| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | General Mills Puts $800M Media Account Up for Review
| | | The packaged food giant will review its media planning and buying business, currently handled by Publicis Groupe's Zenith Media, which has handled the account since 2001. A decision is expected to be made by the fall. General Mills has a new CMO, Ann Simonds, and a new VP of global media, Jackie Woodward, both of whom took those posts within the past 9 months.
Why This Matters: General Mills joins a group of about 20 marketers who spend more than $17 billion on advertising annually who are currently reviewing their media accounts, according to Adweek.
Three Takes: Adweek | Ad Age | MediaPost
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| | #2 | Walmart Trying to Brand Itself Socially Conscious
| | | The mega-retail chain is on a course to improve its image, having made several moves to change its brand perception. Most recently Walmart announced it would work to improve the welfare of farm animals by adopting new regulations for its food suppliers. It has also increased its minimum wage for workers and has begun a film festival in its headquarters town of Bentonville, Ark., partnering with gender-equality activist and actress Geena Davis.
Why This Matters: Ruth Bernstein of branding agency Yard says, "Walmart understands that consumers' sense of value is changing. It's no longer just about how much a product costs, but how it is made and where it is from. A company's values play a big part in consumers' perception of value."
A Take: Adweek
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| | #3 | Kellogg's Ranked Most Reputable U.S. Consumer Company
| | | The cereal and snack food brand rose 10 spots from last year to take the top spot in the Reputation Institute's 2015 Rankings of America's 50 most reputable consumer products companies. The Hershey Company, No. 1 last year, fell to No. 6. In addition to Kellogg's, new brands making the Top 10 list included Fruit of the Loom (No. 3), Levi Strauss (5), Tupperware (9) and Hasbro (10).
Why This Matters: Brad Hecht, chief research officer at the Reputation Institute, says a company's products and services only accounts for about 30% of what drives reputation as it relates to a company.
A Take: MediaPost
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#4 General Mills Adds Fallon, 72andSunny to Creative Team (Ad Age)
#5 Reaching Hispanic Consumers More About Culture Than Language (eMarketer)
#6 JWT Digital Network Mirum Acquires German-based RSK Group (MediaPost)
#7 Twitter Makes It Easier to Run Amplify Ads (Ad Age)
#8 Sephora's Beauty Video Strategy Is Pulling in Viewers (Digiday)
#9 How to Create a Good Instagram Carousel Ad (Adweek)
#10 Wendy's Building Beefless Burger Brand in India (Ad Age)
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Dollars in billions that the consumer packaged goods companies will spend on digital advertising in the U.S. this year, according to eMarketer projections. That's 8.5% of total U.S. digital ad spending with 63% of the CPG digital ads being bought programmatically.
– Reported by eMarketer
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| | MBPT Spotlight | When the Customer Gets It Wrong
By Jennifer Zanfardino, managing director, strategist, Monaco Lange
"This isn't what I ordered," the customer plainly states to her server after he presents the beautifully arranged heirloom tomato salad. Confused and concerned since he prides himself on getting it right, the server inquires about what went wrong.
His guest informs him that she wants "all red and round tomatoes – like the ones at the supermarket." OK ... But those aren't heirloom tomatoes.
Wanting the customer to be happy, the server removes the salad from the bill. But is removing the item from the bill really the right thing to do? Absolutely not. The customer is wrong. And I'm not saying what the customer wants is wrong. It's just that she's wrong to expect an heirloom tomato salad to fulfill her desire for a red, round tomato salad.
I know what you're thinking. Anyone who works in a service industry has been told at least a million times the customer is always right. We as service providers (and, if we're honest with ourselves, customers) know that that's not actually true. Sometimes customers are wrong and brands need to stand their ground. And there are times brands do.
• The nuclear family may look different than it once did, but its purpose and values haven't changed. Brands like Nikon, Cheerios and Honey Maid get this and stepped up their advertising to show families aren't defined by gender or color, despite some current and prospective customers' protests.
How does a business help consumers properly set expectations? And when is having a sense of humor a good idea in dealing with customers?
