Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
December 12, 2016

TV ACCELERATES AUTO BUYING PATH

TOP INFLUENCER FOR MILLENNIALS

Taking note that some automakers are not mandating that a portion of local advertising be allocated to digital search and social media, the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) ordered some research to find out if those ads were doing a good job at driving consumers to the point of purchase. The VAB commissioned Research Now for a study of likely auto shoppers conducted in November.

What the study found is that TV carries the greatest influence of all media throughout the consumer's decision process—from discovery to purchase. In fact, TV ads are leading people to dealers and putting them into vehicles for a test drive. And most often it is TV ads that direct people to auto websites with more than half of shoppers visiting anautomaker'ssite after seeing a TV ad.

The study revealed that TV is relied on to first learn about various vehicle brands—scoring 47% vs. 45% for online search among Adults 18-34. And TV has the most influence of any medium at every stage of the auto purchasing process—outpacing online and two times more than social media.

At the beginning of the auto buying process, survey participants were asked where they were most likely to learn about different vehicle brands. 47% of Millennials (18-34) selected television, actually topping the 42% for Adults 25-54. For online it was 45% of Millennials and 46% 25-54, with vehicle review sites next and other options well back. “TV generates instant brand awareness, especially among Millennials,” notes VAB.

In the second phase, TV ranks highest in helping consumers form their consideration list of which vehicles they might want to buy. TV scored 46% for Millennials and 45% for 25-54, with online search second, auto review sites third and everything else well back. That’s important, because more than three quarters of potential vehicle buyers quickly limit their consideration to three or fewer brands.

Yes, online is important for vehicle research. The study shows that TV ads encourage consumers to investigate vehicles online more than any other medium. TV ads (over 50%) scored far ahead of every other medium. Less than 30% visited an auto website as the result of an online search ad—and social media and online videos had even less influence.

TV ads were also the highest motivator to take a test drive. TV was where 56% of Millennials became aware of the local dealership, compared to 26% for online search, 17% social media and also 17% for radio. And television was cited as having the biggest influence on the final purchase decision. The VAB report is available HERE.

ADVERTISER NEWS

It was yet another bad quarter for Sears Holdings Corp. as same-store sales fell by 4.4% at Kmart and 10.0% at Sears stores. When adding in previously-closed stores, total revenue fell 12.5% to $5 billion, and company execs suggested more store closings are on the way along with seeking “alternatives” for the Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard brands along with the Sears Home Services business……The so-called Restaurant Recession shows no sign of getting better soon. The Restaurant Industry Snapshot for November reports a 1.3% same-store sales decline, the ninth straight month of negatives and the worst results since July. As usual, traffic count is the culprit, down 3.3% for the month, somewhat alleviated by a 2.1% increase in average check……On the positive side, the restaurant business always has new chains looking to expand and take share from existing brands. Beautiful Brands International, which re-established the Rex’s Chicken brand nine years ago, has just signed a master franchise agreement with the Muscogee Creek Nation’s MNBE division to open as many as 500 new Rex’s in 35 states. The original Rex’s Chicken chain started in 1976 but all stores had been closed and its trademarks had expired when BBI revived the banner……PepsiCo will introduce what it calls “a global big bet” in February called Lifewtr, described as “pH balanced with electrolytes added for taste.” The new brand appears to be aimed at Coke’s Smartwater brand. Beverage Digest reports Pepsi will rebrand and relaunch its already-existing Lifewater flavored drink brand……Fred’s same-store sales were down 3.8% in its latest quarter with total revenue down 4.5%. Already planning to close 40 stores next year, the CEO spoke of a “pending transaction” and added “acquisition and partnership activity will play an integral role to accelerate our growth”……Destination Maternity same-store sales were down 5.2% after ending its leased department agreements with Sears and Gordmans. It will exit a similar agreement with Kohl’s next year. The company expects to “further optimize its footprint,” according to Chain Store Age……Lululemon same-store sales were up 4% and total comparable sales including inline grew by 7% as it opened 12 new stores in its latest quarter to reach 389. The CEO added Black Friday sales were up 16% and Cyber Monday business rose by 29%...... But bankrupt American Apparel is asking the court to allow it to close nine stores ahead of its auction scheduled for January 9. It’s felt those locations would be left behind if there are any purchasers of the chain, which already has a $66 million bid for its brand name.

