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.

Maximizing the Impact of Out of Home Measurement

Where is out of home (OOH) headed in a world of media fragmentation and greater competition for consumer attention? 

The ARF helped to answer these questions at their Maximizing OOH Impact event this week. A roster of participants including Andy Stevens, Senior Vice President, Research and Insights, Clear Channel Outdoor, Christian DeBonville, Director, ESPN Advertising and Marketing Intelligence and Emma Carrasco Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer, Senior Vice President of Global Strategy, National Geographic Society weighed in on how data, technology and creative can all be leveraged to raise awareness, improve branding and efficiently capture the consumer journey.

OOH at a Measurement Inflection Point

According to Barry Frey, Chief Executive Officer, DPAA, “OOH is one of the hottest media today.” He cited three pivotal societal and technological changes have been a boon for OOH. First, we are spending more and more time out of the home. “We are increasingly an active mobile society,” he asserted, “and we are becoming a more urban society.” As mobile phones become ubiquitous, this fuels the ability to track people wherever they go. Second, Frey sees advertising inside the home as “fragmenting at best and declining at worst.” Third, with the addition of digital data capabilities, OOH is now able to count, measure the impact and attribute usage just like the rest of the media industry. This improvement in measurement coupled with a safe, viewable, closed system that has no ad blocking, places OOH on an equal footing with other establish media options.

Data and Technology

The advent of improved technology that results in more valuable data is pivotal to OOH’s growth. The ability of marketers to track the consumer journey with mobile geo location data, for example, has created opportunities and greater confidence in OOH. Nielsen has been very active in expanding its OOH measurement offerings as are companies such as iQ Media which offers visual detection data that includes mood and engagement metrics.

“There are three reasons why mobile is so important,” Andy Stevens, Senior Vice President, Research and Insights, Clear Channel Outdoor noted, “Everyone has a phone and we carry it with us all the time. In fact, 85% of adults have their phone within arm’s reach all the time.” The full consumer journey becomes evident because the data tells us where people are, their routes throughout the day and their possible exposures to billboards. The methodological road has been long one but now refinements in the methodology, such as radius assessments and direction of travel, give the advertiser greater confidence that ads have actually been viewed.

Clear Channel’s case study “not only used mobile data in the planning and measurement of OOH, we also used it to amplify the impact of OOH by retargeting people who have seen OOH ads with mobile ads,” Stevens explained. This has a priming effect where the lift in store visits with and without the additional mobile ads could be compared. “There is a higher lift from people who have seen both the OOH ad and the mobile ad,” he continued, “It is a one plus one equals three effect going on. There is a natural synergy between mobile and OOH.”  Stevens is finding that these results are valuable sales tools for advertisers who may be using mobile but currently do not have an OOH strategy. “An integrated media strategy can yield better results overall,” he concluded.  

Powerful Creative Is a Must-Have

Powerful creative also plays an important role in OOH effectiveness. Emma Carrasco, Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer, Senior Vice President of Global Strategy, National Geographic Society, has developed a Photo Ark Campaign to help raise awareness of the last 12,000 species in captivity before they disappear. “Our partnership with the Outdoor Advertising Association of America enabled us to take this campaign to a whole new level,” she explained, where association members can get more involved in spreading the message. She shared with me that the feedback has “been tremendous,” with support across traditional out of home, digital, transportation, for example.  Social engagement, and its resulting data, has offered a huge, measureable boost in awareness.

Carrasco sees the next five years as a continuation of National Geographic Society’s efforts to build a complete documentation of all of the species in captivity. Currently 7,000 animals have been photographed, but there are still 5,000 left to do. “We want to bring awareness to what happens to society when these species disappear. We might actually have a chance to save some of them.”  Strong creative in conjunction with OOH ad placement and measurement will help propel this worthy cause.

Data Debunks OOH Myths

OOH exposures are surprisingly pervasive. Christian DeBonnville, Director Advertising and Marketing, ESPN, found that “the OOH audience is seen throughout the year, throughout the day and not just the biggest events in bar locations. It is programming that is on in the morning, during mid-day when we presume people are at work or at the gym or other out of home locations where we are seeing significant lifts.”

He noted that agencies and clients are more receptive to giving credit for audiences that are seeing programming and ads outside of the primary residences. The ability to credit the full consumer journey is great news for both advertisers and content creators.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com