Karen Albritton, President
Bio
Karen has an uncanny ability to study a client’s problem and immediately see real solutions that work. Combined with her constant pursuit for excellence and tenacious competitiveness, her strategic insight and broad industry experience help Capstrat to consistently deliver results for the clients we serve.Articles
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PSAs struggle to see the light of day
Jan 25, 2008 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsIn cause marketing, we are frequently asked, "won't the stations run our commercial as a PSA? It's for a good cause." There is a Kaiser study
illustrating the challenges with getting meaningful airtime for a
non-paid public service announcement.What the study does not address is the percentage of PSAs aired by
stations that are tied to station-sponsored causes. Examples of this are
the station-sponsored Coats for Kids drives, station telethons and
emergency causes like disaster relief. This cuts into availability for
the deluge of non-profit PSAs stations receive.A colleague of mine who has over two decades of experience working with television station and consults with the Partnership for a Drug Free
America supports the study findings. He says that unless an organization can put some dollars against their PSAs, they are not very likely to see the light of day.We encounter non-profits that want to produce PSAs with the hope of
getting free air time. We counsel them to invest their production
dollars in other outreach activities instead of wasting money on a spot
that won't be seen enough to make an impact with their target audience.The one bright spot on the horizon for PSAs may be in social media where there are many targeting opportunities and considerably more ways to get a video message out there. Creative non-profits are finding ways to tap into these new channels to promote their cause and engage advocates.
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Primetime social media laugh lines fall flat
Sep 25, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsEarly in the network premiere week, it looks like the sitcom writers have discovered social media. Prime time characters are now talking about blogs, their MySpace pages and Google alerts.
You’d think this would open up interesting new plot lines or story angles. Not so.
Instead, we’re getting flat-footed jokes followed by canned laugh tracks. “I’m putting that in my blog!” is the new comeback.
In primetime, social networks are now the domain of nerds. “I have a 112 friends in MySpace,” says one geek in Big Bang Theory. “Yeah, but have you actually met any of them?” quips his equally geeky friend.
I read today that Microsoft is considering taking a stake in MySpace. If MySpace is now the joke of primetime television, I think Microsoft missed the window.
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Will Portable People Meters Give Radio A Boost?
Sep 11, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsRock and classic rock are up. Men and those who are employed listen more. Urban takes a hit. Younger audiences are not measuring up.
Some formats fare better than others, but radio overall looks to benefit from new data from Arbitron’s portable people meters. At least that’s the early take on results in Philadelphia and Houston where the PPM is in use.It should not be surprising to see radio audiences increase in PPM markets. The samples sizes are larger and the method of data capture is more reliable than a diary. What’s interesting is how the data can challenge some fundamental beliefs about radio.
For example, marketers have often looked to radio as a frequency medium. Larger audiences and less time spent listening indicate that radio may have greater reach potential than previously thought.
It’s probably too early to apply any broad generalities to local markets not yet measured by PPM. In our fall radio buys, it’s important to have a good mix of stations and formats to balance out the inequities due to different forms of measurement. These trends will vary based on market demographics and the specific target audiences for individual buys.
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NFL Gives Viewers One (Legal) Choice Online
Sep 4, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsHave you ever watched a Mom try to reason with a toddler in a toy store? That’s the image that came to mind when I heard about the NFL’s attempt to control its online content. From an article in Ad Age.
It’s great that the NFL is capitalizing on its vast storehouse of clips. Armchair quarterbacks, fantasy football enthusiasts and even casual fans ought to enjoy “instant replays” from today and seasons past. But, while ramping up its Web site, the NFL has decided to restrict other sites from featuring NFL clips. This runs counter to the mass democratization of the Web. It remains to be seen whether this approach will be successful.And, I had to chuckle when I read that the NFL’s legal team is going to police other news and video sites, including YouTube. Like the Mom trying to wrestle control from a 3-year old, I suspect the NFL would be better off with a less rigid approach.
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The Peacock and the Apple -- Can't we all just get along?
Aug 31, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsNBC Universal’s decision to not renew its contract with Apple to sell digital downloads on iTunes is a short-term blow to consumer choice but may prove to create more competition and better pricing for digital downloads in the long-term.
Apple, through its popular iPod and iTunes franchises, has become the WalMart of online digital content for the masses. Sure, there are other devices and other ways to download video and music, but for those who aren’t tech wizards, Apple’s 1-2 punch of ease-of-use and popular mainstream content makes it the default choice.
