Disney’s Upfront by the Numbers

Disney’s highly anticipated upfront comes at the heels of its acquisition of Fox properties. So the event this year not only heralds in a new expansive era for the company, it also presented a synergy of established, previously frenemy properties. As part of their presentation, it was also announced that Disney has just acquired full operational control of Hulu with the ability to acquire full ownership at a future time.

Storytelling in all of its forms is a paramount vision for the network group, from ESPN (focusing on gaining more rights, weaving compelling stories and showcasing more live events), National Geographic (focusing on premium factual storytelling), FX (scripted shows) and Freeform (embracing disruptive voices).

In addition to a range of network specific content, Rita Ferro, President, The Walt Disney Company Advertising Sales and Partnerships, announced there were, “investments around data and technology. There has been tremendous advancement in that space with an emphasis on reach, effectiveness and delivering on those results that are important to our clients.”

Disney+, the OTT subscription service, loomed large with some of the properties slated to be included in the service and other waiting to hear. The aggregation of compelling content has been ramped up in this new expanding company with each network offering something for a different audience segment.

ESPN announced a deal with Caesars to be the official odds provider for the network for, as Connor Schell, EVP Content, ESPN, stated, “for fans interested in betting content.” He noted that in 2018, and for the 5th straight year, ESPN was “the top network in every key male demo,” and added that the network had the “best portfolio of rights across the industry for live events – 25,000 of them.” He proposed an aggressive social media strategy including 200 live shows on Twitter, all with advertising.

For FX CEO John Landgraf, there is, “a lot to figure out as to how this (acquisition) will work out in its optimal form.” But with an array of original scripted programming, the network has the inventory. “Over the past 15 years, we went from one to 15 scripted shows,” he stated, and then added, “but 15 scripted shows aren’t enough.” He is examining non-linear rights and expects to see “a lot of innovation about what can be done in this new system.” Rather than placing FX on Disney+, Landgraf sees Hulu as the best streaming service for his network.

Courteney Monroe, CEO, National Geographic, noted that her network is a recent addition to Disney and sets itself apart with “premium factual storytelling,” and “quality, excellence and distinctiveness above all else.” The network is adding scripted anthologies such as the Genius series and reaching bigger and broader upscale audiences. “Entertaining and smart are not mutually exclusive,” she concluded.

Tom Ascheim, President, Freeform, positions the network for young adult women and highlights inclusiveness. “We are embracing disruptive voices,” he explained and added that one of the benefits of the merger is that Freeform will air The Simpsons. “Millennials currently outnumber boomers,” he stated, “and we are the leading brand for that audience.”

Karey Burke, President ABC Entertainment, concluded the event with an overview of the new season’s schedule, stressing the importance of stability and the need to carefully craft every show before it’s ready to launch. “We are stabilizing the schedule and scheduling fewer new series,” she explained, “There are too many messages to get out there so we will have fewer and bigger launches. There is a value in nurturing the shows you already have.” ABC network is aiming for a strong female POV and this strategy is paying off. “ABC dominates with women. We are #1 since January,” she concluded.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.

Freeform Cracks the Culture Code With Advertisers

How can you best reach the coveted 14-34 age group for both programmers and advertisers? First you have to crack the culture code to understand what stimulus motivates and connects with them. In a recent industry showcase for ad sales clients, Freeform announced the results of a special research study that identified their core target consumer which they call the Becomer. Tom Ascheim, President, Freeform, explained that a Becomer is “shorthand for a life stage – who am I and who am I evolving into. Our brand goes from the first kiss to the first child.” 

In a departure from the usual ad sales events, Freeform representatives escorted clients through four separate rooms, each highlighting one of the audience mindsets. In addition to an overview of each mindset, attendees were asked to perform a task that helped explain how the mindset worked. One task involved going through a series of psychological questions that led you to your ultimate profession. Another had participants describe celebrities in one word and hang their photo on a tree. After the tour, attendees settled into a luncheon panel of agency thought leaders who gave their perspectives on the mindsets and the implications for advertisers.

Research to Discover Mindsets

Freeform launched a two year research effort focusing on 14-34 year olds. The study resulted in the identification of nine relevant segments, four of which Freeform uses to focus on the Becomer. The study reached out to 10,000 respondents, according to Jane Gould, SVP Consumer Insights, Freeform, who noted, “We wanted to listen and be a part of the youth culture and see the world through their eyes, We wanted to bring to life the visual culture of the demographic, not by asking how they feel but by studying images and signs that decode the visual culture. This was truly a passion project.”

Gould stressed that this research study did not ask respondents direct questions (which is unlike most research studies). “We had them focus on an image. Respondents gave us a dream that represented them. Then, using images pushed through semiotic analysis that uses both anthropology and linguistics, we brought the four mindsets to life,” she said.

The Four Mindsets

These four mindsets – They Value the Struggle, Embracing the Undefined, Being Intersectional and Standing Together – are, each in their own unique way, focusing on a cultural, behavioral touchpoint of this generation. When these sensibilities are evident in content, branding and messaging, a deeper understanding and connection are formed. 

They Value the Struggle encourages fighting for success. It embodies resilience, the journey of working hard for your achievement, hustling. 14-34s don’t want to see people who were given everything without working. They believe that you have to work hard for what you get. But engaging in the struggle can make them anxious. An example of a celebrity who embodies The Struggle is Beyonce who, after achieving great success through her own hard efforts, reveals her authenticity in sharing her real life hardships. This helps her to stay relevant with this audience.

