Media Sellers Must up Their Game

Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
August 15, 2016

LOCAL BUSINESSES BECOMING MORE SAVVY

MEDIA SELLERS MUST UP THEIR GAME

Local business owners have always wanted to maximize return on investment (ROI) from their advertising and promotion spending, but they really didn’t know how to get a handle on it. But now they’re online—often managing their own interactions with the public—and they’re getting detailed analytics from Facebook and other digital sources, so they’re becoming more savvy about ROI. And based on data collected from 5,541 local businesses, Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell has a prediction for TV and other local advertising outlets: “Local media companies that aren’t selling digital services in a serious way will continue to shirk, be shut down, or sold to a company that does.”

Corey Elliott (pictured),Borrell’s VP of research and analysis, tells us that 83% of local businesses now have a social media presence. Many of those business have moved beyond just having a Facebook page and are actually buying Facebook ads aimed at their local customers. Asked in the survey about their satisfaction with those Facebook ads, 37% said the ads worked “very” or “extremely well.” Other online sites lagged behind—Instagram at 18%, YouTube 20%, Twitter 17%—but still did better than traditional media advertising, which were in a range of 8-15%.

The Borrell survey also asked local businesses how “digitally savvy” each media company type is from their interactions. The good news is that broadcast TV came in highest, with 26% rating them “very” or “extremely” savvy about digital. Newspapers were at 19% and direct mail 9%.

While advertisers are increasingly embracing digital, Elliott says most understand that they need to have a media mix to reach customers. “They know they can’t be in just one spot, but they don’t know how to get there. That is an open opportunity for a savvy media person.” If the business owner/manager is getting good results from their Facebook advertising, work with them on how to make it even better. There’s a real opportunity for local media companies to sell services—such as website design, video creation and search engine optimization—as well as advertising on their linear and online products. That’s a topic Elliott will be dealing with this Wednesday and Thursday at a conference—Making a Business of digital Service—in Chicago, co-sponsored by Borrell and the Local Media Association.

What’s the biggest mistake local ad reps make? “Not listening,” Elliott says. The business owners complain that reps don’t understand their business and just want to sell them an ad. Instead, the objective should be to “connect the dots” and deliver solutions that work for the individual business. “A media company has to review their practices and see if they’re incentivizing actual solutions, or are they incentivizing ads,” Elliott says. ”Sale people will do whatever you pay them to do,” he notes, so it’s up to media company management to make sure they’re actually helping small- and medium-sized local businesses to get ROI from their ad spending.

ADVERTISER NEWS

The news coming from the restaurant industry continues to be troubling, for many reasons that we’ve been detailing for the last few months. Now the July report from Black Box Intelligence says the industry’s performance that month was the weakest since December 2013 with same-store sales down 1.4% and traffic down by 3.9%. Nation’s Restaurant News says the downward trend has been gradual but consistent, with same-store sales down 0.25 percent per month since January 2015……And in line with that news, Ruby Tuesday will close 95 company-owned restaurants, about 15% of its locations following “a rigorous unit-level analysis of sales.” Ruby Tuesday swings heavily towards company-owned units with only about 78 franchises in the 724 store chain……Despite the current problems in the industry, Cici’s is sticking to plans to add 70 new units by the end of 2017, having made deals with eight new franchisees while also expanding deals with current franchisees. Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Orlando and central Texas are current high-priority expansion areas. Cici’s just recorded its 13th consecutive quarter of same-store growth……J.C. Penney reported positive same-store sales for the second quarter, better than many of its competitors, with a 2.2% gain and it reiterated an earlier estimate of a 3-4% comp store increase for the full year……Comps were down 1.2% at full-line Nordstrom stores, but the off-price Nordstrom Rack division did much better with a 5.3% same-store sales increase and, including online sales, an 11.2% total sales increase……Chain Store Age reports Sprouts Farmers Market is looking towards Florida, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas as “midterm expansion market(s).” Sprouts currently has 243 stores in 13 states……Upstate New York-based Tops Markets is another chain citing food-price deflation as a factor negatively influencing comp store sales. Same-store sales were down 1.1% with deflation in meat and dairy departments seen as a headwind to the results……Planet Fitness had a better-than-expected second quarter with same-store sales growth up 7.6% and total revenue up 15.9% combining new locations with the stronger business at existing units. The CEO noted a “group of well-capitalized franchisees is on schedule to open a record number of new stores this year and we continue to leverage the power of our national advertising fund to drive brand awareness.”