NETWORK NEWS

Viewers of Super Bowl LI may see a new concept when commercials air in the game. FOX, the network broadcasting the Super Bowl next year is reportedly readying a live commercial concept for an unnamed advertiser. Details of how the spot will be executed is still being worked out. If the technique makes it to the game, it could spark renewed interest from viewers and fans that think they may have seen it all. In the current climate, “live” or “look-live” ads are designed to give the viewers more of the content they tuned in for in the first place, thus avoiding the temptation to skip the commercials or avoid them altogether though digital means. A spokesman for Fox Broadcasting declined to comment……NBC has announced a premiere date for Chicago Justice, the new procedural in the Chicago franchise from Dick Wolf and Universal Television. The debut of the series is Sunday, March 5th at 9 PM (ET), right after the 8 PM (ET) season premiere of Little Big Shots, the Steve Harvey-hosted unscripted series. The second season premiere of Shades of Blue will be on the same night at 10 PM (ET). The network also announced that a work place comedy from Warner Brothers called Powerless will debut on Thursday, February 2nd at 8:30 PM (ET), taking over for The Good Place which had a limited run. The freshman drama Taken will debut Monday, February 27th following TheVoice……Working Title Television has sold projects to all the big four networks including CBS. An untitled multi-camera comedy, co-written, executive produced and starring actress Bojana Novakovic is in the works with the network. The series will revolve around a dutiful daughter at the center of a family that’s breaking apart…… CBS has also bought a new CIA drama from writer Brian Horiuchi. Extraction is about a brilliant CIA field officer who leads a new agency program to fight the war on terror on U.S. soil for the first time. Horiuchi wrote and directed the 2014 romantic feature film, Parts Per Billion……President-elect Donald Trump will remain as executive producer of The New Celebrity Apprentice for the upcoming season. The credit sequence will list Trump’s name after Mark Burnett, creator of the show, and just before Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new host. A Trump spokeswomen, Hope Hicks confirmed that the president elect has maintained a financial interest in The Apprentice. The per-episode payments were not disclosed, but estimates put the number in the low five-figures.

BUYERS COOL TO SNAPCHAT LIVE STORIES

Viewership for Snapchat Live Stories has stagnated and ad buyers have cooled on the feature, according to a report by Digiday. Live Stories provides content curated around different events and topics—everything from a big NBA game to international conflict. Content includes photos and videos shot by users as well as the event organizers, when applicable.

But viewership for Live Stories has been flat, at best, for more than a year. It currently gets about 20 million users per day, which is the same figure a Snapchat executive cited in a Recode story in mid-2015.

Along with Live Stories, Snapchat has Discover as a media-driven feature and several television companies are involved in Discover content deals. However, the Digiday story says some Snapchat Discover publishers have seen daily user declines as well, especially since October when Snapchat moved Live Stories and Discover content further down the “Stories” page.

Snapchat, though, is not hurting for advertising revenues. Buyers are more interested in placing ads between user stories and using sponsored lenses and geofilters. Those options also tend to be more expensive than Live Stories. eMarketer has forecast that Snapchat’s ad revenues will be $366.7 million this year and rise dramatically to $935.5 million in 2017.

PRE-HOLIDAY IMPORTS RISE

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to be up 3.2% this month over the same time last year as stores bring in the last of the merchandise for the holiday season, according to the monthly report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. “There’s still shopping to be done, and retailers are making sure the gifts that need to be under a tree are waiting on the shelves,” said NRF VP Jonathan Gold.

ACCOUNT ACTIONS

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that having now taken over SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev is considering revisiting its worldwide media buying arrangements in a review to be conducted next year. A-B and Miller spent $1.08 billion in measured media in the U.S. alone last year based on Kantar Media estimates and on a global basis buying is done by units owned by WPP, Publicis, Dentsu and Interpublic. The review would likely start in next year’s second quarter……Standard Wonder Group, which recently launched in Detroit as a new advertising agency, has landed its first major client—Wallside Windows. The agency was founded by WXYZ (ABC) veterans Seth Myers, Brian Halas, Matt Dunn and Dave DiPonio. Crain’s Detroit Business says Standard Wonder Group will handle media planning and buying, succeeding Media Period, while creative for Wallside Windows will remain at Lerner Advertising……The State of Maryland has named HZDG, Baltimore, agency of record for Maryland Marketing Partnership, an entity created this year by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to promote the state as a great place to do business and for people to live, work and play. Work will include strategic planning, creative, media and digital duties.

