Image via Reuters 

As advertisers gear up for the television industry’s biggest event of the year, the TV Upfront, Empower’s National Media Team is ready. We’ve scanned the landscape and have spotted a few trends, proving each year that the Upfront is as different each year as it is similar.

Making Moms Laugh
The addition of NickMom to Nick Jr. programming, will offer a distinct, Mom-focused destination with comedy and entertainment shows. NickMom.com,  which currently appears as a [...]]]> The kids cable network Nickelodeon is launching NickMom, a primetime programming block targeted to adults (and more specifically Moms), in fourth quarter 2012.

Making Moms Laugh
The addition of NickMom to Nick Jr. programming, will offer a distinct, Mom-focused destination with comedy and entertainment shows. NickMom.com,  which currently appears as a blog on Nickelodeon’s ParentsConnect.com, will relaunch later in the year as a fully integrated companion site with more mom-focused humor.

The ad supported nightly block will air from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. with four hours of original content and then a repeat overnight.  What you won’t see on the networks is how to change a diaper or get a stain out.  What you will see is a mix of original humor programming.  Shows will range from talk shows and sketch comedy to docu-series and game shows.

Currently in development:

• It’s Nighttime with Annabelle Gurwitch – a talk show geared towards moms
• Oblivious – a game show where unsuspecting moms get to answer trivia questions for cash
• Road Mamas – a docu-series about three stand-up comedian moms travelling with their kids in an RV.

And already picked up for the fall:

• NickMom Night Out – a stand-up comedy series that takes moms out for a night at the comedy club, featuring comedy from other moms.

Charter Advertisers on Board
Nickelodeon has signed several charter advertisers, including General Mills, Target, Johnson and Johnson and Reckitt-Benckiser.  These charter deals will include brand integration, content development and sponsorships across the website and on-air, once the programming block launches.

It’s still early, but Empower MediaMarketing predicts NickMom will become a go-to destination for moms who want to be entertained by other moms and complementary brands.

:: By Susan McClellan, Senior National Broadcast Strategist 

An Ad Promoting…Another Ad?
Super Bowl ads [...]]]> Volkswagen’s Barkside is a fun teaser promoting the brands’ involvement in the Super Bowl — as an advertiser. It continues to tap into the Star Wars phenomena and mashes it up with a costumed pet meme to come up with this fun, minute-long teaser ad.

An Ad Promoting…Another Ad?
Super Bowl ads have become the TV equivalent of a retail brand’s flagship store. The ads, like the stores, forgo much of the brand’s established look and feel for something new. Advertisers want to make a big statement that gets consumers talking and ultimately buying.

In the past few years, we’ve seen several examples of how media convergence has Super Bowl advertisers building much bigger campaigns around their 30 second spot.

Streaming & Sharing the Game
Between advertisers investing more to support their TV spots to the news that the game will be live streamed this year, we’re sure to see more interesting campaigns from advertisers.

Hopefully we’ll see a better integration of mobile and the Super Bowl this year. UPDATE: Chevy just announced it’s Super Bowl App.  Last year there was no obvious app that added value to the game. This year Verizon users will have access to the live stream on their phones. But mobile doesn’t simply mean outside. The multi-screen experience holds much promise for advertisers  gearing up for game day.

The stakes are high and whether its a 30 second spot, social media, mobile or other media play, marketers and consumers will have so much to experience they’ll have to remember to watch the game.

:: By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing 

The lack of consumer confidence
or the economy to blame?
Media buyers and reps agree
the scatter market’s lost its flame.

Advertisers were burnt [...]]]> ‘Twas the 4^th quarter of 2011
and all through television land
not a phone was ringing
no orders to be had.

The lack of consumer confidence
or the economy to blame?
Media buyers and reps agree
the scatter market’s lost its flame.

Advertisers were burnt on pricing
in previous scatter quarters for the year
So they laid down their budgets in the Upfront
in hopes of avoiding the same fear.

However, this has caused
a lack of demand
For inventory to be purchased
in scatter land.

Is it a sign?
A similar market to late 2008?
When the market turned
to make a media buyer’s world great!

If all indications stay its course
And the market continues to stay soft
we will be sure to see|
aggressive deals to be had. A lot!

The big test will come
when the holidays have passed and Q2 options are due
For  50 percent of inventory can be canceled
making the networks go boo-hoo.

As always Empower’s National Team will
Keep our fingers on the pulse
On how the market is trending
if brands want to spend on impulse!

So from now until then
May we wish you good cheer
“Happy Holidays to all
and here’s to a buyer’s market in the 2012 year!”

Season’s Greetings from Empower’s National Media Team
:: By Tricia Wolfer,  National Broadcast

In Ad Age’s recent “Kids’ nets face the mystery of missing children”, Brian Steinberg poses some questions that giants like Nielsen and Nickelodeon are asking about the drop in viewership of their coveted 2 to 11 year-old audience.

