BANFF – While broadcasters and producers look to finance their platform-hopping content with advertising, sponsorship and product placements, marketers are trying to match their brands with must-see content on most-viewed platforms. They’re playing catch up.
As Sunni Boot, president of media buyer Zenith Optimedia Canada, told Tuesday’s Banff World TV Festival panel on financing TV production through advertisers, the times have changed.
“The whole business paradigm has changed. It’s no longer just, buy a spot, get a commission,” added Boot, who was panel moderator. “But how do we take advantage of the changes?”
David Lyle, president of Fox Reality Channel, suggested marketers attach themselves to hot productions early in their lifecycles – maybe even sign on as a sponsor on smaller nets – and be flexible about the media buying plan. “The worst sticks-in-the-mud are the network sales people. They want their sale and they want it now.”
Michael Jackson, president of programming at IAC, a U.S. company that collects transaction fees for online and phone purchases, picked up on Lyle’s point: “Broadcasters are on the arrogant side of the world. The Internet teaches you humility.”
He adds that producers should look to attract ad revenue by “building in a sense of your advertiser from the beginning….TV today is much more like movies. It’s much more hit driven. American Idol is a much more valuable brand than Fox.
Various panellists encouraged content producers to use multiple platforms, to be flexible and able to pivot. “The web site,” says Jackson, “doesn’t have to be right the first day. You can change and respond to viewers.”
One questioner wondered if broadcasters have “an appetite for fully-sponsored shows.” Lyle suggested that model works better on smaller networks and channels. “Larger networks have to look after their brands.” Others suggested sponsorship is possible for day part programming and rarely available for prime time.
“Are we still too broadcast-centred?” wondered Boot.
“In the past, the Internet was always the last thing to do. Now, we’re being invited to incorporate the Net into the story really early on,” says Sabrina Geremia, head of business development and media at Google Canada. “It’s hard to integrate TV, print, the Web, etcetera.
“But now, advertisers are testing their messages online and seeing which get the most click-throughs,” she adds.
In terms of advertisers’ ability to measure the worth of advertising online, panellists say there are more and more sophisticated ways to analyze Net usage data. Meantime, researchers considering securing product placement for productions can check out Google Trends to see what Net surfers are doing and watching.
