| | Media Buyer & Planner Today | | | | | | | | | #1 Horizon Launches Virtual Reality Unit | | The media agency has started up a new division called UNCVR that will feature a partnership with entertainment-based tech player STXsurreal (a unit of STX Entertainment) and focus on augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and 360-degree video, Adweek first reported. The name represents the division's ability to uncover new mediums for clients. STXsurreal is a studio that produces virtual reality and other immersive content for major platforms including YouTube and Facebook. Horizon is also planning to launch a Virtual Reality Upfront which will showcase an original slate of VR content created by STXsurreal. Sarah Bachman, VP of mobile strategy at Horizon, and Monika Ratner, director of social strategy, will oversee UNCVR. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: Horizon says this is the first collaboration between a media agency and a major studio to develop virtual reality content. Rick Rey and Any Vick, co-presidents of STXsurreal in a joint statement, said, "Data increasingly shows that VR/360 platforms deliver significant audience retention and engagement. As audience demand for compelling, premium content in the immersive space grows, this represents a huge opportunity to bring major talent into VR and help them engage their fan base in bold and game-changing ways." | Three Takes: Adweek | MediaPost | THR
| | | | #2 Super Bowl to Remain Liquor Ad Free | | The NFL recently decided to lift its longstanding ban on liquor ads during its televised regular season games, but liquor marketers will be shut out of the Super Bowl telecasts at least until 2020, Ad Age reports. That's because Anheuser-Busch has existing deals with NBC and CBS granting it exclusivity in the alcohol ad category during the Super Bowl. Fox will next air the Big Game in Feb. 2020. That network's exclusivity deal with A-B expired after it telecast this past Super Bowl in February. Of course liquor brands can get around that by doing deals at the station levels around the country, buying local spots with affiliates of the network during the Super Bowl. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: The networks would much rather coddle the major beer companies than the liquor makers. Beer makers have more money to spend on advertising and traditionally have done that. Anheuser-Busch in 2015 spent $388.9 million on national broadcast and cable advertising, about eight times more than the $48.6 million Johnnie Walker/Crown Royal/Smirnoff distributor Diageo spent on TV during the same period, according to Kantar Media data. | A Take: Ad Age
| | | | #3 When Politics Collide, Sales Suffer | | A survey by Ipsos finds that 25% of Americans say they stopped using a brand's goods or services in the previous three months because of protests, boycotts or a brand's perceived political leanings, Ad Age reports. Applied to the American population as a whole, the would amount to around 80 million people. "Socially conscientious consumerism has been on the rise for years," says Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations. "Given the combination of that trend and the current politically charged climate, it's not surprising to see that such a significant number of Americans have changed their shopping habits due to politics." Some examples: (1) 34% of Republicans surveyed say they boycotted Nordstrom after the chain dropped Ivanka Trump's clothing line, compared to 12% of Democrats; and (2) 32% of Democrats boycotted Uber when, during an airport taxi strike protesting the president's travel ban, the car service cut its prices. Only 13% of Republicans participated in a boycott. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: Politics is so prevalent in every aspect of society right now that it is almost impossible for marketers to avoid it and its impact on purchasing decisions made by consumers. So marketers would be well-advised to be aware of the political leanings of the majority of their customers. | A Take: Ad Age
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| | 42 | | Percentage of millennial internet users in North America, the U.K. and Australia who can't last five hours without checking their social media feeds, according to a survey by software research company Qualtrics and venture capital firm Accel. That compares to 29% of Baby Boomers and 26% of Gen Xers. | – Reported by eMarketer
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| | Stanley Cup Action Down But Good Enough For NBC Win | by Michael Malone
NBC took the top ratings spot Thursday, thanks to the Stanley Cup finals. Game 5, a 6-0 blowout win for Pittsburgh over Nashville, did a 1.4 across prime in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen's overnights. Game 4 did a 1.9. NBC had a 6 share in prime last night. ABC was next at 1.2/5. The network aired repeats throughout prime, including two hours of Celebrity Family Feud. Fox had a 0.9/4. Beat Shazam did a 1.0, down a tenth of a point from last week, and Love Connection a flat 0.8. CBS, in repeats, weighed in at 0.7/3. The CW too aired repeats, in the form of a couple Supernatural episodes, and tallied a 0.2/1. Among Spanish-language networks, Univision did a 0.5/2 and Telemundo a 0.4/2.
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| • PIERRE LIPTON was named global executive creative director at McCann New York. He was most recently chief creative officer at digital agency 360i. Prior to that, he was a founding partner and chief creative officer at M&C Saatchi New York and executive creative director at AKQA.
• STEVEN MOY was appointed U.S. chief technology officer at R/GA. He was previously CEO of Isobar U.K. Prior to that he was chief commerce officer at the agency. He was also VP, East Coast business at SapientNitro.
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