By Renee Cassis
NEW YORK — It’s a new hybrid model that resulted in record attendance for the Television Bureau of Advertising’s annual autumn Forward Conference. With more than 4,000 virtual attendees enjoying a daylong session including a multitrack afternoon program full of “Thought Leaders,” a crowd of over 100 television executives gathered for a live General Session across the morning hours at the event’s familiar Chelsea Piers venue on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan.
The combination of an intimate in-person affair and a more in-depth online program proved to be a big success, allowing attendees to gain insight and knowledge on a host of vitally important topics to TV industry leaders — most notably, measurement.
The general session began with TVB President/CEO Steve Lanzano offering welcome remarks, immediately segueing into a Q&A session with Adam Gerber, Executive Director of U.S. Investment Strategy at Group M. Referencing the “Doomsday Glacier,” Gerber offered a thorough review of the world of measurement, which is “radically different than it used to be.”
He commented, “There’s a ton of confusion about measurement. The tools we use — planning tools, forecasting tools — aren’t going to work in the new world.”
He continued, “We’re measuring AQH, which has nothing to do with the ad. In digital, we measure the device.” This led Gerber to illustrate the problems with device measurement, commenting that one doesn’t know if a broadcast TV station had been turned off and is perhaps using the TV for another form of entertainment.
Speaking to the executives in the room, including Hearst Television President Jordan Werlieb, Gerber concluded, “TV needs to measure at the glass level, not the device level.”
The morning was chock-full of award presentations, including the TVB Excellence Award honoring career achievement to Emily Barr, the retired President/CEO of Graham Media Group, who accepted the honor via a taped video recording. “NEXT Awards” recipients were Jennifer Christina, Partner for Integrated Investment at UM Worldwide; and Megan Quirk, Account Executive for CBS News and Stations. Both women accepted via pre-recorded video as the awards were presented live by WideOrbit founder and CEO Eric Mathewson.
The TVB Excellence Award honoring media agency of the year was presented in person to Jennifer Hungerbuhler, EVP and Head of Local Video and Audio Investment at dentsu Media U.S., by Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution President of Networks Debra O’Connell, who chairs the TVB Board. During her acceptance remarks, Hungerbuhler noted that dentsu was the first agency to buy on advanced audiences, which she calls a pivotal moment in history.
The Ad Council Catalyst Award was presented to Eric Meyrowitz, the Hearst Television EVP, who was in attendance. The award was presented by Lisa Sherman, President/CEO of the Ad Council, who praised Hearst for their commitment to keeping their listeners informed.
In the CMO Interview, Mohegan Sun Director of Advertising Lindsay Chapman Bollenbach shared her company’s approach to their current ad campaign strategy with ANA CEO Bob Liodice. The creative focuses on how you “feel” when you come to Mohegan Sun, and Bollenbach stressed how that sets Mohegan Sun apart from its competitors in the New England casino world.
Anne Schelle, Managing Director of NEXTGEN TV business group Pearl TV, delivered a keynote presentation on what’s to come for over-the-air broadcasters once the ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard is implement. She placed a very bright spotlight on interactive digital features. “Think of them as web channels over the air,” she shared. “NEXTGEN TV is building an active connected digital audience.” According to Schelle, it’s the fastest growing TV technology out there.
When it comes to “Moving Measurement Forward,” TVB EVP/Chief Research Officer Hadassa Gerber led a panel that included Kathy Doyle, EVP and Managing Director of Local Investment at MAGNA Global; Missy Everson, VP of Sales for Local Media at The E.W. Scripps Co.; Comscore Chief Revenue Officer Carol Hinnant; and Nielsen CRO Karthik Rao. During her intro to the panel, Gerber revealed the results of a recently conducted survey that demonstrated a relatively substantial percentage of people watch TV with the sound off, with earbuds or headphones, or use closed captioning. Those viewers are not captured by PPM, she emphasized, tying her comments into those made earlier in the day by Gerber.
As the sessions approached their conclusion, NADA Chief Economist Patrick Manzi gave attendees a detailed update on the automotive industry. While dealership advertising is up, it’s not at pre-pandemic levels. But consumers are buying, and they’re buying CVs. Hybrids and electric vehicles are gaining share, too. Meanwhile, the used car market remains healthy and should be back to pre-pandemic levels this year. Lastly, millennials are buying, Manzi’s data show. This is welcome news, as the initial projections suggested Millennials would not buy cars.
Closing out the General Session at Chelsea Piers: a Political Forecast from Steven Passwaiter, VP of Growth & Strategy for Media Intelligence at Kantar and a CMAG Senior Adviser. Passwaiter’s comments were captured in full and can be heard in a RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast.
Among Passwaiter’s key takeaways: “Political advertising has been a real motivating and mainly a good thing for us in 2022.” He offered a plethora of fresh data on how political ad dollars are trending across the 2022 election season. “It’s one for the record books,” he said before sharing 2018 and 2020 political ad dollars.
With 47 days until Election Day, we are now 10% over the presidential year and 50% over 2018.
Even more, Kantar has upped its record-breaking political ad spending estimate to $9 billion.
Los Angeles and Las Vegas are attracting many of those ad dollars.
The No. 1 station for political ad revenue? It’s Cox Media Group‘s flagship property, WSB-2 in Atlanta.
The issues most coming up in advertising? Inflation, reproductive rights, healthcare and public safety are tops.
Following the in-person session, TVB offered virtual participants a plethora of sessions in five concurrent Thought Leader Tracks. Closing out these sessions: a pre-recorded discussion from BIA discussing the trends for over-the-air television ad dollars versus those for OTT.
Renee Cassis is owner of RC Communications Marketing, a PR and marketing consultancy for broadcast and entertainment companies. She can be reached at [email protected].
Editing by Adam R Jacobson in Boca Raton, Fla.
