| | Media Buyer & Planner Today | | | | | | | | | #1 NBCU Plans to Cut Primetime Ads by 10% | | The company plans to decrease ad time by 10% in original primetime programming on all of its television networks, Broadcasting & Cable and other news outlets report. New pods will feature just two commercials. NBCU will create a 60-second Prime Pod that will run in the first or last break of a show and contain messages from just two advertisers. The change will be effective in the fourth quarter, when a new fall season of programming will start. The new ad format will mean that original program content will be 10 minutes longer, which NBCU says means 15 more days' worth of content for consumers over the course of a year. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: NBCU is looking to make the commercials more effective by using artificial intelligence to make the ads in the Prime Pods more contextually relevant. The goal of the new formats is to produce a better experience for viewers who are increasingly shifting to non-commercial platforms like Netflix. The move is also aimed at creating more effective advertising for marketers that will produce better recall, more attention and more purchase consideration for their products. NBC previously reduced the commercial load in its Saturday Night Live telecasts by 30% but this new cutback will be across some 50 primetime original shows across NBC broadcast network and its cable networks USA, Bravo and E!. | | Three Takes: B&C | Adweek | Ad Age | | | | #2 Pizza Hut Replaces Papa John's as NFL Sponsor | | Just a day after Papa John's ended its run as official pizza sponsor of the NFL, the chain was replaced by Pizza Hut. Papa John's, which had been with the league since 2010 was reportedly not happy with the NFL's TV ratings declines and the controversy generated over the players' national anthem protests. Papa John's plans to focus instead on doing marketing with 22 NFL teams at the local level. Pizza Hut stepped right in to succeed Papa John's. The new multi-year deal with the NFL gives Pizza Hut exclusivity across national platforms, beginning with the 2018 NFL draft in Texas in late April, Ad Age reports. Pizza Hut will have use of all 32 NFL team logos. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: The NFL has been losing a bit of its TV viewing audience over the past few seasons, but its live games are still the most-watched programming on television. And when one official category sponsor drops out, there is seemingly another ready to jump in. Pizza Hut's decision to align with the NFL comes at a time when Domino's surpassed it based on national sales. Pizza Hut also is the official pizza of the NCAA in a multiyear deal that was initiated in 2016. | | Three Takes: Ad Age | Ad Age | Bloomberg | | | | #3 Disney Reunites with McDonald's | | The fast food chain has not been able to promote any Walt Disney Co. movies in its Happy Meals since Disney opted not to renew a 10-year pact in 2006, but Disney has now agreed to be reunited with McDonald's, Ad Age first reported. Disney had refused to renew it partnership with McDonald's because it was not pleased about the nutritional quality of its Happy Meals for kids. But McDonald's has most recently become compliant with Disney's food criteria. Going forward, McDonald's will tie-into assorted Disney movies and promote them with toy figures that will be included in its Happy Meals. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: The agreement will be beneficial to both companies, giving them additional exposure. Unlike the previous pact that ended in 2006, the new one is not exclusive, meaning Disney can continue to also work with other chains like Subway. Right now there are no plans to bring McDonald's restaurants back into Disney theme parks. | | Two Takes: Ad Age | CNBC | |
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| | 27 | | Percentage of U.K. internet users who understand what General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is and how it will affect them once it is initiated among European Union countries in May, according to a survey by The7Stars. Among those who know about GDPR, 58% believe it is a positive step in the world of data privacy and protection. However, only 19% are confident that their personal data will be used in the best possible way by those who have access to it, and just 32% the GDPR will make them trust brands more about how they use their data. | – Reported by eMarketer
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| | NBC Stays On Top Despite 'Voice' Drop | by Michael Malone
NBC was the easy winner in Tuesday prime ratings, riding The Voice and This Is Us to a 2.1 in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen's overnights, and an 8 share. Runner-up was CBS at 1.1/4.
The Voice did a 2.3, down 18% from its season premiere the night before, and This Is Us a flat 2.5, before Chicago Med was up a tenth of a point to 1.4.
On CBS, NCIS lost 20% for a 1.2 and Bull was down 21% to 1.1, then NCIS: New Orleans slipped 10% to 0.9.
Fox did a 0.8/3, as Lethal Weapon was off 17% to 1.0, LA to Vegas dropped 22% to 0.7 and The Mick fell 14% for a 0.6.
ABC scored a 0.7/3. The Middle slid 14% to 1.2 and Fresh Off the Boat was down 10% to 0.9. Repeated comedies followed, then Kevin (Probably) Saves the World rated a 0.5, up a tenth from a fresh airing during the Olympic Games.
The CW rated a 0.6/2. The Flash was off 22% to 0.7 and Black Lightning fell 38% to 0.5.
Univision did a 0.5/2. Telemundo was at 0.4/2. | |
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| • DANIEL BONNER has joined WPP's Wunderman as global chief creative officer. He was previously chief creative officer at Publicis Groupe's digital agency SapientRazorfish and also served as chief creative officer at digital agency AKQA in Europe.
• MARIE GULIN-MERLE was named chief marketing officer at Calvin Klein. She joins from L'Oréal where she held the same position. Succeeding her as L'Oréal CMO is GRETCHEN SAEGH-FLEMING, who is being elevated from senior VP in L'Oréal's U.S. luxury brand division.
• FRANCOISE BROUGHER was appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer of Pinterest. She was previously executive officer at Square and prior to that was VP of global business operations at Google. She has also served as CEO of Ocean Gem Pearl and as a VP at Charles Schwab. • DOUG HECHT was selected to the advisory board at out-of-home agency Grandesign. He is former president and CEO at Digitaria, the digital agency now known as Mirum.
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February 28 – March 1, 2018 | Raleigh, NC
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