Adbiz

Happy Veterans Day. Oh, and Feliz Navidad, too. Holiday greetings in English and Spanish are popping up all across the U.S., and fueling the longer-than-ever shopping season tied to Kwanzaa, Chanukkah and Christmas are two venerable department store chains. They are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the latest Media Monitors Spot 10 TV report.

Shocker: GEICO is the big No. 1 brand using spot cable to reach consumers for another week. But, the No. 2 brand in the latest report from Media Monitors is a heritage department store chain that has stepped it up with more than 40,000 spot plays at the cable TV networks the iHeart-owned service keeps tabs of.

Ask anyone in the radio industry what the biggest boost has been in the past year for audience building, and you'll likely get two responses: podcasts and Smart Speakers. It is the latter that is "bringing radio back in the home." Now, there's evidence that suggests radio broadcasters' sales coffers could further grow thanks to the nascent use of Smart Speakers as a shopping tool. For that to happen, it must take eyeballs away from the top consumer shopping aide of today -- also a radio industry must.

In a move designed to transform its auto marketing and measurement capabilities, Westwood One and a growing podcast technology for publishers and advertisers have each selected the Nielsen Auto Cloud, fueled by J.D. Power to handle the job.

Forget about Election Day. The holiday shopping season has already started, and retailers are anticipating a banner year for sales. According to newly released data from eMarketer, low unemployment, strong income growth and high consumer confidence will combine to make the 2018 Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa shopping season an exceptionally strong one for retailers. Both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers are poised to benefit.

Jelli, known primarily for its audio advertising buying and selling programmatic platform, has expanded its partnership with one of the top media buying shops in the U.S. in a move that makes it the first agency to power all of its automated radio ad buying operations through Jelli's SpotPlan demand-side platform.

Surprise: GEICO is again the top brand using spot television to connect with consumers, according to the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report. But, what's newsworthy this week is the presence at No. 2 of a big health and beauty aid, and the new entry at No. 3 for one of GEICO's biggest competitors.

Strong and Steady: That's the best way to describe the efforts of the brands actively using spot radio to reach consumers for the week ending November 4. Discounting iHeartRadio, GEICO is the leading paid advertiser at radio, according to iHeart-owned Media Monitors' latest Spot Ten Radio report. 

One look at the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report, and you'll notice the presence of a big wireless services provider. But, you'll also see that it is the only brand actively using spot cable during the week ending November 4 to reach consumers.

Take a look at the list of top luxury brands. More than half have been around for more than 100 years. How have they maintained this amazing track record? By escaping the confines of the crowded and cluttered world of needs-based advertising, says guest Media Information Bureau columnist Graeme Newell. Could learning lessons from the luxury brand category help maintain your station's brand allure for decades to come?

Data from Standard Media Index's AccuTV show that during the full 2017-18 Broadcast Season, excluding the Winter Olympics and World Cup, National TV saw revenue of $45.5 Billion. "This is the same as the prior year, despite declining audiences and continued pressure from Digital," SMI notes. But, broadcast TV isn't driving the results.

In twin announcements made Monday by Entravision Communications, the multimedia company focused on Hispanic consumers, the company's programmatic ad network looked to one of the biggest glossy publications targeting U.S. Latinos in selecting its VP of Digital Sales. At the same time, its Rio Grande Valley properties have selected a SVP of Integrated Marketing Solutions.

Yes, GEICO is still No. 1 -- and by a sizable margin -- on the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report.  But, that's perhaps overshadowed this week by the efforts of auto dealer associations to bring individuals considering a new truck, car or van to make a deal before the end of October.

Radio's top advertisers showed their commitment to the medium once again last week, with little movement on the Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report for the week ending October 28. However, there's a notable new entrant, and it is a computer brand that nearly 20 years ago was a big player in its space.

It's always nice when a new brand appears on a Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report. When it's a brand in a category rarely seen using radio or TV to attract consumers, it is even more special.