MEDIACOM Marketing Digest – Annual Adspend Stats

MEDIACOM Marketing Digest 27Jan 04

Reported Annual Advertising Expenditure topped two billion dollars for the first time ever in 2003, according to AdSpend figures just released by Nielsen Media Research. The official total: $2,238,428,794.

This year's figures have been swelled by the addition of Outdoor advertising expenditure figures for the first time, adding $43 million to the pot - but even without that sweetener, the reported total would still top $2 billion, thanks largely to the $1.49 billion spent on TV advertising.

Anyone who's suffered through the supply and demand nightmares of the last 18 months will understand that the steady expansion of TV revenues has everything to do with increased demand for and restricted supply of airtime, and is unrelated to TV performance levels - which, as we noted last time, have continued to erode for the major networks through most of 2003.

Whilst television and newspaper adspends have shown steady growth over the last six years, as indicated in the graphs below, expenditure growth for the other media has been erratic, with some flat years and (particularly for cinema) some reverses along the way.

We should give the obligatory warning that these are reported advertising expenditure figures, based on the value of time and space at ratecard estimations. The real spend levels will inevitably be somewhat less than shown, the exact figure dependent on the planning & negotiating skills of the advertisers, agencies & media services involved.

The categories which spent the most on advertising in 2003 were:

* Foodstuffs $288 million (up 7.1% YOY)
* Leisure & Entertainment $275 million (up 3.6%)
* Retail $212 million (up 8.9%)
* Automotive $164 million (up 12.8%)
* Toiletries/Cosmetics $141 million (up 8.0%)

Greatest year-on-year declines in advertising expenditure:

* Transportation - down 21.3% (now $4.6 million)
* Industrial - down 14.3% (now $5.2 million)

Greatest year-on-year increases in advertising expenditure:

* Investments, Financial, Banking - up 42.9% (now $124 million)
* Beverages - up 27.1% (now $130 million)

All data courtesy and copyright Nielsen Media Research.

TVNZ Key Dates Coming Up

Cancellation deadline for April: tomorrow, 28 January
Schedule release for May/June/July Feb 9th
Term Deadline for April February 4th
\Core Inventory Release April 4th

NZ IDOL BEGINS SUNDAY AT 7.30PM

We've come a long way since the days when talent quests were first televised in New Zealand. One of the early shows was called Have A Shot, and judges were kind, compassionate and tactful when rating performers, leaving viewers to be as harshly judgmental as they wanted in the privacy of their own homes.

Now, thanks to the crankily caustic Simon Cowell, a kind word may turn away wrath - but it won't get ratings. So we're all eagerly expecting cruel criticisms from Paul Ellis, Fiona McDonald or Frankie Stevens, as NZ IDOL makes its TV debut this Sunday. Anything too benign will leave us somewhat disappointed (though the contestants will be suitably grateful).

Given the addictive performances of American Idol and Australian Idol, we not only know what to expect with the Kiwi version of the show, we can also comfortably expect killer ratings, at least for this first series. Whether the show favours presentation over talent remains a hot topic for debate, but we're all primed (courtesy a strong PR buildup) to cringe and clap as we listen to the good, the bad and the merely tone-deaf strut their stuff on the small screen. That could be us - or our rellies - up there!

In the US, the third series of American Idol has just launched, to excellent ratings (29.4 million viewers). Could it be because audiences were eager to catch a glimpse of the scorned contestant who managed to pour a glass of water over Simon the ubercritic?

Probably. But will Kiwi broadcasters resort to similar tactics to increase ratings? Watch this space.

JUDY FLIES SOLO

Last week saw Judy Bailey return to the small screen to host the One Network News on her own, while Richard Long heads south for a short stint as narrator for The Rocky Horror Show. The votes are in - or, at least, the ratings - and Judy remains Queen of the Airwaves, with audiences continuing to support One Network News, at least so far. No sign of the outrage that was in evidence last time Richard was shelved. Could this be a sign that viewers really were prepared to make a change - or just recognition that cost-cutting and redundancies are a fact of life in new millennium economics?

The US Toy Industry Association has revealed the nominees for its fourth annual Toy of the Year Awards, to be presented on Saturday, Feb. 14th.

This year's nominees, for one of the key categories - and the category of most interest to us -

TOY MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR:

PowerTouch Learning System

The marketing mix included billboard, print, broadcast and retail advertising, an interactive website, Scholastic partnership, outreach to preschool teachers, McDonald's promotion, college scholarship sweepstakes, cross-sells and interactive POP displays featuring motion sensor technology to really make a statement at retail.

Monopoly

Hasbro implemented an integrated plan featuring a new television campaign, promotion elements with McDonalds, The Monopoly Cereal Edition from General Mills and a giant Monopoly Board game at Harrahs Casino. The National Championship generated more than 450 broadcast hits as 48 competitors played on board a chartered train from "GO" in Chicago to the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.

CLIKITS

A combination of television advertising on girl targeted networks/programs during key drive periods and an alliance with the Limited Too Stores made LEGO's launch into the arts and crafts category extremely successful. In addition LEGO sponsored the Swedish pop quartet, PLAY and implemented several online campaigns on targeted websites and in store programs.