Embracing the Undefined shows the non-linear possibilities that transcend limits, encourage wanderlust and create, what Freeform calls, a messy glory. When all around you is crumbling, seize the opportunity and pivot to positivism. Memes like the Crying Michael Jordan and programming like Louis CK and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are examples of Embracing the Undefined. If life gives you lemons, you don’t necessarily need to make lemonade. You can also make lemon cake. You have many options.

Being Intersectional means being interchangeable, embracing and combining complexity and offering many versions of oneself. The rally cry is Don’t Box Me In where we are able to learn many different (and sometimes conflicting) things about a single person. An example of a program that personifies Intersectionality is NBC’s This Is Us where the viewer discovers new things about each character that might surprise or confound.

Standing Together is a value concept that differs from past generations. With the proliferation of social media and the immediate connection, there is greater awareness of life’s disparities - the haves and have nots – resulting in a collective mentality and shared experience of adversity. This generation is using their power, rising up and offering real possibility for good. Keywords to connect to this mindset are – punching up / not down, the glass is half full, support underdogs, power to drive change and optimism. An example of how advertisers use this concept is the Nike campaign “Find Your Greatness” which highlights the efforts of regular folks and not elite athletes.

Mindsets in Use

So how does the use of mindsets help advertisers and the network? For advertisers, what resonated was, as Scott Hess, EVP, Corporate Marketing and Millennials, MediaVest/Spark, explained, “how heroes for Millennials differ from Gen X. Bling is out. Earned bling is nobler.” Thomas McGinley, Project Director, Flamingo Group, noted that, “communities can live longer through streaming.” And, Hess added, “the scope of them look different. It is truly a global marketplace.” The secret is, according to Jonah Disend, Founder and CEO, Redscout, “to focus on experiences and loyalty showing that you care about the consumer. Cultivate the tribe, listen carefully and see where the genius can be found.”

For the network, these audience filters, according to Ascheim, “are used to power our business. The insights we have gained informs our branding and programming.” The relaunch from ABC Family to Freeform has helped to shift attitudes resulting in an increase in brand affinity and loyalty. “This lifestage can be a scary time – there is ambiguity but also positivity. The potential energy is loud, huge and exciting. So we are being fluid and ever-changing, embracing the idea of an un-tagline. We are now moving quickly because the audience moves quickly,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com

Embracing Change and Going Freeform. Interview with Laura Nelson

Laura Nelson, SVP, Strategic Sales Insights at Freeform, has always balanced the qualitative with the quantitative. She began her career as an agency media planner before moving to NBCU Marketing. 

While at NBCU, her responsibilities went from creating sales marketing collateral materials to a more integrated marketing role in the larger branded entertainment world.

From there she moved to ABC Family (now rebranded to Freeform) where her job expanded from sales marketing to sales forecasting that includes responsibility for budgets and long range planning. She is essentially the conductor in a sales symphony of creative marketing solutions and revenue / inventory management.

Charlene Weisler: How do you manage the qualitative and quantitative demands of your job?

Laura Nelsen: Get a good team and figure out the balance. I have a good team in place and I feel that strategically we are going in the right direction. At a certain point you cannot know everything. With all of the possible platforms, devices and opportunities, we have to ask ourselves, should we do a certain partnership or not and does it benefit the network? It took me time to get the processes down but we have a good integrated team composed of Marketing and Revenue Planning.

Charlene: The TV landscape is changing with new platforms emerging every day. How do you manage all of this change for Freeform?

Laura: Because of the increase in platforms, data, devices, etc, it is becoming a much more complex and convoluted marketplace that touches many departments. My role is to help simplify all of those issues for my management. We take all the information, synthesize it, simplify it and use it to better understand what our message should be to the street. It is a big challenge to stay on top of things. With linear TV we certain of the amount of inventory we had to sell. Now we are always launching new platforms and we sometimes struggle with all of these changes.

Charlene: How did the rebranding from ABC Family to Freeform start?

Laura: We did a research study comparing ABC Family viewers to non-viewers. We spoke to ABC Family fans who had positive attitudes towards our brand - Relevant, Fun and Modern.  When we spoke to non-viewers, they only thought of us as Family Friendly.  Clearly there was a disconnect that we wanted to fix. We saw the need to build off the strengths of the current audience and make it more aligned to today’s young viewers. So we then conducted marketing studies to find a name that is representative of the digital world. We wanted our brand to represent the fact that we are a part of a much larger Disney family of networks with our own digital platform that is also part of many other digital services such as Apple, Hulu, Roku, cable ecosystems, Dish and Xfinity, etc. We have to manage inventory from ten different platforms so that our viewers can watch our content on any platform they choose and on their own schedule. With the name Freeform, the initial research we did showed positive attitudes to the name and to the tested attributes. We will continue to monitor our viewers to be sure that we are on track.

Charlene: What advice would you give the next generation of media executives?

Laura: I am incredibly impressed by the strong interns we have here at Disney. They seem much more serious and focused earlier in their professional lives. What I would say to them is that I started out as an administrative assistant which gave me time to decide on a career path. You have time to figure it all out, even if your first job is not a great fit. You will find your path over time. And you have many resources for advice at your disposal such as the parents of friends where you can learn about other industries. I learned about media from my roommates. Always network.

Charlene: How do you achieve work / life balance?

Laura: It is a challenge with everyone. When I took more responsibility at work for sales revenue, I was also just getting married and later on had a child. It is a busy time at both home and work. I am very lucky in that my boss and my company allows for flexibility – sometimes I can work from home or be late. Balance has its ebbs and flows cycle. There will be busy periods. It is always a challenge and I am not sure that I have the solution but I know that I can talk to my boss and we can make it work.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com