NETWORK NEWS

Reports indicated thatThomas Gibsonhas been fired from theCBSdramaCriminal Minds. According to a report inThe Hollywood Reporter,ABC StudiosandCBS Television Studiossaid in ajointstatement “Thomas Gibsonhas been dismissed fromCriminal Minds. Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.” This followed reports that the actor wasremoved from the setafter allegedly kicking a writer…...Sean Maguire, who playedRobin HoodonABC’sOnce Upon a Timehas been cast to playJames BondcreatorIan Fleming.A report onEW.comsaid that the newNBCdramaTimelesswill featureMaguire’s Ian Flemingcharacterin the fourth episode of thefirstseason.Timelesswill air Mondaysat 10 PM (ET)……NBCwill officially debut the next season ofThe Voiceon September 19, at 8 PM (ET). Changes for the upcomingseason includea more gender balanced set of judges withMiley CyrusandAlicia Keysjoining regularsAdam LevineandBlake Shelton. In anE! Newsreport, audience members attending tapings were impressed with thechemistrythat’s developing betweenKeyesandCyrus.All new mentors are lined up as well,includingBette Midler,CharliePuth,Sammy HagarandJoan Jett...... Ratings were up day to day forNBC’sRio Olympics coverage. According toNielsen’slive +same day data, theOlympicscoverage18-49ratingwas 8.9 Thursday night. Up from the 7.7 rating of Wednesday night. Thursday night featuredMichael Phelpswinning his 22ndcareer gold medal and the women’s gymnastics all-around competition.Big Brotheron CBS delivered a 1.8 18-49 rating. Down a tenth of a point from the previous week. The overall18-49averageratingfor CBS was 1.3, ABC 0.6, FOX 0.6 and 0.3 for The CW……CBShas renewedBig Brotherall the way through 2018. The announcement was made during theTelevision Critics Associationpress tour.Big Brotherhas been a solid performer forCBSsince it premiered in 2000……Steve Harvey’s FunderDome has begun casting, with shooting to begin in Los Angeles in October for ABC. The seed-funding competition reality series will featuretwo budding entrepreneurs in each episode going head-to-head to win over alive studio audience to fund theirideas, products or companies. In each of the 13 episodes from MGM Television, the audience will represent the “customer” and, as the customer is always right, they will be voting to determine the winner. But, in each round, following the pitches and before Steve Harvey revealsthe results of the crowds majorityvote, the entrepreneurs will face a major dilemma: one of the entrepreneurs is allowed to cash out and walk away for a lesser amount. But if an entrepreneur cashes out, they forgo the opportunity to win thewhole cash prize for that round –a good move if they lost the crowd vote, but a bad move if they would have won it.

WEEKEND RATINGS

Rio Olympics coverage on NBC won both Friday and Saturday primetime, of course. On Friday in the Nielsen overnights the Peacock Net scored an average 6.3 rating in Adults 18-49 and had an average 2+ audience of 23.90 million. ABC, with What Would You Do? and 20/20 was at 0.9 18-49 and 4.03 million; CBS, with cop show reruns, 0.7 18-49 and 4.50 million; FOX 0.5 18-49 and 1.83 million; and The CW 0.3 18-39 and 0.99 million.

The Olympics on Saturday night gave NBC an average 6.3 rating in Adults 18-49 and an average 23.99 million viewers. ABC, with Boston EMS, was at 0.5 18-49 and 2.17 million; FOX 0.4 18-49 and 1.13 million; and CBS 0.3 18-49 and 2.18 million.

OLYMPIC SPENDERS: AUTO, FOOD, RETAIL

Analyzing advertising from the opening night of the Rio Olympics on NBC,Kantar Media says three categories accounted for 52% of ad spend and 46% of all advertisers. Automotive was first, followed by food & beverage and retail.

Nine auto advertisers competed for share of voice during the 4½ hour broadcast. Together they were responsible for 8½ minutes of airtime, 25% of all advertising, for a total of $11.9 million. As one of the top advertisers overall, BMW was tops in auto at $2.8 million for three spots. Toyota had two for $2.1 million and Ford, Honda and Chrysler one each for $1.4 million.

Food & beverage had five advertisers spending a total of $5.6 million. Coca-Cola was the big spending, paying $2.1 million for two spots. Kellogg’s had one spot for $1.4 million and Folgers, Hershey’s and Chobani one each at $0.7 million.

As the third largest category, retail had three advertisers for a total of $3.2 million in the opening ceremony broadcast. It was a three-way tie, with Dicks Sporting Goods, Nike and Walmart each spending $1.4 million on advertising.

Along with BMW, the biggest advertisers of the night were Samsung and Procter & Gamble. All three are official Olympics sponsors. Kantar says each advertiser spent $2.8 million on 2 minutes of advertising, with Samsung airing one extra-long :90 ad. P&G and Samsung used Olympic themed creatives during the event. The only mention of the Olympics in BMW’s creatives were the Olympic/Paralympic sponsor logos, along with a Paralympic cyclist speeding across the screen at the end of the spot.

