Cable Advertising Dips while Boradcast Rises

MediaDailyNews > Friday, Sep 28, 2012 by Wayne Friedman, Yesterday, 1:25 PM Ad-supported cable networks didn't have a particularly good summer -- hurt by the Summer Olympics on NBC Television Network. But surveying all of last season, cable and broadcast had positive results. The top 10 cable networks were down 5% to an average 5.9 18-49 rating. All ad-supported cable lost 5% to an average 17.7 18-49 rating, according to third-quarter 2012 Turner Broadcasting research analysis. Overall viewership fared a bit better -- but it was still down versus a year ago, off 1% for the top 10 cable networks to a 6 rating among all those viewers 2 years old+, and down 3% for all of ad-supported cable to a 19.2 rating for persons 2+. By way of comparison, the four broadcast networks were up 8% to an average 7 rating among 18-49 viewers, and 6% among all viewers to a 8.2 rating. NBC was a major contributor to this, given the Summer Olympics, with a 79% rise in 18-49 ratings and a 73% hike in overall viewers. But even without the Olympics, NBC was the only network to gain summer-to-summer, up 5% to a 2.0 18-49 rating. Fox was down 11% to a 1.7 number; CBS dropped 24% off the pace to 1.3 rating; and ABC slipped 29% to a 1.2 number. Virtually all of television -- many big cable as well as the broadcast networks -- had a better story to tell when looking at an entire year -- Sept. 19, 2011 to Sept. 23, 2012. The four broadcast networks witnessed a 2% rise in 18-49 rating to an average 9.1 rating, with overall viewers up 3% to a 10.5 rating. The top 10 cable networks also had a 2% rise to a 6.6 rating and a 2% rise in overall viewers to a 6.3 rating. Looking at all ad-supported cable, there was a 1% rise to a 18.5 rating among 18-49 viewers, and a 1% decline in 19.3 in overall viewers.

More Declines Predicted for Newspapers

MediaDailyNews by Erik Sass, Yesterday, 4:08 PM All the trend lines for newspaper advertising are pointing down, and the latest forecast from eMarketer does nothing to dispel this gloomy picture. According to the research firm’s most recent report, total ad revenues for newspapers will decline from $22.5 billion in 2012 to $21.5 billion in 2013, $21 billion in 2014, $20.63 billion in 2015, and $20.4 billion in 2016, for a 9.5% drop over the next four years. The drop is due to continuing declines in print advertising, which eMarketer sees falling steadily from $19.1 billion this year to $16.4 billion in 2016 -- a 14.7% drop. Separately, newspapers’ digital ad revenues will continue to experience modest growth, but not enough to offset losses on the print side. Here, eMarketer sees total digital ad revenues edging up from $3.4 billion in 2012 to $4 billion in 2016, for a 17.6% increase in four years. The forecast is yet another piece of bad news for an industry under siege since the middle of the last decade. According to the Newspaper Association of America, total newspaper ad revenues -- including print and digital -- plunged from $49 billion in 2006 to $24 billion in 2011, for a 51.5% decline in just five years. The decline has continued unabated this year. Per the NAA, total newspaper ad revenues in the first half of 2012 came to $10.7 billion, down 6.7% from $11.5 billion in the same period of 2011. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D., publisher of LeNoble's Media Sales Insights says stations and companies should look to targeted digital and mobile media to replace local newspapers.

Facebook Declines In Social Video Engagement, Web Site Visits Rise

MediaPost Blogs by Daisy Whitney, Yesterday, 12:37 PM Facebook is still a dominant force in social advertising, but it has started to dip in video ad engagement. That’s one of the findings of a just-released report from social video ad platform Jun Group that analyzed a sampling of 7.7 million user-initiated social video ad views that ran between May and August across consumer packaged goods, apparel, consumer technology, retail, auto and other ad categories. The data comes from opt-in ads that viewers choose to watch before listening to streaming music or playing a social game, for instance. The report found that checking out a brand’s Facebook page is still the most popular activity for viewers to engage in after watching a social video, but it has declined 9% in the last year while visits to advertisers’ Web sites have grown by more than 20% as a post-viewing activity. Other activities have increased, such as checking out a store locator, learning about the brand or downloading recipes and coupons, Jun Group said. Another interesting finding from the study may shed light on the ongoing debate over the best type of creative to use in video ads. Jun Group found that the engagement rates between ads repurposed from TV commercials and those created for the Web is negligible. The study also gives the lie to the oft-held belief that shorter video is better. About 70% of social ad views came from ads more than one minute or longer, while ads longer than two minutes were still watched to completion 87% of the time, which compares favorably to the 98% completion rate for social video ads that are 30 seconds in length. Also, videos over one minute long earned the most engagement at 4%. Finally, don’t assume that because younger consumers are active on social media they will interact with your brand after a video. The 18 to 34 age group is least likely to take a social action after viewing a video.

