Ad Fraud is Real

Ad Fraud is Real

The topic Ad Fraud  is one that has been tossed around in reference to digital/internet marketing.  

Today I read a story in MediaPost that calls out Ad Fraud in the Television industry.

Before I dig in, let me make it clear what type of Ad Fraud I am referring to.

I am not talking about commercials that make fake or questionable claims or are for shady businesses.

The type of Ad Fraud I’m talking about today pertains to the buying and placing of ads on any type of media, and today I am going to address Television and the Internet.

There is a whole lot of trust that media buyers or business owners place in digital advertising that is worrisome. A few years ago when I worked full time in social media for a multi-million internet retailer, I learned how to game the system for getting Facebook likes for our brands pages.  I was given the assignment to double our Facebook page likes over the next 9 months.  Because I knew some tactics that they were not using, I was able to complete that task in just 3 weeks, not 39 weeks.

I have also dug deep into the Google Analytics of various businesses that I’ve worked with and unfortunately, the digger you dig, the more likely you are to find stuff that doesn’t look so good.  

Before you invest ANY money on anything in the digital world, you have to know the limitations and also know that along with any good stuff, you may end up with some worthless stuff.  I know that sounds vague.  

One of the promises of digital and internet marketing is that it is highly targetable and also highly trackable.  Those who sell those types of advertising like to promise that they “eliminate the waste” and “only deliver your ads to real customers.”

Bullshit is the most direct way I can tell you what those promises are.

Look, I can sell you digital solutions too, but not with the false promises that those others are pushing.   I’ll be honest with you.

Let’s go back to what prompted me to write this today and that is Ad Fraud in TV-land.

The headline from MediaPost is:

Top Media Buyers Allege Networks Lied — And Stole From Them — In Last Year’s Upfront

FYI, Upfronts are the meetings and presentations that traditional television networks have before the Fall TV season to roll out the new and returning shows to the media buyers to get them excited and get commitments from the media buyers to spend advertising dollars on those shows.  

Not only do the networks present the shows, they also share their plans for how they are going to promote, attract and retain audiences for their show.   In recent years, one tactic that was promised is the networks would reduce the number of ads.  This would mean the remaining ads would be priced higher but the audience retention rate would also be higher.

However:

A panel discussion featuring some of Madison Avenue’s biggest network TV buyers Thursday morning accused the network TV industry of misrepresenting itself in the previous year’s negotiations, even to the point of explicit fraud.

“It’s robbery,” Mike Law, head of U.S. media investment at Dentsu Aegis Network, asserted during the opening session of MediaPost’s Outfront Conference in New York City, adding, “They actually lied to us.”

Law was speaking about promises made by some major networks to reduce their prime-time commercial loads on the premise that it would improve their viewers’ experience and boost ratings and attention to advertising.

“I firmly believe they lied to us,” Law added, declining to name which network he was referring to, but it is well known that Fox and NBC took the most aggressive positions on reduced ad clutter pitches coming into last year’s upfront.

Here’s more:

He described going into some kind of post-delivery meeting with network executives and said, “I’m a pretty casual guy and I dropped f-bombs in that meeting, because it is ridiculous.”

While he didn’t use the word fraud, Law said, the network sales executives “sold us on a proposition that you thought was going to happen.

“You paid more for something they told you was going to happen and none of it happened.”

“We heard promises last year that we were going to see a reduction in commercialization and the fact of the matter, with that particular network, who is now my client — I would prefer not to mention who it is — their commercialization actually went up by 2%,” echoed John Muszynski, chief investment officer, Publicis Media Exchange.

Citing an analysis of upfront media buys for the major broadcast and cable networks over the past five years, their prime-time ad rates have risen 38%, said Muszynski, while their delivery of adult 18-49 viewers declined 39.%

“That’s having it both ways,” he said, adding that agencies and their clients also have been hit with a variety of ratings and format packages that do not necessarily benefit advertisers, but are intended to boost the “yield” of the networks’ sales organizations.

Law said his team did an analysis looking back to 2001 and said “the number is actually worse” — noting that prime-time ratings have declined 78% while ad rates have increased 180%.

