Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
March23, 2018

TV’S PRIME DEMO IS RETAILERS’ TOP TARGET

HOLIDAY RETAIL FORECAST PREDICTS SLOWER GROWTH

There’s a big difference between shoppers and buyers and newly-released data from comScore shows the answer is clear for advertisers looking to move their goods. “A lot of people may be shopping, but the people who are actually buying are the females in the household,” comScore head of client insights Ryan Williams said on a recent webinar. And when it comes to ecommerce, he said a tried-and-true age demo preference holds in the digital age. “While shoppers are consistently much more evenly distributed across age groups, it’s clear that 25-54 year old women should still be the key target audience for retailers,” Williams said.

Positive economic news, less fear of job loss, and not much panic over inflation helped online retail sales rise 20% to $131.2 million in Q4 according to comScore which says $99.4 million was desktop sales with the rest from mobile shoppers. “Mobile’s share isn’t growing quite as fast as it was a few years ago,” Williams said. “We’re likely nearing a point of saturation with mobile devices so most of the growth in mobile commerce will have to come from people switching from desktop to mobile.” He said shoppers’ security worries and a “subpar” user experiences have kept shoppers on desktops. “But as screens get larger and the mobile experience gets even better, this gap should continue to shrink,” Williams predicted.

It may be the end of Q1 but analysts at eMarketer have just released the first forecast for year-end holiday shopping. The firm expects total U.S. holiday retail sales to increase 3.8% this year compared to the 5.5% gain recorded last year. And eMarketer forecastsecommerce sales to climb 15.3% in November and December. “The immediate outlook for consumer spending remains solid,” analyst YoryWurmser said despite lower rates of growth predicted for this year compared to 2017. He points to high consumer confidence, low unemployment, and rising wages.

ComScore’s analysis of how Americans spent their holiday dollars last year found a continued “compression” of spending around the Thanksgiving weekend when an average of 17.7% of shoppers’ total holiday budget was spent. That’s up from 16.8% in 2016 and 16.2% in 2015. “It’s becoming more clear that consumers are shifting their (shopping habits) to earlier in the holiday season which could really impact retailers’ ability to entice shoppers to make some last minute purchases because the money has run out,” Williams said. ComScore data also showed that in the days following Thanksgiving weekend there was a decline in ecommerce spending. “It’s likely increasingly tied to consumers reaching some level of fatigue as deal upon deal is pushed on them,” Williams said.

Billion dollar ecommerce days have become the “new norm” with Americans spending that much on 38 days last November and December. That includes Cyber Monday when $3.4 billion was spent—a rise of 26% from a year earlier according to comScore. “I don’t think it will be long before every day between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 exceeds $1 billion,” Williams predicted. That’s helped by the fact that shoppers are more willing to buy big ticket items like electronics, appliances, furniture, and jewelry online.

ADVERTISER NEWS

Scott Painter believes in used cars. Painter, former TrueCar CEO, now leads Fair, the company behind a smartphone-based app that lets customers lease used vehicles without long-term contracts or other ownership headaches, says Autonews.com. Painter said his company wants to “push the boundaries of traditional car ownership the same way as other alternatives, such as subscription services. That’s because customers want simple, cheap options that require no commitment,” he said. To lease a used car from Fair, customers download the app and scan their driver’s license. Fair looks at their credit score, runs a fraud check and then offers them their pick of all-in monthly payments for vehicles that match their needs. The monthly cost covers warranty, standard maintenance and roadside assistance, and Fair also offers insurance. Customers also pay a “start fee,” which Painter said is equivalent to roughly three monthly car payments. That provides an incentive to keep the car longer, but they’re allowed to return it whenever they want. Fair was launched abouty six months ago, Painter said, and has about 150 employees. Fair has raised about $1 billion in funding....The Michaels Companies is pulling the plug on its freestanding stores (Aaron Brothers) devoted to framing, wall art and other art supplies, says Chain Store Age. Following a strategic review, it plans to close all 94 full-size Aaron Brothers stores and reposition the brand as a “store-within-a-store” concept providing custom framing services in all Michaels store locations. Michaels will also rebrand Framerspointe. com, a company-owned online custom framing website, as AaronBrothers.com...Not so fast with those ‘going out of business signs. Toy executive Isaac Larian has pledged $200 million and wants to raise another $800 million in order to make a $1 billion bid to acquire “all or some Toys R Us assets through the bankruptcy process”....Meanwhile, Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus died Thursday in New York at the age of 94. He retired as TRU’s chief executive in 1994 as one of America’s highest paid executives, but had to watch Toys “R” Us unravel in the past year....Sears stores are stocking consumer electronics again. The retailer gave up on the category about three years ago because of low margins....Olive Garden’s popular buy-one-take-one offer won’t happen this year as the brand trims its promotional calendar, executives at parent Darden Restaurants said on Thursday. The casual-dining operator has reduced Olive Garden’s calendar from nine to six promotions this year. The buy-one-take-one promotion, in which a prepared meal is sent home with customers when they order pasta dishes, has been a “very, very profitable platform. Our intuition told us - If we run (the promotion) 16 weeks a year, it is going to lose some of its effectiveness,” said a Darden executive.

