-
Feeds
Jan
4
NBC Upfront Part II
Filed Under Advertising, Digital Signage
I was thinking about NBC’s upfront announcement a little more today and this is really not making a lot of sense to me and I doubt it will to advertisers either.
The Upfront market exists so that advertisers (and in many cases media agencies) can get together and ”bid” on in-demand advertising spots during shows which are or which may be hits on Network TV throughout the year.
Ultimately, the entire Upfront System is based on the IN-DEMAND CONTENT that draws audiences to watch those shows.
This may sound catty but
1.) NBC’s content on Digital Signage isn’t exactly legendary or winning awards
2.) Their content is rarely truly relevant to the audiences they serve (no, repurposed and transcoded TV wheels of news, weather, sports aren’t relevant)
3.) While many of the large Media Companies like NBC like to think that their name and logo validates a Network, I don’t believe it does
4.) It’s not like people flock to stand for hours watching NBC content like it’s Digital OOH’s American Idol
5.) There is not an “overwhelming” demand yet for Digital Signage inventory. Many networks are working hard to sell ad space but very few are “sold out”
If there isn’t overwhelming consumer demand (yet) for the content on the various networks and there is small but growing demad from the agencies and brands, then NBC is trying to create artificial demand for the inventory and/or trying to show the folks they resell advertising for that they are truly working in their interest by getting them front and center (which honestly is a good thing). Ultimately, the above comments kinda defeat the purpose of having an upfront
Is it just me or does this look a little like grasping at straws? I respect the fact that NBC is trying to kickstart this division of their company, this brings a lot of attention to the industry and maybe I’m dumb but I think media buyers have reason to be quite critical of this upfront and I’ll be very impressed if they do well (and I get to see the REAL numbers - which will likely not be released). I do hope this helps out their Network partners.
UPDATE: Jan 14, 2008 - Bill Gerba has summarized a lot of the discussion on his and my blog on his more heavily visited wirespring blog which can be found here
Comments
4 Responses to “NBC Upfront Part II”
Leave a Reply
I have been thinking about NBC’s announcement for much of the day. While people can argue whether it will or will not be successful, ultimately, it is a move in the right direction for our industry. It is a major media player inviting digital out-of-home to a seat at the table. The seat is not big enough or in the right place for us yet, but we are moving towards it. The one thing that does bother me is that NBC is attemepting to reimagine a TV ad sales platform for digital out-of-home. Looking at digital signage from a TV perspective cheapens the value of the media. I struggle to accept that it’s felexibility, targeting strength, interactivity, timeliness, etc. will effectively be represented at an upfront advertising sales forum.
While digital out-of-home networks and TV programming can be paralleled in some ways (especially given that the Big 3 TV companies contribute content to digital signage networks.) they are very different media entities. To categorize digital signage as TV out-of-home is an unfair representation of the medium. Can a television advertiser rotate ads on a whim, edit content on the fly, schedule content on a location-by-location level? Maybe our industry will benefit from NBC’s experiment when media buyers realize that digital signage is not TV, and that it offers a wide range of benefits over traditional media that cannot be quantified at an upfront.
Well put to this comment. This is one of my favourite comments to media folks
“The one thing that does bother me is that NBC is attemepting to reimagine a TV ad sales platform for digital out-of-home. Looking at digital signage from a TV perspective cheapens the value of the media. I struggle to accept that it’s felexibility, targeting strength, interactivity, timeliness, etc. will effectively be represented at an upfront advertising sales forum. “
[…] point as no one hangs around malls or grocery stores strictly to watch the on-screen content. Rob Gorrie from Adcentricityoutlines the issue well on his […]
Hi…Thanks for the nice read, keep up the interesting posts..what a nice Thursday . Katie Couric