Five DR Media Trends for 2012 –
Canadian Market
By Pippa Nutt, Senior Vice President, Online & Canadian Media
It’s time to give that magic eight ball a shake. I’m kidding… we use a much more scientific model than that: a crystal ball. Ok, ok… now that we’ve rung in the new year, many marketers are pondering which emerging trends, technologies and behaviours will impact Canadian DRTV media in the next year. Here are five of them – some new, some simply worth keeping an eye on as we cruise into 2012.
1. Summer Olympics: pre-emptions on the horizon
What’s a year in media without looming pre-emptions? On a positive note, the Canadian DR media landscape will be somewhat unharmed compared to the U.S. with the upcoming presidential election. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer, advertisers can expect tight inventory and clearance challenges starting the end of July through to about mid-August. On the plus side, advertisers may also benefit from the halo effect in terms of higher audiences in and around this time period, similar to what we observed with the much-anticipated royal wedding in April last year. Securing inventory early, balancing higher rates with overall media efficiency, and ensuring you have a back-up plan to maintain visibility during this time will be key. And don’t neglect cross-channel opportunities for added reach!
2. Continued emphasis on measurement and accountability
That’s right, show me the money! This is definitely not a new theme, but with continued economic uncertainty, the focus on measured media has bumped into overdrive. With tight budgets, allocating spending and measuring true ROI is going to be an ongoing battle for marketing executives throughout 2012, regardless of the channel. Pencil sharpening tactics will also be supported by state-of-the-art analytics technologies that will help tell the full story and further validate integrated campaign strategies. Let’s face it: single-channel attribution is going the way of the dinosaur.
3. Increased demand = increased rates
With an increased focus on measurement and accountability, more people are showing up to the party, and driving up the cost accordingly. Additionally, stations and networks are creatively packaging more expensive prime-time brand inventory with the more cost-efficient daytime and early fringe dayparts to make the overall look more attractive. This is good for brand, but not so good for DR as the inventory pool is getting a lot smaller. Combine that with a natural increase in demand for daytime programming with the amount of advertisers targeting the lucrative 50+ demographic, and the forecast looks even grimmer. Without a doubt, 2012 will put DR media-buying expertise to the test, negotiating every penny on the path to positive ROI.
4. Seismic shifts: the growth in online broadcasting
Canadians are trend setters when it comes to online video viewing. Comscore reported that the average Canadian internet user watches about 304 online videos a month, and networks like CTV are scrambling to be at the forefront of this emerging trend. The growth in interdevice wireless streaming (syncing between your phone, PC, gaming console, TV, etc.) is also fuelling this trend.
So how do we see this trend shaping up in 2012? Without a doubt, even more programming will be broadcast and viewed online, and that naturally raises the question of a possible subscription model down the road to harness some of that demand. But is this the start of the cord-cutting phenomenon that keeps TV executives up at night? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In December, The Globe and Mail noted that 100,000 Canadian households are estimated to have “cut the cord” in the past year, preferring instead to stream their content online. But 100,000 households is a drop in the overall bucket, and TV subscriber numbers have been noted as still growing. And when more than half of the Canadian population still likely thinks of a hoop when they hear “Hulu”, I think mass adoption is still a ways out, but worth monitoring nonetheless.
Additionally, as online viewing grows, so does the amount of pre-roll advertising that viewers are forced to sit through, which offers the opportunity to shift more marketing dollars online. But how will this shape the online viewing experience overtime? Will more viewers migrate to scraped or illegal content, pay for ad-free content or endure the pre-roll ads in lieu of free content? Only time will tell, and advertisers will need to monitor these audience trends closely.
5. Rise of the second-screen trend
Sounds a bit like the next Star Wars trilogy, doesn’t it? The rise of the second screen trends refers to the concept of social TV. Today, more than 70% of TV viewing occurs with a second screen in hand. That second screen is a phone, laptop or tablet, and brings new meaning to “do I have your attention?”, because you probably don’t. People don’t just watch TV anymore; they are interacting with various content over multiple devices.
Is this a challenge for marketers? Sure, but the opportunity may outweigh it over time. With 86% of web users using a mobile device while watching TV, that offers new opportunity for advertisers to invest in more interactive campaigns, and also offers new measurement capabilities for traditional offline media.
A Year for Learning
2012 is shaping up to be a very interesting year in media as new technology paves the road for more accountable advertising, and offers up new opportunities for integrated, cross-channel marketing strategies. Concerned things are moving too fast? Don’t be. Keep in mind this is new to everyone. It’s about recognizing the trends, getting your feet wet with the right partner and learning from your successes and failures.