If media companies want to exercise any say in how their products are marketed and sold online, now is the time to act while consumer purchase behaviors and expectations are being shaped. And, content producers should take a look at the role between traditional distribution channels and consumer packaged goods and how those roles have evolved over time. Dominant distribution channels don’t necessarily bode well for the product manufacturer or for expanding consumer choice.
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Cable's Hot Summer
Aug 20, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsHallelujah. Programming still matters.
With all the YouTube and streaming video hype, it’s easy to lose focus on content and get distracted by the delivery channel. It’s especially easy to forget about cable television, yesterday’s new media.
Cable’s performance this summer shows that the medium still has sizzle. It’s more than 24/7 news and Law and Order re-runs. Cable networks have always had a reputation for edgier programming and that’s ideal for competing in today’s consumer-driven media environment.
The broadcast networks bet on bottom of the barrel reality shows this summer. Maybe, as pointed out by The New York Times, this was designed to save production costs. Or maybe, the networks thought reality would help them compete with online consumer-generated reality content.
Whatever, the rationale, traditional network’s summer fare is coming up dismally short and cable execs are looking smart with drama programming like TNT’s Saving Grace, AMC’s Mad Men and Lifetime’s Army Wives. TNT is offering past episodes online. I believe this is a strategy that’ll help their dramas capitalize on buzz and build audiences over time.
Will the traditional networks rush to copy cable? Will cable be able to sustain this momentum into the fall when favorites return from summer re-runs? We’ll know more as the fall schedules are released.
No matter the outcome, it’s good to know that drama isn’t dead.
FYI, the Triangle Ad Club is hosting their annual fall premiere party next Thursday at 5:30 at the Matthews House in Cary. If any of you would like to go as our guests, please let us know.
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Thoughts on Adweek's 'Old Media' Still Resonate, Survey Says
Aug 20, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsThe headline to a recent Adweek article reads “old media still resonate,” but the research shows that the way people consume content continues to change. Over half of all Internet users are consuming user generated content. And, the days of people using only one medium at a time are gone. The television is always on, but the viewer is doing something else. Television is becoming a passive ambient medium, not unlike radio.
So, when marketers test spots in focus groups, it might be wise to have people online or listening to the radio while the moderator is sharing the spot.
There’s no silver bullet strategy for marketers. We think it’s wise to deploy a mix of off-line and on-line channels to build reach. Consumer engagement, whether that’s through participatory tv or other tactics is increasingly important to build brand affinity. Communications goals also need to allow for greater frequency because the sad truth is that a significant portion of our exposures will be missed while the prospect is doing something else.Media costs – traditional and new are not declining in the face of this marketplace transformation. The net result is that marketing ROI will be under more pressure than ever. We see clients counteracting this trend with results-oriented online campaigns and tighter alignment with sales programs.
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Newspaper Help-Wanted Ads Decline to Historic Low
Aug 1, 2007 :: Karen Albritton :: 0 CommentsNewspapers can’t get a break. Circulation declines, display ad declines and now a report from the Conference Board that help-wanted ads are at their lowest level since 1958.
Part of this decline is said to be attributable to business concerns about the economy and future hiring. The other part of the story is the migration of recruitment and job searching to online channels. Even when hiring picks up, don’t expect significant rebounds in newspaper help-wanted ads in the future. This is one more challenge for an industry struggling to define its future.
Recruitment advertisers are getting smarter about how they find job candidates. The days of running a few ads in the industry trades or the local newspapers to find your next hire are behind us. Online talent acquisition presents many new ways to source candidates from a global talent pool.
We are fortunate to be in a growing market with companies that are hiring. As we make recommendations to our clients we need to be mindful of this shift.More Trouble for Newspaper Industry: In the Shadow of Services like Craigslist, June Help-Wanted Ad Placements Dip to 49-Year Low
The number of help-wanted ads in U.S. newspapers fell in June to a 49-year low, a private research group said on Thursday. The Conference Board said its gauge measuring help-wanted ad volume was 26 in June, the lowest reading since July 1958, Reuters reports. It was 32 a year earlier.
"There are signs that job advertising volume is edging a little lower, with very slight decreases in each of the past two months," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference Board, in a statement. "Business caution about near-term prospects for the economy, and perhaps for their own businesses, may lead to a little less hiring this autumn. Plus, the online business is mature enough in that this is where help wanted ads originate and may never appear in newspapers."
Total online job ads fell 2 percent in June, the Conference Board said. Goldstein suggested an already-tight labor market and worries about where the economy is headed contributed.
Newspaper help-wanted ads were down in all nine of the board's regions in the last three months, with the largest fall, 24.6 percent, in the Pacific, the Conference Board said.
The research firm surveys help-wanted ad volume at 51 newspapers across the country each month.
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