Networks Rebranding -- And Competing For More Young Adult Viewers

A media critique by Wayne Friedman Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Viacom’s TV Land is another in a series of somewhat sleepy but established cable TV channels that are rebranding -- morphing to the needs of their key viewers with better marketing awareness.   This includes a stronger-looking logo: the TV Land name in white lettering on a dark marine-colored background. Perhaps less frivolous, a bit more serious, would seem to be the intention. A TV Land release says the new stuff depicts “quality, cleverness, and truth” and “strives to be more authentic, raw and emotive.” Well, that’s marketing talk for you. TV Land says its audience is made up of Gen-Xers, young adults who are working, somewhat removed from MTV content, and who are looking for edgier shows. TV Land isn’t exactly alone in the space.  Two years ago,  FX Networks remodeled itself into three different channels: 1), FXX, “home for the rebellious passion for the unexpected and unique looking to target a similar 18-34 viewers to that of TV Land; FX, which  continues to skew to 18-49ers; and FXM, the former Fox Movie Channel, going after 25-54 viewers. Like FX, TV Land wants to broaden its content beyond old off-network shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Friends” and “King of Queens,” with new shows for Gen-Xers like “Younger,” and the upcoming “The Jim Gaffigan Show” and “Impastor.” POP, the former the former TV Guide Network, also had a facelift, also seemingly targeting Gen-Xers by offering up off-network reruns in addition to working on fresh new content.The network depicts itself as “fan-fueled original programming.” All these might look like undervalued channel assets for big media companies -- Viacom, Fox, and CBS/Lionsgate, respectively. Rebranding takes a lot of work. Marketing is a very important part of the process -- at least at the start anyway, as a base to attract the right talent/producers. Getting a “hit” show -- whatever that means these days --  then needs to come next for these networks to stand out from the crowd, as well as their nearest competitors.

To Reach Millennials, Video Ads Are Crucial, Says Animoto Study

 

• by P.J. Bednarski @pjbtweet, June 23, 2015, 12:59 PM

Though I’d like to hope this isn’t startling news to everybody, Animoto today released results of its own survey that confirms the importance that millennials put on online video advertising.

In a nutshell, it’s their constant shopping companion, usually in the form of a smartphone that is always with them.

 

About 40% follow brands on Instagram and half follow brands on Twitter; 76% follow brands on YouTube; and 84% follow on Facebook.  

 

The study says seven in 10 millennials are likely to watch a video while shopping online and that eight out of find video helpful for online shopping. What’s more, Animoto says millennials are 150% more likely than baby boomers to comparison shop with video while in-store.

 

I found that amazing, but Brad Jefferson, the CEO and co-founder, says it’s true: “61 of millennials are likely to comparison shop using video while in-store compared to only 24% of baby boomers," he said. “You’re right that it’s surprising, since it’s not behavior with which older generations are familiar. As part of their in-store shopping experience, millennials are literally watching video of products online on their smartphone as part of their comparison shopping.”

 

By about 2014, it seems the general trendoid advertising industry concluded millennials were totally different. According to Animoto, here’s what they know about millennials:

--85% of them find video product demos helpful

 

--74% of them find video helpful when shopping online

--69% of them find post-purchase videos helpful from the same company

--millennials are 264% more likely to share product videos than baby boomers.

This study of 1,050 consumers left the shopping aisles to study other kinds of communications. It says, for example, that six in 10 prefer a company video over reading a company newsletter (Apparently, “neither” was not an option.)  And 53 are more likely to read a newsletter from a company if includes video.

 

Animoto is one of a handful of companies that helps very small businesses create a video presence for themselves; Jefferson say smaller retailers need to know they can create a “beautiful marketing video” and to prod them, the company offers a free trial so those businesses can see it’s not an unattainable goal. The survey just reinforces the need.  

 

It would seem to me the stats wouldn’t be that much different if applied to some definable group of people who are reasonably competent with a Internet-receiving advice. Who among them (us?) doesn’t watch product demo videos before making a purchase?

 

Jefferson concedes that point. “There’s probably some truth to the fact that some of our findings might mimic early adopters of technology from any generation,” he said in an email  “ For that reason, I find it particularly interesting to watch the online video consumption behaviors of millennials as they are the trend-setter of sorts for early adopters in older generations, and help forecast where technology adoption is going. Marketers are wise to pay attention to millennials.”

Nielsen: Radio reaches biggest audience of any platform...Radio Reaches 223M Listeners Each Week.

