GM's New Commercial Spot

I guess desperate times call for desperate measures because General Motors is measuring their new commercial spot with some new methods. Years ago (yes, back when the economy was good....) an automakers commercial would have been measured by weekend sales and foot traffic to the dealership. Not today, it's measured by positive feedback from bloggers and analysts.

The spot features Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre walking through a dealership and speaking to you, the buyer.

AdAge.com wrote this article earlier in the week and I'm stunned by the fact that GM actually is speaking on how successful the spot was from a consumer and blogger point of view, as opposed to the fact that it actually moved units!

Click here to read the article.

Couric Isn't Leaving CBS Anytime Soon...

Early Morning television was designed for someone like Katie Couric, not hard hitting headline news. While I do think she has some talent and her one on one interviews are often great, the headline news crowd is not one for Katie Couric.

TVWeek is reporting that she is staying through the end of her contract which is over in 2011. I don't expect that to happen though as we typically see networks get antsy months in advance.

I think it's safe to say that the experiment hasn't worked out so well....

Will We See More Talk Shows in Prime?

The big debate started last week on whether Jay Leno's new 10pm time slot would be successful. Many within the industry believe it will either make NBC look brilliant, or it will absolutely bomb and people can say, "told you so!"

Advertising Age brings up a good point though, no matter what it does, the Jay Leno show is cheap and it replaces 5 hours of programming that would otherwise be expensive. So while some call the move cheap, the other big 3 will be copying it very quickly if Leno turns out to be a hit in that time period.

Seattle Times Latest to Announce Layoffs

Less than an hour after I posted about the death of the newspaper, the Seattle Times Company announced layoffs of more than 100. The Seattle PI is breaking the news and I'm sure the Times will have something to say later in the day. The story is still developing.

Read the full article at SeattlePI.com.

How Long Will Print Survive?

This is a question that these days we are all asking. I personally believe that Print has another 7-10 years before we see major newspapers (USA Today, NY Times, LA Times, etc.) start to crumble.

The definition of crumble at this point is objective. Cut backs, lay offs, paper shrink, etc. can be all used to define crumble. The day we see one of these newspapers completely stop printing and go all on-line is the day when I say it's over for Print.

Wait a minute, we already watched that happen last week...although the Christian Science Monitor will continue to print the paper once per week, this is a sign that the end is near for Print.

Advertising Age is asking the question, "Will Print last another 5 years?" There is no doubt that the landscape is changing in the media world but I still have faith in radio and broadcast television. The internet is making us all rethink the way we reach consumers and Print is stuck in a limbo between the internet and the printed paper.

Think about it, in order to keep some revenue they have turned to the internet to publish the news. The best revenue model for them at this point would be to charge you to read their stories online. The only problem is, their competition is not charging you. Therefore in order to stay competitive with page views and unique users they have to give you a reason to come back online. Although the cost to publish news online is far cheaper than the paper, the revenue opportunity is far less compared to the revenue that print has been used to.

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

When Ben Silverman arrived on the scene at NBC in 2007, he was dubbed as "The Next Generation" in Television programming. He was the Cadillac in a position that had slowed down and needed a re-boot. But now after a year on the job, many people are discussing his lifestyle more than his programming. Which has many people at NBC Universal a little nervous.

Click here to read the article at the LATimes.com

I'm still confused....

NBC Sells Super Bowl Spots at $3 Million

It's a steep increase from what CBS garnered last year per spot, but NBC has already sold 80% of the spots at a cool $3 million, per :30. Which is surprising being that we're in the middle of a "down economy."

NBC and General Electric are thrilled though, especially since the inventory has been flying off the shelf and we're still over three months away from the game. Sales tend to pick up in the 45 days prior to the game but this year has seen a different trend.

Expect to see your typical Pepsi and Coke ads, as well as the hilarious beer spots and automotive marketing. However they are expecting another infuse of movie trailers. Last year we saw trailers for movies that weren't set to hit theatres for several months but the buzz was started early.

NBC also said they used the Super Bowl as a way to bring in revenue for other parts of the organization, such as packaging the spot with sponsorships and or spot deals.

