| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Former MediaCom CEO Alleges Media Agency 'Kickbacks'
| | | Jon Mandel, in a presentation to an Association of National Advertisers conference audience, said media agencies "cross the line of acceptable conduct" in their partnership with clients, Ad Age reports. "They recommend or implement media that is off strategy or off target if it works for their financial gain." He added that "kickbacks" and other incentives for agencies that are potentially adverse to client interests are happening virtually everywhere in the U.S. media landscape, including TV.
Why This Matters: Mandel has always had strong opinions, but this comes from a study he conducted with other consultants at the request of the ANA Media Transparency Task Force. Said P&G global brand officer Marc Pritchard, "I don't know how broad-scale the stories he's talking about are; he's got to produce some evidence."
A Take: Ad Age
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| | #2 | Twentieth Television Offers Advertisers New C1 Rating Guarantee
| | | The TV syndication company is offering a new rating that could be part of upfront negotiations, MediaPost reports. Syndication, like broadcast and cable networks, has been guaranteeing TV advertisers media deals primarily based on C3. However, Twentieth Television says 97% of its programming is watched live so it wants to give advertisers the option of deals that include guarantees based on live-plus-one-day viewing.
Why This Matters: Twentieth is trying to escape being lumped in with the TV networks during upfront negotiations. While C1 might not appeal to every advertiser, Michael Teicher, who heads up ad sales for Twentieth, says "it's an option" he would be "willing to discuss as part of an overall negotiation" in the 2015 upfront.
A Take: MediaPost
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| | #3 | Fox Sports And Nationwide Testing Facebook Videos
| | | Fox is streaming a millennial-focused sports show titled "@TheBuzzer" on Facebook and Nationwide is running a static banner across the bottom of the video and a post-roll ad at the end of the show, Digiday reports. Fox Sports and Facebook are splitting the ad revenue. Jim McCoy of Nationwide says the sponsorship was part of a larger deal between the insurer and Fox Sports.
Why This Matters: Publisher-produced digital videos are growing in popularity for advertisers to be associated with because they are of higher quality and created by professional video production crews. Facebook's entry into this ad space puts it in competition with both YouTube and Twitter.
A Take: Digiday
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#4 Havas Awarded $30M Safelite AutoGlass Media Account (Adweek)
#5 Modelo Especial Readies First U.S. English-Language TV Campaign (Ad Age)
#6 Johnnie Walker Unveils Smart Bottle That Sends Marketing Messages (MediaPost)
#7 A+E Networks Joins FreeWheel Programmatic Digital Ad Program (MCN)
#8 Dress Barn Revamps Brand In House (Adweek)
#9 Dun & Bradstreet CMO Talks About Importance Of Marketing Technology (eMarketer)
#10 Five Takeaways For Marketers From Mobile World Congress (Ad Age)
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Percentage of marketers worldwide who say a key criteria for new technology is that it be easy to use by them without IT involvement, according to Econsultancy research.
– Reported by eMarketer
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| | MBPT Spotlight | For InStadium, Brands Get A Big Ad-Vantage By Playing To Sports Fans
By Barry Janoff, executive editor, NYSportsJournalism.com
During the heydays of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, an advertisement on the right-centerfield fence of the Dodgers' then-home stadium proclaimed, "Hit Sign, Win Suit. Abe Stark. Brooklyn's Leading Clothier."
The sign is part of baseball folklore. Its presence in the stadium inspired fans to buy Stark's suits, and when it appeared on newscasts and televised Dodgers games it boosted his popularity, helping him become a key figure in New York politics as president of the City Council and later as Brooklyn borough president.
But with the advent of technology, LED lights, Dolby sound, massive HD video screens (such as the one in Dallas' AT&T Stadium) and other advancements, sports venues have become an increasingly powerful source of advertising and marketing.
InStadium Inc. is a sports media company with myriad national marketers and nearly 500 teams as partners, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, enabling it to lay claim as the "largest in-stadium video network in the country."
Its current or recent clients include ABC, AT&T, Chevrolet, Disney, Ford, Geico, Google, HBO, Lexus and Microsoft.
Last July, InStadium upped the ante on in-game sports marketing with InStadiumTV, which launched in MLB and minor league baseball stadiums, airing brand-sponsored videos prior to 1,285 games that were viewed by 5.3 million fans, according to the company. InStadiumTV is described as a "short-form video program designed to amuse, educate and inspire sports fans before the game begins [which] offers unique and engaging content and encourages fan participation via mobile and social promotions."
In January, InStadiumTV was unveiled in an additional 65-plus NCAA basketball arenas in time for March Madness as well as in several NBA arenas. According to the Chicago-based firm, which traces its roots back to 2003 when it placed signage in stadium bathrooms, InStadiumTV "goes beyond traditional 30-second advertising by offering brands the opportunity to sponsor video and mobile content."
How does InStadium founder Barrett Davie define successful metrics for the ad form? And what are the company's plans moving forward from one sport or stadium to the next?
For more, click HERE
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| | Fates & Fortunes | • TODD PENDELTON, chief creative officer of Samsung Telecommunications of America, who was previously chief marketing officer for the company, is leaving. The news comes according to an Ad Age report. Pendelton has been with Samsung since 2011 and was CMO for the launch of the company's "Next Big Thing" campaign. Prior to joining Samsung, he spent 15 years at Nike.
• ANDY LACK will return to NBC News as chairman of both NBC News and MSNBC, in a move that was speculated about in the media for the past several days. Lack served as NBC News president from 1993-2001. He was also president and chief operating officer of NBC. After his departure from NBC, Lack was named chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, and in 2008 was named chairman of Bloomberg Media Group. He was most recently CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors but stepped down earlier this week, adding to the speculation that he would be rejoining NBC.
