"We Fan Together." Spectrum Reach Leads Advertisers Back into the Game

quotFans39 passion for sports and their teams are stronger than everquot noted Caswell Huff pictured at top vice president of field marketing for Spectrum Reach quotThey had to go without and it creates more demandquotThe COVID19 pandemic forced professional and college sports to shut down in midMarch but now leagues such as MLS MLB the NBA and NHL have made triumphant returns Add in the NFL PGA TOUR US Open Tennis plus NASCAR and fans will finally have hundreds of hours of live sportsOf course with truncated seasons and fanless games the action will look different Still sportsstarved consumers are expected to tunein in droves In fact 88 percent of avid fans say they plan to watch as much sports as possible according to an ESPN surveyTo get in front of these fans Spectrum Reach offers advertisers opportunities in its local markets as well as bundling for regional and national reach And cable carries more live sports than any other media platform Huff noted Before the COVID19 shutdowns 93 percent of live sports aired on local cable according to Nielsen and cable networks will again carry a vast majority of the actionEven without sports Americans have been watching a lot of TV Since March there has been a 63 percent increase in time spent viewing per Kantar and an 83 percent bump in streaming video usage as reported by Nielsen Even a taste of sports content generated huge ratings The NFL Draft ESPN39s The Last Dance documentary series and even NASCAR eraces attracted hordes of starved fans Additionally ESPN39s MLB Opening Night set records and new standards for viewershipRecently as live sports have trickled back including baseball hockey golf NASCAR and soccer Huff said viewership has been strong and even firsttime viewers are sampling the action Looking ahead viewers await NFL action and in 2021 the return of NCAA39s March Madness and the rescheduled Tokyo OlympicsquotThese are going to be great opportunities for the sports leagues and advertisersquot Huff said quotLive sports have proven to be a brandsafe environment and that39s been a challenge for businessesquotBut there are hurdles The massive influx of sports and the myriad of opportunities may be overwhelming for some advertisers Also the COVID19 pandemic and other recent events have prompted some advertisers to reimagine their messaging or pull back entirely The sports advertising market amp8211 and TV advertising in general amp8211 have been extremely disruptedDuring the sports hiatus Spectrum Reach used its anonymized and aggregated viewing data to help advertisers who wanted to reach sports fans identify the news and entertainment content that sports fans were watching instead Now to help clients navigate their sports options Spectrum Reach is stepping up its game Through their quotWe Fan Togetherquot online resource local businesses and agencies can access insights research and infographics highlighting the formats and key dates of major sports returnsquotWe Fan Togetherquot is one example of Spectrum Reach39s highlevel client services Huff said quotWe39re the onestop shop for the content data insights creative and reporting that you needquot he said As he talks to clients Huff reports they39re asking for assistance determining how and when to advertise With so many sports on TV at once Huff sees opportunities in buying new sports leagues and creating custom packages quotYou can spread your budget across several sports be more cost effective and reach more viewersquot he noted quotFans can39t gather in the stands but they can gather in front of the TVquotWith Spectrum Reach39s new AudienceApp businesses and agencies can identify and target similar audiences watching sports and other programming For instance a small business who advertises in local baseball games can use AudienceApp to determine what other networks and shows fans are watching and then direct ads to that content as well Spectrum Reach39s local sales teams he added understand the particulars of their markets and can support local businessesHuff said the last several months have taught his teams the importance of flexibility and information quotWe39ve adapted the way we message how we talk to clients and the resources that we sharequot he saidAs a trusted partner they39ve also made it a point to constantly monitor for schedule changes that may impact their advertisers39 campaigns Some new categories are increasing their TV spend including home improvement legal services medical and cleaning servicesquotThere39s so much intrigue right nowquot he said quotThe bond that people have with their teams and their communities is going to be tighter than everquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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"We Fan Together." Spectrum Reach Leads Advertisers Back into the Game

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Alli Romano

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