7 steps to a perfect cold call: A Reader Writres and Response

CBS MoneyWatch September 20, 2012 6:59 AM ByGeoffrey James Will you share strategies that work best when breaking the ice with new prospects over the phone? I have to make some 20-30 calls within a 2 hour period and most clients are rushed and hurried and I find myself racing to get to the point, leaving very little time to build rapport. How do I build rapport immediately in these circumstances? I am genuinely interested in building a relationship to learn as much as I can about their core issues so I can build proposals that directly address their objectives and needs. What's the best way to engage them (in 30 seconds or less I imagine), which would cause them relax somewhat so they want to share information with you. If you would be willing to share this, I would appreciate it very much. Absolutely. Before we get started, though, you need to be aware that there's a vast difference of opinion, among experts and sales pros alike, about the effectiveness of cold-calling. Many sales experts think cold-calling is a waste of time and prefer other forms of generating leads. Others see cold-calling as a last resort, while still others see it as a mainspring of any effective sales process. Later, I'll discuss some of those other viewpoints. For now, let's just get the basics down. Andrea Sittig-Rolf, author of "The Seven Keys to Effective Business-to-Business Appointment Setting" is an extremely well-known proponent of cold-calling as a lead-generation technique. When I spoke with Andrea a couple of years ago, she observed that cold-calling is all about getting the appointment. She therefore gears the entire cold-calling process toward achieving that end. Here's a summary of her approach: Research a list of prospects. Before making your calls, research your prospects. Look for prospects who have a similar profile to those who have bought from the past. They'll be easier to sell. Next to each prospect, note any of your current customers in the prospect's industry, region, job classification, or anything else that might help you to position your offering. Don't spend a lot of time on this, just find out enough so that you can pitch using terms that the prospect can understand. Build your script. Once you know whom you're going to call, focus on what you're going to say. Write a brief script (no more than three or four sentences) that introduces who you are, what you do, and what you provide. An effective script asks for the appointment early. Please note that the purpose of the script is NOT to communicate substantive information about your offering. Instead, the purpose of the phone call is to win the right to actually sell to the prospect. Anticipate objections. Each time one of them materializes, you'll need to handle them appropriately... and then ask for the appointment. Most objections are common to all sales situations, so you should have little or no trouble listing them out. The trick here is to practice handling objections until the response is automatic. Note: the most important part of handling the objection is asking for the appointment. Get positive and get calling. Attitude is everything. If your offering has value to the customer, you're doing the prospect a favor by giving him or her the opportunity to meet with you. Therefore, have confidence in your ability to provide value. That confidence not only helps you communicate more effectively, it provides the motivation that will drive you to actually sit down and start making the cold calls. Leave a message (if necessary). If you end up in the contact's voice-mail system, don't despair. Leave a very brief message based upon your calling script. However, rather than setting a time for an appointment, say that you'll be calling back on a certain date and time, but would appreciate a callback. The next time you call, ask the admin if the contact is in. If not, tell the admin that you've been trying to connect with the contact and would like to know when would be a good time to call. Handle the objections. Once you've got the contact on the line, execute the script. Don't read it! Put it into your own words, with enthusiasm. In almost every case, you will get at least one, and probably more, objections. Since you've anticipated these objections, you should respond to them as necessary and then ask for the appointment again. If you receive more than 3 objections, it's fair to assume that the prospect is not going to meet with you, so thank the prospect and politely end the call. Repeat the process on a daily basis. if you're determined to excel, commit to an hour a day attempting to achieve two appointments. If it takes fifteen minutes to get the two appointments, then you can quit early. Practice this regularly and, according to Andrea, you'll very quickly have a calendar full of qualified prospects.

Social Media Leads To Email And Search Conversion Path

Online Media Daily Thursday, Sep 27, 2012 by Laurie Sullivan, Yesterday, 7:08 PM Email and search marketers might feel as if they have an uphill climb to influence new customers and secure old, but a recent study suggests the two online media have become the most effective online tools to drive sales. The Forrester Research report -- The Purchase Path of Online Buying in 2012 -- in collaboration with GSI Commerce Spring Attribution Research, identifies the Web as a powerful tool for consumers looking for brands, products and services by typing words into a search box or speaking them aloud. The report suggests that new buyers are "heavily influenced by paid search," more so than repeat customers. In fact, Forrester cites search as the single most important tactic for finding new customers. While 7% of new consumers typically type in a URL to find a site, 6% use a search engine followed by one other tactic or paid-search ad followed by one other tactic. Overall, 39% of transactions by new customers begin with clicks from paid or organic search results. Search attracts new customers, but email works best for repeat customers, according to the report. About 4% of new consumers are influenced by an email and use one other tactic to find the product, compared with 17% of repeat customers using email and one other tactic. Some 30% of transactions by repeat shoppers start with a click on an email from retailers. Direct traffic remains critical to sales. So, while search and email drive conversions, social media works best to bring awareness to brands, products, and services. The Forrester report identifies a disconnect between the conversion and the influence from highly top-of-the-funnel tactics that require more time. Some social sites work better than others to move consumers through the purchase path. Pinterest users spend fewer dollars on travel than the average Internet user, but for apparel and home categories they spend more, according to the comScore State of the Internet in the U.S. 2012 report released Wednesday. Images on Pinterest related to the Home and Living category influence consumers most, 25%, compared with other social sites at 24%. Apparel and Accessories follow with 17%, companies with other social sites across the Internet. Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183892/social-media-leads-to-email-and-search-conversion.html#ixzz27hFtpjJ0

