Advertising to Advertisers

Nickelodeon Trade Ad From 1990

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:38:01 -0500

Bravo: Thematic Links With Shows Lift Ad Effectiveness

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:00:49 -0500

Bravo: Thematic Links With Shows Lift Ad Effectiveness

Syfy Igniters

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Bravo has its Affluencers and Oxygen has Generation O. Now, to generate some early buzz before the 2012 upfront season begins, Syfy introduced its Igniters. Like Bravo and Oxygen viewers, Igniters are billed as super influential consumers with an emphasis placed on their desire to have all the latest products. It seems the collective greasy complexion of Science Fiction fans has cleared up and they’ve tossed the pocket-protectors because according to the network, Igniters are incredibly social thinkers with tons of swag. You can visit the Syfy Igniters site here. Also, you can download the upfront presentation loaded with tons of data and research from PSFK here. By the way, Bravo, Oxygen and Syfy are all owned by NBCUniversal.

Facebook: You're the Product Being Sold

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:49:05 -0500

Bravo's Affluencer Magazine

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:11:41 -0400

Bravo's Affluencer Magazine

ION Upfront Ad

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:41:09 -0400

♫ It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yup, it’s upfronts season and ION seems to have followed NBCU’s lead with posting upfront ads in the subway.

National Geographic Channel: A Decade in Review

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:58:05 -0500

National Geographic Channel: A Decade in Review:

Nat Geo placed a long-form print ad in Ad Age to proclaim its steady growth over the past decade. The network is currently in 71 million homes and attracts a more upscale and male audience.

Generation O - Oxygen Network

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:12:06 -0400

It’s that time of year again: Upfront season. I actually watched an MTA employee put this poster for Oxygen’s Generation O up. Subway ads touting the buying power of their viewers has become a tradition for Oxygen (click here for Oxygen’s 2009 ad and here for 2008). Their goal and tagline remains the same: to plug their “Trender, Spender, Recommender” viewers as non-stop buying machines. What recession? What 9.7% unemployment rate? These ladies have credit cards and they’re not afraid of interest rates.

There’s a few differences in the 2010 Generation O ad worth noting:

1. Apparently, the fresh-faced not a girl/not yet a woman seen here is an actual Oxygen viewer. I assume the vapid, plastic expression is a necessity in the upfront ad genre.

2. No diversity. Previous ads have featured women of color because, you know, debt Generation O doesn’t discriminate. I wonder why they decided to focus on one caucasian female. Hmm.

3. Ms. Angie from Dallas isn’t shopping. In previous ads, the Generation O ladies were shopping or appeared on their way to shop. Is Generation O beginning to show some restraint or did she max out her Saks card already?

Rob Walker covers these sort of ads that commodify people in his “Product is You” series. By the way, this photo was taken at the 67 Avenue station in Forest Hills, Queens, which is a residential neighborhood and nowhere near an ad agency. Why do you think Oxygen has repeatedly plastered, what is essentially a trade ad, all over the subway? Sure these ads are meant for media planners and buyers, but who are they really marketing to?

We TV - I Do-ers

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:24:36 -0400

We TV’s upfront advertising just screams girl power. Their female audience are “optimistic and resilient.”

Bravo - Affluencers

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:23:36 -0400

The Future of Media is National Public Radio?

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:30:14 -0400

The above banner images mark NPR’s first-ever marketing campaign created to portray the brand as an interactive, innovative medium for advertisers. The campaign is meant to emphasize NPR’s penetrative reach as a cross-platform media outlet that extends beyond radio. The company released an iPhone application for its podcasts on August 15 and as noted by the second panel, achieved over 1 million downloads, which is certainly helping it reach a younger audience (via: ClickZ).

I’m particularly struck by the campaigns references the demise of “old media.” The accompanying sponsorship information page states NPR reaches more than the “combined circulation of the top 55 newspapers.” This certainly highlights print media’s fleeting influence. The bold, albeit cliché in approach, slogan in the last panel implies that radio, television’s predecessor, has successfully combined a throwback medium with progressive media usage sensibilities and garnered a loyal following.

Side note: I’ve never seen a brand brag about the number of Twitter followers it has and perhaps in the not-too-distant future, that number will be just as important as web traffic figures.

Links to Network Upfront Pages

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:59:09 -0400

The 2009 Upfront ended in August. Because of the recession, major networks sold less commercial time than they normally do and are hoping to cash in on the scatter market. Below are a collection of upfront pages—some require login IDs that are usually given to ad agency representatives.

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Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:15:33 -0400

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The Audience Commodity

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:01:25 -0400

“What [advertisers] buy are the services of audiences with predictable specifications which pay attention in predictable numbers and at particular times to a particular means of communication [sic] in particular market areas. As collectivities these audiences are commodities. As commodities they are dealt with in markets by producers and buyers (the latter being advertisers). The audience commodities bear specifications known in the business as “the demographics.” The specifications for the audience commodities include age, sex, income level, family composition, urban or rural location, ethnic character, ownership of home, automobile, credit card statues and social class.”

- Dallas Smythe [via: Radio Active: Advertising and Consumer Activism by: Kathy M. Newman]

Turning the "Bravo audience into a brand unto itself:" The History & methodology of Bravo's Affluencer campaign

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:47:00 -0400

Turning the "Bravo audience into a brand unto itself:" The History & methodology of Bravo's Affluencer campaign:

via: The Advertising Research Foundation

"We are in the midst of one of the biggest economy crisis in the history of this country. Aren’t you..."

