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Greetings Everyone -
RJP was extremely busy this summer working with our clients to firm up the upfront deals and continue our scatter negotiations. Here is the TV and digital marketplace as we see it:
The factors of a slow economy continue: U.S. bond ratings downgrade, anemic GDP, sovereign debt, stock market swings, threat of double dip recession. As predicted, a lot of advertisers moved their scatter budgets into the upfront of 2012, to hedge their bets against these uncertainties. The networks rode that wave. The cable networks really rode that wave. This meant upfront money increased and it remains to be seen if these are truly incremental dollars. So the big question still is whether there will be softness in scatter. Last year scatter spending was strong the first half of the year into 2Q, and the networks capitalized on that strength. By mid 2Q to 3Q, however, it petered out.
Another interesting observation about the 2012 upfront is, given this economic climate that somewhat mirrors (some would argue is worse than) that of two years ago, we didn't see significant cutbacks this go around. Two years ago, for the 2009-2010 season, advertisers cut a lot of their upfront commitments in a panic, to the detriment of their sales goals. This time, they seemed to think twice and cutbacks were less. Proof that advertising in a bad economy, particularly TV advertising, is still critical, in order for brands to stay afloat. Maybe advertisers learned good lessons about panicking.
Broadcast - So, for 4Q, thanks to the old fashioned rules of supply and demand, the networks are well sold. Why? They protected themselves and postured for a strong upfront while advertisers did the same and specifically for 4Q retailers, snagged crucial pre-Christmas inventory. Liability issues for new season primetime performances will eat up some inventory for NBC and the CW (see our research feature on the right), CBS remains in 1st place with the most shows in the top 25, ABC's making some inroads and FOX has enjoyed double digit growth on key demos.
Cable - It took 30 years for cable upfront spending to surpass the broadcast Prime investment ($9.45 vs. $9.2 billion if you'll recall). So will that leave any scatter money this year for cable? Currently 4Q cable is slow with avails in most dayparts. There are also pockets of underdelivery. During the past year networks like CNN, Turner and USA were off a little in their numbers. But cable vendors will continue to push for the same strength they saw in the upfront. If there is not too much movement soon however, sellers will begin to be more amenable.
Local - RJP's Debbie Waxler, VP Associate Media Director gives a quick snapshot of how politicals will effect the local TV marketplace. She uses the term tsunami.
Digital - The digital marketplace will also benefit greatly from the political spending to take place this year. The local political marketplace was drastically altered, once Facebook announced zip targeting. Basically, what this means is that, campaigns can cherry pick through the zips that their specific district covers. Paired with self reported demographic information, now politicians have the ability to reach exactly who they want on the site with the most page views in the country. Facebook has one of the most competitive CPMs in the marketplace, so it's also easily one of the most efficient mediums to drive social support and name awareness. Sources for Political Campaign News
RJP recently said goodbye to our interns and welcomed more new employees to the staff.
Best,
PK |
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Political Landslides in the Form of Ad Spending | |
Forget 'landslides', RJP's D.C. expert, Debbie Waxler, VP, Associate Media Director, says
local TV political ad spending across the country is going to be tsunami like. "Knowing the political calendar is so important. We are working closely with all of our clients, reminding them to keep the lines of communication open so we can plan strategically and avoid any potential pitfalls. The last thing a client should be planning, for example is a test or roll-out in a hot market that's going to see major activity, only to find their inventory getting preempted when it gets even hotter."
Spending, especially in all the battleground markets with multiple house, senate and gubernatorial races, will start now and heat up with the January primaries. All dates have been decided except New Hampshire which is expected to be 1/10. Momentum will continue right through the Republican National Convention, when they pick their presidential candidate (the week of August 27th in Tampa). On top of this, NBC's Summer Olympics coverage begins July 27th. This could lead to a 'perfect storm' of inventory lock-up and high rates next summer. Debbie says, "If all the potential candidates, issue oriented organizations and PACs across the country took all their money raised for this onslaught of political spending, we could probably erase our national debt."
