Blogging By Dr. Philip Jay LeNoble discusses the sales and sales management structure of media marketing and advertising including principles, practices and behaviorial theory. After 15 years of publishing Retail In$ights and serving as CEO of Executive Decision Systems, Inc., the author is led to provide a continuum of solutions for businesses.
It's also helpful to know that during a recession those local businesses who stayed solid in media marketing forged ahead of even big brand national retail businesses. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.
The advertising market appears to be in a recession, according to media executives. It’s not clear when we’ll come out of it.
Still, the economy hasn’t yet officially entered a recession. Two sources predicted it will happen in the next year, though with varying rates of probability: Goldman Sachs said there was a 35% chance, while a Bloomberg Economics Model put it at 100%.
But media execs say a recession is already here. Speaking at RBC’s 2022 Global TITM Conference in New York Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that the advertising market is weaker now than at any point during the COVID-induced slowdown of 2020.
Things got “a lot worse” during the past few months, Zaslav said.
Zaslav’s remarks came after Alphabet reported an unexpectedly severe slowdown in its core search ad business in October. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he overestimated the staying power of the pandemic’s ecommerce boom, according to a recording of a private company call shared with The Washington Post.
With signs of a recession on the horizon, the online ad market remains volatile. Nevertheless, here are some truisms that can help marketers rally during down economic times:
Marketers shouldn’t cut back on ad spending during a recession. A McGraw-Hill research study looking at 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that companies that advertised aggressively during an economic slowdown had sales 256% higher than those who stopped.
Many prominent firms were launched during recessions. Microsoft, Airbnb, Slack and Uber are some brands that launched during a recession. Trader Joe’s, FedEx and Disney also got their starts during a recession.
In other words, a recession may be a mixed blessing, bringing economic pain but also opportunities as large brands face setbacks that make room for new brands.
Money talks and consumers seem to be listening, at least when it comes to the new electric vehicle tax credit restrictions.
A study from GfK indicates that the new rules will alter many car purchase decisions and upend brand loyalties.
New limitations on the $7,500 tax credit for those purchasing EVs have gotten the attention of car shoppers -- and could have dramatic effects on their buying or leasing decisions, according to new GfK AutoMobility research.
Added as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the restrictions reduce or eliminate the tax credit based on whether final assembly of the vehicle occurred in North America, how many EV units the automaker has sold, and other factors.
The report shows that intenders in the highest income bracket (earning $150,000 or more annually) are almost twice as likely -- 70% vs. 39% -- to know about the tax credit, compared to those in the lowest income group (under $75,000 annually).
The research also shows that 57% of those who are aware of the credit feel it will be “very important” to their EV buying decision. Overall, 93% of “intenders” say the credit will be either “somewhat” or “very important” to their purchase. Likelihood to say that the credit is “very” or “somewhat” important is roughly equal across income groups.
However, the new limitations on the tax credit have the potential to short-circuit purchase preferences and brand loyalties -- in some cases driving intenders to delay EV buying or opt for hybrid or gas-powered vehicles, according to the research.
GfK found that 70% of intenders who view the credit as “very important” would change their plans in some way if their first-choice vehicle was not eligible for the credit, and 29% would switch to an eligible EV or plug-in hybrid.
Fifteen percent say they would buy a conventional gas-powered car, while 13% would opt for a non-plug-in hybrid and 13% would delay their purchase to see if the tax credit rules change.
Only 15% of those who consider the credit “very important” would go ahead and buy their first-choice vehicle now, foregoing the tax savings.
High EV prices are still off-putting to many potential buyers, said Julie Kenar, senior vice president at GfK AutoMobility.
“For those who qualify, the tax credit can be a game changer – one that many buyers will not give up on easily,” Kenar says in a release. “The new restrictions on this important incentive seem destined to have the opposite effect intended – driving people to delay their purchases, or to just buy a conventional gas-power vehicle until manufacturers can meet the assembly and content requirements.”
Those who are “very interested” in getting an EV do not cite the tax credit as a top factor. Fuel economy, reducing emissions and reducing reliance on oil all rank higher as reasons for the purchase. The tax credit is somewhat more important to those “mostly interested” in an EV – although it is still not one of the top three justifications.
Overall October TV usage -- from all legacy and digital platforms -- is now 2.8% higher versus a year ago, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge measure of total day persons two years and older. Streaming is the major reason for the increase.
Streaming platforms rocketed up 35.1% versus the same month one year ago, with the category gaining 8.9 share points -- to a leading 37.3% share. Cable TV is at 32.9% share, while broadcast is at 26.0%.