Viacom’s executives called the more than 20 percent drop as an ‘inexplicable [...]]]>

In Ad Age’s recent “Kids’ nets face the mystery of missing children”, Brian Steinberg poses some questions that giants like Nielsen and Nickelodeon are asking about the drop in viewership of their coveted 2 to 11 year-old audience.

Viacom’s executives called the more than 20 percent drop as an ‘inexplicable glitch’ in viewership, but is more likely the result of  some national panel discrepancy. What shocks me is how infuriatingly simple the answer probably is, and how it’s being completely ignored by the networks and ratings giants like Nielsen. Although I shouldn’t be completely surprised considering in some of the smaller markets,  Nielsen still has their TV Viewing families log their TV viewing habits through a paper journal.

Fluid Content, Always On Demand
The reality is, children as young as 2-4 years old are fully capable of “ordering up” programming on their computers, DVR or gaming systems. Most any parent can attest to this radical change in programming consumption by children. The mere notion of watching a scheduled program is so foreign to my seven and nine year olds that they still can’t fully grasp the concept of “live TV”.

This is the only world they have known since they started to make media consumption habits on their own. In fact, even on on-demand programming, where some providers have made it impossible to fast forward during the pre-roll commercials, they will often bail alltogether, versus sticking it out to watch the latest episode of Batman, The Bold and the Brave.

Mr. Steinberg goes on to ask, “Could the generation whose media habits are the least ingrained be migrating from traditional TV before watching it becomes a tradition at all?” Of course!

Increased media use is more and more fragmented across a wide array of choices. The old model of traditional TV viewing was built upon a generation (including my own) who had three choices (ABC, CBS and NBC), with the occasional fuzzy connection to episodes of Dr. Who on PBS Boston. You would schedule your evening, or day around when the programming you wanted to watch was airing.

The New World
I’m glad to know this is a world my children will never know and that this is a cultural change uprooting the common beliefs around media consumption.

And as a professional in the marketing industry, I’m glad to know my children and millions of others out there are quietly leading a revolution against “traditional models” that have driven how we spend our client’s money.

We must move our clients outside of their comfort zones, and offer creative and innovative ways of delivering their message to their consumers.

And most importantly, I’m glad to know that my kids won’t have to endure meow-mix, double-mint gum and O’Keefe’s beer commercials like I had to. Those ear worms have been in my head for over three decades.

:: By Andy Brownell, Strategy Director 

Retransmission Revenue to Double
Before the 1992 Cable Act, stations were not compensated for carriage.    Today, retransmission fees account for [...]]]>
A recent Politico article does a great job outlining the disputes on retransmission fees,  pitting TV station groups against cable and satellite providers. Unfortunately the article also builds industry frustration.

Retransmission Revenue to Double
Before the 1992 Cable Act, stations were not compensated for carriage.    Today, retransmission fees account for an estimated $1.3 billion in profits, and is expected to double by 2016.

The broadcasters are entitled to be compensated for allowing the cable and satellite providers transmit their signal.   Premium cable networks like ESPN get up to $5 per subscriber.  Broadcast stations get roughly 25 to 75 cents.   Hardly seems fair, right?

Customers vs. Cash
What’s really unfair  is when stations and pay providers butt heads on the issue to the point of potential blackout.    Viewers face the potential to lose valued programming.  Advertisers face the potential loss of audience reach.  All in the name of greed at the expense of customer service.

Focusing the FCC
The FCC needs to stop the madness.  Either regulate the fees, or force binding arbitration if and when the retransmission agreements expire.

:: By Ken Lazar, Senior Local Broadcast Strategist 

Are your consumer’s life logging? This consumer trend, discussed during Empower’s recent Connect11 event, acknowledges that technology has changed consumer behavior and evolved the private diary. An evolution that started with blogs has morphed as more and more consumers, Gen-Y in particular, are capturing and sharing seemingly every aspect of their life.

Is that a lot? Well, It depends on whether your glass is half-empty or half-full perhaps. For context, I’ll note there are approximately 312 million people in the U.S., [...]]]>

ComScore’s latest research** focuses on QR Codes, serving up the headline: ”14 Million Americans Scanned QR or Bar Codes on their Mobile Phones in June 2011.”

Is that a lot? Well, It depends on whether your glass is half-empty or half-full perhaps. For context, I’ll note there are approximately 312 million people in the U.S., so that translates to four percent of Americans.

But if you look at the 78.5 million smart phone users in the U.S., this percentage climbs to about 18 percent.

Ben Kunz, breaks downComScore’s math on his blog. He notes “the odds of any individual holding a smart phone actually scanning your code on a given day are 1 in 244.

Hero or Zero: It’s Usually Somewhere In Between
It doesn’t matter if 14 people or 14 million people scanned a QR Code in June 2011. The question to ask is: “did MY customer scan a QR Code in June 2011?”

