| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Sprint Will Co-Brand In Radio Shack's 1,750 Stores
| | | The electronics retailer has filed for bankruptcy and is completing a deal that will make Sprint the primary brand on its storefront and in marketing materials, but would allow Radio Shack to continue as a store-within-a-store at those locations. Radio Shack has struggled with declining revenues. Its marketing budget in the most recently measured year of 2013 was $78 million—compared to over $1.6 billion spent by Sprint.
Why This Matters: The move will allow Radio Shack to stay in business, but is a boon for Sprint. According to an Ad Age report, the carrier operates about 1,100 stories nationwide right now, less than both its major competitors AT&T and Verizon. This move would give Sprint lots of additional locations to bring in retail customer traffic.
Three Takes: Ad Age | USA Today | Reuters
|
| | #2 | Swyft Media Having Success Selling Messaging App Emoticons
| | | The three-year-old ad network has arrangements with several major messaging apps, including Viber, Kik, Tango and Paltalk, to produce digital images inserted into text messages (emoticons) for advertisers. It also looks to partner with Snapchat and WhatsApp. Cofounder Evan Wray tells The Wall Street Journal it has only been selling to advertisers since August but has already run campaigns for over 300 brands, including MillerCoors and Fox, which promoted Gotham by letting folks swap images of characters featured in the Batman-prequel series.
Why This Matters: Emoticons are popular among teens and younger millennials and it's a different way for a brand to target this audience. Monotype Imaging Holdings, a company that supplies digital fonts to creative agencies, is a believer—it recently acquired Swyft for $27 million.
A Take: WSJ
|
| | #3 | Condom Makers Excited About 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
| | | With the movie premiere based on E.L. James' bestseller premiering Valentine's Day weekend, Trojan is conducting a "50 Shades of Pleasure" campaign that includes a farcical video poking fun at couples who go a little overboard for a good time, Digiday reports. It has been airing on the brand's YouTube and Facebook pages. A 15-second version will also air in movie theaters. Durex has launched a microsite for its campaign called "50 Games To Play" which offers fun bedroom ideas.
Why This Matters: Valentine's Day coincides with National Condom Day and prophylactic sales reportedly peak around that time. With over 100 million copies of the Fifty Shades trilogy sold worldwide to date, this move is hardly surprising.
A Take: Digiday
|
|
#4 Publicis Completes $3.7B Acquisition Of Sapient (MediaPost)
#5 Anomaly Named Baseball's Creative Agency (Ad Age)
#6 Dentsu Aegis Acquires Independent Australian Agency BWM (MediaPost)
#7 Twitter's User Growth Falls Below Facebook's For The First Time (WSJ)
#8 Horizon Adds TV Ratings Data From Rentrak (B&C)
#9 Anheuser-Busch Not Backing Down On Craft Beer Cracks (USA Today)
#10 LinkedIn Ad Revenue Rose 46% To $454B In 2014 (Ad Age)
|
|  | • 85
Percentage of millennials who said they would be likely to follow a brand or company on Twitter to get a coupon or discount, according to research by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research.
– Reported by eMarketer
|
| | MBPT Spotlight | Cassandra Report Offers Brands Digital Advice On Relating Better To Millennials
By John Consoli
The latest Cassandra Report research recently released by full-service agency Deep Focus reveals some eye-opening data about millennials. Among the interesting stats—32% of respondents to its study ages 18-34 say they feel close to people they have met only online, while more than 76% indicate they have friends on social media who are not really their friends.
The study finds that this type of digital intimacy, described in the report as "eLationships," transcends physical and digital boundaries and has implications on their perception of brands and choices about media consumption, among other things.
The study also offers some insight into how brands digitally can develop closer relationships with millennials.
Jamie Gutfreund, chief marketing officer at Deep Focus, says, "These findings should serve as a wake-up call to anyone seeking to engage gen-Y consumers."
Gutfreund adds, "gen-Ys are beginning to hold themselves, and their peers, accountable for their actions in both the digital and physical worlds. They now demand the same code of conduct from the companies and technologies with which they interact."
What other telling statistics lead brands and marketers to ways they can reach millennial consumers online? And what kind of impact is social media having on millennials' retail purchases?
For more, click HERE
|
| | Fates & Fortunes | • FRANCES GREAT was named managing director of the Los Angeles office of Bartle Bogle Hegarty. She was most recently managing director of BBH Asia Pacific.
• HAROLD SOGARD was named president of independent San Francisco creative agency The Hive. Sogard was chairman of Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco, prior to leaving that post last year. He also worked at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in assorted executive roles for 19 years.
• GREGG SIEBERT was appointed to the newly created position of vice chairman of AMC Networks and MSG Company, both part of Cablevision Systems Corp. He was previously vice chairman and chief financial officer of CSC. Prior to joining Cablevision in 2009, Siebert spent 20 years at Merrill Lynch in assorted financial and strategic roles.
• RECE DAVIS has signed a multiyear contract extension with ESPN through 2021 that includes him taking over full-time hosting duties from Chris Fowler on the network's College GameDay football road show. He will also continue hosting the College GameDay basketball show, but will give up his role in the Thursday night ESPN primetime college football booth. Davis has been with ESPN since 1995. Fowler will focus on his play-by-play announcing duties, which include ABC's Saturday Night Football.
• CHERYL SPEISER was named western sales manager at EatingWell magazine. She was most recently with Rodale's Prevention magazine, and prior to that, was with Time Inc., where she worked in ad sales for Southern Living.
