TV Still Reigns in Advertising, but Digital is Up and Coming
Television still commands the most ad dollars, but digital video is an increasingly important competitor.

April is the month when television executives make their respective cases for bigger budgets, and cable networks are trying to close the gap in ad pricing that has long existed between cable and broadcast, where there’s a 3 to 1 advertising rate gap between broadcast and cable. Cable takes in more total ad dollars, but their rates are lower than broadcast TV’s. Because broadcast television still reigns in terms of ratings, many low-rated shows on broadcast TV get considerably higher cost-per-thousand-viewer ad rates than comparable cable shows.

SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons Why Television Marketing Still Works for Audience Engagement

And then there’s the new player that could disrupt the entire video apple cart: online video. Online video outlets like YouTube command nowhere near the advertising rates TV does, but changes in viewer habits (i.e. viewers who are becoming increasingly platform-independent) are changing things. In a few years, digital video advertising could bring in more ad dollars than television.

The Numbers

The Hollywood Reporter says that for the 2013-2014 season, ad-supported cable networks took in $10.2 billion in upfront commitments, which was a 4% increase over the previous year. In comparison, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CW captured $9.15 billion for 2013-2014. But while cable has been outperforming broadcast TV for ad dollars, increases in cable advertising intake are starting to level off. The top ad-supported cable networks for 2013, in order, are ESPN, USA, TNT, TBS, and Fox News.

Overall, advertisers spend $60 to $70 billion annually, including ads on broadcast, cable, local, syndication, and Spanish-language television. In 2012, online ad spending was around $36.6 billion, with $3.4 billion of that spent on mobile advertising.

What’s Changing

Consumers are far less wedded to television screens and consume video on multiple platforms.

An article in Variety reports that ZenithOptimedia, an ad-buying firm, predicts television’s chunk of global ad spending will fall to less than 40% by 2016. In the early decades of broadcast television, broadcasters only had each other to compete with for ad dollars, until cable became ubiquitous. And now, digital video is shaking things up once again. So far in 2014, advertisers are showing increased comfort with putting their ads in all types of video on every platform, so the dynamics of the advertising market are undergoing considerable changes. Rather than a television ad marketplace, the new normal is a video ad marketplace.

Television will have to become more flexible to maintain healthy advertising levels, and many networks are trying new things to draw in younger viewers who are far less tethered to television than older viewers. Tactics may include “micro-video” teasers aimed at younger viewers, and advertising deals that weave product placement into shows while creating complementary promotional videos.

Cross-Pollination Between Television and Digital

Broadcast, cable, and digital are all still very much siloed in the upfront song and dance. But now the digital folks have NewFronts, a similar setup where digital videos compete for TV dollars during the upfront negotiations. At the same time, traditional TV networks like CBS, Unavision, and The Weather Channel are choosing to join online giants like YouTube in NewFronts in an effort to be seen as legitimate digital companies. Advertisers have been shifting money into digital video for years, but television still reigns supreme. That, however could change within five years.

Digital to Television: Takeover or Merger?

Today, ad buyers are purchasing advertisements to appear not on TV “shows” but TV “content,” which is streamed on multiple platforms. Ad buyers are moving toward a future in which they can reach consumers regardless of what screen they happen to be using. Some media experts believe that digital video ads will take more ad spending away from print, outdoor, and display ads than from television.

A report by eMarketer says that digital advertising will overtake television advertising in 2018. Right now, marketing specialists still believe that television commercials influence audiences more than other ads, but digital giants like Google are working hard to convince ad buyers that the money they spend on TV gets a better ROI online. We’ll have to wait a few years to see if they were able to make their case.

As a digital publisher, you have to know where to spend your own marketing dollars, and how to bring in marketing dollars from others, including advertisers that currently spend on television. Knowing the trends and changes happening as digital video grows in importance can help you create the smartest strategy for marketing and monetizing your site.




4 Local Media  -  Damon Balch




(480) 442-1049




damon@4localmedia.com

DAMON BALCH - MEDIA EXPERT - (480) 442-1049

54% of Mobile Marketers Plan to Beacon

Beacons are going big.

While many retailers, agencies and brands have been experimenting with beacons for many months, the growth of the small transmitting devices into the marketplace continues.

It turns out that almost one in five mobile marketers already are using Apple’s iBeacons, with that number projected to double to more than a third next year, based on a new study.

As context, almost half (49%) of marketers currently use GPS location data, according to the latest Mobile Benchmark Report by Adobe.

The report comprises an analysis of behavioral data based on more than 18 billion visits to U.S. consumer facing websites, 700 million mobile app sessions and surveys of more than 3,000 mobile users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany.

