There are a number of
excellent industry get-togethers but there is only one that I can think of that
blends the actual happy hour with the program itself. It is Simulmedia’s Happy
Hour Salon which is a provocative speaker series that gives media and tech
people the chance to mingle and share opinions on a trending industry hot topic,
all over a pint of beer or a glass of wine.
I sat down with
Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan to talk about the salon:
This salon series is relatively new but past speakers have included a range of experts from author Eric Asimov discussing wine to Nielsen’s Steve Hasker and Optimedia’s Maureen Bosetti discussing the changing media landscape. Dave Morgan believes that there is inevitable change coming into the industry that can be framed and guided by active, engaged thought leaders. By providing a place where the exchange of ideas can germinate, Simulmedia hopes to spur discussion and help move progressive change forward.
Steve Hasker spoke frankly about Nelsen’s strengths and
weaknesses. According to Hasker, the Nielsen panel wasn’t working because the
market has changed. When the panel was first created, television was a “must
have” and there was no need for television executives to seek ROI. Now both
buyers and sellers come to Nielsen for help in optimizing their media mix. While
stating that Nielsen is the center of the media trade currency, he also
admitted that there are times when Nielsen gets things wrong and that some of
their products are not up to snuff. But, he asserted, “We
get fewer things wrong every day.” To those who know Nielsen, this refreshing
piece of humility led some to say that this was the most “un-Nielsen Nielsen talk”
they had ever heard, according to Dave Morgan.
Maureen Bosetti of Optimedia spoke about how the
digital world is placing more pressure on the media business from agency clients.
Digital, she explained, has brought more accountability to the marketplace and
that places more pressure on television to become more accountable too. Agencies must become less siloed and more
involved in social media metrics and measurement that help to ascertain ROI. Her
wish list includes better cross platform analytics and metrics, perhaps a
seamless measurement of reach across all platforms and consistent measurement
as the industry continues to fragment. She summed it up by saying, “the future
of media is Math Men not Mad Men.” I agree….
An investor panel in January included Brad Burnham of
Union Square Ventures, Linda Gridley of Gridley & Company, Sheila Spence of
WPP Group and Tim Spengler of Magna Global. They spoke about innovating the
future of media and advertising stressing the value of companies that provide
an emotional experience. But the measurement sector is still fairly static.
Their conclusion - Even though Nielsen has more challenges to its business model than usual, there
is still no other company in the marketplace that can match to the individual
level. The group predicted tremendous disruption in the next 18 months
especially in the payment sector as digital wallets continue to innovate.
These salons tend to be digitally centric, according to
Dave Morgan, but there are enough audience and participants in the television,
agency, supplier, pundits and analyst side that make for a rich experience.
Indeed, there are few places where you can hear a
Nielsen mea-culpa and an Asimov wine lesson while sipping a beer. The salon
takes place one a month and is by invitation only, but it is easy to get on the
list by emailing HappyHour@simulmedia.com
Interview conducted by Charlene Weisler, Weisler Media LLC.
She can be reached through her research blog www.WeislerMedia.blogspot.com or at WeislerMedia@yahoo.com. Twitter: www.twitter.com/weislermedia
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