Observations and Issues: Upfront, Webby Awards, Cannes, Weiner & More

The Upfront is winding down with both buyers and sellers generally satisfied with the outcome. With sell-out levels significantly higher except at CBS-TV, the key question being asked is whether demand will extend into the scatter buying market or whether advertisers' appetite for broadcast, cable and syndication is satiated. I will be issuing my full Upfront inventory and CPM report once all data is collected in early July.

Internet Week, as reported by MediaBizBloggers' columnist Simon Applebaum, was overloaded with events, dinners, parties and panels yet press coverage was limited due to a failure to provide press credentials to many reporters and bloggers, as Applebaum reportedhere. Ironic that Internet Week would restrict coverage by bloggers. The final act for Internet Week, the Webby Award proved to be a smash hit, with 100,000 live streams, a seamless production worthy of TV coverage, fun entertainment, excellent hosting by Lisa Kudrow and a web video Who's Who both onstage and in the audience. Except for a few seating snafus, Webby Award organizers headed by David-Michel Davies can be proud of the production quality and the award winners. I'm hoping for more attention to be paid in the future to media strategy awards, with a goal of attracting more media and advertiser executives. The emphasis on creative awards is appropriate, but the Webbys have made an effort to incorporate media creativity into the line-up and a more concerted effort should be made to draw in the money crowd, if for no other reason than to expose to them the great creative being done in online media.

Several economic updates and reports on the state of the media and advertising economy have been issued as we approach the half-way mark of 2011. The disparity in data being issued from multiple sources reinforces the need for an industry standard. First and foremost should be the elimination of the traditional boundaries between advertising and "below-the-line" promotion and marketing. With the expansion of social marketing, mobile, online video, search and two-way TV interactivity, promotion and direct marketing dollars are flowing across the invisible boundary to the digital assets of legacy media along with the obvious winners at Facebook and social commerce players. In 2010, I collapsed these boundaries and expanded every "legacy" media category into one category for traditional revenues and one for digital revenues. I added multiple new digital media, resulting in 55 total media and marketing categories. I also re-analyzed each group to establish historic trends from 2000 and developed the only forecasts out to 2020. This detailed data is available to subscribers in PDF format at www.jackmyers.com

Thousands of media, advertising and marketing executives are descending on Cannes for the International Advertising Creativity Awards (Lions) and Festival. According to reports, attendance will increase by as many as 1,700 people compared to 2009, reflecting the positive economic environment advertising is enjoying around the globe. Attending the Cannes International Advertising Creativity Festival? Be sure to attend the conversation around what happens in the music industry when brands and bands collide, focusing on the role of the artist; the impact on the fans who love music, the impact the brand marketer has in the equation, and the value of the relationship. Panelists include Rio Caraeff – CEO, VEVO; Rob Wells – President, Universal Music Group Digital Business; Laura Lang – CEO, Digitas North America; and Pharell Williams – Musician, Producer, Entrepreneur. Moderator: Jack Myers. When: Tuesday, 21 June. 2:30pm. Palais des Festivals.

All those fascinated and/or disgusted by the revelations over the past few weeks about the online tragedy of former Congressman Anthony Weiner should be sure to read the commentary of MediaBizBlogger Shelly Palmer. His exceptional blog post "Anthony Weiner Social Media Policy Lesson" identifies the issue. The best commentary on the true loser in this truly unfortunate experience was voiced by MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow.   Maddow accurately points out that while Weiner needed to take responsibility for his inexplicable actions, the press is the true long-term loser. Watch it here. I agree with Maddow that Weiner's resignation was in no small part driven by a press frenzy that was an industry embarrassment and will have a long-term negative impact on the industry. For a truly surreal experience, watch clips of CNN's Elliot Spitzer commenting on Weiner here.