By Etan Vlessing
TORONTO – So much for the “business as usual” 2021 upfront.
Bell Media, pitching its upcoming fall season linear and digital schedules to media agencies and their marketing clients for long term ad commitments, has had to make sense of digesting and executing on a vastly changed Canadian media landscape now that pandemic lockdowns are lifting.
The razzle-dazzle of Bell Media’s upfront showcase of new and returning U.S. series like The Masked Singer, Grey’s Anatomy and Young Sheldon didn’t obscure an increased focus by marketers on committing dollars to connected TV and digital video advertising channels as Canadians watch more content on streaming, on-demand platforms, tablets and mobile phones.
Or, marketers just choosing short term digital buys over long term upfront commitments after the pandemic last year ravaged advance Canadian advertising campaigns. “We’re delivering unrivalled brands on unmatched platforms that run the gamut from linear to digital, the social or at home in both languages, across the broadest Canadian footprint of any company, Canadian or otherwise,” Perry MacDonald, vice-president, advertising sales and partnerships at Bell Media, told the virtual presentation.
Challenges abound beyond marketers shifting from traditional TV advertising to more targeted and better measured digital formats.
The pandemic brought big ratings declines, especially for top tier TV sports, and as Canadians in lockdown bought more online, marketers sent more ad dollars onto digital platforms like Facebook, Google and ad-supported VOD platforms like CTV.ca and the CTV.ca app.
Justin Stockman, Bell Media’s vice-president of content development and programming, told advertisers the linear CTV network and the CTV.ca app had “converged and are of equal importance” as the broadcaster looks for dominance in the Canadian AVOD space.
Stockman added viewers were coming to CTV.ca for first run series, and staying to view shows from Bell Media’s programming vault. And, Bell Media is extending its digital presence, for example, by announcing a rebooted MuchMusic will only be available digital and social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The Bell Media 2021 Upfront pitch also underlined the emergence of big data increasingly determining how marketers and agencies complete advance ad buys. These days, it’s less about TV ratings, national TV buys and intuition and more about buying audience segments across multiple digital platforms and devices, thanks to advanced analytics and addressable TV.
“Canadian owned and operated media is a vital cornerstone to our ad industry… We recognize that in order to truly keep Canada strong, we need to do it together.” – Stewart Johnston, Bell Media
“We are making it easier to buy with us, whatever way you want to buy, whichever way you want to buy – we have the tools to help you plan, to help you activate and the tools to help you measure your campaigns,” Bell Media president Wade Oosterman told the virtual pitch (pictured above).
Bell Media may have Canada’s top-rated and biggest-reach audiences on CTV, on its specialty channels and elsewhere in its stable, but as Canadians themselves increasingly range well beyond primetime for their TV fixes, and marketers and their ad dollars are chasing them across multiple platforms, advertisers want their campaigns measured in a more transparent and effective way, and digital allows that attribution.
“We know that to succeed, we must relentlessly drive innovation and deliver Canadian-made solutions,” singing Stewart Johnston (right, during the virtual upfront), senior vice president of sales and sports at Bell Media, told advertising and agencies as he touted data-led products like SAM TV an
d Bell DSP.
To seal the deal with advertisers, Johnston pledged campaigns booked upfront through SAM TV were guaranteed “100 percent “audience delivery.” That includes first party data bookings, target segments and Numeris adult women 18-49 and 24-54 demos.
“Zero risk,” Johnston added, as he also guaranteed audience delivery for media buys for big reach award shows like the Academy Awards that saw their ratings tank during the pandemic.
Bell Media also knows advertisers need to balance targeting big-reach inventory from the major networks with locked in pricing during the upfront season with forays into the scatter market down the road and flexibility and cross-platform digital buys in an fast-changing media landscape.
So, Johnston told advertisers if they need to shift or cancel any part of the fall upfront campaigns, they need to offer just two weeks notice to do so. That’s a break which follows 2020 when rigid deal structures had marketers hard pressed to postpone or cancel campaigns undermined by the pandemic.
Proof Bell Media feeling the heat from U.S. digital platforms like Netflix increasingly dominating Canadian TV viewership?
A flag-waving Johnston touted Canadian ad buy solutions for the Canadian marketplace as marketers look for new ways to connect with audiences across multiple platforms and screens, including with Twitter, Facebook and Google.
“Canadian owned and operated media is a vital cornerstone to our ad industry… We recognize that in order to truly keep Canada strong, we need to do it together,” he told the virtual presentation.