ACCOUNT ACTION

Ad Age is reporting that Omnicom has won the creative, digital and media business for AT&T. The decision was reached after a relatively swift holding-company review that started in June. The Omnicom deal includes AT&T’s advertising efforts in the US and Mexico, according to a spokesman. Creative for AT&T and DirecTV will be handled by the Omnicom unit BBDO while the media will be covered by a recently launched media agency called Hearts & Science. WPP’s Grey was the incumbent for DirecTV creative and MEC was the incumbent media agency.

NEW BLACKOUT ON DIRECTV

Right in the middle of the Olympics,NBC affiliates WKTV Utica, NY and WTVA Tupelo, MS disappeared from the DirecTV lineup as retransmission consent negotiations failed to produce a new agreement. In all, eight network affiliates owned by Heartland Media were blacked out on DirecTV in four markets.

THIS AND THAT

The WallStreet Journal says a final decision on the proposed merger of Anthem and Cigna will not come this year—after the Justice Department sued to block the merger on antitrust grounds, Anthem started pushing for an early trial date. If the deal isn’t closed by April, 2017, Cigna could get a $1.85 billion breakup fee……The news site The Information says General Motors tried to increase its 9% stake in Lyft to 100%, but the ride-sharing service said no, Instead, Lyft decided to stay independent and raise a new round of funding……The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in July from a month earlier, its largest one-month fall since September 2015. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices were down 0.3%...... Mortgage rates were little changed despite a strong jobs report for July, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate remaining at 3.56%, according toBankrate.com's weekly national survey.
AVAILS

Come join our team at WTOC-TV (CBS) in Savannah, GA. We are seeking a high-energy, results-driven Multi-Media Account Executive with a proven ability to drive local direct business. This outside sales position will be responsible for generating revenue by prospecting and selling advertising on WTOC, WTOC.com, the station's mobile applications and other related products. Position requires excellent organization, negotiation and customer service skills. Bachelor's degree in Advertising, Marketing or related discipline preferred.CLICK HEREto learn more or to apply now.No calls please.EOE.

WTVG 13abc and CW in Toledo, OH, the #1 station in the DMA, is looking for a General Sales Managerto lead its broadcast and digital sales operations. The GSM is responsible for the performance of WTVG (ABC/CW) and includes all digital sales components. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's Degree, with a minimum of 5-10 years of recent television sales management experience including local, national and digital sales. Resume to: calls please. Gray Television Group, Inc., WTVG are an equal opportunity Employer.

KOAT-TV, the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, NMis seeking an energetic, passionate, and analytical National Sales Manager who is up to the challenge of setting new records across multiple platforms. The NSM works with national rep firms to sell advertising and leads and motivates the national sales team to exceed revenue goals. Candidate should have the ability to work in a fast paced environment and be excellent in broadcast sales negotiation. CLICK HERE to apply. EOE

News-Press TV LLC is seeking an experienced full-time Local Sales Manager to lead the Fox, CW and News-Press NOW Television Stations and Digital Properties team of professional AEs in St. Joseph, MO. The LSMs primary purpose is to manage a team of AEs in the generation of revenue by utilizing broadcast and digital properties to create effective advertising solutions for local businesses. More details HERE. If qualified email cover letter, noting your referral source with resume to , position ID: 6009. EOE.

Sinclair’s ABC and FOX duopoly in Charleston-Huntington WV, the 67th DMA, is looking for a strong General Sales Manager to help guide our overall sales efforts. This position requires an individual who possesses strong leadership skills who can lead the way as we adapt to a multi-screen, integrated marketing approach to selling.Must have strong leadership capabilities and a successful track record in sales management and staff development. 3-5 years’ experience in TV sales management required.Qualified candidates, CLICK HERE to apply. EOE/Drug Free Workplace.

Sales Manager: The #1 Television Station & the #1 Local Digital Platform in Columbia, SC seeks a second Sales Manager to lead a progressive local sales team. Candidates must have 5 years media sales experience, and have an ability to motivate experienced sellers. A successful track record of generating local new business, non-traditional revenue, and digital sales, is needed.If you want to work with South Carolina’s “Station of the Year,” this is your chance. Qualified applicants, CLICK HERE to apply. No calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V

KTSF-TV, the largest Asian-language television station in the #3 Asian Market, seeks a National Business Development Manager. The Asian market represents over 25% of the very affluent San Francisco DMA, with significant growth expected in the future. We are seeking an aggressive and dynamic individual to pursue television and digital media ad sales with national advertisers. This position will represent all KTSF platforms (TV/Digital/Mobile). To apply for position: please submit cover letter & resume to: or fax 415-467-7559. No calls please.

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
August 15, 2016

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