Looking at the performance of individual streamers and connected TV (CTV) platforms, results continue to show major gains year-over-year.
YouTube (including YouTube TV) grew 50.1% to an overall 8.5% share, followed by Hulu (including Hulu+Live TV), which added 28.3% to land at 4.0% share; Amazon Prime Video, up 35% to 2.8%; and Disney+ up 46.5%, to 2.0% share.
The biggest subscription video-on-demand platform, Netflix, grew 9.1% to land at 7.2% share.
Cable continues to see major declines year-over-year -- down 8.6% in viewing volume, with a loss of 4.1 share points (to a 32.9% share).
Broadcast viewing has not fallen as steeply -- down 6.2% and losing 2.5 share points (to 26.% share).
Still, broadcast has shown some positive trends, growing 10% in viewing volume from September.
Cable TV has remained fairly flat, slipping 0.7% versus the previous month.
Looking at individual program categories, broadcast sports viewing in October grew 19% vs. September, accounting for over 25% of broadcast usage. General Drama viewing climbed 42%, registering a 27% viewing usage share.
Broadcast news viewing is 15% higher than a year ago.
Although cable viewing is down overall year-over-year, cable TV news and cable tv sports programming were up 8.4% and 4.8% versus the same month a year ago.
Inflation is a top concern for people and businesses alike. In the last several months we’ve seen nearly 40-year high inflation rates with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of prices for goods and services, at 8.2% in September and 7.7% in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation provides an easy excuse for any supplier/partner to try and raise prices. Discussing inflation in the same breath as negotiating prices between buyers and sellers is unavoidable and needs to be addressed.
A negotiation between a buyer and a seller is a nuanced process that can be stressful for both parties and adding concerns around inflation and pricing may appear to make the task even more daunting. But could it actually make it easier? Inflation really is an objective measure that both parties can review independently and agree to. It’s knowing this type of information that can help you perform at a higher-level during negotiations, even within this complex environment.
Negotiation is an essential part of the sales process and therefore critical for salespeople to know how to do it well. After all, the goal of negotiation should be to come to a mutual agreement that benefits both parties – isn’t this what successful salespeople strive for as well?
Here are some important things to keep in mind while negotiating price increases.
Preparation Plans and Outlined Trades
Similar to any negotiation deal, you should always come prepared. Even though inflationary pressures are building, stick to the tried-and-true methods of preparation, patience and poise. Preparation includes thinking through the precedents (what has happened before) that might impact this negotiation, the alternatives that both parties have, and the interests that motivate each party. The more insight you have into the buyer, what they are looking for, and their expectations, the more likely you will reach a successful result.
As important as it is to understand their limits and motivations, you must understand your own. This is why it is such an important process to think through and write down your limits (walkaway), priorities, and what you would be willing to give away – in a trade. By now, inflation is well documented and should not surprise any of your clients, so the questions instead move to how much the price increase does, how long will you lock in a certain price, etc. Come prepared to these conversations with supporting data (i.e., real time sales figures, inventory numbers, production output data, etc.) to separate the emotional impact of the price increase and transition towards the objectivity of passing along the price increases that your company and everyone else is facing.
As far as tradables, use your list of priorities to try to exchange your items of lower importance for theirs of higher importance. This is precisely what allows for a win-win solution. Remember, this means that you must create your list of priorities and probe the other side for theirs – don’t make assumptions.
Listen to Your Buyer
Asking great questions is critical to understanding your buyer. While many of us think speaking first and often provides control over the discussion and the upperhand, it’s actually the person asking questions that can most direct a conversation. Your technique here is to ask questions and genuinely listen with curiosity, rather than merely waiting to speak. Take notes and don’t be afraid to say, “let me think about that” or “I’ll get back to you”, that’s better than responding incorrectly or not listening at all.
Negotiate a Win-Win
As we mentioned above, it’s the trading of one side’s highly important items for the other side’s less important items, and vice versa, that creates win-win negotiation results. To do this, you must be empathetic and equally focused on the other party’s interests as your own. Negotiating too hard and taking a win-at-all-costs mentality might get you a win now (and likely not even) but it’s certainly not a lasting long-term strategy. You prioritize your objectives above all but must always be thinking about those of the other party too.
Keep Composure
Try to give yourself time to start with “small talk.” Avoid jumping right into business as the human element – your connection – plays a role in the likelihood of working together to reach an optimal outcome. And then, start with points of agreement. All too often we start with areas to negotiate, but it’s best to first build momentum and get to these.