Continental Television, a division of Katz Television, issued their 2012 Political Planning Guide to their clients, urging them to stay abreast of the political landscape and consider the ramifications on the inventory loads in each market. Per Continental's report*:
- 2012 is all but certain to break TV ad spending records
- $2.7 Billion to be spent, up from $2.3 Billion in 2010 or growth between 9-18%
- The U. S. Supreme Court decision last year allows companies and unions to spend unlimited amounts of funds on supporting or defeating a candidate.
We will keep everyone in the loop as the landscape swells.
*Source: Moody's Financial Services |
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RJP Intern Program Successful | |
RJ Palmer wraps another successful summer internship program. Below are the contributions by this year's candidates compiled by the youngest one of our interns herself, Kate McNee.
Brian Ciullo
 A Villanova Junior majoring in Business Administration and Marketing, Brian worked for Diane Chan and Gerry Purtell in the Planning department. Brian did a lot of research for a number of different clients, learned about price rates for ad space readership, demographics of publications and DMAS. He also helped create PowerPoint presentations and update spreadsheets. Brian feels that he learned a lot about advertising and that the discussions, meetings, and specifically, client projects, were particularly educational. In these projects, he learned about the planning process, saying "I was able to see how the planning department researches what needs to be done based on the clients' requests and ideas." Additionally, he shared that the RJP staff has been "fantastic," and helpful in furthering his understanding of the business.
Kelly Urbine
 Kelly Urbine, a senior at East Stroudsburg University studying Business Management, specializing in Marketing, and working toward a minor in Media Communications, worked in the National Buying department, assisting Jayme Cangelosi, Marc Morse and Linda Platt. Kelly learned how to check pre-logs for the upcoming campaign flights for brands and she also helped create PowerPoint decks. Kelly raved about the staff and its gregariousness, saying "Everyone here was so welcoming and made me feel completely comfortable." She not only cultivated relationships, but also says she grew as an employee. In particular, she feels that she has been able to improve her communications skills, which she values greatly. "I only hope to work at a place like RJ Palmer when I graduate."
Michelle Moore
 Villanova Senior and Marketing major, Michelle Moore worked for Marc Morse and Linda Platt in the Network Buying department. Among a wide array of assignments, two of her more frequent responsibilities consisted of reviewing ad-placment pre-logs, screening reports to ensure ads run against appropriate program content and times. Typical of an intern, she helped out with "whatever needed to be done."
She believes that working at RJ Palmer was very worth-while and attributes this to the helpful, supportive, and friendly staff, which was happy to allot the time to answer her questions and show her the ropes. Her favorite assignment was creating a PowerPoint presentation featuring the network's fall line-up of prime programming. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have spent my summer at RJ Palmer," she said.
Kevin Tymon
 Villanova graduate Kevin Tymon interned for Andrew Ettinger in the Interactive department, and Vince Laraia in the Corporate Barter department (Trade X Media). Kevin updated internal excel sheets for the post-campaign analysis for some clients' Internet advertising campaigns. He also embarked on a large Trade X Media project that included reaching out to potential clients. He says that his favorite project was working on the post-analysis PowerPoint documents, as he got to channel his creativity and learn about RJ Palmer's services to its client. As a recent college grad, Kevin was thankful to be given "real" work that would help him learn about the business. Kevin has a B.S. in Business Administration and was just hired by Mediacom to work in Communications Planning. He starts next week.
Kate McNee
 Incoming Freshman at the University of Maryland, Kate McNee worked for Frances Page in the Branded Entertainment department and Marguerite Brophy in the Communications department. Kate helped with Branded Entertainment recaps in PowerPoint and social media design, working on RJ Palmer's Twitter, Wikipedia, and Facebook accounts. She also helped write and piece together newsletters. Her favorite project was writing the staff bios in the newsletters as, coming from a journalism background and contemplating that as her major, it was natural and rewarding for her. She also enjoyed learning about different people after interviewing them, and realizing how their unique experiences have shaped their career paths. Kate felt the internship was very educational, primarily because she improved crucial office skills such as keeping good notes and careful listening.
