IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Mari Kim Novak, President of Advertising Week, on how the event shaped up: “It is an exciting time for advertising and this is such a massive platform to tell the story. We have the ability to shine a light and move the conversation forward on what is happening in so many aspects of the industry, including innovation, data, diversity, women’s empowerment and much more. Advertising is completely transforming and, as we’ve heard from many panelists this week, the consumer is in the center of everything and as an industry we must keep up with this shift in order to be successful.”
Nora Zimmett, SVP Programming, The Weather Channel, on “Attention is the New Currency for Advertisers”: “When we are forecasting an event, we see people are pulled in not for entertainment value but because they want to know, ‘Is this storm coming for me?’ That brings on a whole new level of engagement. We have started a new programming model by anchoring all of our coverage from the field. We might be live in the field and close the studio for 20 hours a day, or for days on end. There’s sometimes a perception that we do that for entertainment value, but they’re safe and we know what we’re doing. What we can see is a level of engagement that people are watching longer. Weather is the ultimate reality show.” Fun Fact: What’s a talent you have that very few people know about? “I was so proud of this, I put it on my first resume. I thought it might be odd enough for people to go, ‘Wait, what?’ – but again, I was 22. So: I can wiggle my ears. People don’t think it’s a big deal, but I can do it while talking – or one at a time. It’s genetic. I do it at parties.”
After a week of hearing from panelists and experts on the stage, we spoke to attendees to see what they learned from their week at AW:
Adam Rowe, former Director of sales for Owned-and-Operated News Channels, Charter Communications (New York): “I feel like this was probably the most diversified event they’ve ever had. They covered things from how big OTT is becoming, how to transition from traditional television to OTT, how important data is to this process – whether it’s programmatic or not – and the one thing they all say is there’s creativity that still needs to be in this business.”
Kaya Pino, Music Supervisor at Supergroup Sonic Branding Co. (Toronto): “This is my first time here. The most exciting thing about this week was the diversity in each panel – not only by who was on stage but what area each person was in, and having all aspects of the industry who could work together but don’t always work together as much as they should, trying to find solutions.”
Rachelle Janeczek, Program Manager, Dotdash (New York): “Sometimes the panels go off on tangents, but overall it’s great to be around other people in the industry and hear conversations you wouldn’t hear otherwise. I was listening to a talk from Facebook and it was so funny; he was saying we move our fingers 300 feet a day by scrolling on our smart phones!”
Tomáš Viatr, Advertisement Operations Manager at Softgames (Berlin): “I learned a lot. The city is the best part – that the event doesn’t just happen in one place, but all over.”
Keeping eyeballs glued to a given TV show – and that includes watching the advertising – is a tricky business for any network. But as Nora Zimmett, SVP programming for The Weather Channel told Cynopsis, certain types of programming – particularly ones that air live – can keep audiences unable to walk away from the screen.
You were on a panel called “Attention Is the New Currency for Advertisers.” How did this relate to The Weather Channel?
The Weather Channel is in a unique position of being the No. 1 brand name in weather. When you have a long duration event like with hurricanes, people stay on for hours or days without changing the channel and you have a viewership that is going to see your ads because you’re locked in.
Why is this an important topic in today’s media environment?
There is still – although perhaps it’s dying a little bit – an allure of digital media for advertisers. But we’ve all seen the impressions game is an unreliable one and digital media has still not cracked the code in telling robots from eyeballs and then eyeballs who have spending power. We’ve seen a return of advertisers in recent years to the television market.
Consumers always seem to want to escape advertising, and it feels like in response advertisers ramp up the noise and frequency level. Is there a way for both sides to be happy?
I’d pose the question a little differently: What can advertisers do to change the model of just slotting in content between programming blocks? What is the secret sauce to engagement? We’re finding a lot more ways to incorporate sponsors and brands into our storytelling.
What do people most misunderstand about the way advertising on television works today?
People might think that this is a faceless business – that advertisers pay to slap their ads on a TV channel any time during the continuum. People might be surprised to learn how closely advertisers work with programmers so that they can put the right ads with the right programming.
ANOTHER PANEL HEADLINE
At Snapchat‘s Town Hall, some interesting stats got an airing from Snap Inc. CSO Imran Khan: users have played with the dog face lens for 7,000 years’ worth of playtime; 75% of people aged 13 to 35 are on Snapchat, and 2/3 of lift in ad awareness comes in the first two seconds of usage. In addition, Khan, Hearts Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles and HBO CEO Richard Plepler announced Snapchat’s new 3-D Augmented Reality World Lenses, which will allow brands to create their own AR social media stars. Snapchat brand partners Bud Light and Warner Bros. are the first to try out the tool.
ADVERTISING WEEK BY THE NUMBERS
* 2017 ticket prices ranged from $1,699 (for platinum delegates) to $99 (for students)
* There were 288 seminars during the four-day event, up from 238 in 2016
* 18 venues housed all of the panels and events this year, up from 15 in 2016
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Great minds think unalike.” – ubiquitous Advertising Week slogan, seen on podiums, T-shirts and signs