The goal is not to keep emotions out of negotiation but to create a connection with the other party, a bond, and then manage our emotions (and hopefully theirs too) so that we are able to achieve optimal results on both sides.
Veteran negotiators understand inflationary times are nothing new. It has happened before and will happen again. Keep this perspective, along with preparing for the negotiation, thinking about the other party and giving yourself time to build rapport. You’ll find more success in reaching better agreements.
I know you know...but just to be sure: Addressable TV advertising is the ability to show different ads to different households while they are watching the same program. With the help of addressable advertising, advertisers can move beyond large-scale traditional TV ad buys, to focus on relevance and impact. For example, your company sells laptops. Your potential market size (total addressable market) is the number of people who buy a laptop in one year, which would be roughly 60 million Americans.
It saves you money by delivering ads only to audiences of your most likely customers.
More Buyers Using Addressable TV, More Planning To Up Spending
During its annual conference on Wednesday, Go Addressable, the initiative formed by TV distributors to advance and expand use of this advertising medium, released a new survey positioned as indicating continuing momentum for the medium.
Go Addressable and Advertiser Perceptions polled 303 marketers in October (40% brand, 60% agency), drawn from the research firm’s proprietary community. All are involved in media brand selection decisions.
Among the 116 respondents who are not currently using addressable, 41% (48) said that they plan to start doing so in 2023. That’s up from 25% (35) of the 141 respondents who indicated the same in the first survey of 300 conducted last October by Go Addressable and the research firm.
Among the 187 2022 respondents who reported that they are already using addressable, 37% (69) said they plan to increase addressable budgets next year. That compares to 34% (54) of the 159 users who said the same in last year’s survey.
Among the 2022 addressable users, 81% said that they are satisfied with addressable TV advertising — up from 72% who said the same in 2021 — and 77% said they are satisfied with the measurement solutions available for addressable.
Also, 96% of current users reported buying from more than one of the several available sources: AVOD (ad-supported video-on-demand programmers, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors).
That is likely due to buyers seeking to reach their audiences across different screens and services, according to Go Addressable.
Among current users, 48% said that addressable has become easier to buy, 46% said that the medium’s options overall have improved, and 44% said the cost of implementation has improved.
“We’re thrilled to see that momentum is continuing to build behind addressable advertising headed into 2023,” stated Kevin Arrix, senior vice president, Dish Media. “These latest findings capture the industry’s enthusiasm and adoption of addressable, which has become an increasingly important tool for advertisers to reach their audiences effectively and with tangible ROI.”
Addressable is “one of the most promising and topical ones in today’s TV ad ecosystem,” added Samantha Rose, executive vice president, strategic investment at Horizon Media. “From ease of use to technical enablement to the number of options available, we’ve come a long way in unlocking the scale and potential behind addressable advertising, while doing so in a privacy focused way, and I look forward to what we, as an industry, can do to further its growth and evolution in 2023.”
Within the overall sample of polled agency and brand executives, 41% were at the senior vice president or higher level, 48% at the director/supervisor level, and 11 % at the manager/planner/buyer level.
Based on a separate poll of Go Addressable participant companies, addressable advertising currently averages a total of 53 billion linear minutes per month. (For context, the group cites Nielsen data indicating that there are more than 1.2 trillion linear minutes per month in linear advertising per minute.)
Go Addressable was formed in June 2021. Its members include Altice USA, Charter Communications' Spectrum Reach, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV Advertising, Dish Media and Vizio.
With the swirl of recent headlines, it's clear 2022 won’t be going out quietly. As we look ahead to 2023, what trends will we -- or won’t we -- see in the new year? Consumers will continue to seek out their favorite content, but will they be harder to reach due to ongoing cookie changes and consumer preference? The metaverse may continue to be a topic of conversation, but will it become the norm in the new year?
2023: What You Will See
Contextual targeting as a solution for decreasing cookie dependency. With drastic changes in privacy, advertisers are quickly losing their ability to target at a user level. This will only become more challenging when Chrome releases its updated third party-cookie policy. In a best-case scenario, improvements to contextual offerings with respect for the consumer will replace cookies as a viable performance tactic. Forty-two percent of U.S. data leaders said they would increase spend and emphasis on contextual advertising in 2022, up from 24% in 2021, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Audio will continue to reign, and streaming giants will compete for ears. Time spent with audio continues to increase YoY, driven by streaming and podcast consumption. Streaming giants Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music have made it effortless for anyone to listen to any available content. Streaming companies will continue to find ways to attract and retain listeners through diverse and exclusive content, lower monthly subscriptions, and an increase in multilingual options.