The study found that the use of beacon technology is growing, with the majority (54%) of mobile marketers expecting to be beaconing within the next 12 months. Here’s the picture:

• 18% -- Already using beacons
• 36% -- Plan to use beacons in next 12 months
• 17% -- Not sure
• 28% -- No plans to use beacons in next 12 months

Within the next three months, there will be 30,000 active beacons in the U.S., with more than three quarters of them in retail stores, based on a forecast by BI Intelligence, as I recently wrote about here (Beacons, Beacons, Everywhere Beacons).

The number of beacons will grow 287% to 5 million beacons within four years, with most of them in use by retailers, according to BI Intelligence.

To say there’s high market interest in beacons would be an understatement, with new beacon news and announcements almost daily.

Apple is updating its beacons in Apple and Disney stores, beacons are now being used for mobile payments and Tesco is using beacons to sell magazines in stores, for example.

And MediaPost has created a conference on beacons, slated for Nov. 3 in New York (IoT: Beacons), which I’m currently programming.

The point is that beacons are going mainstream.

Beacons are being deployed at ballparks and footballs stadiums as well as malls and stores.

Like NFC (near field communications), consumers are unlikely to ever hear the term beacon, though many are likely to experience the impact.

Based on precise targeting due to beacons, mobile shoppers can receive much more value, and we’re not talking about them being bombarded with irrelevant ads as they shop.

Brands, agencies and suppliers are realizing this as they explore and experiment to determine the correct value. Beacons are the new mechanism from which to initiate that value.

Beaconing is well underway.

4 Surprising Skills All Successful People Require

There are all sorts of skills that can contribute to success. But these 4 are critical. Without them, you'll never make it.

Want to be successful? You have to start with you. So much is written about generosity and empathy being important skills for success, and they are. But these outward-facing skills only come with the complete knowledge and control of oneself.

Your mother probably told you to think of others first and often, that the world was not about you. And yet even those who are the most generous and empathetic had to focus strongly inward to create the wealth and connections that allow them to positively influence the world. Sure, the traits below are very self-focused, but you can't possibly benefit other people without getting your own house in order.

1. Self-Awareness

Do you truly understand who you are? Are you aware of how you make people feel and react by the things you say and do and even more the ways you say and do them? Many people don't have a good sense of their outer being. They go through their day reacting and doing while not even realizing what comes out of their mouths or how their actions affect the people around them. Commit time to getting to know yourself, especially from the outside. Invite others to share their observations of your behavior and attitudes. Don't just focus on your positive attributes.

Go to those you know will be honest and spend time learning about your potentially challenging attributes as well. The more you understand about how you affect people the better you can motivate them to join you in a worthy cause. Then you can decide whether to keep, adjust, or eliminate behaviors in order to reach your preferred future.

2. Self-Confidence

If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else? When you're a successful leader, people want to believe you know where to go and have some idea of how to get there. They are dealing with their own insecurities and don't really have additional tolerance for yours if you are in charge. That may be unfair, but reality is not generally a function of fairness. Being self-confident does not mean you have to know all the answers. But it does mean you must have the inner strength and knowledge to address any given situation or obstacle that may come your way. Experience helps, but it is a combination of resourcefulness, resolve, and humility that will make most people, even you, believe in your leadership.

Take stock of what you do well. Identify your areas of insecurity and create a plan to remedy those areas through education and support, remembering that the only one who can truly make you confident is you.

3. Self-Assessment

Life moves fast and opportunities can go as quickly as they present themselves. You don't always have time to consult with others as to whether or not your current capabilities are up to the challenges headed your way. Still you need to gauge if you are on the right path or change is immediately required. Self-encouragement is great but if you can't be realistic about your levels and limitations, you'll crash and burn far more than you'll succeed. No one should know you better than you.

Create self-diagnostics that expose your weaknesses and perform so you can shore up your weaknesses with learning, partnership, or delegation. The joy of informed success far outweighs the tragedy of ignorant failure.

4. Self-Discipline

Any success worth having doesn't come easy. It requires focus and determination. Growth occurs from careful analysis and practiced performance. Inconsistent attempts to succeed will fail more often than not. If you could just take a shot and make it happen, more people would be successful. But it's the people who get more things right who ultimately win. Self-discipline keeps you on the straight and narrow, avoiding distractions or taking the easy way out of challenges.

Even if you are not ordinarily a planner, write down bullet points or steps to your success. Use the skills above to figure out the work you need to do to get there. Then measure your progress regularly so you can tell where you are being your own greatest supporter or worst enemy. Once you know, the rest is up to you.