To ComScore’s credit, they speak to this question, noting the 14 million are: “more likely to be male, young to middle-age and upper income. Men were 25 percent more likely (index of 125) than the average mobile user to scan QR codes, representing 60.5 percent of the scanning audience.”

Pragmatic QR Code Conversations
I’ve written about QR Codes before and for every smart use of a QR Code, you can probably find at least three bad examples. We’ll always see good and bad uses of the shiny new as we test and learn (which can turn into crash and burn).

But I’m not saying don’t use QR Codes. There are a variety of applications where an element of utility, instant gratification or discovery makes perfect sense and a QR Code can be the best path to that goal — assuming your audience falls into the smart phone user/scanner profile. Don’t forget to track and analyze how the codes are being used.

Stop, Breathe, Think
Via Google+ Kunz nails the point in all the ComScore-fueled discussion. “Stats are good, but they need context and critical thinking.”

And that sums up where I’m at with QR Codes, most any shiny new marketing technology and even sites like Klout. But that’s another blog post entirely.

**To be clear: ComScore, its practices and its published work are all good stuff. I’m taking issue with the  knee jerk sharing that takes place when people see a stat that supports their assumption. It’s that behavior that also makes me skeptical about the wisdom of the crowds.

Cross-Posted at my personal blog.

Our Scan Reveals…
Empower’s recommendation is to keep a pulse on [...]]]>
The introduction of QR codes into television commercials is exciting and presents new opportunities for different media vehicles to work together.  It provides a way to reach the consumer during an impact moment and may increase the chance of purchase. 

Our Scan Reveals…
Empower’s recommendation is to keep a pulse on the technology as more advertisers utilize QR codes in commercials. As consumers gain awareness of QR codes, their use will increase. And QR codes can definitely complement a multi-platform integration.

Closet Confessions
For example Bluefly, an online retail website where designer clothes are sold at discount prices, did a campaign across Bravo titled “Closet Confessions” using celebrities to show their personal closet.  At the end of the commercial, a QR code appears telling users to get their phones ready to take a picture of the bar code to receive a coupon at Bluefly.  Bluefly did a multi-platform deal across Bravo through national cable, digital and mobile.  According to the CMO of Bluefly, shopping orders have increased an average of 50 percent.

QR codes will allow the viewer to interact with a product on the spot. Viewers’ reaction time to the product will be almost instantaneous.   Consumers can download information, coupons and opt in for contests, promotions and coupons.  Macy’s, HBO and Duncan Hines are other brands leveraging QR codes in television to further engage and provide content to consumers.

Advertisers must consider that not all viewers may understand what a QR code is or how to use it; however, if education of QR codes increases advertisers will be able succesful in leveraging this technology in television creative.

:: Lisa Showalter, Empower MediaMarketing National Broadcast Buying Strategist 

Sales Bounce Back

As Empower MediaMarketing predicted, the Upfront waters were choppy, but its National Media Team weathered the storm successfully to purchase media across several national TV channels — at or below the marketplace. This activity contributes to the estimated $19 billion spent in the 2011 Upfront to surpass last year’s $18.4 billion.

Sales Bounce Back
Year over year inventory sales were also up as networks sold 80 to 85 percent of inventory, compared to only 75 to 80 percent in 2010.

The industry saw robust activity from several categories, including: automotive, retail, entertainment/movie studios, financial services and restaurants.  Not all categories saw an increase with pharmaceutical and packaged goods maintaining spending levels.

Fox Jumped In Early, CBS Got Agressive
For network spending, the overall dollar volume was up an estimated eight percent. Broadcast CPM increases ranged from seven to 14 percent depending on the daypart and the network. Within broadcast, prime and daytime came in on the higher end of this range and evening news and late night on the lower end.

Fox chose to close deals early by writing business at the lower end of the CPM increase range in exchange for a greater share of the buy.  CBS, on the other hand, came out aggressively at an 18 percent CPM increase. This quickly stalled negotiations between the network and buyers.  ABC, NBC and CW closed deals in the middle of the range.

Syndication CPMs Increased
Syndication moved quickly and with significant CPM increases.  The highest demand in syndication was on the daytime shows, i.e. Rachael Ray, Dr. Phil and The Doctors, which had CPM increases between 10 and 12 percent.  Some speculate that the absence of Oprah in the daypart and the changes in daytime programming in network were contributing factors to the extreme demand for the daytime shows in syndication.  Prime replacement shows such as Criminal Minds and Numbers, and entertainment news magazine shows had CPM increases between five and nine percent.

Cable In Play
While some of the cable marketplace is still in play, some of the top-tier networks such as Turner and USA closed early deals with CPM increases rivaling the networks’. Cable volume is estimated to be up as much as fifteen percent, securing $9.23 billion in ad revenues.

Once again, the upfront was a sea of unpredictability. And once again, Empower navigated this sea to help its clients reach their goals.

By Susan McClellan, Senior National Broadcast Strategist