Listeners can now consume music, podcasts, and audiobooks in the same place with no need to seek content elsewhere. We can expect to see the same from other streaming giants, fighting for listeners and the advertising dollars that follow.
2023: What You Won’t See
Brand reliance on macro and celebrity influencers. With the rise of attention-seeking outlets paired with an increasing public distrust in media, consumers are focusing their attention on a smaller set of outlets they deem trustworthy.
In the influencer realm, this translates to consumers spending less time with macro-influencers and celebrities, as engagement can feel unrelatable and inauthentic there. On the contrary, consumers are spending more time with micro-influencers that they relate to through common interests, life stages, and lifestyles. Brands will follow the engagement and attention by investing in these relatable micro-influencers
The metaverse becoming mainstream. Since Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021, you’ve heard the term metaverse mentioned just about everywhere. While the word metaverse has infiltrated our inboxes, actually interacting with it is far from a mainstream activity. With graphics that Fast Company compares to those of Second Life from 2003 and the need to use a chunky (and expensive) VR headset to experience the virtual world, people are not as enticed to participate.
According to this year’s Global Media Intelligence Report, only 8.6% of respondents own a VR headset. Engaging in a virtual world may be more common in the future, but there is currently a large disconnect between metaverse expectations and the reality of the technology.
With the media environment changing and economic conditions becoming more difficult, Kantar has looked ahead and made predictions to help media companies and advertisers navigate 2023.
The big trends involve the evolution of VOD to have a broadcast-like appointment viewing quality, ad supported streaming helping viewers offset inflation, and the need for advertisers to contextualize campaigns to put the most effective ads in front of targeted consumers.
(Image credit: Kantar Predictions)
“We foresee a year full of challenge and opportunity for the media industry. As global price rises impact consumer spend and advertising, campaign planning could be optimized through improved data application, making budgets go further. From post-cookie solutions to better campaign planning, data is our fuel - but its usage is changing,” said John McCarthy, strategic content director for Kantar’s media division. “The future will continue to deliver a host of new technologies, each brimming with potential, and it’s important not to get lost in the hype.”
Kantar’s predictions and prescriptions include:
VOD embraces appointment TV strategies – Marking a new chapter for the TV and video market, the winners in the platform wars will deploy hybrid strategies balancing VOD (video on demand) and linear content. Broadcasters are adopting aspects of VOD strategy that fit their positioning while preserving their points of difference, and VOD platforms are adopting concepts like ‘appointment TV’ and curated content discovery. The market will shift away from all-at-once release strategies and box-set bingeing for new content in order to maximize revenues.
Ad-supported models answer to inflation worries – U.S, data shows that market penetration for ad-based video-on-demand (AVOD) grew from 20% in Q2 21 to 23% by Q2 22. Kantar’s Media Reactions 2022 study shows consumers are more accepting of advertising, and as rising costs are making ad-funded content more palatable. The timing is right to introduce ad-funded tiers to limit price-sensitive churn. However, ad-models risk creating two types of viewers: those with less disposable income who become over-targeted by ads, and those with more disposable income, who are more attractive to advertisers, but are harder to reach. According to Executive Decision Systems, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado, local-direct advertisers will derive stronger ties with consumers with those who have increased disposable income in 2023.
Contextualize or fail – Marketers must prepare for a post-cookie landscape by experimenting with proxy-based targeting systems and contextual advertising. Targeting within closed ecosystems, in which consented first-party data is available, will still be possible, but wider cross-platform targeting has hit the barrier of consumer privacy. There will be incremental improvement in the coming years, but the hyper-targeted ecosystem the internet once promised looks increasingly unviable and initial assumptions about the granularity of targeting outside closed ecosystems may have to be reappraised.
Dynamic product placement edges closer – Nearly 75% of all US broadcast network shows have some form of product placement, targeting those viewers difficult to reach through conventional advertising forms according to Kantar’s Future Viewing Experience 2022 report. Dynamic product placement – enabling a product, billboard or screen featured in content to be substituted or overlaid with a different brand or advert – is also growing. Like addressable advertising, different viewers could – with the right data – be shown tailored ads. However, technological possibilities will need to be balanced against what’s acceptable to audiences. A negative impact may be inadvertently achieved if a placement is clearly anachronistic, jarring or out of place. Thus, tailored content should be closely monitored.