TV Remains Decision Driver For Purchases

MediaDailyNews Tuesday, Sep 25, 2012 by David Goetzl, Sep 24, 2012, 6:28 PM A study commissioned by the TVB shows that local television is the dominant influencer of decisions throughout the purchase funnel from awareness at the top through purchase at the bottom. Research shows that 64% of respondents say TV is the “primary action driver” of awareness and 39% of purchase. Newspapers came in second with awareness at 10%, suggesting that coupons still have an appeal. The Internet (online behavior save email) was second at 10% for purchase, as TV watchers may have gone online to seek more information about advertised products. In the auto category, TV led at 70% with awareness and 43% for purchase, while the Internet was at 9% and 12%, respectively. The Internet did particularly well in the consideration phase of the purchase funnel at 17%. With the supermarket/grocery category, there is evidence that newspaper coupons still play an important role, but 28% said TV influences purchase decisions in-store -- well above the level for all 10 categories combined. The entertainment category (movies/shows/concerts) is one area where TV leads, but there is considerable fragmentation. In awareness, TV is at 21%, but newspaper, social and Internet display are all at 10% or higher. In purchase, TV is at 22%, with social and Internet display at 10% and newspapers down at 7%. The results come from a survey conducted by Yankelovich (now the Futures Co.) of about 2,500 consumers who have seen a TV ad in the last two months. The interviews took place in March.

Execs: Radio Doomed If It Doesn't Adapt

Radio Show 2012 Executives speaking at the Radio Show in Dallas today say terrestrial radio could be doomed if it doesn't slay some of its "dragons." And those executives also say the death of terrestrial radio would also put Internet radio in grave danger. By Carol Marie Cropper NetNewsCheck, September 19, 2012 3:23 PM EDT DALLAS -- The death of traditional AM/FM radio was predicted at today’s Radio Show here, a conference hosted by the Radio Advertising Bureau and the National Association of Broadcasters. Michael Harrison, publisher of the industry publications Talkers and RadioInfo, told an audience of radio executives and industry insiders that five problems need to be solved — and solved fast — in order to save “terrestrial” radio (as opposed to streaming Internet radio). But, he continued, “Do I personally think it’s going to happen? … No.” Harrison, who said he has worked in the industry for 45 years, warned that massive debt spawned by industry consolidations, combined with a cavalier attitude toward old-style music radio programming is killing the medium. Stations now don’t even bother to announce the name of the songs they play — or even, sometimes, to have a disc jockey to announce them. But music radio is the lynchpin on which other forms, such as talk radio, hang, he said. “By saving music radio, we’re going to save talk radio.” Also, he said, traditional radio is important to our culture. Without it, he suggested, Internet radio is also in danger. “There’ll be no model to make it special,” he said, likening a world with only Internet radio to the appeal of listening to your neighbors put on a concert or your friends show their videos in the movie theater. After the magazine publisher spoke, Jeffrey Smulyan, chairman of Emmis Communications, which owns stations in Los Angeles and New York, pointed out another problem — and possible solution. Smartphones usually have built in radio, but it is not activated on U.S. devices, Smulyan said. A Congressional mandate could change that, he said, helping to keep free broadcast radio available, and continuing its public service role. But, Smulyan said, large phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon have a lot of lobbyists to work against such a mandate. According to Harrison, one of the first radio industry “dragons” to slay is its “smothering debt. The business plan at some companies now is simply to find new sources of debt to stay in business,” he said. Family-owned stations that didn’t rack up debt to buy others are doing better, he said, suggesting that stations hobbled by massive debt be cleared to make room for new groups with fresh capital and a commitment to quality broadcasting. Harrison also told station leaders that their competition has magnified. It is no longer enough to be the “slightly best” station in your local market, he said. The traditional AM/FM radio dial is about to be replaced by an Internet dial, he warned. As soon as that happens, he said, “The nation becomes the market.” So stations need to strive to be the very best of their type or segment, he said. Other issues to address include the industry’s “blurry” ratings at a time when advertisers want precise measures, and the need to get away from airing long blocks of ads. Such ads turn listeners off and “are killing us,” he said. Perhaps stations could adopt NPR’s sponsorship approach, Harrison said in an interview later. Harrison also called on radio to become “hip” again. Instead of just playing song after song, stations should have music directors on board who know what is going on on the street, Harrison said. “That big FM signal on that magic box” is radio’s most precious asset, Harrison said. But, he said, “I doubt that any of what I’m saying is ever going to come to pass,” and without such changes, traditional stations will soon be gone. “I think we’re in terrible danger.”