The Homa Files

TakeAway:  There’s emerging evidence that consumers pay more attention to advertisements that speak to their specific interests. 

So, broadcasters, inspired by this finding, are rearranging their programs and leveraging this cause-based program line-up to lure advertisement dollars.

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Excerpted from WSJ, “NBC Universal Tees Up Cause-Related Shows,” By Suzanne Vranica, October 19, 2009

With ad spending still in the doldrums, NBCU has won some extra business by offering marketers the chance to hitch their products to programs promoting a cause, health, or social issue.

NBCU is creating issue programs across its broadcast, cable and online properties … and is touting these issue packages as a way for marketers to better target ads and product placements.

Advertisers and media buyers say choosing programs with a unifying theme, and airing ads based on that theme, lets them better direct their advertising to consumers interested in a particular topic and helps get viewers to pay closer attention to ads … 

NBCU’s latest issue: health and wellness, with a focus on obesity …

This issue allows NBCU to piggyback on one of the few areas of marketing that has continued to grow despite the weak economy. Spending on cause sponsorships in the U.S. is expected to increase 3.1% this year to $1.57 billion … and is expected to grow faster than sports and arts sponsorships …

President of NBCU Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, says the company has gotten “significant incremental” revenue from its health, environmental and women’s packages “heading toward” $100 million, on top of what it gets from the ordinary sale of ad time … The ad packages benefit NBCU because attracting ad revenue is a perennial problem for its broadcast network NBC … but NBC has had to make compromises to woo advertisers, such as being more open to working marketer’s brands into its shows and putting its stars in their ads …

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Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704112904574477872926288910.html#mod=todays_us_marketplace

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This entry was posted on November 3, 2009 at 7:01 am and is filed under CSR - Cause Mktg. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.