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So, the Thought Police are back and, heaven preserve us, on Channel 5 from September! 2011’s big TV news is the purchase of the BB franchise by Richard Desmond’s Channel 5. Amongst the PR smokescreen of column inches filled and hundreds of millions paid for the show, the move has ramifications for Channel 4, Channel 5 and, crucially, DRTV advertisers.
In recent years BB’s popularity has waned. 5 years ago each show averaged 2.18 million adult viewers, airing every night on C4, with over 1 million of these falling into the 16–34 demographic. By 2010 this had fallen to 1.55 million adults and 632,000 16–34's. The drop in ratings convinced C4 against re-commissioning after the initial 10 year run, allowing Desmond to sweep in and pick up the pieces.
ARM Viewpoint
"How has this affected my DRTV schedule?". I hear you cry. Well, because of BB’s success in peak, C4 were able to easily deliver deals with brand advertisers. In turn, this freed up air time in daytime, particularly on C4’s digital extension, E4. The glut of impacts allowed us to trade C4’s digital portfolio at bargain pricing in a highly targeted environment, resulting in high ROI campaigns.
C4 have a raft of shows to replace BB including drama (This Is England/Shameless) and old favourite - the ever pregnant Sarah Beeny and the charmingly condescending Kevin McCloud, with Grand Designs. E4 welcomes back The Inbetweeners and new commission Beaver Falls. However, none of this will replicate the nightly success of BB, particularly amongst the key 16–34 demographic. This means less short term availability across C4 for DRTV.
The picture on C5 is different. C5’s peak schedule traditionally struggles to capture the imagination… particularly amongst younger viewers. Its average peak share of 16 – 34s hovers around 10%, including 5* & 5USA (C4 share is about 32%). Introducing BB to the schedule will increase 16 - 34 share and boost C5’s adult audience. Furthermore, C5 is likely to stream live BB on 5*. The audience increase will allow C5 to deliver its deals with brand advertisers leaving the remnant inventory to be snapped up. C5 is already a DR heartland, offering cheap CPTs and national coverage. The increased audience supply in peak will create more opportunity for DR.
C5’s silver lining is C4’s cloud, with BB on C5 appealing to viewers who would generally watch C4. Bringing BB on air over the busy Autumn trading period will create opportunities for nimble advertisers to capitalise upon. Conversely, C4 will struggle to replace BB and many of its 16 – 34 viewers will migrate to C5 for their BB fix. Interesting times ahead in the world of DRTV, and all attributable to the movement of one key show!
By Ben Waddy, Account Manager
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Radio
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Absolute Radio – Sold to the highest bidder?
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There have been rumours circulating since early April 2011 about Absolute Radio being sold to the highest bidder – these speculative claims were confirmed in May. There were three key networks who had originally expressed interest – Global Radio, UTV and Virgin International Group. It has recently come to light that Global Radio, home to Heart and Capital, have now pulled out of the running leaving it to UTV and the Virgin Group. The latest whisperings have indicated that the frontrunner in the bid to acquire the Absolute brand is the Virgin Group.
ARM Viewpoint
Absolute Radio, formally Virgin Radio, is a relatively young brand, starting up in late 2008 after being sold by SMG to the Times of India Group. The move happened almost overnight and for Advertisers it was business as usual, with no major changes the way the airtime was sold at all. Absolute Radio, having already gone through one very swift rebrand, is now set to do it all again just three years later. It comes as no surprise to advertisers that the station is up for sale again - there has been a continual, albeit slight, decline in ratings over the years.
The two key parties still interested in acquiring the brand, UTV and the Virgin Group, currently both offer cost efficient opportunities, which greatly appeal to Brand and Direct Response advertisers alike. UTV, parent company to TalkSPORT, offers both local and national coverage at competitive CPT's for all advertisers. Similarly, the current Absolute Radio sales model hasn't differed greatly from the original Virgin model since the initial takeover in 2008, which is proving successful for advertisers looking to access national coverage.
It is still uncertain as to what will become of Absolute the brand if UTV outbid Virgin; however it is safe to say that if Virgin is successful in their bid for the AM/FM/DAB/Digital station it will be going back to its roots as Virgin Radio. The good news for advertisers is that any station sale will trigger a potential rebrand/launch marketing push which, if we were to go by the 2008 Absolute launch, could be up to £1m* of additional branding.
As with all rebrands, only time will tell the full effects of the changes to the station currently known as Absolute. However, Direct Response advertisers in particular can take comfort from the fact that both UTV and Virgin will not be making any dramatic changes to Absolute immediately, still making this a viable route to market for our brands.
*based on AdDynamix Sep-Nov 2008
by Natalie Tassone, Account Manager
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Television
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Product Placement – after the Gold Rush
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Product Placement was launched into the UK television market on 28th February 2011 (when the previous ban was lifted). This allows advertisers to pay for their products to be seen on British TV. At the time there was much written in both the trade and national press about the launch of this new development. For comparison we looked to the American market where they have had product placement on screens for years and the Coca Cola cups on American Idol and ubiquitous Apple computers are a fact of life. However the laws in the U.K are different and product placement is not without restriction: no foods high in salt, fat or sugar are allowed, neither is alcohol or tobacco. Product Placement is also not allowed on any BBC programmes or in news, current affairs or children’s programming. So after the excitement of the initial launch has died down, how will product placement effect UK advertisers and specifically DR advertisers?
ARM Viewpoint
There have been a few key properties sold, the first being a Nespresso coffee machine placed on the set of This Morning and there has been a steady trickle of opportunities on primetime shows coming to market, but there has hardly been a deluge of product placement flooding our screens. The main problem facing any advertiser or agency (and media owners themselves) is the issue of valuation. There is currently no industry standard for putting a price on these opportunities. How can you put a realistic price on something which by traditional media terms is not easily measurable? You can measure the length of time the item is on screen, but we know from traditional DRTV tests that the voice-over of the product and the call-to-action is an essential element of the communication. Even using econometric techniques the effect would need to be measured over the longer-term where such analysis becomes less reliable. The value in this type of exposure is about driving brand awareness in an often subtle way; use of Product Placement must be editorially justified and the product cannot have undue prominence. From a customer acquisition perspective it is hard to justify the use of Product Placement, Firstly, and most importantly for DR advertisers there is little/no way to insert a response mechanism. Secondly placement is not easily trackable and measurement is key for all DR advertisers, which brings us lastly to cost. These properties are being put to market at inflated prices, which without proper measurement and tracking are hard to justify and makes proving return on investment very difficult.
For the right product in the right environment there is certainly scope for interesting, imaginative and relevant use of Product Placement, and used well it could be a valuable part of marketing strategy for many brands. However at the moment the UK market is very much still in its infancy and the true impact of this innovative development on the TV market is still to be seen.
By Arabella Blaikie, Account Manager
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