Lionel and Mervyn's 2003 Holiday Licensing Partnership

A carefully orchestrated promotion within a national collaborative campaign. Tens of millions of impression were made during the 2003 holiday season and heightened with a national sweepstakes that had kids young and old stuffing ballot boxes in the hopes of winning an exclusive Lionel & Mervyn's Bring Home the Holidays train set.

Air Hogs 2003 Van Tour

2003 marked the 100th year anniversary of powered flight in North America. Spin Master celebrated the occasion by sending a fleet of Air Hogs vans throughout North America to further their brand awareness and boost sales.

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Openair Cinema - cinema under the stars, at the Viaduct Basin - is now showing, and will keep running until the 15th of February. The movie titles change each evening, with one session each night, commencing at dusk for the romantic at heart - and so that patrons can see the screen images clearly. They have seating for 300 and report that bookings are excellent for upcoming movies such as Calendar Girls, Casablanca, The Matrix, Pirates of the Carribean, The Piano and, on the last 3 nights, the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Advertising in association with this new venture is available for either 30 second or 60 second ads in 35mm print form.

It was a marketer's dream, and it's rapidly becoming one of the most successful works in film history. We're talking, of course, about the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The first two instalments brought in about $1.8 billion worldwide and the third has already grossed about US$710 million worldwide (NZ$1.07 billion) since its pre-Christmas opening - including NZ$10.2 million at the New Zealand box office.

So what made it a marketer's dream? What other film series can you name which had an entire country promoting each episode? Has any other country released official coins and stamps about a movie - timed to coincide with the movie's release? Know any other country that dips into its own pockets to provide launch parties for a movie - in London, in Wellington, and also in Japan, Italy and Canada? Has any other nation allocated several million dollars to promote itself pretending to be somewhere else? And what other country would devote three-quarters of the front page of its primary tourism portal ( http://www.NewZealand.com) to a movie trilogy about a mythical land, financed by an American studio, based on books written by an English academic more than fifty years ago?

Yes, they're movies which have us beaming with pride - we (i.e. our country ... well, OK, Peter Jackson and his team) made these movies! And yes, the final installment, The Return Of The King, has just scooped four Golden Globes, as well as the Producers' Guild's Darryl F Zanuck Award for Theatrical Motion Picture. The movie has also been nominated for 12 awards at Britain's annual Baftas, and is a hot favourite for the Oscars. Guess it worked.

So please tell Hollywood that New Zealand is ready, willing and able to turn itself into a megamovie booster. In the absence of a few cups that used to grace our trophy cabinets, we'll settle for a few rings or other trinkets.

The next Harry Potter film will be the most expensive movie ever made, according to director Mike Newell. Goblet Of Fire, the fourth Potter film, will cost £170 million - £5 million more than Peter J. spent on the previous big-budget title-holder, The Return of the King. Goblet of Fire is scheduled for release in 2005.

Does this sound familiar?

"Asked to outline the most significant challenges facing them in their role as marketing manager, the respondents most frequently mentioned the following:

* Forecasting economic trends;
* Retention/growth of market share or to increase sales;
* Competition and the ability to differentiate products or services from competitors;
* Retention of marketing budgets/funding;
* Devising new market strategies to increase sales/market share;
* Achieving targets with the fluctuating dollar and impact on interest rates and imports/exports."

That's what 100 Australian senior marketers indicated when asked for their views on 2002, in a survey conducted in November 2001 by ACA Research -- and no doubt they'd be saying the same thing if they were surveyed today.

Eighty percent of the 100 senior marketing managers contacted said they expected to maintain or increase their marketing spend in 2002. A quarter of respondents said they expected to spend more, with an average increase of 16% planned.

Are YOU ready for a prosperous but tough 2004?

Take an hour out of your day today, and spend 10 minutes on each of the six challenges that have the Australians so worried:

1. What new strategies can you put in place to reduce the impact of macro-economic trends?

2. List 10 actions you can take to retain or improve your market share. Implement the first action TODAY, and commit to one new action every week. Add a note in your diary to review those actions every 3 weeks.

3. If this was Survivor:Business, would your company be voted off first? Could your clients, blindfolded, tell the difference between your products/services and those of your competitors? Could you? You have 60 days to fix that, as of NOW. Start by reading Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin - from your library or bookstore or online at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471357642/ref%3Dnosim/zstories-20

4. Must your marketing budgets be approved by others? Then get ready to protect those budgets, even if it takes a slambang, no-holds-barred battle royale. Do whatever it takes to hold the line.

5. The old sales channels are off-limits. Find new ones. Be inventive, be creative, be off-the-wall, be cranky. Never sold widgets through service stations? Now you must. Ten minutes to new markets.

6. The dollar is on a rollercoaster ride. Deal with it. Six solutions before lunch.

ABOUT MEDIACOM

MEDIACOM, with offices in 80 countries, is one of the world's largest & most respected media service companies.

We create media solutions that build business for a wide range of local, regional and worldwide clients.

With $10 billion in global billings, a commitment to strategic insight, total communications planning, tactical media brilliance and tough but creative media negotiating, MEDIACOM provides unsurpassed value in today's chaotic media marketplace.

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