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DID YOU KNOW? | |
Since 2007, a consistent 70+% of U.S. consumers continue to enjoy reading printed magazines - even though they know they can find the same content online.
Source: Deloitte Development, LLC | |
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RJP INSIGHTS | |
Joanne Milano, SVP Strategic Insights and staff just issued the first RJ Palmer Quick Facts Guide on mobile media trends to our clients. Each quarter, an important industry topic will be the focus with relevant topline information provided at your fingertips. The idea is to keep our clients privy to the trends we are seeing and help us all maintain the ongoing discussion as to their impact. In this edition the subjects covered include:
- Smartphone ownership by age
- Mobile ad spending trends for national versus local
- Mobile content usage
- Hot Trend - The Mobile Wallet
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Network Prime
The 5 network primetime average so far this new season is flat with a mix of new and returning shows gracing the leader board for the top 25. Each network has had some program cancellations come quickly, with NBC sustaining the most. As the quarter plays out, NBC's Playboy Club was the first victim, CBS just dropped How to be a Gentlemen after a good effort to save it, ABC just let Charlie's Angels take flight this week.
Prime New Season Performance vs. a Year Ago w/o 10/10 | |
Rank Homes A1849 A2554
ABC - 2 -1% -6 -3%
CBS - 1 -1% -2% -2%
NBC - 4 -7% -7% -7%
FOX - 3 19% 14% 20%
CW - 5 -22% -29% -24%
Avg 0% 0% 0%
For more information on RJP's research email us info@rjpalmer.com |
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RJP NEW HIRES | |
Interactive
 RJP welcomes James O'Neill, our new Director of Interactive media. James comes to us from US International Media where he distinguished himself as an innovative strategist in the automotive and pharmaceutical verticals. Formerly he worked at Starcom Mediavest as Associate Media Director. James' account experience includes General Motors, Starkist, Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Targus (consumer electronics accessories), Century 21 Stores to name a few.
Planning
Joining RJ Palmer as Media Supervisor is Sheri Bernstein.
She most recently worked at OMD on Coty Fragrances, and, prior to that, spent three years at Universal McCann working on the Verizon Wireless account. Outside of the office she likes working out, going on bicycle rides, and the fun of living in Manhattan. Sheri graduated from Syracuse University in 2007 with a B.S. in marketing.
Local Buying
 Heather Goldsmith joins RJ Palmer as Local Spot Buyer. Previously, she worked for six years at media buying agency CARAT. Heather graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in telecommunications, (specializing in advertising with a minor in business). Outside of work she enjoys painting and watching the Yankees.
 Assistant Media Buyer, Christa Santa-Donato joins RJ Palmer. In May, Christa graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in communications and a minor in pyschology. Last summer she was a marketing intern at TY KU, a liquor company that specializes in Asian spirits. In her free time she likes to travel. In spring 2010 she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain.
 Amy Sanjanwala joins RJ Palmer as Assistant Media Buyer. Amy graduated from Longwood University in 2010 with a B.A in communications and business. Prior to RJ Palmer she interned at Seventh House PR, a PR company, and was a manager at Ann Taylor Loft for two years. Her hobbies include traveling and hanging out with friends and family.
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Accounting
 Eman Sabet joins RJ Palmer as Accounts Payable Clerk.
After moving to the U.S from Egypt in 1996, Eman worked at Rescources and OMD, two public relations and advertising companies, and at Plaza College as a teacher's assistant and computer technician. Eman graduated from Plaza College in 2003 with an Associate's degree in Computer Business Support, and is currently a junior at The New York College of Technology pursuing a B.A in Computer Information Systems. In her spare time she likes to walk, listen to music, exercise, and watch TV.
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