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Friday, October 26, 2012

SNF Now the Most Expensive Spot

Guest Post from Spots and Dots



The reign of American Idol as the program with the highest spot cost is over. The new king is Sunday Night Football, according to a survey in Advertising Age. And while last year only $10,000 separated Idol from SNF, this year it’s not even close. AdAge says a 30-second spot in Sunday Night Football now costs $545,142 compared to the $340,825 for a similar ad in American Idol’s Wednesday edition.

The rest of the top ten in 30-second spot prices this year, as reported by Advertising Age, are: Modern Family ($330,908); New Girl ($320,940); American Idol Thursday ($296,062); The Simpsons ($286,131); Family Guy ($276,690); The Big Bang Theory ($275,573); 2 Broke Girls ($269,235); and Two and a Half Men ($274,261).

Friday, October 5, 2012

Holiday Shopping Predictions

Here's some great information from our friends at Spots n' Dots, the Daily News of TV Sales.

Each year Booz & Co., a business consulting firm, surveys consumers, retail store staff and retail executives to get an idea of what the retail industry can expect in the holiday season. This year, Booz predicts that holiday spending will be up just slightly over last year. Consumers are still very cautious about spending; 52% say affordability will be a big consideration in their purchase decisions. But 73% expect to find great deals this holiday, up from 62% in 2011.

Just over 50% say that just surviving the economic downturn is a good enough reason to celebrate this year. Fifty-three percent intend to purchase a luxury item--typically one that the whole family can enjoy. Last year, only 41% were planning a luxury purchase.

Gift cards will once again be very popular; 80 million shoppers plan to purchase them, up 4% from 2011. As we have been reporting for quite a while, shoppers are getting more and more internet savvy. For instance, 45% of consumers plan to give a downloadable gift this
year--like an eBook, music or a movie. But that comfort with the web will pose a very real threat to brick and mortar stores, says Booz. Forty percent of shoppers say that their buying strategy will involve “showrooming” (or “showcasing” in Booz’ parlance), browsing in stores for items that they subsequently purchase online.

"The biggest challenge this season for brick-and-mortar retailers is determining how to drive more than their fair share of 'showcasing volume' to their websites rather than Amazon.com or another competitor," said Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist for Booz & Co. "While technology enhancements and economic uncertainty will both impact this holiday season, there is a dose of optimism compared to 2011, as people shop with a value-seeking mindset."

Booz says in order to overcome this showcasing, retailers have to have robust websites of their own and apps that can direct shoppers to their own internet sites, rather than others like Amazon.com. They need to use QR code driven promotions, give free shipping for items bought in their online stores and make sure that salespersons are as familiar with the offerings at the retailers’ websites as they are with what is one the floor. "Retailers will need to adjust their holiday sales strategies to embrace an evolving consumer mindset, favoring a more seamless shopping experience through smartphones and in-store opportunities," said Nicholas Hodson, of Booz & Co.'s Consumer & Retail practice.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Cause Marketing



Has your company ever done any cause marketing? If you aren’t familiar with the term, cause marketing generally refers to a partnership between a business and a charity they wish to support. The idea is to encourage consumers to support your product(s) with the understanding that some percentage of the sale will be donated to the charity. It basically works like this:
  
  • The business identifies a charity to support and agrees in writing to collect a certain minimum dollar amount to be donated at the end of a specific time frame (usually a year). 
  •  The charity provides their logo and any other materials the business will need to begin their cause marketing campaign. 
  •  The business communicates the initiative to its employees, customers, vendors and fans. For a consumer goods provider, they may change their product packaging, update their website, or advertise the cause online. 
  •  Sales or other related metrics are tracked so the correct donation may be made. The metrics are directly related to how the company chooses to set up their campaign (examples: buy product A and $.25 from each item sold will go to the charity; “Like” us on Facebook and $1 for each Like will go to the charity). 
  •  At the end of the agreed upon timeframe, the donation is made to the charity and press releases go out all around!
In years past, many businesses would either send a check to the charity or would sponsor an event where they would receive name recognition for their sponsorship. In today’s economy, many small to mid-sized businesses are hesitant to spend large sums on sponsorships or simply don’t have the cash to do so. While there are some rules that must be followed to utilize cause marketing, it is an option to allow your business to contribute when you might not otherwise believe you cannot do so. To learn more about cause marketing, contact us at cs@vitalinkweb.com.
 

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