NETWORK NEWS

CBS News has confirmed that 60 Minutes will air the interview between former porn star Stormy Daniels and correspondent Anderson Cooper this Sunday night. The interview will allow Daniels to discuss her allegations that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006 and 2007. Now President Donald Trump has denied her account of the affair. The segment is expected to include an examination of the $130,000 payment that Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, has said he made to Daniels using his own funds. Daniels is said to have taken the money in exchange for signing a confidentiality agreement. It has been speculated that Trump attorneys might seek an injunction against the airing of the report. So far, that does not appear to have happened……CBS News has named Caitlin Conant Political Director for the CBS Corp. unit. She will start her new job on Monday, April 9th and will continue to be based in Washington, D.C. Conant will report directly to CBS News Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief Christopher Ishamand will be tasked with guiding the network’s political and campaign coverage. She joined CBS in 2016 as executive director of communication at CBS News……Former Once Up A Time stars Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin Josh Dallas, and Emilie de Ravinhave all been confirmed to return to the show’s final episode, which will air on ABC May 18th. The four actors left the fairy tale series after its sixth season. They are the latest former cast members to book returns for the series finale. The network announced in February that Once Upon a Time’s seventh season would be the show last. The seventh season of the show was moved from its longtime Sunday night timeslot to Fridays, where it suffered a significant decline in ratings. Currently, the show is averaging a 0.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 2.4 million viewers, down by 40% in the demo and down over 20% in total viewers from the previous season……The nominees for the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced, and ABC’s General Hospital tops the list with 26 nominations. The veteran soap opera was followed closely in nominations by Days of Our Lives on NBC and The Young and Restless on CBS with 25 nominations each. CBS Sunday Morning and CBS This Morning were both nominated in the best morning show category, with ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today Show also in contention. The Talk on CBS and The View on ABC were both nominated for the best entertainment talk show. Mario Lopez and Sheryl Underwood will host the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday, April 29th from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The Daytime Emmys are awarded by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences……Studio 20th Century Fox Television has said that it found “no evidence of any wrongdoing” by Fred Savage in its investigation into claims that the actor verbally harassed female crew members on the set of the comedy series The Grinder. A former crew member who worked in wardrobe for the show filed suit against Savage and Fox, claiming she was subject to a “hostile work environment.”

ACCOUNT ACTIONS

BMW has appointed Goodby, Silverstein & Partners as its lead creative agency in the U.S., following a competitive review. according to AdAge. BMW considered 25 agencies before paring its list to five finalists, including Droga5, Wieden & Kennedy, Anomaly and Hill Holliday.

Adage quotes someone “with knowledge of the matter” as saying the retainer on the BMW creative business is about $12 million, but with projects throughout the year, it could be about $20 million. BMW sales in the U.S. were down 2.4 percent last year, according to Auto News.

