More Good Media Ideas

Once again, the Upfronts are behind us and it is time for the 4th annual McCulloch+Company review of what we think will or will not be a hit during the 2017-18 broadcast television season. If you want to see how we did last year, check out our thoughts here.  

Programmatic has taken the advertising industry by storm the last few years, even impacting traditional media like TV and OOH. By programmatic, we mean the process by which data and technology is utilized in a more automated way for smarter and more efficient targeted advertising. As a media agency, we have fully immersed ourselves in this space, meeting with countless vendors and even recently on-boarding a self-serve DSP to create an in-house trading desk to better serve our clients. 

Having begun working in the agency world back when Digital was not even a "thing" yet, I can honestly say I've been doing this a long time and seen a ton of change to the media landscape. However, at the end of the day the planning process and how we go about it hasn't changed much. 

Monday was Memorial Day, the official kick-off to summer. You likely consumed a frothy beverage or two, spent some time on a lake and/or grilled out with family and friends. This month's good media idea features a brand that is hoping to be imbibed greatly during those summer gatherings, especially by millennials - Mike's Hard Lemonade. To do that, they launched a new brand positioning, "Drink on the Bright Side." The creative is a playful, comedic approach to appeal to millennials and combat the negativity the brand says is currently on the internet. Below is one of the 15 second videos - Jackpot - in which a tanked dude wins a Mike's and a trip to a water park.

Earlier this week, Google announced some new offerings to their advertising options, including Google AdWords and Google Analytics. There was a lot about data and Machine Learning, but within the presentation there were many exciting things Google is doing to enhance measurement, attribution and the overall ad experience on both the consumer and advertiser side. And, of course, they plugged Google Assistant. You can view the hour-long presentation below:

We've been doing a series on the benefits of traditional media on the blog. You can catch up on earlier posts here and here. Why are we writing this? Because we are Luddites stuck in the dark ages, denying the existence of the internet? Not at all. It is because we are huge believers in media mix. No marketer should put all their eggs in one media channel basket. And with all the benefits that come through digital advertising - like trackability and measuring ROI - it also has its limitations and isn't the most trusted advertising medium. Yes, traditional channels still have value to reach your audience and enhance a digital advertising campaign. They all work together.

Earlier this week, a few of us attended an AMA lunch at SunTrust Park, the new home of the Atlanta Braves. Derek Schiller, President of Business at the Braves, shared the ins and outs of marketing the South's Favorite Baseball team. He shared some of the unique things about the Braves brand and their approach to the new ballpark. In a word, their focus is on "Experience." That's what fans want - and the new stadium has it. From different "neighborhoods" throughout the park, to Comcast-supported all-fiber internet, to new restaurants and better, closer seats throughout the ballpark, SunTrust Park looks to deliver a top-notch fan experience.

We live in a world of "buzzwords." Everywhere we turn, a new one seems to pop up and it is hard to keep track of all of them. While the terms "transparency" and "fraud" are not technically buzzwords, they feel that way in the world of Digital Media. We hate to use buzzwords without defining them, so here we go. By transparency, we mean being open and honest with our clients - from where their money is being spent, to our fees, vendor contracts, full disclosure of all digital reporting, and more. We will define fraud a little later.

We've discussed utilizing weather to deliver advertising before on the blog. But this month's good media idea features a new take on weather-triggering involving Spotify. The North Face commissioned the band White Denim to write the song 'Rain Drop' to promote its new waterproof jacket, Apex Flex GTX. Although the song is on Spotify, it can only be 'unlocked' via custom landing page in locations where it is raining. The song was even played by the band last week at South by Southwest; and the jacket was prominently featured during the performance in which the band was pummeled by a virtual storm on stage!

We were thrilled to sponsor and attend the 60th annual American Marketing Association AMY awards last night at the College Football Hall of Fame. We were especially excited because one of our long-term clients, John Kovac of Cox Automotive, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. This relationship goes back to the late 90s when the partnership with this client first began. Our Media Director, Jeff Jones worked with John when he first started at what was then AutoConnect (now Autotrader). Now John is the EVP and CMO over all the Cox Automotive brands. This nearly 20 year partnership speaks to the strong relationships our agency develops, and more specifically our Media Director. Jeff is professional yet personable. He's thorough and leads the agency in consistently over-delivering for our clients while always acting with the utmost integrity. It's definitely a two-way street, though - and John is an insightful and top-notch client. We were honored that he referenced his valuable agency relationships in his acceptance speech last night.