For more, click HERE
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| | Fates & Fortunes | | • MICHAEL KELLY is leaving Dish Network, effective May 31, where he was most recently president of its Blockbuster unit. He joined the company in 2001 and from 2005 to 2011 served as executive VP of direct commercial and advertising sales. He is the founder of Kelly Broadcasting Systems which was acquired by Dish. |
| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
Low Debut for NBC's 'Aquarius'
NBC's two-hour debut of its Charles Manson drama Aquarius did not make much of a dent on Thursday. NBC finished in second overall. Fox led the night. Wayward Pines held steady and Bones rose 20%. ABC's finale of its quiz show 500 Questions was even. CBS and The CW aired repeats.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
Western Conference Finals Coverage Lures Viewers Wednesday
With a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49 and 8.9 million viewers, Game 5 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals on ESPN topped all original cable programs Wednesday. Following the Golden State Warriors' series-clinching win over the Houston Rockets, ESPN's edition of SportsCenter drew a 1.5 in the demo and 3.6 million viewers. Coming in third was the Chicago Blackhawks' victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL's Western Conference Finals on the NBC Sports Network, netting a 0.8 rating and 2.4 million viewers.
For more, click HERE
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| Overnight Ratings: Thursday, May 28
| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | CBS | THE BIG BANG THEORY (R) (8)
THE ODD COUPLE (R) (8:30) | 1.4
1.1 | 7.5
5.4 | | NBC | DATELINE | 1.2 | 6.4 | | FOX | BONES | 1.2 | 5.4 | | ABC | 500 QUESTIONS | 1.0 | 4.9 | | UNIVISION | AMORES CON TRAMPA | 0.9 | 2.4 | | TELEMUNDO | AVENIDA BRASIL | 0.5 | 1.2 | | CW | iZOMBIE (R) | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | FOX | WAYWARD PINES | 1.2 | 4.0 | | NBC | AQUARIUS | 1.1 | 6.1 | | ABC | 500 QUESTIONS | 1.1 | 5.1 | | CBS | MOM (R) (9)
MIKE & MOLLY (R) (9:30) | 1.0
1.0
| 4.9
4.7
| | UNIVISION | LO IMPERDONABLE | 0.9 | 2.3 | | TELEMUNDO | TIERRA DE REYES | 0.5 | 1.3 | | CW | THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (R) | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | NBC | AQUARIUS | 1.0 | 5.2 | | TELEMUNDO | EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS | 0.9 | 1.9 | | UNIVISION | QUE TE PERDONE DIOS | 0.8 | 2.2 | | CBS | ELEMENTARY (R) | 0.7 | 4.0 | | ABC | JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE (R) | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| | THIS WEEKEND'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • 'The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'
That's the title of a two-part Lifetime movie airing on Saturday and Sunday nights at 8 p.m. Kelli Garner plays the legendary star and Susan Sarandon plays her mother. The movie is based on a book by J. Randy Taraborrelli and gets into secrets about her three marriages and her relationship with President Kennedy. The upshot: Lifetime usually has good success with its original movies so it will be interesting to see how this one does.
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| • Critics' Choice TV Awards Moves to Cable
The fifth annual telecast of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association awards airs Sunday night at 8 on A&E. The awards will be presented live at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, hosted by Cat Deeley. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will receive the Critics' Choice Louis XIII Genius Award for "demonstrating unprecedented excellence in television arts." The upshot: Last year the awards were televised by The CW and drew a 0.3 18-49 demo rating and 1.1 million viewers.
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| • High-Tech Drama Seeks Retro Ratings
The AMC series Halt and Catch Fire is back for its second season on Sunday (10 p.m.). The show, set in the 1980s, resumes with its group of underdog entrepreneurs exploring a concept that will ultimately become known as the Internet. The upshot: This series was critically acclaimed, but it only averaged a paltry 0.3 18-49 demo rating and 760,000 viewers, after premiering with 1.2 million. Its season 1 finale drew 575,000 viewers. That's a ways away from the 15.7 million The Walking Dead drew to AMC for its most recent season finale, or even the 3.3 million that the final episode of AMC's Mad Men garnered.
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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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