“It’s a model that is completely broken,” Law said, adding, “If we come back and everybody walks back to the table with the same amount of money for television, like, shame on us, because it’s just playing right into their hands.”

In fairness, no one from the supply-side was represented on the panel, but all of the buyers were in agreement that this year likely would be one of massive correction, including shifting as much of their ad budgets out of the upfront and putting as much of it as possible into other media.

On a local level, I have no reason to believe that television stations are committing Ad Fraud.  I don’t any information one way or another.

Here is my advice:

Look for real measurement benchmarks.

Set up 3 or 4 or more ways to track what people are doing in their “consumer journey”.

Deal with people you trust to have your best interests at heart.  They are usually able to talk to you in terms that you understand without the need to have a masters degree in media and advertising lingo.

If you want my help as an advertising and marketing coach, just ask.  You can also sign up to receive my weekly Sound ADvice media and marketing tips newsletter using the form below.   

 

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Radio Advertising with WOWO or Local TV

Radio Advertising with WOWO or Local TV

Are all advertising options equal?

Of course not.

Is a burger off the dollar menu at your favorite fast food joint equal to the $20 burger you can order for lunch at your local restaurant?

Of course not.

Today, I am going to do a comparison of advertising on WOWO radio in Fort Wayne with advertising on a local TV station.

Along with the insider details I have because I work for WOWO radio, I also have information that I saw from a local TV station and data from a research study comparing TV and radio audiences.

Here’s a spoiler alert.  Advertising on WOWO Radio, with my guidance will generate superior results compared to what the TV people are trying to sell you.

First, some of the figures from the research study:

When you advertise on television, about 20 percent of the viewers are heavy users of TV.  The other 80 percent of people who watch TV each week, consume way less TV per person. Given the way we watch TV in 2019, this makes a lot of sense because we have some many viewing options that are not local broadcast TV, television viewership of any particular show has been declining for years.

We will look at these heavy users of TV, the ones that your advertising messages are reaching.

First  we’ll look at the age demographic using a scale of 100 being average.  That means anything below 100 is below average and above 100 is that many percentage points above average.

A25-34: 21
A35-44: 40
A45-54: 95
A55-64: 165
A65+: 226

What this means is that the average TV viewer is above the age of 55.  The person seeing your TV commercial is twice as likely to be over the age of 65.  Trying to reach a 30 year old, 40 year old, or even 50 year old with your TV commercial? It’s not very likely.

Using that same 100 point scale, here’s the numbers for household income of heavy users or viewers of TV:

Under $25K: 158
$25K-$35K: 152
$35K-$50K: 118
$50K-$75K: 113
$75K-$100K: 74
$100K+: 70

The less money they earn, the more time they are watching TV.  Families with an income of $35,000 or less are more than 50% more likely to see your TV commercial.

One more statistic from this study deals with education:

Less than 12th grade: 169
High School: 132
Some College: 108
College+: 64

The heaviest TV viewer is 69% more likely to have less than a high school education than the average.

In summary, the people most likely to see your television commercial are the least educated, have the least available income to buy what you are selling and are definitely not the 25 to 54 year olds that TV advertising salespeople try and convince you that you will reach when you advertise on their TV station.

I know what the TV salespeople are doing because I have known a few and have seen some of the information they use to try and persuade my WOWO Radio clients to drop their ads and switch to TV instead.  It just doesn’t add up.

Now in case you are unfamiliar with the specifics of WOWO Radio, here’s a brief rundown…

WOWO has been a news and talk station for 20 years and altogether has been on the air over 90 years.  WOWO has consistently been one of the only stations in Fort Wayne to average over 100,000 listeners every week for years.  As a talk radio station, our listeners are upper income, better educated adults who place a lot of trust in the WOWO radio local and national talk show hosts and newscasters, as evidenced by the antidotal information we get from both listeners and advertisers.

WOWO News/Talk Listeners scored:

194 for advanced college degree (nearly twice as likely than the average) compared to the 64 for the TV audience.

140 in income over $100,000 compared to 70 for the TV audience.  In other words, WOWO Radio listeners are twice as likely to have money to spend to buy your stuff versus the person sitting at home watching TV.