Tue, 19 May 2009 06:28:00 -0400

““We are in the midst of one of the biggest economy crisis in the history of this country. Aren’t you feeling better already, knowing that there is a customer at the end of the tunnel…..we just need to find him/her, cater to them, because if they will trust us, their friends will as well.””

- Indienomics.com

"The Product Is You is an occasional Murketing series looking at advertising that is aimed at advertisers: Magazines or television networks packaging up their consumers -- that is, you, the potential ad target -- in ways designed to attract advertisers." ~Rob Walker

Tue, 19 May 2009 05:20:00 -0400

"The Product Is You is an occasional Murketing series looking at advertising that is aimed at advertisers: Magazines or television networks packaging up their consumers -- that is, you, the potential ad target -- in ways designed to attract advertisers." ~Rob Walker

2009 Upfront Subway Posters

Tue, 19 May 2009 05:14:00 -0400

Above are Oxygen and Bravo’s subway ads for the 2009 upfronts. These pictures were taken at the 49th station along the R line, which makes sense for the location since Media:Edge and MediaVest offices are nearby. However, last year, similar Bravo and Oxygen upfront ads were plastered all over New York City. These two pictures (click HERE and HERE) were taken in Forest Hills, Queens. This picture was taken at the 116th St. A train station in Harlem. Neither neighborhood is a hub of media insiders, which raises the question, why would networks display ads that are so obviously industry specific in such a public arena? Granted New York is the advertising capital of the world, but it’s a bit unusual to see posters touting high engagement and ROI occupying the same space as ads for movies, radio stations and cheap legal advice.

I don’t think people generally like viewing themselves as rating points or pawns in a greater marketing scheme, but the 2008 Bravo and Oxygen upfront ads seem to frame consumerism in an empowering way. Although geared towards planners and buyers, the posters also help the public identify themselves and define their media habits. Being described as “engaged” and “cable’s best audience” does wonders for a viewer’s self-esteem and serves to add a sort of creditability to their taste in television.

Although, only strategically limited to a few subway stations near ad agencies, the 2009 were still readily visible by many non-industry straphangers. Given the current economic climate, I really didn’t think Bravo and Oxygen would run this type of campaign this year, but I guess “affluencers, trenders, spenders, and recommenders” don’t know the meaning of the word downsize.

Networks want to convince advertisers that they offer "QUALITY AUDIENCES."

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:11:00 -0400

Networks want to convince advertisers that they offer "QUALITY AUDIENCES."

IFC & Sundance Channel - Indienomics

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:04:00 -0400

The economy was a common theme during the 2009 upfront with networks suggesting ways advertisers could spend their ad dollars more efficiently. IFC and Sundance Channel coined the term “Indienomics,” which they define as, “The new branch of knowledge concerned with reaching consumers in a more effective way. Developed as a reaction to conventional marketing and the chaos of a changing media landscape” (via: indienomics.com). Now, there is nothing new in their identifying audience fragmentation-it’s a problem all networks must deal with.

The term “Indienomics” serves several purposes, the most obvious of which is its reference to the economy. It also emphasizes to the type of programming IFC and Sundance offer, (indie films) but more importantly, it defines their audience as free-willed INDIEviduals that play by their own rules. They are selling advertisers a lifestyle, that’s not only elusive, but influential and therefore extremely valuable. A post explaining Indienomics uses “chaos theory” to describe the current state of the media industry and states, “Under this new order, power is held not by industry or state, but by billions and billions of individuals.” Indienomics, however, represents the industry’s new business model and it the solution to “turn chaos into wealth.” Framing the television industry to seem like it’s in a state of near anarchy is a very persuasive approach. The notion that entertainment choices are limitless must be scary for advertisers, but the networks’ “Customized Partner Solutions” ensures that audiences can be reached across any media platform.

One particular rhetorical strategy that stuck out to me was IFC and Sundance identifying their audience as a community. This terminology is particularly effective because their community is further defined as “uber-influencers” and trend setters. While Bravo and Oxygen have described their audience as influential, trend-setting recommenders, IFC and Sundance’s use of the word “community” implies a certain natural, conversational, word-of-mouth way of promoting a brand. In addition, “community” is probably also used to remind advertisers of the networks’ ability reach beyond the commercial pod and into social media networks.

One of the strategies listed in the Indienomics research report emphasized the networks’ ability to get audience members to trust, recommend and purchase products promoted on IFC and Sundance significantly more so than any other competing network. This is mostly helped by audience members perceiving IFC and Sundance as avant-garde, idiosyncratic and an alternative to mainstream entertainment. Any brand that advertises on IFC or Sundance will most likely be considered innovative, cultural and liberal because of its support of independent filmmakers and visionaries. To many viewers, IFC and Sundance represent a certain rebellious lifestyle that doesn’t cater to corporate agendas and quarterly earnings expectations.

Of course this is a myth, evidenced by the Indienomics description concluding with the following statement:

“We are in the midst of one of the biggest economy crisis in the history of this country. Aren’t you feeling better already, knowing that there is a customer at the end of the tunnel…..we just need to find him/her, cater to them, because if they will trust us, their friends will as well.”