Posts Tagged ‘peter koeppel’
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Time Warner is planning to end access to free content online by making consumers of Internet TV prove they’ve already paid for it.
As the largest owner of cable networks, which include TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN and HBO, Time Warner has been closely watching broadcasters ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX work through the process of distributing TV online. Bewkes, Time Warner CEO, is planning to provide cable programming on the web in places like Hulu, MySpace, Yahoo TV and even YouTube.
The catch: To view the content for free, you have to be able to prove that you subscribe to pay TV through cable, satellite or Telco.
Free access for those already paying for service. Beweks told Advertising Age, “If you want to watch your favorite TV network or shows through broadband on any device – PCs or mobile – you can do it as long you subscribe to any multi-channel provider.” He goes on to say, “It’s a natural extension of the existing model.”
What’s the benefit? Some media experts are skeptical of Beweks’ plans, but there are also many who feel like a change is in order. After all, a year ago most doubted Hulu would be found appealing to online users. Some fear online programming distribution could soon replace cable TV and destroy the industry.
Time Warner’s cable CEO Glen Britt sees the phenomenon of viewers dropping cable for free content online as a significant growing problem.
What do you think?
Peter Koeppel is a Wharton MBA and president of Koeppel Direct, a full-service media buying agency based in Dallas.
Tags: Advertising, blog, content, Electronic Retailer, glen britt, hulu, koeppel direct, media buying, myspace, peter koeppel, subscription, time warner, viewers, youtube
Posted in Advertising, Marketer, Mobile, Online, Research, Social Networks, Video, Web Analytics, e-commerce, technology | No Comments »
Friday, May 8th, 2009
In tough times like these, the first thing many marketers cut back on is marketing and related marketing programs.
Advertising Age recently reported a $600 million cut to advertising and promotional budgets. Even Federal Express is feeling the pressure. FedEx, along with several other advertisers, dropped out of the Super Bowl after having participated for the last several years.
Spending cuts are affecting many different businesses. However, media planners who anticipate cutting resources in these tough times may want to reconsider acting too fast without considering all the facts.
Conservative Consumer Behavior
Yes, the news is filled with negative stories about cautious consumers in this fledgling economy. But even though consumers are spending less, experts have noticed their spending behaviors mostly affect industries including shopping, traveling, entertainment and consumption of higher-end brands. As a result, consumers are responding to these tough economic times by turning to discretionary leisure activities that don’t cost a lot.
Connecting with Consumers
But advertisers can still benefit since more time spent watching television, surfing the Internet, playing video games and engaging in other at-home activities means it could be easier to catch consumers in a more receptive state of mind.
When consumers engage in activity outside of home, there are usually too many distractions like driving, cell phone use and interacting with others that easily diverts their attention.
Advertisers know that their messages are much more effective when delivered in a less distracting environment – whether it’s through television, a magazine or the Internet. This gives them the best opportunity to establish a connection.
Do you agree?
Peter Koeppel is a Wharton MBA and president of Koeppel Direct, a full-service media buying agency based in Dallas.
Tags: Advertising, consumers, economy, koeppel direct, marketing, media, peter koeppel
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, Marketer, Mobile, Online, Research, Retailer, drtv, e-commerce | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
Media buyers and marketers are looking at mobile TV to increase sales for clients.
Mobile TV is being viewed as a way of expanding brand and presents a unique opportunity when it comes to direct-response sales lead generation.
Traditional direct-mail marketers reveal that their response with print mailing has dropped to less than 0.1 percent. That means 99.9 percent of your client audience is not responding to the direct-mail piece you spent money on.
What makes mobile TV so attractive to advertisers? The emergence of mobile TV as a mobile medium also comes with some impressive applications. For instance, if you are seeing a Lexus commercial on your mobile iPhone while watching a local news program, you could potentially touch a Lexus icon on your phone screen to be connected to a live Lexus sales representative.
The real-time factor. Mobile TV provides the unique value of real-time marketing to consumers. Studies show they spend more when transactions are completed quickly before they have a chance to rationalize a purchase.
Even with all of these big changes underway, television is still a big layer in the media game. TV ads will continue to have loyal buyers.
Do you agree?
Peter Koeppel is a Wharton MBA and president of Koeppel Direct, a full-service media buying agency based in Dallas.
Tags: ads, buyers, cell phone, Direct Response, drtv, iphone, koeppel direct, lexus, marketers, media buying, Mobile, peter koeppel, television
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, Marketer, Mobile, Online, Research, Retailer, Support Services, drtv, e-commerce, technology | 3 Comments »
Monday, March 16th, 2009
Television is starting to realize that not all “hot†demographics fall within the ages of 18 to 49.
For the past 20 years, television has focused its efforts on appealing to the 18 to 49 demographic, also known as “demos,†a Madison Avenue slang term. Marketers have always believed that this younger group was most likely to become attached to certain brands and those networks that pulled the most viewers under the age of 50 were considered the winners and thus received premium rates for commercial spots.
Finding the right programming
What’s happening now is network executives have become distracted chasing this younger audience and are challenged trying to find the right programming that appealed to the views of 20- to 30-year-olds.