There’s more I could share with you but that’s enough for the moment.  Want to know more?  Let’s connect.

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Radio Advertising is Still A Great Deal in 2019

Radio Advertising is Still A Great Deal in 2019

At the end of last year, I saw a few reports on the state of media and marketing for 2019 and want to share some insight from others again.  Because, I can tell you plenty about the success of WOWO advertisers, but how about what others are using radio and other media to bring in business?

People are spending more time with media than ever before, says MarketingCharts’ newly-released 5th annual “US Media Audience Demographics” report, a data-driven resource that can aid marketers in their strategic decision-making. The study sizes up the media landscape, then delves into the age, income, and racial/ethnic composition of several media types across 3 sections: traditional; digital; and social media.

Starting with Traditional Media:

  1. The broadcast TV audience is slowly graying, but it’s the cable TV audience that may be getting there more quickly, says the report.

  2. Terrestrial radio stands apart from other traditional media in its appeal to middle-aged adults and to those in the mid-to-high income range.

  3. For the first time, fewer than half of US adults read a print newspaper on a weekly basis.

Regarding Digital Media which I take includes internet based media including video and websites:

  1. Almost half of online TV program viewers are ages 18-34.

  2. Although digital media types tend to attract younger audiences, people ages 55-64 are actually above the online average in visits to magazine and newspaper websites.

Social Media gets it’s own category in this report with these observations:

  1. Snapchat may be thought of primarily as a youth-oriented platform, but its appeal with higher-income adults is also notable.

  2. Closely following Snapchat in a tilt towards youth, is Instagram.

While this kind of data is interesting and for folks like me who work in and study these medias, I urge you to not try and figure out how to apply this on your own to your business.

Another study I was reading regarding TV viewing from Nielsen, the television ratings and research company.  They listed the top network TV shows and one of my favorites, NCIS was in the top 10, # 4 actually last year with over 16 million viewers.  But of those 16 million, nearly 7 million are not watching it when it airs on Tuesdays on CBS.  They are time shifting, watching on demand.  This means that if you were to advertise on your local broadcast station, over 40% of the regular NCIS fans are not going to see your ad on Tuesday night.

These are just consumer behaviors, not marketing effectiveness which isn’t the same thing.  I am here to help, just ask.

And have you signed up for a new newsletter that I am offering,  called Sound ADvice?  Once a week, it will arrive in your email and be filled with  30 seconds of marketing Sound ADvice on how to make this year your best yet.

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What’s Old Is New Again: Radio Listening

What’s Old Is New Again: Radio Listening

Over the recent Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, I was catching up on unread emails from 2018 and found this gem pertaining to trends for 2019 and beyond that says that radio listenership will be going up in the years ahead.

Deloitte Global predicts that, unlike some other forms of traditional media, radio will continue to perform relatively well with younger demographics. In the United States, for example, we expect that more than 90 percent of 18–34-year-olds will listen to radio at least weekly in 2019, and they will listen to radio for an average of more than 80 minutes a day. In contrast, TV viewing among 18–34-year-olds in the United States is falling at three times the rate of radio listening. At current rates of decline, in fact, American 18–34-year-olds will likely spend more time listening to radio than watching traditional TV by 2025!

The study also tackles another misconception about when and where people listen to the radio:

One widespread belief about radio is both truth and myth at the same time. It is widely assumed that the most common venue where North Americans dial in is in their cars. This is true: Around 90 percent of radio listeners in the United States and Canada, across all age groups, do listen while in the car. But the flip side of that belief—that North Americans listen to radio only in their cars—needs some mythbusting. While not as prevalent, people in North America definitely are listening to radio in places other than cars.

As I have noticed over the years with my access to insider radio rating data, here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the majority of radio listening occurs anytime during the day.  Ad agencies seem to put an undue emphasis on what they call drive times, the morning and afternoon hours that people are commuting back and forth to work.

But the data I have that goes back year after year after year shows that the entire day from 5am to 6pm weekdays, my station, News/Talk 1190 WOWO has consistent levels of listeners all day long.

