Stuart Elliott: A Modest Proposal for One Video Marketplace

My return to writing about advertising marketing and media comes by coincidence during one of the biggest events on the Madison Avenue calendar Upfront week when the major broadcast and cable networks unveil their upcoming fall schedules and start selling commercial timeThe Upfront week that raises the curtain on the 201516 television season which runs through Thursday follows weeks of presentations by other cable channels as well as digital media firms the latter under the banner of the Digital Content NewFrontsFor decades the Upfronts were of interest largely to industry insiders More recently as mainstream media joined trade publishers in paying attention to Upfront news and leaks about shows being picked up renewed or cancelled began flooding social media platforms such as Twitter they have become familiar to a wider audience For instance a fullpage ad in the current issue of New York magazine promises that a sibling website Vulture will deliver quotindepth analysis of all the networksquot quotcandid interviewsquot and quotbackstage and party coveragequotThe second rule of Upfront week is it39s not Upfront week without parties The first rule With apologies to amp8220Fight Clubamp8221 you talk about Upfront weekIt long has been fashionable to dismiss Upfront week as outdated or outmoded Part of the dissatisfaction came from the logistical challenges posed by schlepping from one event in midtown Manhattan to another especially on days when four or five are scheduled Such grumbling grew louder as more media companies jumped aboard the Upfront bandwagon and the number of events kept rising each year There are at least 16 count 39em 16 taking place this weekThe major reason for Upfront fatigue may be a belief that as traditional television has become increasingly irrelevant so too have the Upfronts Proclamations that the medium is obsolete or soon will be which almost always include the phrase quotthe death of TVquot are as much a part of Upfront week as cocktails canapes and media buyers taking selfies with network starsThose declarations of mortality are getting louder and more frequent as ratings decline and ad dollars shift more quickly from television to digital video For one thing the marketplace for online programming is more yearround than seasonal meaning there is less emphasis on buying on an Upfront fallthroughspring calendar For another many streaming services don39t even sell commercial time GaspAlso spending money in new media can confer on a marketer a cachet as being cuttingedge Conversely those who stick to television may fear their choice is perceived as sclerosis of the budget worrying that the venerable media expression quotNobody ever got fired for buying TVquot is going the way of the oncepopular expression in IT departments quotNobody ever got fired for buying IBMquotTelevision still has its strong points Duh It39s the most powerful marketing medium ever devised an ad delivery system with enormous reach that has helped build brands worth billions of dollars And top executives at networks such as CBS NBCUniversal and Turner Broadcasting are pushing back against the narrative that like Fred Flintstone they39re riding dinosaurs by providing advertisers with data demonstrating the ability of TV to mirror online video and target potential customers Also it can still create monster hits like Fox39s quotEmpirequot That39s the cast in the photo up top performing at Fox39s Upfront event MondayNo one can say with certainty that television ad revenue has peaked or that TV39s best days as an ad medium are behind it But as the buzz for digital video builds there39s something that the television business can do to maintain its hegemony Proactively propose to bring together the Upfronts and the NewFronts hell throw in the other videocentric 39fronts such as those devoted to movietheater ads and digital placebased ads and effective with the 201617 season create a united Video UpfrontIt39s not that much of a stretch when you consider that many TV powerhouses already sell ads in online and streaming video in addition to commercials on linear television And it reflects how industry thinking has already evolved In the Time Warner annual report for 2014 Jeff Bewkes chairman and chief executive officer describes the company as quotsolely focused on creating and distributing the best video content across television film and new platformsquotA combined sales bazaar surely would be easier for marketers and their agencies to navigate rationalizing what can feel like a confusing freeforall And a Video Upfront also may encourage the traditional and new media players to cooperate on ideas to improve efficiency along with effectivenessThe only stumbling block might be a name Calling the first Video Upfront a quotVupfrontquot hardly trips off the tongue And a quotVfrontquot risks confusion with the men39s undergarment known as the Yfront Suggestions are welcomeThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Media Village management or associated bloggers

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Stuart Elliott: A Modest Proposal for One Video Marketplace

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