Archive for the ‘Advertising’ Category

The Power of the Keys

Advertising, Audience Demographics, Audience Engagement, Marketing, Media, Online Video, Television | Posted by Larry Greenberg
May 20 2011

 

Will Boomers Soon Dictate TV Programming Tastes or Will Young Viewers Remain in the Driver’s Seat?

When I was a ‘yoot’, as Joe Pesci might put it, my friends and I had an expression for the one among us who was doing the driving on a given evening.  This person, we said, had “the power of the keys.”   The driver, it was tacitly understood, determined where we went – and when. The driver, in other words, had final say over that night’s entertainment.

America’s ‘yoots’ have had “the power of the keys” over ad-supported television for a half century.  Advertisers prize young audiences –particularly 18 to 34-year olds – because, among other reasons, they seek life-long brand relationships with consumers.

At first glance, this week’s network upfronts suggest nothing has really changed.  TBS advertised its lineup in The New York Times business section, “We Don’t Just Create Great Comedy, We Create Young Fans.” Fox’s 2011 fall lineup underscores its efforts to remain the champ of the youth demo.

Some industry watchers, however, think they are starting to see a shift in advertiser outreach strategy, away from a younger to a chronologically more inclusive viewer base.  The Times recently noted that Kellogg’s, Skechers and 5-Hour Energy drink are targeting the over-55 crowd, and that the networks are unveiling more shows with a broader audience appeal.  Alan Wurtzel, the president of research for NBC Universal, told The Times the network was mindful of Boomers when putting together its new fall programming. For example, NBC has renewed Harry’s Law, starring 62-year old Kathy Bates, and is launching Playboy, which, like Mad Men, appeals to 1960s nostalgia.

Meanwhile, Nielsen made news when it announced that the percentage of American households owning televisions dropped for the first time in 20 years.   One main reason:  Young audiences prefer accessing their entertainment via Internet alternatives such as Netflix . So as 78 million Boomers age, they are being joined in front of the TV by a shrinking percentage of viewers from succeeding, smaller generations.

In 2010, the CW began a concerted effort to follow young viewers to the Internet.  This year, Variety reports, CW’s “convergence of screens” approach is paying dividends, as viewers seem willing to consume advertising online.  According to the article, about 94% of the CW’s online ads are being watched to conclusion.

So will the networks start paying more attention to older viewers?  It seems so.  Will the networks continue to put young audiences in the driver’s seat?  It seems so – as far as the broader entertainment universe is concerned.  But targeting of audiences will have to become more, well, targeted.

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The Promise of Hyper-local News Sites

Advertising, Internet, Journalism, Newspapers | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Sep 09 2010

More than 20 years ago, right out of college, I worked as a stringer for a chain of news weeklies in Westchester County, New York.  I was assigned to report on the regularly scheduled sessions of town and village councils, as well as various government boards.  Some meetings lasted hours, often ending well after midnight.  On a few occasions, things dragged on thanks to inane bickering among a few board members with personal scores to settle.  On the whole, however, it seemed that our locally elected representatives were taking great care to make sure they got right the minutia of zoning, planning and other matters affecting their municipality’s fiscal stability and quality-of-life.

From that experience, I took away little in monetary compensation. I did gain the glory of my first byline, as well as a fat portfolio of clips.  I was also able to provide a few thousand of my neighbors with news of value to them, the non-controversial, but relevant information that would almost never find a place in the pages of the larger dailies.

Today the Internet continues to wreak havoc with the traditional newspaper model.  Publishers continue to reduce editorial staffs, as well as cut reporters’ salaries and benefits, due to disappearing ad revenues.   In order to make a living wage, some journalists have left the business for good.  As budgets are reduced, there are justifiable fears that content designed to entertain and incite will push out the type of dispassionate, in-depth journalism that serves the public good.

‘Creative destruction’ is used to describe an industry experiencing painful restructuring.  The term sounds cold-hearted.   But it’s hard to assess what this tumult will produce in 5 or 10 years time.  There is certainly one development that looks very positive – the emergence of hyper-local news sites.

Organizations such as Baristanet.com and Patch, which last year was bought by AOL, have established networks of hyper-local news sites designed to empower entrepreneurial and civic-minded journalists, photographers and videographers. Both organizations focus on underserved communities, providing extensive reporting about happenings at the neighborhood level.  Patch is particularly ambitious.  It now operates about 100 sites in 10 states, and AOL has plans to invest $50 million in order to launch about 500 more sites by year’s end.   Thanks to the Internet’s low publishing costs, hyper-local news sites can provide a volume of micro-level coverage not previously offered by dailies and weeklies. The question remains whether there are enough advertising and other revenue sources to make this model viable in the long run.

Hyper-local news sites may not be a replacement for traditional newsrooms, but they seem able to serve the public good in a way that the news dailies and weeklies of yore never could.

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Are Advertisers Ready to Embrace Baby Boomers?

Advertising, Audience Demographics, Audience Engagement, Internet, Marketing, Media, Social Media, Television | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Aug 31 2010

Is it time for advertisers to cast aside 50 year-old assumptions about 50 year-olds?

Pew just released a study that reports social networking among the over-50 set has nearly doubled – from 22 percent in April 2009 to 42 percent in May 2010. Although still heavily dependent on email, “many older users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications,” said Pew Senior Research Specialist Mary Madden, author of the report.  “Young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users.”

Indeed, wrote Nielsen, 8 of the 10 most frequently visited web sites for 18 to 34-year-olds are the same for baby boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964. Nielsen also reported that the boomers spend 38.5 percent of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) dollars, yet less than 5 percent of advertising dollars are targeted toward the 35 to 64-year old age group.

Baby boomers number 79 million, according to USA Today, the largest age demographic in the nation.  Are advertisers missing an opportunity with this enormous group?  Are marketers still wedded to the notion, which became conventional wisdom some 50 years ago during television’s early days, that most advertising dollars should be spent in pursuit of the youth market? Or are we about to witness a shift in advertisers’ approach to older consumers?

Boomers, said Pat McDonough, Senior Vice President, Insights, Analysis and Policy at the Nielsen Company, “… are the largest single group of consumers, and a valuable target audience. As the U.S. continues to age, reaching this group will continue to be critical for advertisers.”

The television audience is getting older as well.  Forbes recently reported that the median viewing age for the four largest national broadcast networks is 51 years-old. The average age increase reflects in part the dwindling numbers of young people who watch the networks.

As a result, TV’s share of the advertising pie continues to shrink. A joint survey by ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and Forrester Research of more than 100 national advertisers showed that advertisers allocated only 41 percent of their media budgets to television in 2009, down from 58 percent in our 2008.  But that same survey also showed that about 80 percent of advertisers believe the 30-second spot will still be around in 10 years.

So as brands reassess their marketing mix, with branded entertainment and the Internet playing a bigger role, will they also reconsider their demographic strategy?  Instead of focusing predominantly on 18 to 34 year-olds, will advertisers also try selling more to older audiences?  Alan Wurtzel, president of research and development at NBC, told Forbes that advertisers are beginning to take a second look at this demographic.

This would likely please late-night host Craig Ferguson, who shared his own thoughts on television’s youth marketing strategy in a funny rant last year.  (See “Appealing to the Youngest Common Denominator.)

Most of all, it should make advertisers happy, as they see their sales increase.

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