Superbrands 2004 - Brand Autopsy

Superbrands
BRAND
Brands Invade TV and Music,
But Movies Can’t Keep Pace
By Becky Ebenkamp
Much like Rachel and Ross, all signs point to the continuing
saga of TV’s full-on flirtation with branded content.
During 2003, American Express, Coors, AT&T, Pier 1, Pepsi,
Mitsubishi and others got more than walk-on roles in reality
shows, while American Idol 2 contestants not only sat on Coke-red
couches, but crooned in cheesy videos about all the
“Fun, Fun, Fun” they were having in Fords, and
faked orgasms for Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo.
But in this hotbed of hookups, some sour relationships
are creating the medium’s latest soap
operas, drawing more attention than usual to activities
on the small screen.
To make room for the 16 hours of unscripted TV
shows that will grace schedules this fall, networks
are breaking up with the sitcom,
a middle-aged format in need of a
seriously extreme makeover. Only five of last
year’s 19 new comedies will return, and the
genre has lost such long-running ratings-grabbers
as Friends and Frasier. That’s made for a
lot of handwringing among advertisers over
this year’s upfront market, which, as of this
writing, was on track to pull in over $9 billion
with CPM increases in the high single digits.
Last fall, audience measurement firm
Nielsen Media Research (which like
Brandweek, is a unit of VNU) reported that
in spite of all the sitcoms with plots involving
regular guys married to hot babes, male
viewers age 18-34 had vanished. Nielsen gauged their prime time
viewing rate as 7.7% lower than fall 2002, or about 4.5% per night.
In terms of the total day, viewership was down 14.7%. Where had
all the guys gone? To videogames, to the Internet, to more active
pursuits, some speculated, because the fall 2003 schedule was
lacking in shows targeting young men.
S38 JUNE 21, 2004
COMPANY NAME,
LOCATION
ENTERTAINMENT
Concerned they might have to pay millions in make-goods to
advertisers for missed ratings guarantees, network types deflected
the blame from their less-than-stellar shows. They suggested
the problem was with the auditor, not the audience. They characterized
Nielsen’s ratings system as flawed, and asserted that a
methodology switch had negatively affected the new numbers. In
other words, their ratings had been consistently crappy.
Then, the multicultural clash began. Nielsen’s plan to launch
“local people meters” instead of its long-used diary system was
met with heavy opposition, from Fox, among others. Networks and
multicultural groups fear the new method undercounts minority
viewers and ratings points, which could result in millions of lost
ad dollars and, as a result, a drop in shows with minority casts.
Nielsen countered that its new system would help advertisers
better target minority viewers and assist broadcasters in tailoring
shows to those audiences. At press time, Nielsen rounded
up an independent task force to assess the
changes ahead of a congressional audit.
If TV wasn’t enough of a battleground,
consider the turbulent music world, which
continued its inexorable slide in 2003. There’s
a silver lining in those clouds: Year-over-year
music sales have risen 9.1% in the first three
months of 2004, according to Nielsen Sound-
Scan. Albeit pessimists will be quick to note
that besting the dismal album sales of the past
three years isn’t much to brag about.
Even the most hardened cynic, however,
Oh say can you OC: Music promo as plot would have a difficult time scoffing at the
point was featured in Fox’s The OC. escalation of iPod Nation. Throughout 2003,
legal downloading fueled the radio star, and
it’s one of a few hopeful trends affecting the ailing industry.
In April of last year, Apple launched its highly publicized
iTunes Music Store, which allowed customers to quickly find,
purchase and download music for 99 cents per tune. Instantly,
the brokering of MP3s became a popular sport. “iTunes’ brand
campaign and the cross-marketing with the iPod put them way ahead
LEAD AGENCY,
LOCATION
1. Warner Bros. Time Warner, NY MediaCom, New York $1,600.0 $522.3 6.84 82% 7.12 57.9
2. Buena Vista Walt Disney, Burbank, CA Various 1,520.0 430.2 6.72 34% 6.88 53.3
3. Sony Pictures Sony, Culver City, CA Universal McCann, New York 1,200.0 570.5 6.79 66% 7.14 56.6
4. Universal NBC Universal, NY OMD, New York 1,080.0 436.7 6.88 78% 7.15 58.6
5. New Line Cinema Time Warner, NY Carat, New York 922.0 193.6 7.03 43% 7.81 61.9
6. 20th Century Fox News Corp., NY MindShare, Denver 800.0 318.3 6.81 81% 7.45 60.3
7. Paramount Viacom, NY In-house 697.0 478.2 6.92 79% 7.30 59.0
8. Miramax Films Walt Disney, Burbank, CA Palisades Media, Snta Monica, CA 695.0 264.0 6.79 53% 7.36 57.1
9. MGM/UA MGM, Los Angeles OMD, New York 360.0 188.2 6.82 78% 6.96 55.6
10. DreamWorks DreamWorks, Univ. City, CA GSD&M, Austin, TX 247.0 122.3 7.11 58% 7.82 61.8
TOTAL
SALES
(millions)
MEDIA
EXPENDITURES
(millions)
QUALITY
FAMILIARITY
PURCHASE
INTENT
EQUITY
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter (sales); TNS/CMR (media); Harris Interactive/EquiTrend: QxFxPI=E (see key, page S18)
www.brandweek.com
OC: J. Lubin/FOX