INSIDERADIO
From NAB Smart Brief.......

Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 2:00 am | Updated: 11:51 am, Thu Jun 25, 2015.

Radio continues to reach more than nine in 10 Americans every week, a level of engagement that's greater than any other platform, according to Nielsen's latest Total Audience Report. Radio also is able to connect equally with various demographics better than other platforms. "It's impressive how radio's reach has remained really high, and really consistent," said Jon Miller, Nielsen's vice president of audience insights.

 
Even in an age of modern devices, AM/FM radio reaches over 90% of all Americans, in all age brackets every week, with an envious cume of 222,921,000 listeners. No other medium’s reach has arms as long as that, according to the new Nielsen Total Audience Report.

The percentage of radio’s audience per demographic group is also more equally divided along all age brackets than any other media type. And the medium holds its own in most head-to-head comparisons with the Internet, tablets, PCs, smartphones and TV as well.
  “It’s impressive how radio’s reach has remained really high, and really consistent,” notes Nielsen’s VP of audience insights Jon Miller.

Granted, radio also joins several fellow platforms in lowered time spent, slipping slightly from an average of 2 hours, 48 minutes in Q1 2013, to 2:46 last year, and 2:42 in Q1 2015. That said, Americans still listen to radio for 12 hours, 58 minute per week on average. That may not hold a candle to TV’s 36 hours, 7 minutes total, but it handily bests the time spent with, among others, video via PC (1 hour, 30 minutes).
Radio usage has also proven to remain consistent. The average 18-34-year-old listener tunes in for 11 hours, 5 minutes per week, compared to 13 hours, 39 minutes for 35-49s, and 13 hours, 50 minutes for those 50+.

That’s a much narrower swing than TV, which commands only 22 hours, 55 minutes of attention per week for 18-34-year olds, all the way up to 33 hours, 5 minutes for 35-49ers.
Among other demo groups, Hispanics listen to more radio than average, at 13 hours, 38 minutes per week. African-Americans listen 13 hours, 29 minutes.

Many of television and radio’s competitors were bouncing baby hashtags not long ago. Streaming audio figures, which includes Web pureplays and terrestrial broadcasts, are biggest among smartphone streamers (17 minutes) and on PCs (8 minutes).

What resources can help entrepreneurs be better managers?

Smart Blog on Leadership

By Young Entrepreneur Council on June 17th, 2015 | Comments (0)

 

The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Read previous SmartBlogs posts by YEC.
If you enjoy this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our newsletters on small business and entrepreneurialism.

Q. When learning how to manage better, what is one resource an entrepreneur should utilize (ex: a book, website, course, etc.) to strengthen their management skills?
1. Read “A Year With Peter Drucker”
This fantastic book provides 52 weeks of coaching focused on driving effective leadership. From management to innovation, this read covers all the themes that Drucker identified as most important to leadership development. Our team at AirPR is currently reading a chapter per week and members take turns leading group discussions applying Drucker’s words to our business. — Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer, AirPR

2. Join or create a mastermind group
A mastermind group, as popularized by Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich,” can be tremendously helpful in improving one’s self. If you can surround yourself with a few peers facing similar challenges — ideally peers who are a step or two ahead of you, in this case — you can tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience. I’ve personally had opportunities to learn and improve through multiple groups. — Erik Reagan, Focus Lab LLC

3. Read “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits”
This book gives you a detailed guide on how to manage your entire business using a simplified plan and a set routine. In the startup world, routine and process is key to manage the endless fires that come up each day. In my previous startup, everyone in the company read this book and we standardized our goal setting and meeting schedule accordingly. — Faraz Khan, Go Direct Lead Generation

4. Write something
I was once an aspiring screenwriter in L.A. After going through that grinder and learning how to edit myself down to the comma, I never feared starting my own business. There’s nothing harder than bulletproofing a script, and those skills led me to pitch well and execute like an unpublished writer eager for a credit. We’re all selling a story. Wordplayer.com was my bible, and it still is. — Michael Portman, Birds Barbershop

5. Circulate surveys
I have implemented a “Rate Your Manager” survey, which employees complete anonymously. Each employee can rate and comment on their direct manager and their CEO. The anonymity allows subordinates to be honest and speak their mind without fear of retaliation. Then, each of my managers is encouraged to read the comments, analyze their statistics to see how they are doing, and spend time reflecting on the feedback. — Joshua Waldron, Silencerco LLC