THIS AND THAT

Prosecutors in Los Angeles filed lawsuits against J.C. Penney, Sears, Kohl’s and Macy’s last week, alleging they falsely advertised higher regular prices for merchandise, leading customers to believe they were getting larger discounts. Under California law, a retailer cannot advertise a higher original price unless the product was sold at that price within three months of the ad……And in a federal case, three reverse mortgage companies (American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Solutions, and AegeanFinancial) were fined a total of $790,000 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for deceptive advertising in which they claimed consumers could never be forced from their homes if they utilize a reverse mortgage. In fact, it is possible to lose the home if owners fail to pay property taxes, insurance, or perform necessary maintenance. American Advisors had used the late Fred Thompson, former Senator and Law and Order star, as its spokesman in TV ads…… Royal Caribbean announced it will start cruises from Florida to Havana in April……Kroger has been hit with a recall. Condor Snack Company is voluntarily recalling certain lots of 2.5, 6 and 11 ounce Kroger Brand Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. It is part of a voluntary recall of sweet cream buttermilk powder made by Valley Milk Products LLC, an ingredient in All American Seasoning, Inc.’s sour cream and onion seasoning……Ezoic, a Google Certified Publishing Partner, announced the launch of a free, publicly available digital ad revenue index. It aggregates historical and real-time display ad revenues from online publishers around the globe. Ezoic says its index will help digital publishers deal with the well-known lack of transparency in ad pricing. The index is available at adrevenueindex.ezoic.com.

ADELE IS 2016’S MOST VIRAL VIDEO

The top viral video on YouTube this year is not a video born online—it is a broadcast television clip. The most-watched video on the Google-owned video site was the “Carpool Karaoke” clip featuring Adele from The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. Also ranking high was an NBC clip. The “Golden Buzzer” debut of 12-year-old ukulele player Grace VanderWaal on America’s Got Talent ranked #5.

SWINDLER NEAVING NBCU

Broadcasting & Cable reports that Ed Swindler is leaving his post as president of NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution, effective at the end of the year. The syndication business was recently moved from Broadcast to Entertainment in a reorganization.
AVAILS

WFTX FOX 4, A Scripps owned station in beautiful Southwest Florida is seeking a high-energy Account Executive. The ideal candidate will have broadcast experience as well as an intense desire to prospect, develop and grow new direct business within the market. Strong time management and organizational skills are required. Please send cover letter and resume to LSM at .

WAFF 48 News, Huntsville, ALhas an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced fun environment as aSenior Digital Sales Specialist.This person will work with the sales staff to help develop digital revenue and will meet with local businesses to consult with them on the best digital advertising solutions for their business. Candidates must have at least 2 years of proven Digital sales experience. If qualified, please apply online at attach your cover letter and resume. No phone calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V

Winter is just around the corner!If you would prefer to be selling where summer never ends, WPBF 25, the Hearst owned ABC Affiliate in sunny West Palm Beach has an opportunity for you!WPBF 25seeks a sales superstar to join our team. The ideal candidate must have broadcast TV sales experience and possess the drive and ability to thrive on multiple platforms in a fast paced, highly competitive market.Your passion for developing new business will be encouraged and rewarded! CLICK HERE to apply. EOE

Buckeye Broadband, Toledo Ohio is looking for a qualified candidate to fill a Manager, Local Sales position. We're searching for an energetic and creative individual to manage our advertising sales team as we imagine and craft the future of TV advertising. 5 years Media Sales Management experience in the same or similar medium, a high level of computer skills and a history of developing non-traditional revenue are required.CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE.

Raleigh, NC: Account Executiveneeded for sales of WRAL-TV, WRAL.COM, and digital channels.An in-depth knowledge of basic marketing concepts as well as familiarity with advertising on electronic media including the internet is necessary.Must have the ability to sell specials, promotions, and generate non-traditional revenue.3-5 years of television and on-line sales experience required.CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE M/F.All Capitol Broadcasting Company properties are tobacco free.Capitol Broadcasting Company participates in E-Verify.

Ya know you had a really bad prostate check when a get your bill in the mail and one of the items listed is one men’s dress watch.

--Larry the Cable Guy

David and Victoria Beckham’s 11-year-old son Cruz just released his first single, called ‘If Every Day Was Christmas.’ I’m pretty sure if you’re the son of David and Victoria Beckham, every day is Christmas.

--Jimmy Fallon

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
December 12, 2016

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