Media companies need to respond to advertisers’ (and consumers’) Net Zero ambitions – Reducing the carbon impact of media and advertising to net zero is the business challenge of our time and a greater opportunity. 2023 needs to be a year of sustainable innovation – whether that’s brands offering green products and services, media owners offering more energy-efficient services, or agencies rethinking how their planning, buying and production strategies are impacting the climate. For example, Media Figaro has launched a partnership with French start-up Vidmizer to reduce the weight of video campaigns in a bid to use less energy. With up to 80% reductions in carbon reported, it’s a good example of how technological partnerships can reduce energy expenditure. ■
Not Enough Hours in the Day to Slay Your To-Do List
Even the most productive person can’t have it all. At least, not all at once.
You can search for the best productivity apps to make you more efficient and focused. You can implement productivity hacks and cut distractions. But you still might feel like there simply are not enough hours in the day for everything you need to get done.
Something has to give. You have to prioritize some activities over others—or else you’ll be spread too thin to dedicate yourself to anything fully.
Read on for a simple strategy to identify and honor your priorities.
To Prioritize, Turn Your Values Into Time
When you look at your list of want-to-dos, everything may seem necessary. Everything you listed is good for you. It would be great if you dedicated five hours a week to exercise; fantastic if you spent an hour practicing a new language; marvelous if you committed one day a week to business-growth tasks.
So how do you choose which goals and tasks to prioritize and which to set aside for now?
Don’t spend a fraught number of hours weighing the importance of every goal and task. Instead of starting with what we’re going to do, we should begin with why we’re going to do it. So we should start with our values.
Values are the attributes of the person you want to become. They are “how we want to be, what we want to stand for, and how we want to relate to the world around us,” according to Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap. Here are 20 common values.
You can categorize your values into three domains of life: yourself, your work, and your relationships:
Once you’ve identified your values, they act as a guiding star, showing you where to focus your attention. You can then turn your values into time.
First, write down which tasks will help fulfill those values and move you toward your ideal self.
Doing so helps you decide which goals and tasks need to be prioritized now. Try to limit the number of these primary goals and tasks to the most essential. You can always add more later—but the point is to ensure your top priorities have real estate on your calendar.
Next, use timeboxing, the most powerful time management technique, to block off space for your priorities in a calendar, giving them all the time they require. To get started, you can use my free schedule maker.
You might add dinnertime with your family every weekday, an hour of exercise every morning, or the number of hours of sleep you require. Even timeboxing one activity is a great start.
Overcoming “Not Enough Hours in the Day” Is a Process
By focusing on a few things at a time, you’re more likely to achieve them. The participants of one study who tried to accomplish multiple goals were less committed and less likely to succeed than those who focused on a single goal. Trying to accomplish too much at once is overwhelming.
I have a friend who’s always wanted to learn a second language. But it wasn’t until she made learning Spanish a priority for two years that she made significant progress in becoming fluent.
Perhaps the idea of dedicating a chunk of time every week to the same task for two years sounds daunting to you. My friend claims the years went by quickly and that she likely wouldn’t have achieved anything else significant in its place if she pursued too many goals.
However, if that reassurance is wholly unsatisfying for you, here are a few tried-and-true techniques for prioritizing competing values:
Give “seasons” to your life—say, 90 days to a year—in which you focus on one thing before moving on to the next. It may make you more comfortable prioritizing a value if you know it’s just for a certain period.
Identify what is urgent. What matters most right now? If you value being a role model for your children, you must prioritize time with them in their formative years.
Use the bubble sort method: List your values on a horizontal grid. Ask yourself which of the first two values is more important, and move the most important to the left. Then compare the second and third values and move the most important to the left. Continue until your values are in order of importance from left to right.
Tackle values that are simple to fulfill first. For example, getting enough sleep is a natural starting point if you want to be mentally and physically healthier.
Follow the 80/20 rule: Identify the 20 percent of your values that will likely contribute to achieving 80 percent of what you want. In other words, assign time to the values that will result in the most significant traction toward your ideal self.
With a manageable set of priorities, we also increase the likelihood that they become routines or habits. (They are not the same!) Once those activities are streamlined, you’ll have more headspace and calendar space to focus on others.
Sometimes, dedicating time to activities that fulfill a value reveals surprising truths, such as that a value is not as significant as you once thought. Giving time to our perceived priorities helps us learn about ourselves.
Naturally, your values and priorities can change over time. You can revise your timeboxed calendar as your life and values evolve. It’s the best way to ensure you can have it all—even if it’s not all at once.