6. Ask your employees
It’s hard being at the top. Getting candid feedback from your employees takes trust and time, so set the tone from the beginning. Employees need to know from day one that honest feedback is not only encouraged, it is required. There is no greater resource for improving your management skills than asking those who are affected by it — no book, website or course can beat that.— Alex Riley, MeritHall

7. Surround yourself with excellence
I find it invaluable to surround myself with friends and acquaintances who are excellent at a wide range of skills so that I am able to constantly learn from new and interesting perspectives. I set up my entire social structure to avoid mistakes before they happen. But when trouble arises — it always does — I am equipped with a group who is willing and capable of supporting and guiding me. — Dario Meli, Quietly

8. Get a leadership coach
There is a lot of leadership advice out there; some good, some trash. But nothing from a book or website will provide the customized advice each entrepreneur needs to thrive. I found the best way to grow as a manager was to put down the books and hire a leadership coach. Face-to-face personalized coaching and advice is powerful, and worth every dollar. — Joel Holland, VideoBlocks

9. Try StandOut
So much of management is about communication and listening — learning about yourself and the people around you. I use StandOut to inform others about my strengths and learn about theirs. StandOut unveils your top two strength roles and offers specific, practical ideas that leaders can use to lead, communicate with and manage others. — Brendon Schrader, Antenna

10. Listen to audiobooks
I once heard Brian Tracy refer to his car as a university on wheels. I have to agree, as I find that time spent in the car commuting to the office can be utilized best by listening and learning. You can download audiobooks from iTunes or Audible for under 10 bucks. Alternatively, consider borrowing audiobooks on CDs from your local library. — David Ciccarelli, Voices.com

11. Become a Little League coach
Children have no filter and will rarely do something unless they want to. If you really want to motivate adults, you should try coaching children in a sport. They’ll tell you immediately if you’re being unkind, or if they just don’t care about what you’re saying. If you can stay with one team through an entire season, you’re ready to manage a team of adults. — Jared Brown, Hubstaff

Media enters ‘Age of Accountability'

INSIDERADIO
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015

Radha Submarayan is challenging the research community to evolve in a way that puts the client at "the center of everything." The iHeartMedia president of insights, research and data analytics says the media business has entered "the age of accountability," where ad campaigns are judged not by rating points but by the results they produce for marketers. "Our clients care about results and radio has been so effective in driving results," she said Monday during her provocatively titled "ROI is the New Ratings" presentation at the Advertising Research Foundation conference in New York. Submarayan positioned iHeartMedia as ahead of the curve in the evolution to "results-oriented media." It arrived there, she said, by combining the audience research it conducts as a broadcaster with troves of data gained from its recent investments in data and analytics. Those include last week’s partnership with data management and analytics firm Unified, April’s alliance with programmatic ad tech platform Jelli and last year’s launch of AuDiO, a radio targeting tool for political advertisers. Pulling together broadcast and digital datasets is allowing the company to generate meaningful insights for clients, Submarayan said. "We bring the depth of digital data to all of our broadcast entities," she said. That’s helping iHeart target more granularly than to just women aged 25-54. Instead it can now zero in on "a new mom of twins at a time when she’s shopping for diapers," Submarayan explained.

A larger video audience opportunity is emerging online. There’s a bigger potential audience for radio broadcasters branching into online video. One in four U.S. adults watches original digital video programming at least once a month, a double-digit increase in audience size year-over-year, according to new research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Online video is seen as a direct pipeline to the difficult-to-reach 18-34 year-old audience, many of which don’t subscribe to cable TV. So-called cord-cutters and cord-nevers are inclined to find the ads shown during original digital video programming to be "more interesting" or "fun" (43%), according to the survey of 1,900 persons age 18+ conducted by GfK. They’re not alone – a third (35%) of the general original digital viewing audience is in agreement about the likability of the ads on this sort of content. The implications are greatest for the growing crop of digital video content producers looking to compete with TV networks. But some radio companies are also saying lights, camera, action. With its access to celebrities, involvement in live events and creative on-air talent, radio has plenty of raw materials to draw upon. That’s the idea behind VuHaus ("view house") a recently launched non-profit collaboration. Using seed funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the effort involves national web and mobile websites that stream live performances filmed by participating stations in their studios and around town. The video collective includes non-commercial adult alternative stations KEXP-FM, Seattle (90.3); KUTX, Austin (98.9); WFUV, New York

 

 

 
  

Gen Y Dads: Hot, Vain And All About Dadderday

Here's a chance to see if you made sure your clients were well prepared to generate revenue for Father's Day. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. C.V.

by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, Yesterday, 6:42 PM 

Anyone wondering how Millennial Dads differ from older fathers can just stroll down the beauty aisle to find out: A new study from Young & Rubicam shows that fatherhood vaults Gen Y dads into a self-care frenzy, with 54% of dads saying they are regularly looking for innovative personal care products. (That compares with just 51% of single women, and 35% of men in general.) 

