Five Cable Networks to watch in 2013

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In This Issue

Online Ad Spending to Rise

Facebook ads to become more visible

Cumulus shakes hands with Arbitron

Five Cable TV Networks to Watch in 2013

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The American Lung Association in Greater Chicago is hosting the Fight for Air Climb on Sunday, March 10, 2013. The annual charity stair climb event is held at The Presidential Towers located at 555 W. Madison Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Climbers will have the option of climbing 1 Tower or all 4 Presidential Towers! I climb for healthy air and healthy lungs. Last year, I tackled (2) towers. After stressing my lungs to their limit, my goal is to surpass that this year.

For more information on the 2013 Fight for Air Climb, or to register or donate, please visit the event's official website at http://www.lung.org/pledge-events/il/chicago-climb-fy13/.

NEW CLIENT!

Marketing Keys is proud to announce that Heartland Granite has selected Marketing Keys as their agency! Heartland Granite is based in suburban Aurora and offers a selection of over 10,000 slabs of granite from all over the world with over 250 different colors to choose from in their 100,000 square foot showroom. As is the norm, we will not take this relationship for "granite"!

NEW EMPLOYEE!

Please give a warm welcome to our newest hire -Channing Payne!

Channing Payne

University of Kansas

Class of 2012

BS in Journalism

Strategic Communications

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Greetings!

Happy New Year! Welcome to the January issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently.

Online Ad Spending will continue to rise

The projections being issued by Marketing Keys and other ad-buying agencies for next year vary, but they all point to an increase in online advertising spending.

GroupM believes that global ad spending will rise to $531 billion this year. This is a 4.5% increase, lower than the 5.3% GroupM had previously been expecting.

Most of these experts point to continued turmoil in Europe, but conditions in the U.S. are also troubling. In the U.S., ZenithOptimedia expects spending of $156.5 million, or a 2.7% rise over this year. Specific segments are projected to perform as follows:

Newspapers $22.99 billion (down 8%)
Radio $17.2 billion (up 2.9%)
Magazines $17.3 billion (down 3.3%)
Outdoor $7.9 billion (up 5%)
TV $63.8 billion (up 2.8%)
Internet $36.2 billion (up 18.1%)
Cinema $761 million (up 5%)

For publishers that are transitioning to digital, from newspapers and magazines, the speed and success of the change are becoming more critical.

Facebook ads to become more visible

It was only a matter of time before Facebook sought to monetize and justify its massive valuation. The drive for effective and revenue-generating advertising will draw on its powerful social ecosystem, pushing the creative formats and placements far away from the ads we see today. Brands will be permitted to be more visible on members' newsfeeds, growing the use of sponsored stories and video ads.

In the upcoming year, Facebook will morph from a relatively private social space to a business entity driven by the bottom line. Brands will need to tread carefully as they explore these new opportunities however. Some users will tolerate prominent advertising in return for free access to their friends and social connections, but others may balk at increased commercialization. Seeing their personal data sold for targeted advertising may cause resentment, unless brands deliver engaging content that is appropriate for this personal space.

By the end of 2013, we will better understand users' reactions to Facebook advertising, and we will know which formats successfully deliver brand impact without alienating users.

Cumulus shakes hands with Arbitron

Arbitron has won over one of the last major holdouts for its radio ratings service, with Thursday's announcement that Cumulus Media signed a deal for ratings covering 450 of Cumulus' 525 radio stations in 100 media markets across the U.S.

The deal includes diary ratings for 44 Cumulus Media markets where Cumulus radio audiences have not been measured by Arbitron since 2009. The deal also renews their agreements for radio ratings in 17 markets measured by Arbitron's Portable Meter, as well as 39 diary markets. Cumulus agreed to work with Arbitron on a cross-platform measurement service as well.

In previous years, Cumulus execs had criticized Arbitron for holding a monopoly in the radio ratings business. In 2008, Cumulus Chief Operating Officer, John Dickey, even issued an RFP for an alternative measurement system for small and midsized markets that could compete with Arbitron's diary service.

The Cumulus-Arbitron deal comes just a few weeks after the announcement that Arbitron is being acquired by fellow media research giant Nielsen, a longtime competitor and sometimes partner in the media ratings marketplace. However, the deal has sparked some concern that the combined entity will wield even greater monopolistic power in media ratings than the already-considerable clout the companies wielded separately.

Five Cable TV Networks to Watch in 2013

After a year in which ratings woes plagued many TV networks the industry is redoubling its effort to figure out new ways to woo big audiences. But five cable networks in particular will find their journeys closely tracked in 2013.

CNN Jeff Zucker, the newly appointed chief of CNN, will be operating under a microscope as he attempts to revamp the struggling cable news network, which has lagged behind rivals Fox News and MSNBC.

CNN already has some changes underway. It announced in December, Jake Tapper, senior White House correspondent for ABC News, will anchor new weekday news programming beginning in early 2013. Mr. Zucker may also look to revitalize CNN's morning programming and even develop a late-night comedy program similar to "The Daily Show".

OWN Own struggled in early 2012, but saw a turnaround after Oprah Winfrey herself took a more active role. In November, OWN posted its tenth consecutive month of year-over-year ratings gains.

The New Year will see OWN add scripted programming to the mix, including the first of its series from Tyler Perry under a multi-year deal.

MTV MTV has been attempting to find its next hit with scripted series such as "Awkward" and "Teen Wolf", but none has captured the same attention as "Jersey Shore" did at its height.

The concern is that MTV's millennial audience is consuming content in different ways. MTV has been attempting to reach its viewers everywhere they are with its strategy of "storytelling without borders," promoting streaming video by hosting an eight-hour live stream event on December 12 and pushing second-screen initiatives involving Facebook, Twitter and other social-media platforms to engage viewers.

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon occupied an unflattering spotlight for much of 2012 due to its beleaguered ratings. It finished the year still tops among its competitive set for total viewers, but the Disney Channel won among viewers 2 to 11 years old, breaking a 17-year streak for Nickelodeon.

To reverse its troubles, Nickelodeon has increased its investment in new programming, already finding success with the reboot of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

Current TV The cable news network, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore in 2005, has struggled since its debut.

Current has tested several formats and types of programming since its inception, starting with user-generated content and trying to remake itself as a liberal news channel with the hiring of Keith Olbermann in 2011. Amongst rumors that other networks are looking to buyout Current TV, their representation denies being in talks to sell.

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Until next month, may all of your marketing dreams and goals
come true! And - if they don't - we are here to help.

Sincerely,

ROGER KEYS
MARKETING KEYS