• KARY McHOUL has joined ABC Family in the newly created position of senior VP, programming & development, unscripted. She was most recently a digital consultant. Prior to that she worked with Nigel Lythgoe to form Nigel Lythgoe Productions, where she served as president. She was also senior VP of specials, alternative and late-night programming at Fox, where she worked under Mike Darnell and help develop American Idol and The Simple Life With Paris Hilton. Prior to that she was head of development for the E! and Style networks.
|
| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
'Blacklist,' 'Scandal' Split First Thursday Battle
The first time-slot showdown between James Spader and Shonda Rhimes ended as a split decision between the NBC and ABC dramas. Rhimes' Scandal won out in the adults 18-49 demo, overtaking Blacklist by 35%; Scandal was down 14% from last week. Among total viewers, however, the race was much closer, with Blacklist edging out Scandal. Blacklist's Thursday debut was down just two-tenths from its last non-Super Bowl episode, which aired behind The Voice. Following Blacklist, new spy drama Allegiance struggled, down 15% from what Parenthood averaged in that period. Including a repeat of Blacklist's post-Super Bowl episode at 8 p.m., NBC finished fourth on the night. ABC led Thursday, although How to Get Away With Murder was down 13% and Grey's Anatomy fell 21% at 8 p.m. CBS finished second. The Big Bang Theory was the night's top-rated show, even with last week. Mom and Two and a Half Men were also both even. Elementary was up 15%. Fox finished third as American Idol was up 9% from last Thursday and Backstrom was down 29%. The CW rounded out the night with The Vampire Diaries up a tenth and Reign staying even.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
'Duck Dynasty' Can't Beat 'The Game'
A&E's Duck Dynasty tied with BET's The Game Wednesday night, as both shows pulled a 0.7 rating with adults 18-49. The A&E staple netted 2 million viewers while BET's comedy had an audience of 1.5 million. Discovery's Dual Survival, ESPN's 10:30 p.m. NBA telecast and VH1's Mob Wives all drew a 0.6 in the demo. The series finale of Snooki & Jwoww on MTV had a 0.5 rating and 1 million viewers. FX's The Americans pulled a 0.3 in the demo and 900,000 viewers.
For more, click HERE
|
| Overnight Ratings: Thursday, February 5
| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | CBS | THE BIG BANG
THEORY (8)
MOM (8:30) | 4.5
2.8 | 16.8
11.8 | | FOX | AMERICAN IDOL | 2.4 | 9.5 | | ABC | GREY'S ANATOMY | 2.2 | 7.9 | | UNIVISION | MI CORAZÓN ES TUYO
| 1.2 | 3.2 | | NBC | THE BLACKLIST (R) | 1.0 | 5.1 | | CW | THE VAMPIRE DIARIES | 0.8 | 1.7 | | TELEMUNDO | LOS MISERABLES
| 0.6 | 1.6 |
| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | ABC | SCANDAL | 3.1 | 9.5 | | NBC | THE BLACKLIST | 2.3 | 9.9 | | CBS | TWO AND A HALF
MEN (9)
THE BIG BANG THEORY (R) (9:30) | 2.3
1.9
| 9.4
8.2
| | UNIVISION | HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO
| 1.3 | 3.2 | | FOX | BACKSTROM | 1.0 | 3.6 | | TELEMUNDO | TIERRA DE REYES
| 0.5 | 1.3 | | CW | REIGN | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | ABC | HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER | 2.7 | 8.3 | | CBS | ELEMENTARY | 1.5 | 7.8 | | NBC | ALLEGIANCE | 1.1 | 4.9 | | UNIVISION | QUE TE PERDONE DIOS
| 1.0 | 2.6 | | TELEMUNDO | DUEÑOS DEL PARAÍSO
| 0.7 | 1.6 |
| | THIS WEEKEND'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • How Final is 'Red Band' Finale on Fox?
The critically acclaimed but low-rated drama that follows a group of teenagers who meet as patients in a pediatric ward of a Los Angeles hospital will air its final two episodes of its first season on Saturday night (8 p.m.). Featuring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer and an ensemble of teen performers, the series has averaged only 3.1. million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 demo rating this season, and Fox has pulled it from the schedule. The upshot: That said, the network has not made any official announcement about cancellation so fans can hold some slight hope of its return. Perhaps a large tune-in on Saturday would help, although the show's targeted younger viewers are usually not in front of the TV then.
|
| • 'Walking Dead' Lives and Brings 'Saul' Along
AMC's post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror drama returns for its winter premiere on Sunday night at 9, leading into the premiere of Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul (10 p.m.). Now in its fifth season, The Walking Dead has averaged more than 15 million viewers and was the highest-rated 18-49 scripted program on both broadcast and cable primetime when it went on hiatus, averaging a 7.8. Better Call Saul is set six years before attorney Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) met Walter White. A second new episode of the 10-part first season will air Monday night at 10. The upshot: AMC is giving Better Call Saul a plum premiere time period leading out of one of television's top series. It's expecting fireworks, given that it has already ordered a second season for Saul.
|
| • CBS Sings For Its Grammy Supper
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards airs live Sunday night at 8 p.m. with L.L. Cool J back as host. Nominees Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will perform together, as will Hozier and Annie Lennox and Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani. Other performers will include AC/DC, Eric Church, Common with John Legend, Ariana Grande, Madonna and Pharrell Williams. The upshot: Last year's telecast drew 29.7 million viewers and a 10.1 18-49 demo rating. This year's show could challenge that number as it will not go up against the NFL Pro Bowl, which NBC televised on Grammy Sunday in 2014. ABC is trying to lure some millennials with an airing of The Hunger Games.
|
|
|
| |  |  |
| 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
|
| | | 
|
|
| | | | | | |
