Jan
6
Where did everybody go?
Filed Under Advertising, Digital Signage, Mobile, digital ooh, metrics
In mid December (on a Monday), one of my sales people came to me, extremely excited. It turned out that a buyer had just called him, panicked, because his client (a CPG – Consumer Packaged Goods) had just told him to cancel all of their broadcast dollars for the following year (or as much as their cancellation clauses allowed). The final number to play with was around 10 million dollars. The client also said that they wanted a new plan for 2009 that didn’t include radio or TV – at all. Oh – and by the way – they wanted a new plan by Thursday. We were – of course – more than happy to help out 
There are a lot of reasons for this situation but, needless to say, the buyer at the agency was a little lost in where to spend the money (Internet just wasn’t relevant enough to reallocate it all there). Two of his major tools were taken away and the client never did print. The client had some other issues that run deeper but for the economic situation and this particular product, they just felt TV was no longer something that was relevant for their brand. Apparently they decided to react quite strongly to this new revelation, much to the agency’s chagrin.
If the old media triad is TV + Radio + Print, the new (and VERY different) triad is Internet + Mobile + Digital OOH. Stephen Randall over at Locamoda has a great presentation that speaks to this quite well if I remember correctly. Success in anything is always about relevance and, as the “media” keeps telling us, consumers are not finding TV, Radio or Print media as relevant to them as it used to be – not even close.
Network TV isn’t going away any time soon (ever) but it’s not that hard to understand why certain brands/products are getting antsy about continuing to use a medium that doesn’t come with the measurability of other, newer mediums, is the most expensive product on the market and is losing audience at an astounding rate without the reflection showing up in pricing at the same pace. Wayne Friedman over at Mediapost just wrote an article highlighting this when he says:
In just the last two years, 25% of network TV’s prime-time viewers have departed, and, odds are, they aren’t coming back. At the same time TV program costs have skyrocketed.
Wonder why NBC is going with Leno every day at 10 p.m.?
…
New TV estimates say prime time will see a major contraction in advertising dollars — some 7% to 8% overall — this year. At last year’s $9.2 billion dollar upfront broadcast prime-time level, that could come to a disappearance of some $732 million dollars.
Wayne’s article can be found here
There’s another great article highlighting issues in TV, declining audience and TV loss of identity by Frank Maggio here that is a great read. Frank sums it up well when he says:
Beyond the abysmal state (and credibility) of its accounting and metrics, any honest student of media must acknowledge that TV is losing audience to the Internet — the one televisual medium that provides searchable choice, intuitive transactional functionality, and perhaps most importantly, the ability for the dispersed audience to be heard, at least a little bit.
Do keep in mind that most people in the media and creative business hardly know what Digital OOH is, so I wouldn’t fret too much that he focuses in on Internet – we’re close behind and a part of the same winning formula
Interestingly, a week later, another client from a different agency did the exact same thing – a severe change in their ‘09 plans resulting in a decrease in broadcast media.
Hmm. If this is a pattern I’m starting to see, it’s one I like. When I was at the ANA show in Orlando in October, one of the very forceful commentaries from ALL of the CMOs who spoke was that they need to be doing different things and for agencies to stop bringing them “TV” as the only solution. Apparently we found 2 of them that decided to take things into their own hands.
While pundits continue to cry “woe is me”, folks like my VP Graeme’s opinion and mine are of a cautiously optimistic and even quite excited about what we’re starting to see play out in the media landscape. There’s gold in them hills, you just need to know where to look.
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8 Responses to “Where did everybody go?”
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Great post Gorrie. Very interesting & informative! Amazing how people fail to realize the power of ‘new media’ and the broad reach of social online media etc. Get with it people!!
The current economic times are forcing media companies to reexamine their spending practices. Ultimately, as media buyers and planners delve deeper into what’s working and that which is not, they will see the true benefits and measurability of digital ooh media.
Budgets are tightening. Employees are being layed off. The media landscape is changing. As the metaphorical rubble clears, It’s my strong belief that new media formats will seize the market share formerly held by traditional media stalwarts.
Rob, you are exactly right in that we must view the current times as an immense opportunity to promote the widespread benefits of our medium. People are willing to listen and find what works. And, with media giants like the New york Times crumbling under their own weight, the flexibility and efficiency of digital ooh cannot be ignored.
Great post Rob.
We all know that TV is being disrupted by the web. But anyone delivering “TV outside” faces a similar if not bigger problem than traditional media. Just putting ads on TV screens in bars, clubs, cafes, QSRs or Times Square is neither interesting nor a sustainable business.
The user wants more (and less). DOOH networks must learn from YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and get connected. And that’s not all. Your audience is multi-tasking in front of your screen, so your content better grab them for more than a fleeting impression. Undivided attention is so last year!
Think of today’s audience as “The Connected Class.” If your network is unable to connect, reach, engage and then measure that engagement, it is no better than TV.
Now that I’ve used up all my sounds bites, have a happy and engaging new year!
well said and couldn’t agree more Stephen
Stephen’s comment is spot on. Just sticking a digital screen in a heavily traficked location and expecting people to take notice is short-sighted, and represents a complete disregard for a consumer’s role in the conversation. I despise seeing screens running little more than a slideshow of still ads facing the seating area of a diner or restaurant.
A digital signage network must engage viewers beyond the initial point of observation. For example, if you stick a large screen in a shopping mall, people will take notice of it for a moment when first seeing it – but they will quickly divert their attention elsewhere if the content is not engaging, relevant, or interesting.
Without providing people with a compelling reason to engage with your digital signage, it will become little more than another flashing lightbulb cluttering one’s environment. It’s easy to ignore that which doesn’t entertain or provide a clear benefit.
Technologies like those pioneered by Locamoda connect out-of-home networks with the community-driven relevancy of online destinations like Facebook and Twitter. Bridging social networks and digital signage will foster conversations that effortlessly flow across a person’s connected life.
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