Read the article at AdAge.com.

Google Takes Next Steps Into Television

Google announced Tuesday that they have signed a partnership agreement with NBC Universal to begin selling ad space on their cable networks. The deal will give Google another foot in the door on the television ad sales race that they began around 17 months ago. Google will be able to sell space on the Sci-Fi channel as well as other lower rated cable channels.

Google calls the deal a huge win in order to increase their distribution and reach.

Click here to read the full article at NYTimes.com.

Newspaper Earnings Continue To Drop

The outlook continues to dwindle for newspaper companies including Gannett and A.H. Belo Corporation. While Gannett announced today that their total revenue fell 8.4%, Belo gave a warning that their announcement will be "substantially below" the original forecast.

We've been talking about it now for five years and we'll continue to talk about it for another 10 before the newspaper industry completely goes down the drain.

Click here to read the full article at the NY Times.com.

Google Reports Solid Q1 Earnings

Google posted a profit of 30% in Q1 yesterday sending shares to+$85 in early Friday trading. Click here to view the article at TV Week.com

Have You Checked Out Hulu.com?

If not then you're truly missing out. Go there now.

Hulu is the video initiative formed jointly by NBC Universal and News Corp. The site features videos from SNL, Family Guy, and other hilarious programs that you can go back and watch hundreds of times over. I recently found myself wasting a half hour or so just watching various SNL clips. It's like iTunes meets YouTube, however the content is easy to find, categorized, and you don't have to pay.

You also won't be bogged down with hundreds of commercials or ads. Before each video plays you will be forced to sit through a :15 pre-roll commercial but for content like this I don't mind waiting. You will also notice that they have adopted a similiar ad unit style that YouTube is using where they have a overlay ad play on the bottom of the video screen. Ragu was sponsoring a SNL video. Interesting product placement in my mind.

Go check out Hulu.com right now and watch some videos.

General Electric To Sell NBC Universal?

Many analysts believe that is the smartest thing they could do after a dismal Q1 earnings release yesterday. The real question though is how much is NBC worth?

Click here to read the article at the NY Times.com

A la Carte Cable Causes A Stir

A la carte cable channels is a topic that has been discussed a few times over the past two years. The concept is simple, you pay for what you want. Instead of having a $75+ cable bill each month for channels that you don't use, you will pay a monthly subscription fee for those that you do watch.

You can see why this is troubling to the cable networks. Cable ratings are already low to begin with and in many markets the cable penetration is only 65-75% with satellite tv taking some market share. So if we begin to remove subscribers from specific cable networks then the ratings will dip lower and begin to erode advertising dollars instantly.

I have to say from a consumer standpoint this is a brilliant idea. I would probably buy abou 15-20 channels including ESPN, FOOD Network, FSN, TBS, MTV, etc. etc. You now know my viewing habits. However from someone who works in the media industry I see why this is only hurting, not helping the networks.

While I completely agree with the FCC trying to help consumers, it is my opinion they should be trying to help their own industry. So why create a program that is going to erode ratings and remove dollars from your own wishing well. It doesn't make sense for me and I would actually be against it.

My consumer hat says bring on the choices!

Here is the article at TV Week.

CBS's Layoffs Signal Slow Market in '08

CBS's announced layoffs last week is another signal that the market is slow in 2008. While some stations have reported an increase in revenues, such as NBC, CBS reported large losses.

The interesting take on this though is CBS cut staff in their news department. In fact they recently let go some prominent news anchors which viewers are left to scratch their heads about.

"The message being sent is, if you succeed in your job, you succeed in your craft, look out! You're too expensive," said Tom Petner, a former local broadcasting executive who edits TVSpy.com's ShopTalk, a daily industry newsletter. "I think it's shameful, because in the end the viewer loses out."

