| | Media Buyer & Planner Today | | | | | | | | | #1 VW Launches Global Creative Review | | The German automaker has begun a global creative agency review as the company looks to centralize its marketing control more from its headquarters, to more efficiently spend ad dollars and to continue to improve its image in the wake of the 2015 emissions scandal, according to Ad Age and Adweek, citing an initial report from local German publication HorizonT. The review is only for the Volkswagen brand, not for other Volkswagen Group brands Audi, Porsche and Skoda. The review is expected to be held at the agency holding company level. In the U.S., IPG's Deutsch Los Angeles has held the creative account since 2009. Globally, incumbents include Omnicom's DDB and BBDO. In the U.S., VW spent $421 million in measured media in 2016, according to Ad Age. Reports say the review was unilaterally decided on by headquarters in German, and Adweek, citing sources, says the VW U.S. marketing team was was not consulted in advance on the move. Volkswagen Group just promoted Herbert Diess to CEO last week. He was previously head of the VW brand. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: Deutsch is a newcomer on the VW account, compared to DDB, whose relationship goes back to 1959, and which was prominent in turning the Volkswagen Beetle into the best-selling imported car in America in the 1960s. But Deutsch did win the U.S. creative over DDB in 2009. Volkswagen sales for the first quarter are up over the same period for 2017 so things seem to be turning around. Expect a fierce battle among creative agency holding companies for this big spending account. | | Two Takes: Ad Age | Adweek | | | | #2 Networks Using Festivals to Lure Fans, Brands | | Several younger skewing cable networks have been trying their hand at live festivals as a way to establish a bond with younger viewers and to get brands involved in sponsorships, Adweek reports. Viacom networks like BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network will all do live events in the U.S. in the coming months. The Nickelodeon SlimeFest will make its U.S. debut in June in Chicago, while Comedy Central will hold its second annual Clusterfest in San Francisco in June, and the BET Experience returns to Los Angeles that same month. And it's not just Viacom network. Turner's Adult Swim will hold its first festival in October in Los Angeles. And the newly merged Discovery and Scripps networks are also expected to expand their live events schedule over the course of this year. "There is incredible emotional equity value that resonates when consumers get to touch our different brands, and that's an incredible value to be associated with as a brand sponsoring that," says Sean Moran, head of marketing and partner solutions at Viacom. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: While Viacom hasn't had trouble luring brands to its events, network festivals aren't right for all brands. Dave Campanelli, senior VP and director of national broadcast for Horizon Media, says live events "have been hit or miss for advertisers throughout the years." He says while brands can reach passionate fans at these events, that reach is far less than the mass reach of a 30-second TV spot. But Dave Cohen, president, North America, for Magna Global, says experiential events are a way for advertisers to break through TV clutter. | | A Take: Adweek | | | | #3 Pizza Hut Brand Chief Talks Turnaround Plan | | Marianne Radley, who joined the pizza chain in February as its U.S. chief brand officer, is talking turnaround after Pizza Hut was surpassed by Domino's as top seller in the U.S. The first order of business will be to select a creative agency as part of its current review. The chain has had five different creative agencies in the past 10 years. Current creative agency is Droga5. Radley says the revolving door must end. "We need to invest in an agency as much as we want to get out of an agency," she says. "We need to spend the time with them and get to know them and really do the due diligence." One thing she likes is its Drog5 created tagline, "No One Out Pizzas the Hut." But she wants to take that further and give the chain more "swagger." She also wants to use more data and consumer insights and to improve on how it interacts with its customers. "We're a company that's stuck in a transaction mindset, and we need to pivot to a customer lifetime mindset," Radley says. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: The national pizza chain business is a very competitive one and the chains that get lethargic will get passed by. Radley is determined not to let that happen. While she joined from Monster Energy, she says her first job was as a dishwasher at Pizza Hut, working her way up to waitress. She says she's followed Pizza Hut over the years and never thought the brand had a consistent message. Now's her chance to change that. | | A Take: Ad Age | |
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| | 69.6 | | Percentage of smartphone usage by the total population, according to the latest eMarketer data. Broken out by race/ethnicity, the percentage of white consumers who are smartphone users is 70.4%. That edges out Asian consumers who have a 70% penetration rate, Hispanic consumers who have a 69.1% of penetration, and Blacks who are at 67.8% penetration. | – Reported by eMarketer
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| | NBC Wins With OK 'Voice' | by Michael Malone
Thanks in large part to a down but still strong The Voice, NBC took the ratings prize in Monday's prime, scoring a 1.5 rating in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and a 6 share. That easily beat the 1.1/4 put up by ABC.
The Voice dropped 11% to 1.7 across two hours, then Good Girls rated a flat 1.0.
On ABC, it was American Idol for two hours down 13% at 1.3, then The Crossing off 13% at 0.7.
Fox did a 0.8/3, with Lucifer down a tenth of a point at 0.7 and The Resident at a flat 0.9.
CBS rated a 0.7/3. Kevin Can Wait scored a flat 0.9 and Man With a Plan down 11% at 0.8. Superior Donuts was good for a 0.8 and Living Biblically a 0.6, both shows flat. Scorpion closed out prime at a level 0.7.
Univision rated a 0.5/2, as did Telemundo.
The CW scored a 0.4/1, with Supergirl returning down a tenth at 0.5 and iZombie up 50% to 0.3. | |
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| • GERRY BOYLE was promoted to chief executive officer of Publicis Media's Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. The new role expands his prior duties as CEO of Asia Pacific. Boyle also continues to serve as chair of the Publicis Media Global Investment Council and as overseeing Global Partnerships for the Publicis Groupe. Prior to joining Publicis, Boyle was chairman of ZenithOptimedia Asia Pacific.
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