“This was the most surprising thing in the data to us, and a real curve ball,” says study author Kasi Bruno, SVP and strategic planning director at Y&R Toronto. “The cliché is that women let themselves go right after the baby, and here we have new dads with shopping habits that are more like women before having kids. And these guys are fussy. All-in-one products? Not okay! Low-cost products? Not okay! His standards for grooming go up after the baby arrives.”

Y&R’s “Who’s Your Daddy” study, which is based on responses from 8,000 fathers in the U.S. and Canada, which it claims is the most comprehensive on North American fathers, also finds that sexiness ranks high for younger dads, with sexuality ranking No. 6 on their top values, and confidence No. 10. Neither cracks the top 10 for men without kids.

Apparently, Gen Y women are taking note. Bruno tells Marketing Daily that DILFs (please don't make us spell it out) are cropping up all over: The DILFs of Disneyland, aka the Happiest Place on Instagram, has more than a quarter million followers, for example.

In another surprise, she says the research finds that these dads are less frugal and more brand-conscious than moms. Some 59% won’t use coupons, because they think it makes them look cheap. (That compares with 37% of moms and 49% of men without kids.) 

“The basic finding is that dads are better for business,” she says. “They’re more brand loyal, they trust brands more, and they are looking for brands more than moms, who are more skeptical.”

And they’re big shoppers, with 80% of Gen Y dads saying they are either the primary grocery shopper or share that role, compared with 45% of fathers over 35. And 49% say they organize play dates and activities outside the home, versus 23% of older dads.

Dads also ranked their favorite brands, with U.S. dads picking Apple, UnderArmour, Nike, Netflix, and iPad as their top five. But when asked to name the brands they are most willing to pay more for, the list gets more surprising, she says, “and includes Victoria’s Secret and Lego.”

Overall, the findings show how enthusiastic these young dads are. “There is a totally new definition for a deadbeat dad. It used to mean someone who didn't pay his child support,” she says. “Now it’s someone who comes home and doesn't do anything to help.” As a result, she says they are big on the concept of Dadderday, a weekend day when they get to take over.

She says these Millennials wear fatherhood as a badge of pride, and as a result, they hate most of what they see in the media, “especially the dopey dads who are the butt of so many jokes in ads.” The one celebrity who rings true, she says, is comedian Louis CK. “They love that he gets it right sometimes, and gets it wrong sometimes — that’s very real to him. It’s messy, and that makes him a great pop-culture reference point.”

U.S. Ad Volume Expands In May, Digital Exodus Continues

by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, 7 hours ago 

The U.S. advertising marketplace expanded in May after a dip in April, following a seasonal pattern that has held steady for the past several years. If the seasonal pattern continues, total ad volume should see relative declines this month and through the summer before it builds again heading into the fall when many major categories begin seasonal marketing pushes. The data, which can be interacted with dynamically by scrolling over the accompanying U.S. Ad Market Tracker, is based on actual media buys processed by Standard Media Index representing more than 80% of spending from the major agency holding companies.

 

On a year-over-year basis, however, May’s total ad volume slid 2% from May 2014, which may indicate part of a broader, long-term shift toward non-traditional sources of marketing spending. In fact, “digital” media spending expanded the most on a year-over-year basis, rising 24% over May 2014.

 

Digital’s expansion appears to support recent pronouncements and speculation that marketers may have hit an inflection point and are beginning to shift budgets from traditional media, especially television. TV ad volume declined 5% from May 2014, as did SMI’s “Top 50” media company composite, much of which includes big media companies that are heavily invested in television.

Within digital, programmatic was one of the fastest-growing sectors, with ad exchanges and ad networks expanding 33% over May 2014. But the fastest growing sector continues to be social, which expanded 59% year-over-year, partly due to more programmatic trading via Facebook’s exchange.

Some of TV’s erosion likely is mitigated by a corresponding expansion of digital video ad volume, which grew 29% in May 2014.