Click here to read the full article at LA Times.com

In-Store Digital Signage Is Used The Wrong Way

Today I noticed an article on Adage.com that Unilever, who recently completed a major study with Nielsen and other companies (and overpaid for the data I'm sure) is concluding that posters and in-store coupons is a more effective medium for moving product than digital technology. Recently you may have noticed at your local supermarket that more and more televisions are popping up in the produce, deli, and possibly bakery aisles. The television are typically either placed up and above the shoppers heads so they are unseen or they are right in the shoppers faces with sound so they are overly intrusive.

The point is that in-store technology including digital signage has the capability to work. There is no reason that the internet + tv model can't be fused into the supermarket to work effectively. The problem is nobody has perfected it yet. Just sticking a television in an aisle and placing ads for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream isn't going to inrease lift. I couldn't think of a bigger waste of money.

But what if there was digital signage technology out there that had the capability of giving product information along with serving advertisements. What if this digital signage had the ability to give a store map to show you where the condiments and dishwasher soap was located? How about a machine that printed coupons for weekly specials and if you scanned your rewards card it automatically gave you discounts on products you frequently purchased? What if it was fully interactive combining the internet + television model together?

The truth is the technology isn't the problem it's the way we've attempted to integrate the technology with the user. I've written on here several times over the past year that Out-of-Home Digital Signage is the wave of the future but we have to figure out how to entice the user. We have to come up with solutions on how to make the user want to use the product.

The odds aren't high that I'm going to be going down the produce aisle and notice an ad on the screen standing eleven feet over head for a new juice drink. If I see the ad then will that make me automatically buy the drink? Probably not.

However imagine this scenario. I walk to the wine aisle and pick up a bottle that looks appealing. I scan the SKU on the digital machine and then pops up four different types of cheeses and crackers as well as a recipe that I can print with the wine.

Now we are moving product through the store.

Wake up marketers. You need to push for this type of capability. You need to be the ones who create the demand. Otherwise we will continue to see end caps and and posters and nothing new to enhance the environment or move more of your product.

The full article on Unilevers waste of money research is here at Adage.com

Check out a company that is trying to do something different in-store.

NBCU Posts A Solid Q1

Despite parent company General Electric's bleak earnings in Q1, NBCU has posted solid earnings in most all divisions with Cable revenue higher than expected.

Local broadcast sales were flat year to year and digital revenues were up 5%. It should be noted that NBC has also recently gone on record to say that they are looking to sell their Owned & Operated stations in Hartford and Miami.

Click here for the full story at MediaPost.

Family Hour Not So "Family" on NBC

Thursday nights on NBC are testing the boundaries on the historical "Family Hour." This past Thursday night proved to be no different. The Office and 30 Rock both were rated TV-14 but it's possible they could have had stricter ratings.

The real question is do viewers want a family hour. Remember the good ol' days of TGIF on ABC?

Click here to read the article at the NY Times.

CBS Creates New Ad Sales Division

CBS has recently developed a new ad sales division to speak directly to agencies about content and advertising integration. The division will work closely with ad agencies to speak their language and give more opportunities on the client side.

Instead of a program going through development and then presenting strict advertising and content guidelines to the client, CBS will now engage in discussions much earlier in the process which will allow for more creative ad options and initiatives.

Click here to read the full article at Adage.com

Katie Couric To Leave CBS?

It's no secret that Katie Couric's tenure at CBS has been rocky. She was signed to a large contract to pull the CBS Evening News from the bottom of the ratings pile but unfortunately she has yet to do so.

Yesterday a report came out that she was planning on leaving the network before her 2011 contract is due. CBS quickly shot that rumor down. Couric became the first solo Female Evening News anchor when she left NBC's Today Show.

Although it's been listed as a failed experiment so far I have to believe there are a number of reasons why the news still is in last place; and many of those reasons are not blamable on Ms. Couric. For one, the CBS Evening News was in last place before she arrived so it's not like she went from first to last overnight. The other fact is that she isn't allowed to deliver the news in her Today Show style that we all grew to love her for. Granted, I understand that news is news and needs to be delivered in a serious format but Couric is a completely different person than the one we came to love in the mornings. Although the $15 million a year is nice, I don't think it's a fit for her. (The position, not the money)

Read the full story here at the LA Times.