| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Horizon Wins Burger King Media Buying/Planning Account
| | | The independent media agency has been awarded the fast food chain's $300 million U.S. media duties, according to MediaPost, which exclusively reported the account change, citing sources. The change was made without a review. Starcom was the incumbent, having been awarded the account in 2011 also without a review, replacing then-incumbent Mindshare. Starcom continues current BK duties outside the U.S.
Why This Matters: This is a major media account in a very competitive and heavy ad spending category and a big win for independent Horizon.
A Take: MediaPost
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| | #2 | Super Bowl Week Concerts A Major Sponsorship Opportunity For Marketers
| | | In addition to the official in-game halftime performance by Bruno Mars sponsored by Pepsi, there are several other concerts in the New York/New Jersey metro area earlier in the week that will be sponsored by Bud Light, Citibank and CBS Radio.
Why This Matters: The amount of opportunities for corporations to market around the Super Bowl has grown enormously over the years and music events have risen to the forefront. IEG Sponsorship Report estimates that music events overall have drawn 1.24 billion in sponsorship dollars in 2013, more than double since 2003.
A Take: NYT |
| | #3 | Marketers Closely Track Flu Outbreaks To Roll Out Timely Ads
| | | The flu is a big moneymaker for companies that produce tissues, disinfecting wipes and cold remedies, and these companies are finding new ways to predict and chase outbreaks around the country to take advantage of the opportunity to sell the brands, The Wall Street Journal reports. Since the key is to have TV commercials and print ads hit just as the flu is starting to pick up, marketers are regularly tracking flu data and social conversations.
Why This Matters: The flu means big dollars for brands so it pays for them to pay for high tech research. Market researcher The Mintel Group estimates that cold and flu remedy sales reached $5.8 billion in the U.S., while $2.3 billion worth of tissues and personal wipes were sold.
A Take: WSJ |
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#4 All Nippon Airlines Launches First Global Marketing Campaign (MediaPost)
#5 Native Advertising Users Ponder How It Might Change In 2014 (Adweek)
#6 What Happens When Five Agency Execs Are Made To Disconnect For a Whole Week (Ad Age)
#7 Five Brands That Successfully Used Social Media in 2013 (Digiday)
#8 Cracker Barrel Puts 'Duck' Back on Its Merchandise Menu (Variety)
#9 Women Are Spending More Time On Social Platforms (eMarketer)
#10 Many Unhappy Returns Cause E-Retailers To Shift Sales Strategies (WSJ)
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|  | • 250
Number of friends and followers for the average U.S. female on Facebook, according to research from SheKnows and Harris Interactive. That compares to 163 on Twitter, 101 on LinkedIn, 89 on Instagram, 72 on Google + and 67 on Pinterest.
– Reported by eMarketer
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| | MBPT Spotlight | Weather Channel Forecast Is for Early Upfront Event—Cable's 2014 presentations calendar begins to take shape, with some networks in flux
By Jon Lafayette
The 2014-15 upfront season is scheduled to blossom on March 4, according to the Weather Channel's current forecast.
Weather Channel's parent, The Weather Co., is holding its presentation for advertisers early because it has a multifaceted pitch to make and doesn't want to get lost in the shuffle. Last year, the company held an upfront for its TV network and participated in the NewFronts for its digital products. This coming year, The Weather Co. will combine both into a single event that it's calling an AllFront.
At this point it appears, based on the calendar kept by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, that the Weather Channel's March shindig will launch the upfront season, a series of events ranging from serious presentations to parties with music and drink, all designed to persuade media buyers and their clients where to spend their marketing dollars. The early CAB calendar already lists 21 events. While the networks also meet one-on-one with clients and agency planners and buyers, a memorable event is a good way to make an impression.
Generally, cable networks go first and lead up to the broadcasters' upfronts week in May. In the last few years, however, that week has been infiltrated by cablers Turner Broadcasting and ESPN and punctuated by USA Network.
How are the NBCU networks changing upfront philosophy under sales chief Linda Yaccarino? And how have the FX networks shifted strategy for this year's upfront?
For more, click HERE (sub. required)
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| | Fates & Fortunes | • DANIELLE KOFFER was promoted to executive director of a new luxury brand division created by Mindshare. She was previously managing director on the Land Rover account at the media agency. MediaPost first reported that the new unit will handle business for the Jaguar/Land Rover division of Ford. The unit will also handle fashion brand Chanel. Koffer will report to David Pullan, head of Mindshare's New York office.
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| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
Football Tackles Repeats on Sunday
NBC led the night with its penultimate Sunday Night Football telecast of the season, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. CBS finished a distant second with NFL-inflated programming; 60 Minutes, airing at 8 p.m., rose 20% from the previous week. Fox also experienced NFL overrun on Sunday in some markets, as its lineup of repeats finished third. ABC finished fourth. Its airing of The Sound of Music was up 18% over last year's broadcast.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
'Pawn Stars' Tops Thursday Night Lineup
History's Pawn Stars came in at the head of the cable pack on Thursday with a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating and 4.1 million viewers. TBS' 9:30 p.m. offering of The Big Bang Theory came in a very close second, tying Pawn Stars in the demo but lower in total watchers with 2.9 million. The 9 p.m. episode of The Big Bang Theory on TBS rounded out the top three with a 1.1 demo rating and 2.5 million viewers.
