Good News From Around the Industry: Sports Fuel Linear Ratings to New Highs, Black History Month Shines, President Biden Seeks to Limit Online Ad Targeting, and More!

Here’s what came across our desks this month:

AdWeek: Why You Shouldn’t Be Swayed by the Popularity of Super Bowl Ads
There is a disconnect between how popular a Super Bowl ad might be versus the data around customer engagement. Marketers would be wise to use metrics such as search volume as a measure of success versus the social sentiment surveys that go out post-game.   

Broadcasting + Cable: Sports Powers Broadcast to January Viewing Gains
According to Nielsen’s January snapshot, Broadcast viewing jumped 2.1% thanks to a 55% hike in sports viewing, propelled by the NFL playoffs and a nearly 30% increase in drama viewership. Additionally, “Broadcast and cable content viewing on MVPD and vMVPD streaming apps represented 5.3% of total television usage and 13.9% of streaming usage in January.”  

Digiday: Brands Extend Inclusive Marketing Efforts Beyond Black History Month
“‘The companies that truly earn the support and trust of the Black community do more than just slap a banner or new logo onto their social pages for the month of February,’ said Ali Fazal, VP of marketing at Grin, an influencer marketing platform. ‘They are longtime collaborators and supporters of issues facing minorities, drive the narrative forward, are inclusive in their marketing and staffing, and take a stance on divisive political discourse, even if it alienates some customers.’” 

Fast Company: Sports Ads are About to Get More Aggressive—Here’s What They Could Learn from Nascar
With live sports fueling Linear TV ratings, brands can learn lessons from the advertising schemes Nascar uses, especially as fans begin to lament advertising integrated into sports leagues and player uniforms, such as the NBA, MLB, and NHL.  

Forbes: How Community Is Reshaping The Marketing Landscape
“Helping a person belong to something represents the ultimate marketing achievement. If a customer opts into an engaging, supportive, and relevant brand community, we no longer need to lure them into our orbit with ads and SEO, right? What we used to consider marketing is essentially over. … Once the customer is part of the community, the need to engage with intrusive advertising and marketing messages is no longer needed. ” 

Hollywood Reporter: Grammy Awards Hit Three-Year High for CBS
Live events continue to be a big hit for Linear TV as The 2023 Grammy Awards are up 31% year-over-year, bringing in 12.55 million viewers compared to 9.59 million viewers in 2022. Additionally, Paramount+ says the awards drew the biggest live-streaming audience in the service’s history. 

Insider Intelligence: Gen Z will Account for 1 in 5 People in the US. What Does that Mean for Marketers?
In 2023, Gen Z will make up 20% of the population, but 42% of them are still minors with limited spending power. The takeaway? While Gen Z’s spending power is growing up quickly, Insider Intelligence says, “don’t overcompensate on marketing to Gen Z and lose older generations in the process.” 

MediaPost: Ad Groups Counter Biden’s Call to Limit Online Targeting
President Biden is seeking firm limits on data collection and targeted advertising. In response,  ad industry groups are reiterating their support for national legislation but are clarifying that they will oppose a broad attempt to restrict ad targeting. Privacy for America, one industry group, says legislation should distinguish between harmful and responsible data practices and not be written out of a general antipathy toward ANY use of data. Additionally, the proposed framework would push for opt-in consent before collecting “sensitive” data; all other non-sensitive data would be opt-out. 

NextTV: Netflix Ad Reach Tiny Compared to Local TV News says TVB
TVB is pushing back on Netflix’s new ad reach claims, clearly stating that the 600,000 monthly users its basic ads reach (a number under dispute) “pales in comparison to local linear TV viewing audiences.” 

Publisher’s Daily: Readers Put More Trust In Local News Products Than National, Study Says
A new Gallup/Knight Foundation survey finds that Americans have a more favorable view of local news providers than their national counterparts. The survey shows that 44% have high trust in local news vs. 21% who trust national news. Meanwhile, 53% agree that local news providers care about how their reporting affects the community, and 52% believe these outlets deliver the information they need.

TEGNA: 3 Advertising Takeaways from Super Bowl LVII
With more than 113 million viewers tuning into Super Bowl LVII, TEGNA’s SVP Tim Fagan and Senior Manager of Consumer Insights Tom Charno are sharing what we can learn from this massive audience, the emotional nature of the ads and how brands can turn these takeaways into results for their bottom line.   

TVB: Media Comparisons Study 2023
The latest TVB Media Comparisons Study has some encouraging stats for brands that partner with local news stations in advertising. Among the key findings from TVB are:  

• Local broadcast TV is turned to most for local news and is the most trusted platform. 
• TV has the highest reach and time spent on all media platforms studied for all age groups and categories. 
• If streaming platforms have no advertising, advertisers cannot reach these viewers via streaming, but broadcast assets can reach most of them. 
• Broadcast websites add more reach to broadcast TV than cable or streaming. 
• More than four times as many respondents viewed programs with ads on linear TV on a larger screen (TV set) than on their smartphone. 
• TV is the top advertising medium for purchasing influence and motivating respondents to learn more about products. 
• Television ads are motivation to do further research online. 

Sound Good? 
If you like what you’re reading, #TeamTEGNA would love to talk to you about how we can translate this good news into results for your brand. Let’s get in touch.