DONE DEALS

Meredith Corporation has promoted KlarnDePalmato Executive Vice President of MNI Targeted Media, Inc. In his new role DePalma will lead the targeted digital and print advertising business, which joined Meredith’s Local Media Group after the recently completed acquisition of Time Inc. DePalma started his career as an entry-level salesperson and worked his way up to Vice President and General Manager of both WFSB-TV (Hartford, CT) and Western Mass News, Meredith’s CBS, ABC, and Fox affiliates in Springfield, MA. He also oversaw the Meredith Local Media Group’s national sales teams…Dana Neves has been chosen as the new VP and GM at WFSB-TV, effective immediately. A ‘Channel 3’ veteran, Neves began her career as an intern in 1995, and worked her way up as an assignment manager, managing editor and assistant news director. She was named News Director in 2006.…Meanwhile, John Hesslein(left) has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager at Western Mass News, effective immediately. Hesslein worked for WSHM-TV and Meredith for more than 13 years. He has served as the Station Manager and General Sales Manager since 2004....Sinclair Broadcasting Group has promoted Lee Schlazerto vice president, distribution. Previously, Schlazer was VP distribution for Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel. He will continue to be involved in Tennis Channel distribution and affiliate relations……Susan McEldoon, president and general manager of KHOU-TV, Tegna’s CBS affiliate in Houston has announced her retirement after a 30-year career in the broadcast industry. She joined KHOU in 2004 as director of sales and was promoted to VP and station manager in 2005. She was promoted to her current position in 2007. McEldoon’s career includes sales management positions at KCNC Denver, WBBM Chicago and WBNS Columbus, OH.... Lee Meredith (right), Vice President and General Manager of Raycom Media’s Baton Rouge CBS affiliate (WAFB), will retire at the end of March after spending more than 40 years in the broadcast industry. Before moving to Baton Rouge, LA, four years ago, he held General Manager positions with Raycom Media’s NBC affiliates in Memphis, TN (WMC) and Huntsville, AL (WAFF). RonnaCorrentetakes over as VP and GM on April 1st..... WDIV-TV Local 4, Graham Media Group’s NBC affiliate in Detroit, has named Angie Cady (left) National Sales Manager. Cady held the NSM position at WDIV from November 2010 to September 2016. Cady was most recently a senior account executive at Fox Sports Detroit, Cady has been working in the Detroit media business for 23 years, including jobs at WKBD, WJBK, Comcast Spotlight and Fox Station Sales. Contratulations to all! Send your promotions via email to:

PINTEREST EXPANDS ADS FOR RETAILERS

Pinterest is expanding their “Shopping Ads” feature for retail products, which are similar to Google’s “Product Listing” ads. Retail advertisers will be able to advertise to users who have pinned their products, according to AdAge, and can link back to the product page on their own website.

“It goes back to the core mission of helping people find and discover new products that they would love to buy,” said Pinterest’s Jon Alferness.

Pinterest initially rolled out the ads as a beta test to a few select advertisers, including Lowe’s. According to the company, they saw a 20 percent higher click-through-rate on their shopping ads than with an average Pinterest campaign.

“Taking on a project [like a renovation] takes some work—how does it all come together? You need a boost in confidence to know it’s all going to look right and that’s where Pinterest ‘shopping ads’ come in handy,” said Shannon Versaggi, VP of targeted marketing at Lowe’s. “We found it to be incredibly effective with that style-driven audience.”

THIS AND THAT

TelevisionNewsDaily reports Omnicom Media Group, which includes OMD PHD is taking a different approach to the upfront this year. The agency has invited key media companies for three days of presentations at the Omnicom offices in New York. The goal is to provide a “holistic look” at the 2018-19 investment marketplace, which continues to add more channels and platforms. OMG believes its new approach will better enable its buyers, planners and clients to glean innovation and opportunities across all categories.....NBC News is launching a new home page for NBCNews.com, the first step in a “broad redesign” of all of its digital properties, including MSNBC.com, today.com and its over-the-top video applications, says Mediapost.

AVAILS

KTRK-TV ABC13 Houston, TX an ABC-TV owned television station is seeking to fill a Multimedia Account Executive position. The AE must be able to generate revenue across all ABC13 platforms including digital and social. The ideal candidate must close new business and increase station revenue/share on existing accounts. Must be a self-motivated team player with the ability to grow their business and keep their new business pipeline filled. A proven track record is required. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply now. EOE.

Cox Media Group in Pittsburgh seeks a Director of Sales. The DOS is responsible for the revenue of local, national, new business and digital for CMG Pittsburgh, and will oversee the day to day systems and procedures within the sales department. Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred. 3-5 years of local and national sales manager experience needed with multi-media sales experience and a proven track record of success. Prefer candidates who are currently in a GSM or DOS role in a mid- to large market. CLICK HEREto apply. EOE.

Award Winning Broadcaster WJZY, the Fox Owned and Operated television station in Charlotte, NC is seeking a highly motivated, hardworking Senior AE who will help local and regional advertisers achieve their business objectives through effective TV and digital advertising. Responsible for growing revenue and share from new and existing accounts through effective selling techniques. The ideal candidate possesses excellent communication skills, has an enthusiastic and outgoing personality and the drive to succeed. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply now. EOE/M/F/Veteran/Disabled.

YouTube is planning a “Karate Kid” series that follows the characters 34 years later. The show is entitled “Ralph Macchio’s Mortgage Is Due.”–Conan O’Brien

The queen of England is planning a huge concert for her 92nd birthday. The queen made the decision right after finding out Pitbull is available.–Conan O’Brien

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
March23, 2018
Phone: 888-884-2630