Network executives spent significant money searching for just the right youth-oriented programming that would match the appeal of “Friends.” What they failed to notice is that viewers in other age groups began drifting away from niche programs on cable TV and other media.
The trouble with demographics
Now it seems as though there is a shift in the industry, and executives and others are moving away from focusing so much on demographics. In the age of DVRs, multichannel systems and much lower ratings, the “demo obsession†may have ended up reducing its own ratings and excluded programming with more mass appeal.
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct Inc.
Tags: blog, demographics, dvr, Electronic Retailer, koeppel direct inc., networks, peter koeppel, television, tv
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, Infomercials, Marketer, Research, Retailer | 2 Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
The Newspaper Association of American (NAA) recently reported newspaper revenue fell almost two billion dollars in the third quarter 2008 – that’s down 18 percent. The loss includes both print and online revenue, also down for the second quarter.
Signs of a downward spiral
This loss is no big surprise given the newspaper industry has faced various long-term challenges. The floundering economy has only made things worse.
“No one should be surprised that the worse economic crisis since the Great Depression, with its downdraft in consumer confidence and spending having an immediate impact on advertising, is reflected in the latest data on newspaper advertising,” says John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the NAA.
Numbers don’t lie
The numbers do look grim. Total print ad revenue dropped from 19.26 percent to 8.2 billion. Online ad revenue fell 3 percent to 749.8 million dollars. National ad sales were down 18.4 percent, classifieds down 30.9 percent and retail fell 11.7 percent.
A glimmer of hope
Still, Sturm remains optimistic, especially with the newspaper industry’s online presence saying, “The expanding position of newspaper websites in the digital information space – a demonstration that our industry’s transition to models that serve the future is underway – delivering what tomorrow’s audiences want today.”
What do you think the future holds for the newspaper industry?
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct Inc.
Tags: Advertising, blog, Electronic Retailer, john sturm, koeppel direct inc., naa, newspaper association of america, newspapers, peter koeppel, print, recession
Posted in Advertising, Mobile, Online, Research, Retailer | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Even with the political spend that came in this year to boost cable ad sales, the third quarter of 2008 felt the backlash from the troubled automotive and financial service industries.
But even in the midst of these unexpected obstacles, the spot cable firm, NCC, has managed to reach $1 billion in sales for the very first time.
The benefits of cable ad placement
NCC allows its clients to purchase local cable spots and utilize any of 209 individual markets and thousands of targeted geographic zones. NCC gives marketers exposure to 99 percent of all wired cable homes.
The firm’s eBusiness suite is what really drives its hyper-targeted ad placement. “Every spot we sell is a web-based transaction, so not only does it streamline the process, it also helps save paper,†explains Andrew Capone, senior vice president of marketing and business development at NCC.
Streamlining the process, lowering overhead, saving paper—nothing wrong with this picture for advertisers and media buyers alike.
Political ad spots save the day
Capone realizes that political dollars are what kept NCC from falling victim to an unpredictable year. Political dollars brought in around $2.16 billion with local cable only accounting for 15 percent or $32 million of the total.
Connecting with clients
NCC’s business platform strives to create an open-ended dialogue between firm representatives and media buyers.
Industry insiders agree that NCC’s approach—one of “getting it done†in a way that takes everything—not just sales—into account is one that is working. Now more than ever, making the most of advertising money and looking to make every buy a “meaningful buy†is good business…very good business.
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct Inc.
Tags: ad placement, ad spend, Advertising, cable, Electronic Retailer, keoppel direct, media buying, ncc, peter koeppel, politics
Posted in Advertising, Direct Response, Infomercials, Marketer | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
A key to successful infomercial production involves having the right balance of entertainment and selling. An entertaining infomercial production can be instrumental in gaining the consumer’s attention and getting them to stop and watch your show. However, infomercial marketers need to make sure their infomercial production isn’t too entertaining and doesn’t do a good job of selling your product. A call-to-action (CTA) is the key-selling segment of an infomercial, during which the product benefits, offer and price are revealed to the consumer. Some infomercials do not reveal the price during the CTA, and this type of offer relies on the telemarketing firm to reveal the price and sell the product. This is referred to as a soft offer. Recent research has shown that by including more CTAs in an infomercial production an infomercial marketer can generate a better level of consumer response. Since consumers have so many media options to choose from, they are likely watching infomercials for shorter periods of time, so that’s why it’s important to provide them with the ordering information contained in the CTA more often throughout the infomercial production.
Before-and-After Photos, Product Demonstrations and Continuity Programs
Make sure before-and-after photos and infomercial product demonstrations are believable and represent what the product can actually help you achieve. Today’s consumer is more sophisticated than ever and can detect deceptive product representations. In addition, make sure you work with an experienced FTC lawyer to ensure that your infomercial production complies with all FTC rules and regulations. Many successful infomercials include a continuity program, where the consumer authorizes the infomercial marketer to ship a product to them on a regular basis. This can provide the infomercial marketer with an ongoing stream of income. Work with your telemarketer in establishing a continuity program that complies with all FTC rules.
Peter Koeppel is founder and president of Koeppel Direct
Tags: continuity programs, drtv, ftc, peter koeppel, product demonstrations
Posted in Advertising, Direct Response, Electronic Retailer, Infomercials | 1 Comment »
