Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I just sent back my family's TV viewing diary for Nielsen — you know, the folks that do the TV ratings to tell advertisers what people are watching. Besides showing me that I'm more into reality shows than I care to confess, the whole process raised some other questions:

• Do you really think everyone writes down everything they watch? I'm a stickler for following the rules, but my teenage son couldn't be bothered and probably didn't want us to know how much or what he was watching. (Phineas & Ferb doesn't really sound like homework, does it?) And if it's anything like a diet diary, there's a whole lot of rationalizing going on.

• The diary shows what programs we watched and even accommodated DVR playback to watch programs later. But do they think that I watched only part of the whole hour-long show when I logged it in for 30-45 minutes? Or do they just assume I whizzed through the commercials? That seems to be quite a leap. I'm sure they know what they're doing, but it feels like voodoo to me.

• Even when I wrote down what I was watching, it was in 15-minute increments. Sometimes I'd spend 5 minutes just deciding if I wanted to keep watching, but then change to something else. Or the TV was on one show, but I was focused on setting the DVR or resetting timers on the DVR or deleting shows from the DVR. Managing the DVR can be as much of a chore as managing email.

• Note to advertisers: You know how your ad tells a great story capped off with your logo at the end? People are watching the entertaining part, then clicking through your logo. So they know the great ad but aren't making that critical brand connection. Might want to rethink the ending — save a last zinger or twist for after the logo to keep us watching. Or you could do what TV networks all seem to do – leave their logo on the screen all the time. I'm seeing that more but it's a little annoying.

What else is Nielsen missing?

I attended an AAF-Raleigh Durham event last week featuring Google TV with speaker  Dan Gertsacov, Team Manager with Google TV Ads.  The presentation was on the  insights from Google's introduction into the TV industry via Google TV Ads.  Earlier this year Google introduced a TV buying platform, similar to Google Adwords.  They have created a space that virtually anyone with web access and a credit card can play in. Google has built a ‘self-serve platform’ to allow advertisers to bid on specific cable shows, rather than buy on the basis of time slots and demographics.  This allows for a different kind of targeting at lower costs. They can even outsource creative, should you need it.  

This bidding system may be uncharted territory for traditional buyers, but for online buyers it’s common knowledge.   The idea of this ‘easy as 1-2-3’  technology can be threatening to a traditional media buyer who takes a lot of pride in the process of doing a precise buy from start to finish.  After listening through the presentation however, I realized that this is just another tool to make us do our jobs better.  Yes - a client could log in and create their campaign and have it running the next day, though I  wouldn’t recommend it.  Defined parameters and thorough strategy remain a crucial component to any buy, before you go bidding on spots and dots.

I think it’s funny how this way of buying media is easily adaptable to how online buyers purchase space.   Traditional buying is very archaic, and when you stop to think about it, it’s quite ridiculous.   It’s a routine process of requesting information, hours of data entry, and sending information back and forth via email or fax.  Yes, reps still fax avails to buyers!  In my 5 or 6 years of buying, almost nothing has changed in the overall process in which we buy TV.  How we buy media in general, well that’s a different story.  

So is Google TV going to transform the way in which we buy media?  Time will only tell.  I will remain open to change if it allows me to do my job more efficient, targeted and smarter.   A future of buying with no data entry?  Bring it on!

Let the countdown begin! Although many of us already see antennas and "rabbit ears" as extinct, in 362 days (as of today) this will hold true. On February 18, 2009 the DTV transition (digital TV) will occur, switching from analog to digital broadcast television. 

So what does this mean to you?  All-digital broadcasting will not only improve picture and sound quality, it will offer "multicasting."  This will allow broadcast stations to offer several channels of digital programming at the same time, while as with analog, they could only offer one. This means even more fragmentation for media buyers (ugh). The transition to digital will also open up airwaves for public safety and emergency communications like police and fire departments.

After the 17th, anyone who has an analog set and relies on an over-the-air signal will need to make a switch.  According to Nielson Media Research, 13 million households have television sets that can only receive analog broadcasts and are currently unprepared for the transition. 

You do not however need to ditch your old television, just get a digital to analog converter box. They sell from $40-$70. The government has issued a coupon program that just became available, worth $40 towards a converter box.

So this is great right? I get way more programs to choose from, no more "rabbit ears", and the government is going to give me a coupon to cover the cost of a converter box! 

Sounds simple, however this is a really profound and expensive change to this medium. This is likely to impact the economy in a big way. The National Association of Broadcasters announced plans for a $697 million dollar campaign to educate consumers about the digital broadcast transition. 

Will millions of people run out to Best Buy to upgrade their TV's? And if so, what are they going to do with their old TV sets?  As I was writing this post thinking through the possible implications this change will have, a new article popped up from my Google Reader about how much e-waste this change may potentially create.

Even with the efforts to educate and prepare the public for the conversion, this will most likely affect the elderly and low-income population the greatest. These households will be unable to afford cable or satellite, and may also have a difficult time purchasing the more expensive converter boxes.

For many advertisers and media buyers, this could result in a shift in media dollars. Ratings may drop in these areas, and we may see broadcast dollars targeting low-income households move to other mediums such as direct mail. 

The outcome of this conversion is still unknown, however February 09' will creep up fast! Will you be ready?

Hallelujah. 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.