If you as a local business owner want to be smarter than the advertising agency media buyers, I can help you place your ads in the daytime time slots that they overlook.  And I have the numbers and data to prove it.

Most important for business owners, is not just the levels of listenership that WOWO has, but the effectiveness of an advertising campaign and that almighty Return On Investment.  WOWO itself is over 90 years old and some of our advertisers have been inviting WOWO listeners to become their customers for decades because it works.   Want to know more?  Let’s talk.

 

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The Tradition Lives and Works

The Tradition Lives and Works

This is a ScLoHo extra report that is not included in the Genuine ScLoHo Media and Marketing Podcast series.

Radio broadcasting is considered traditional media.  So is TV broadcasting along with print (newspapers & magazines), and if we expand to look at traditional advertising platforms, let’s toss in the phone book and outdoor billboard signs.

What’s not considered traditional in the media and advertising worlds?  Internet related stuff.

The digital marketing options that include platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Heck, digital includes apps, websites, search (both SEO and SEM) and the blending of these digital technologies.

So, the set up is traditional media and advertising, versus digital media and marketing.  Which is better for your business?

I happen to work with both and have tons of hands on experience in both worlds.

I have concerns about the future of several of the media and marketing platforms and their ability to be profitable and deliver a Return On Investment for their supporters, (that includes investors and businesses that advertise with them.)  I’m talking about both traditional and digital.

One that I am betting my future on is radio.  Not all radio, but specifically my radio station WOWO.

3 items came up this past week that I’ll share with you:

One of my advertising partners hosted a very nice luncheon for his media partners from all over Indiana and the head of an ad agency that does mostly television, asked the question: How’s the radio business doing?

My answer was that our audience is as strong and responsive as ever.   A lot of changes have continued to evolve in his world of television that has made buying TV advertising and getting the results that they used to get, a bit of a struggle.

Those changes have to do with how viewing habits have been changing tremendously, just in the past 5 years, let alone 20 years.  Cord Cutting (the loss of Cable TV subscribers) and the On-Demand viewing habits have really changed the landscape for television advertising.  Now with Smart TV’s that have the ability to deliver ads based on who is watching at the time, there are a lot of bugs to work out and with these changes comes challenges that are still being worked out.

Business people and media buyers simple want to know that there advertising messages are being seen and heard and bringing them customers.  You really don’t care about the technical details.

I also saw this national story from Radio Ink, a media publication.  The story states that radio advertising is still a favorite with new media buyers planning on trying radio for the first time.  In my experience, I’m seeing people who were told that they should be using digital media for advertising are now also exploring advertising on the media they consume, and  WOWO radio is one of the most listened to medias in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

One more insider article that I read the other day, shows that the News and Talk formated radio stations like WOWO continue to be HOT.

For the eighth year in a row, news/talk is radio’s top format. Buoyed by a nonstop cavalcade of news stories – from the midterm elections and Supreme Court nominations to natural disasters, social media scrutiny and widening cultural debates – the format’s 6+ Average Quarter Hour share crept up to a 10.0 (January-November) in 2018, from a 9.9 in the same period one year earlier. In fact, 2018 marks a fourth consecutive year of growth for news/talk.

And this growth in listenership is paying off for my advertising partners too.  In another client meeting I had this month, I learned that they experienced 150% growth this year, their 2nd year of advertising with WOWO.

I just published this story on the Talk Radio Advantage for WOWO Radio Advertisers that goes into more detail of some of the specifics that makes this kind of growth possible with WOWO radio.  And Before the month is up, I’ll share an article on how radio is still in demand for 2019 and beyond.

Lastly, I want to share with you how WOWO is actually using both traditional and digital platforms to serve our audience and our advertisers. Along with our 50,000 watt 1190 AM signal, and 107.5 FM signal (the traditional media), WOWO radio can be heard online with our streaming service for years.  WOWO has been using Facebook, Twitter, Text, Instagram, including all the updates and and Live features. We’re smart speaker enabled including Alexa.

And Podcasts. Boy, do we have Podcasts. You can listen to multiple web exclusive podcasts and we also have archives of many of our on-air broadcasts and interviews that air on WOWO radio.

Contact me for more info.