• TIM LIBBY was named senior VP and digital director at Starcom USA. He was previously senior VP of digital strategy at Ruder Finn. Prior to that he was VP, digital marketing, at Publicis-owned MSLGroup and also served as a group digital director at Horizon Media.
• RICH BATTISTA is expected to be named to the newly created position of president of Time Inc.'s People and Entertainment Weekly magazines. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Battista has reached a verbal agreement with the company. He was most recently CEO of Mandalay Sports Media. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at Fox and its parent company News Corp.
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| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
Below 'Murder,' But Solid Debut for 'American Crime'
ABC's American Crime got off to a decent start Thursday, winning its time slot in the demo and total viewership. While it was a solid premier for the John Ridley-created series, it was behind what How to Get Away With Murder—the season's No. 2 rookie—had been drawing in that slot. Earlier, Grey's Anatomy was up two-tenths and Scandal returned from a week off down 9%. ABC tied with CBS for the lead on Thursday. In its third week, CBS' The Odd Couple remained strong, improving from last week by 7%, behind The Big Bang Theory, which rose 4%. Following a repeat Big Bang, Mom improved a tenth. Elementary dipped two-tenths. On third-place Fox, American Idol was down 5% from last week, while Backstrom rose 11%. NBC was in fourth on Thursday. The Slap improved a tenth, while The Blacklist dipped two-tenths. Allegiance was steady with last week, but still cancelled on Friday. The CW rounded out the night with repeats.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
'The Game' Meets Its Match in 'Dual Survival'
BET's The Game and Discovery's Dual Survival split the top spot in original cable on Wednesday night, both garnering a 0.7 rating with adults 18-49. The Discovery series had 1.6 million viewers while the BET sitcom had an audience of 1.5 million. Several shows drew a 0.6 rating, including the season premiere of MTV's Catfish, but ESPN's NBA showing led them all among total viewers with an audience of 1.3 million. Comedy Central's Workaholics along with the season finales of USA's Suits and A&E's Wahlburgers all had a 0.5 in the demo.
For more, click HERE
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| Overnight Ratings: Thursday, March 5
| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | CBS | THE BIG BANG
THEORY (8)
THE ODD COUPLE (8:30) | 4.7
3.0 | 17.9
12.5 | | ABC | GREY'S ANATOMY | 2.4 | 8.1 | | FOX | AMERICAN IDOL | 2.1 | 9.3 | | UNIVISION | MI CORAZÓN ES TUYO
| 1.3 | 3.4 | | NBC | THE SLAP | 0.8 | 3.9 | | TELEMUNDO | LOS MISERABLES
| 0.7 | 1.5 | | CW | THE VAMPIRE
DIARIES (R) | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | ABC | SCANDAL | 3.0 | 9.6 | | CBS | THE BIG BANG THEORY (R) (9)
MOM (9:30) | 2.4
2.2 | 10.5
9.5 | | NBC | THE BLACKLIST | 1.7 | 8.0 | | UNIVISION | HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO
| 1.2 | 3.1 | | FOX | BACKSTROM | 1.0 | 3.9 | | TELEMUNDO | TIERRA DE REYES
| 0.6 | 1.3 | | CW | SUPERNATURAL (R) | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | ABC | AMERICAN CRIME | 2.0 | 8.4 | | CBS | ELEMENTARY | 1.3 | 7.5 | | UNIVISION | QUE TE PERDONE DIOS
| 0.9 | 2.4 | | NBC | ALLEGIANCE | 0.8 | 3.4 | | TELEMUNDO | DUEÑOS DEL PARAÍSO
| 0.7 | 1.6 |
| | THIS WEEKEND'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • 'Shark Tank' Continues To Capture Friday Viewers
The ABC reality staple in which a panel of five entrepreneurs evaluate investment proposals from contestants is having another solid season on Friday nights at 9. The show not only has one of the youngest median ages on the older-skewing night but has won nearly every Friday in the 18-49 demo, averaging 1.8 since the start of its season last September. It is also averaging a creditable 7.2 million viewers. The upshot: Shark Tank continues to build on its sitcom lead-ins which are not exactly compatible to the audience it draws, making its performance that much more impressive.
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| • Two Wingmen Now Part Of OWN's Saturday Menu
Oprah Winfrey Network's latest reality show 2 Fat 2 Fly airs at 10 p.m. Saturday, out of Welcome to Sweetie Pie's (9 p.m.), which is now in its fifth season. The new entry features two best friends from Columbia, S.C., who run a local food truck business selling stuffed chicken wings. The series is named after their business and OWN ran the special, Wingmen, featuring the duo, last August. The upshot: Sweetie Pie's is not a major hit for the network on lower-viewing Saturday nights, but it has a loyal core audience and has grown in each of its first four seasons. Last season, it averaged 830,000 viewers, more than double what it did in season 1. OWN looks for 2 Fat 2 Fly to score well with that core.
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| • NBC Special Documents Escaping Disasters
Dateline will air the second of a three-part series titled Escape on Sunday night at 9 p.m., hosted by NBC Sports' Josh Elliott. The episode will chronicle the Cedar Fire in California, the largest wildfire in the state's history. More than a dozen people who survived the fire will provide firsthand accounts. The Escape finale next Sunday will offer new insights on the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated Thailand in December 2004. The upshot: Following the end of Sunday Night Football and NBC's Super Bowl airing, the network has been showing various specials on the night, filling the gap until the April 5 premiere of A.D., a continuation of the History series The Bible. The first part of the Dateline series, which aired March 1, drew only 3.9 million viewers and a 0.8 demo rating. It's got nowhere to go but up.
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