For more, click HERE
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| Overnight Ratings: Sunday, December 22
| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | NBC
| FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA (8:00)
NFL - CHICAGO BEARS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8:30)
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4.1
5.6
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12.3
16.4
| CBS
| 60 MINUTES
| 1.8
| 10.1
| FOX
| THE SIMPSONS (R) (8:00)
THE SIMPSONS (R) (8:30)
| 1.6
1.6
| 3.5
3.5
| ABC
| THE SOUND OF MUSIC (R)
| 1.4
| 6.6
| UNIVISION
| CORAZÓN INDOMABLE
| 0.9
| 2.9
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| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | NBC
| NFL - CHICAGO BEARS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
| 5.9
| 17.5
| ABC
| THE SOUND OF MUSIC (R)
| 1.6
| 7.6
| FOX
| FAMILY GUY (R) (9:00)
ANIMATION DOMINATION HIGH-DEF (R) (9:30)
| 1.7
1.0
| 3.4
2.2
| UNIVISION
| CORAZÓN INDOMABLE
| 1.2
| 3.4
| CBS
| THE GOOD WIFE (R)
| 0.8
| 5.1
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| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | NBC
| NFL - CHICAGO BEARS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
| 5.1
| 14.4
| ABC
| THE SOUND OF MUSIC (R)
| 1.5
| 7.3
| UNIVISION
| SAL Y PIMIENTA (R)
| 0.8
| 2.2
| CBS
| THE MENTALIST (R)
| 0.7
| 4.9
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| | TOMORROW'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • 49ers Face Must-Win On 'MNF' Season Finale
Despite owning a 10-4 record the San Francisco 49ers are facing a must-win scenario when they host the Atlanta Falcons on ESPN's Monday Night Football telecast beginning at 8:25 p.m. The defending NFC champs are one of three teams battling for two playoff berths and they're in the tough NFC West conference where the Seattle Seahawks have already clinched a playoff spot, and the Arizona Cardinals at 10-5 are also in the hunt. The other team looking to get in is the New Orleans Saints who are 10-5 in the NFC South. If the 49ers beat the 4-10 Falcons and win next week, they will be in. The 49ers, led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, are 5-2 at home, while the Falcons are 1-6 on the road. The upshot: MNF concludes its 44th season with this game. Through the first 15 weeks of this season's telecasts, MNF has averaged 13.7 million viewers, up 5% from last season. With playoff implications, this telecast should draw close to that.
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| • After 'The Sing-Off' Signs Off, 'Game Night' Returns
NBC's short-run a cappella group competition, The Sing-Off, concludes Monday night with a two-hour show from 8-10. In addition to the final three groups—Home Free, Ten and Vocal Rush—performing to win the $100,000 first prize and a recording contract, host Nick Lachey will perform with his group 98 Degrees. Lachey will also perform with one of the show's three judges, Jewel. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo will also perform, as will season three winners Pentatonix. At 10 p.m., summer series Hollywood Game Night returns for a special Christmas episode. Jane Lynch hosts as two contestants try to win a $25,000 prize by teaming up with Ray Romano, Cheryl Hines, Gavin DeGraw, Rachel Bilson, and Andy Roddick and his wife Brooklyn Decker. The upshot: Hollywood Game Night averaged 3.7 million viewers and a 1.2 18-49 demo rating this summer on Thursday nights at 10. The Sing-Off has averaged 6.2 million viewers and a 1.7 demo rating overall on multiple nights. When it led out of NBC's hit singing competition The Voice, it averaged 7.8 million and a 2.2. When it didn't, it averaged 5.3 million and a 1.4. The Voice has completed its season so The Sing-Off is on its own.
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| • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas On ABC
The network hopes to buck current lukewarm reception trends for holiday animated fare and airs, for the second time this season, Shrek the Halls on Monday night at 8. This time it will lead into the animated A Chipmunk Christmas at 8:30, which will lead into two final episodes of the short-run competition series The Great Christmas Light Fight from 9-11 p.m. Shrek the Halls, a Christmas story about the world's most well-known animated ogre, first aired on broadcast TV in 2007. ABC televised it Nov. 29 when it drew 5.3 million viewers and a 1.5 18-49 rating. A Chipmunk Christmas first aired on ABC in 2011 and has also been running on ABC Family this season. Three episodes of The Great Christmas Light Fight, in which families decorate their homes to the extreme for Christmas and battle for a $50,000 prize in each episode, has averaged 4.7 million viewers and a 1.2 18-49 demo rating so far. The upshot: None of the other broadcast networks have Christmas programming for kids on Monday night so ABC could pick up a good chunk of younger viewers and their parents. However, with no school the next day, many kids may be out shopping with their parents, much as when Shrek the Halls was first telecast on Black Friday.
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Please note: MBPT will not go out on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Wednesday, Dec. 25. The newsletter will resume on Thursday, Dec. 26. Happy holidays!
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| Media Buyer & Planner Today
Editorial Team
John Consoli, Contributing Editor
Phone: 201-314-0424 | Send Email
Jon Lafayette, Business Editor, Broadcasting & Cable
Phone: 917-281-4735 | Send Email
Brian Moran, Managing Editor, Broadcasting & Cable
Phone: 917-281-4708 | Send Email
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