according to Web analyst HubSpot.

So where did the 1.3 million Twitter users go according to ComScore’s assessment? Perhaps they fluttered over to Facebook where users can continually update their status (similar to Twitter) post photos and videos, and chat live with friends. ComSore reported during the same time that Twitter lost users Facebook grew from about 250 million users to more than 350 million.

What is your assessment—will you still be sending and following tweets six months from now?

“My Bologna Has a First Name”

By Susan Burke

This week, two of the most famous jingles in advertising retired—Oscar Mayer’s “My Bologna Has a First Name” and “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Weiner.” The shift, engineered by the brand’s new advertising agency, McGarryBowen, is part of Oscar Mayer’s efforts to promote all of their meat products, not just bologna and hot dogs. In a January 14, 2010 New York Times article, Sean Marks, director of marketing at Oscar Mayer, said “there was an opportunity for the brand to get back to that sort of joy and exuberance that I think the brand has used throughout the years.”

The new campaign centers on a tag line that Oscar Mayer (a division of Kraft) believes better captures the modern spirit of their brand: “It doesn’t get better than this.” The new commercials, which premiered during Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards, focus on images of families and suburban life. And while there is still a song associated with the ads, it is no longer a jingle.

Although I was never a bologna eater, even as a child, I certainly knew those songs, just like most of you. In fact, “My Bologna Has a First Name” was probably a huge contributor as to why I am able to spell “b-o-l-o-g-n-a” today. In honor of childhood memories, take a quick break and enjoy a little advertising history: