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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Watching TV Through The Overton Window

Watching TV Through The Overton Window

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Tell me, does anyone else have a problem with this recent statement by HBO CEO Richard Plepler: “I am trying to build addicts -- and I want people addicted to something every week"?

I read this in a MediaPost column about a month ago. At the time, I filed it away as something vaguely troubling. I just checked and found no one else had commented on it. Nothing. We all collectively yawned as we checked out the next series to binge watch. That’s just what we do now.

When did enabling addiction become a goal worth shooting for? What made the head of a major entertainment corporation think it was OK to use a term that is defined as “persistent, compulsive use of a substance known to the user to be harmful” to describe a strategic aspiration? And, most troubling of all, when did we all collectively decide that that was OK?

Am I overreacting? Is bulk consuming an entire season’s worth of "Game of Thrones" or "Big Little Lies" over a 48-hour period harmless?

Speaking personally, when I emerge from my big-screen basement cave after watching more than two episodes of anything in a row, I feel like crap. And there’s growing evidence that I’m not alone. I truly believe this is not a healthy direction for us.

But my point here is not to debate the pros and cons of binge watching. My point is that Plepler’s statement didn’t cause any type of adverse reaction. We just accepted it. And that may because of something called the Overton Window.

The Overton Window was named after Joseph Overton, who developed the concept at a libertarian think tank -- the Mackinac Center for Public Policy -- in the mid-1990s.

Typically, the term is used to talk about the range of policies acceptable to the public in the world of politics. In the middle of the window lies current policy. Moving out from the center in both directions (right and left) are the degrees of diminishing acceptability. In order, these are: Popular, Sensible, Acceptable, Radical and Unthinkable.

The window can move, with ideas that were once unthinkable eventually becoming acceptable or even popular due to the shifting threshold of public acceptance. The concept, which has roots going back over 150 years, has again bubbled to the top of our consciousness thanks to Trumpian politics, which make "extreme things look normal," according to a post on Vox.

Political strategists have embraced and leveraged the concept to try to bring their own agendas within the ever-moving window. Because here’s the interesting thing about the Overton Window: If you want to move it substantially, the fastest way to do it is to float something outrageous to the public and ask them to consider it. Once you’ve set a frame of consideration towards the outliers, it tends to move the window substantially in that direction, bringing everything less extreme suddenly within the bounds of the window.

This has turned The Overton Window into a political strategic tug of war, with the right and left battling to shift the window by increasingly moving to the extremes.

What's most intriguing about the Overton Window is how it reinforces the idea that much of our social sensibility is relative rather than absolute. Our worldview is shaped not only by what we believe, but what we believe others will find acceptable. Our perspective is constantly being framed relative to societal norms.

Perhaps -- just perhaps -- the CEO of HBO can now use the word “addict” when talking about entertainment because our perspective has been shifted toward an outlying idea that compulsive consumption is OK, or even desirable.

But I have to call bullshit on that. I don’t believe it’s OK. It’s not something we as an industry -- whether that industry is marketing or entertainment -- should be endorsing. It’s not ennobling us; it’s enabling us.

There's a reason why the word “addict” has a negative connotation. If our “window” of acceptability has shifted to the point where we just blithely accept these types of statements and move on, perhaps it’s time to shift the window in the opposite direction.

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January 2, 2018 at 11:44AM

IHOP Debuts First Droga5 Project

IHOP Debuts First Droga5 Project

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After a "fast and furious few weeks," Droga5 is revealing its first campaign for new client IHOP since winning advertising and creative duties in November.

Their first project raises awareness of the limited-time ‘All You Can Eat Pancakes’ promotion by injecting the agency's quirky humor into the brand's creative messaging. The 30-second Pilots spot features a pilot and his co-pilot going over flight pre-check, but it turns out they are actually so obsessed with pancakes that they re-route the plane and all their passengers to the nearest IHOP restaurant.

The media buy incorporates both traditional and non-traditional media. TV ads debut today (Jan. 2) and will be joined by several 15-second ads that run through February 11. Concurrently, an integrated social media campaign will run across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to align pancakes with everyday social media meme moments.

IHOP is a brand that’s "always got pancakes on the brain" stated Scott Bell, executive creative director, Droga5. “Knowing this was the mind-set, our priority going into this new integrated campaign was to capture this simple truth with three words: Pancakes, Pancakes, Pancakes.”

As IHOP celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, this campaign and new agency relationship serve as a pivot for a brand attempting to make itself relevant to today's diners.

Brad Haley joined the dining chain as chief marketing officer in November and the chain's top priority is to rebuild sales and traffic momentum by executing against a broad four-pronged strategy, which includes significantly enhancing the guest experience, running great restaurants, building and driving traffic, and being where the guest is, including delivery service with Amazon.

Droga is pivotal to this makeover, adds IHOP's president Darren Rebelez who believes the agency is "arguably the top creative agency in the country."

IHOP spent $47.21 million on advertising during the first six months of 2017, similar to 2016's $46.82 million budget. For the full 12 months, IHOP spent $91.58 million on advertising in 2016, according to Kantar Media.

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January 2, 2018 at 11:21AM

Windfall Tax On Google And Facebook? You're Kidding, Right?

Windfall Tax On Google And Facebook? You're Kidding, Right?

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If you read one thing on the first day back in the office, it should be

The Sunday Times

interview with Security Minister Ben Wallace. It is quite staggering.

To be honest, the message is rather familiar. No matter how strong the language used appears, the outcome remains the same. Empty threats of extra tax the public will lap up, but will never be acted on.

Until now, the social giants have come in for criticism for not reacting quickly enough to requests to take down extremist content. The Prime Minister and Home Secretary made comments throughout 2017 about how Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and WhatsApp needed to do more to combat hate and extremism. This new article, however, is somewhat of a departure.

You'll have to read the article to get the tone and to understand that this the government wants to appear to be stepping forward in a more forthright manner in 2018. Wallace's main point could be summarized thus -- that the British public need to understand the social media giants are not cuddly geeks sitting around on beanbags. Instead, they are profit driven and ruthless and cutting corners by not accepting their responsibilities to tackle the problem they are creating.

The article draws the conclusion that the Government could be preparing a windfall tax, as levied against the utilities in the '90s by Tony Blair. Certainly, Ban Wallace makes it clear that if the social media giants do not do more, they will be hit with some form of unspecified tax.

That tax word is a tricky one with the social giants, because as anyone with half a brain will tell you, the British public are fed up with the duopoly of Facebook and Google not paying their fair share. Those who know a little about digital marketing would add that taking two in every three pounds spent on digital marketing in the UK and then using fancy accounting practices to avoid UK tax makes this all worse.

So this could be the way to get some money out of them. If they won't pay normal tax like you or I and the companies we work for, why not just hit them with record fines or a windfall tax? The approach seems to be working for the European Commission right now after last year's record levy against Google, which is expected to be followed by at least one more this year. Google has agreed to mend its YouTube ways, but only after two mass advertiser boycotts in 2017.

No politician will be brave enough to admit that this has crossed their mind, but it must have. If the duopoly are not going to pay tax, there really is little to lose by threatening them with a windfall tax unless they do more to tackle extremism. The Government will either get a windfall amount to help pay the Brexit divorce bill or they score a major victory in the battle against extremism.

As ever, the specifics are elusive. In Germany today we have the enforcement of a law that requires social giants to remove extremist content within 24 hours or face a fine, while with the UK, we just have open-ended threats.

And why don't we have the specifics? Because Google and Facebook are exactly the kind of high-profile Silicon Valley companies the UK wants to have headquartered here post-Brexit.

Hands up if you really think the UK Government is going to risk either packing up, closing down their London offices and setting up shop in Paris or Berlin.

So the language has changed, the threat seems more vehement, but Google and Facebook know this is all hot air designed to appeal to voters rather than threaten shareholders.

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January 2, 2018 at 09:38AM

Luxury Brands Dominate Most-Read Auto Stories

Luxury Brands Dominate Most-Read Auto Stories

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Readers were attracted to stories about change and new ways of marketing in the most-read stories on the automotive beat.

The top-read story in the automotive category highlighted Cadillac shifting one of its high-level executives to focus exclusively on the luxury brand’s subscription service. The Oct. 3 story, “Cadillac Shifts Marketing Exec To Head Vehicle Subscription Service,” detailed how Melody Lee, director of brand marketing at General Motors’ Cadillac division since September 2012, was taking on a new role, as global director of Book by Cadillac.

Another luxury auto brand attracted the second highest readership in the auto category. “Porsche Debuts 'Disruption' Documentary,” from Feb. 24, detailed the 27-minute long video Cramer-Krasselt created for the brand, chronicling nearly 70 years of the brand’s self-described “disruptive” nature. The documentary also tells the story of how that legacy inspired the 2017 Porsche Panamera luxury sports sedan.

The third highest read auto story was about how BMW changed up its marketing strategy by using Facebook Live to introduce it's new 5 Series at the Detroit auto show on Jan. 8. "BMW Uses Facebook Live To Intro 5 Series" detailed how the luxury automaker used the event to show off the vehicle ahead of its official debut at a press conference. The 17-1/2 minute broadcast was the first-ever Facebook Live vehicle debut for the BMW brand.

The fourth highest read auto story also was about an automaker using Facebook Live. “Ford Unveils Expedition Via Facebook Live” detailed how the automaker introduced the all-new Expedition with an assist from the Dallas Cowboys in Texas, America’s best-selling full-size SUV market. The February event at The Star, the stadium where the Cowboys play, was shared with consumers via Facebook Live. Cowboys Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Stephen Jones helped reveal the vehicle during the event.

Several personnel and new campaign stores in various industries also attracted a high number of readers.

“Bob Evans Launches Picnic Menu” detailed a new summer picnic menu and promotion designed to bring that special summer eating experience to everyone, no matter where they choose to experience it. “PayPal Veteran Jumps To Cannabis Industry” detailed how in May, PayPal executive Dave Peck moved to the cannabis industry where he is the first CMO of Kind Financial, a company that specializes in end-to-end technology and compliance solutions. Peck was previously global head of social and digital media marketing at PayPal.

Another story in May focused on how a financial services company was using VR (virtual reality) in its marketing. “Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Launches VR Marketing Campaign” detailed how Bank of America Merrill Lynch is launching a campaign that brings its virtual reality research and experience to life. The effort included Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR experiences.

A quirky campaign attracted readers’ attention in “Indian Motorcycle Launches Rare Tattoo Ink.” Indian Motorcycle has created the world’s first tattoo ink made from carbon from freestyle motocross competitor Carey Hart’s modified Indian Scout Hooligan racing bike. Fans of both the motorcycle and the sports star can get their own tattoos using this rare ink infused with Hart’s burnout. Hart was the first subject for the ink, getting tattooed with his newborn son’s name.

Brand news also was of interest to readers. An August story detailed the end of a huge brand. “AT&T To Sunset 'Time Warner' Brand, Bests It In Consumer Credibility.” AT&T, gearing up to take charge of Time Warner, reportedly was planning to dump the media company’s corporate name.

Finally, “Amazon, Google 'Most Loved' Brands” detailed a study from Morning Consult. Google subsidiary YouTube also landed in the top 10. Using nearly 200,000 interviews across the United States, the rankings provide an in-depth view of the companies, organizations and brands that define American culture and commerce, according to the company.

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January 2, 2018 at 08:30AM

Good Riddance, 2017: Top Stories Of The Year

Good Riddance, 2017: Top Stories Of The Year

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As was the case last year, the list of the most-read Top of the News stories in 2017 is dominated by the negative, from the decline of some once-dominant retailers and the malls they thrived in to some appalling decisions by employees and/or their marketing sherpas. Then there’s the “Trump Slump,” which actually has nothing to do with the President’s posture, posturing or lack of popularity.

Here then — starting with No. 10 — are the most popular stories judged solely by eyeballs reached.

J.Crew Responds To Problems Some Might Call No-Brainers
May 25

As the summer season opens in the Hamptons this weekend, all eyes are not so much on J.Crews’ hemlines as they are on its bottom line.

Late last month, chairman and CEO Millard “Mickey” Drexler announced several strategic changes he said were designed “to move us forward in a more efficient and dynamic way.” Translation: we are switching up the leadership and letting go 150 full-time staffers and eliminating 100 open positions to stay out of bankruptcy court.

Judge Blocks Merger Of Aetna And Humana On Antitrust Grounds
Jan. 24

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the proposed $37 billion merger between Aetna and Humana would be anticompetitive, particularly when it comes to seniors in the Medicare Advantage marketplace. The ruling casts doubt on the likelihood that a similar pending alliance between Anthem and Cigna, already under fire on multiple fronts, will get a green light from the courts and regulators.

United Does It Again: Manhandles Passenger And PR Aftermath
April 11

Should you be on a social media sabbatical, United Airlines has once again ignited the twitterverse with a decidedly unfriendly action against a passenger Sunday. It then followed through with tone-deaf responses to the situation from the CEO down.

'Trump Slump' In Tourism Taking Hold
March 1

It’s only a few weeks old but it already has a moniker — The Trump Slump — although a slowdown in tourism dollars was already evident before the administration’s immigration policies, which put a real damper on foreigners’ desire to travel to the United States.

Burger King's Whopper Of A Voice-Activated Misfire
April 13

“Google, how can a clever idea go wrong?”

The creatives at Burger King agency David might as well have asked that question rather than rely on their native wits for a :15 that, if nothing else, drew a little of the attention away from United’s and Pepsi’s recent gaffes yesterday.

Victoria Beckham For Target Gets Boost From Fashion Press
April 10

More than 200 Victoria Beckham for Target items went on sale online and in the aisles yesterday with a big boost from fashion writers who somehow got an advance peek at the collection and are eager to reveal their top picks to the rest of us. Even Beckham herself — reluctantly, of course — got into the game of singling out favorites.

United Airlines Takes Flak Over 'Leggings-Gate'
March 27

United Airlines is the latest company to learn that nothing noticed goes untweeted and anything tweeted can blow up into a major controversy within hours even if — or, maybe, particularly if — your social media team is standing by in rapid-response mode with a canned answer.

McDonald's Serves Up A Fast Food, Fast Delivery Future
March 2

McDonald’s came to the ball with fast food and — after a few spins on the floor with salads, oatmeal and other enticing suitors gussied up in healthy raiments — it is sticking with it. It’s also revamping delivery worldwide with the launch of a mobile “order and pay” app this year that will accommodate curbside pickup and it told those assembled at its investors conference in Chicago yesterday that it is “experimenting” with other ways of getting Big Macs and new menu items to the masses.

Dove Apologizes For 3-Second GIF Widely Viewed As Racist
Oct. 9

Unilever’s Dove again found itself apologizing for an ad and defending itself against charges of promulgating racist imagery after it posted a three-second gif on Facebook “showing a black woman taking off her brown shirt to reveal a white woman, who then took off her lighter-colored shirt, revealing a woman of color in a slightly darker shirt,” as the AP reports.

Only Option Left For The Limited: Online Sales
Jan. 9

Dedicated followers of The Limited are finding their options are just that after the retailer revealed Friday that it was shutting down all 250 of its shops and reportedly will lay off about 4,000 workers, about 800 of whom are full-time staffers.

Ah, well … who knows? Maybe the new year will be blessed with more upbeat stories along the lines of Victoria Beckham’s victory on the pitch of media coverage (us included).

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January 2, 2018 at 08:30AM

What Do Readers Want? More Food, Gutsy Outsiders And Retail Tech

What Do Readers Want? More Food, Gutsy Outsiders And Retail Tech

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Turns out, Marketing Daily readers are hungry for the same thing every other red-blooded American is craving: A better way to buy food, with stories about grocery stores making the consumer experience a little more tasty topping the list of my most-read retail articles.

And no, we’re not talking about the many stories we ran this year about Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The best-read retail story of 2018 was about the launch of Germany’s Lidl (rhymes with needle) supermarket in the U.S.: Part-Trader Joe's, Part-Walmart, Lidl Launches; Can Grocery Stores Survive?

We’ll keep following Lidl as the chain continues its U.S. expansion with the promise to #rethinkgrocery, and it’s expected to reach some 100 locations by the middle of this year. Another yummy morsel? An annual ranking of people’s favorite grocery chains, America's Top Grocers: Wegmans, Publix, Trader Joe's came in at No. 4.

Stories about outdoor retailers sharpening their edge also caught people’s attention, led by Patagonia’s ballsy attack on the 45^th president of the U.S.: Patagonia Takes Full-Page Swing At Trump got plenty of clicks. (A related story, Patagonia Tackles Trump: “The President Stole Your Land.”, didn’t crack the Top 10, but was also widely read.

Readers also gave plenty of attention to REI’s bold promise to devote an entire year of its marketing and product development to women, with REI Takes On Femvertising With 'Force Of Nature'. And they also dug into strategic changes as key players tried to find ways to cut through overcrowded store shelves, with VF Shifts Focus to 'Big Three': The North Face, Vans, Timberland.

And–as always–readers are paying close attention to stories about brands and retailers looking for ways to expand their digital influence, from luxury lingerie, with Cosabella Goes All-In On Artificial Intelligence, to home-improvement big-boxers like Lowe's: AR/VR Comes Closer To Mainstream Marketing. Beauty, already an industry leader in augmented reality, is a sector they follow closely, with As Ulta Looks Prettier, Sephora Sharpens Tech Edge, as is any brand finding smarter ways to use social media: Reebok’s use of influencers,

For New Running Shoe, Reebok Steps Up Its Influencer Game.

But they’re also eager to find out what well-respected brands might be doing wrong. Of the many stories we ran about Nordstrom, a department store that has been faring better than many of its counterparts, only one made the Top 10:

Nordstrom Losing Luster With Younger Shoppers.

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January 2, 2018 at 08:30AM

What Will 2018 Bring For Online Video?

What Will 2018 Bring For Online Video?

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2017 was a banner year for over-the-top video, and digital video in general. Paid OTT “skinny bundles” now have millions of subscribers, new niche entrants made their mark, and advanced video advertising continued to evolve and mature.

But now it's 2018! Video Insider asked executives in the OTT, ad tech and programming spaces to predict the big stories this year.

Data Matures

One common thread: 2018 will be the year data and targeting in the OTT space will mature, coming close to rivaling the data-rich environments of desktop and mobile. As more consumers embrace streaming video in their homes, more targeted ads can and will follow.

“I think that today OTT is not a very data-based buy,” says Colin Petrie-Norris, CEO of OTT video company Xumo. “So you have got to be clever for advertisers about bringing in this data from other screens, to make targeting in television possible.

"I think targeting against data in television -- not just watching a view-through rate, that is not data-based targeting, or targeting 100,000 users, I am talking about advanced user, identity-based advertising, all of the things that had been present and available for desktop and mobile -- will be available this year," adds Petrie-Norris. "Data-based targeting will mature a significant number of notches in 2018. That will be what everybody will demand.”

“OTT ads will begin to make their way into linear viewing via smart ads leveraging real-time ACR [automatic content recognition] embedded in a rapidly increasing number of smartTVs,” says Corey Jeffery, senior vice president of media and digital product leadership for market research giant Kantar Millward Brown.

“These ads are served into linear ad inventory as real-time overlay companions, or as dynamic replacements, and they can be targeted, measured and optimized with digital precision and granularity," concludes Jeffery.

“Brand safety will continue to be a topic of concern in 2018, but the discussion will transition into one of brand appropriateness -- a more nuanced, sophisticated evaluation of what’s suitable for an individual brand,” says Bettina Hein, founder and CEO of video ad tech firm Pixability. “Contextual ad targeting will also make a comeback after advertisers discover the pitfalls of pure person-based targeting.

"Lasting concerns around brand safety/appropriateness are the main driver, but advertisers will also recognize that the right content environment drives higher performance for their ads, particularly when paired with ad creative that is optimized for each platform,” Hein adds.

Content And Brands Are King

The old adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” will continue to ring true in 2018, at least when it comes to content. While consumers have more streaming video choices than ever before, ultimately quality and known quantities will win out.

“We see consumer interest in [OTT offerings from both legacy companies and new entrants] for different reasons,” say Dan Goodman and William H. Masterson III, co-founders of digital entertainment firm Believe Entertainment Group.

“There are legacy partners like People or Sports Illustrated, for example, who will find great interest from consumers because of the trust their brands stand for among their readers and viewers," they add.

"But other players, like Poker Central’s PokerGo service -- the team behind World Series of Poker -- are seeing great results because they connect with a passionate, engaged audience and deliver them the best of what they want in the category. There’s great rationale for both, and we expect to see growth in both legacy and new vertically focused entrants in 2018.”

“In 2018 we’ll see the virtualization of television online. A lot of the newest, best content being developed is being distributed exclusively through online streaming,” says Nikhil Sethi, co-founder and CEO of the advertising technology firm Adaptly.

"If the content moves online, all the time spent watching TV programming will move online -- and where all the eyeballs go, the ad dollars will follow," Sethi adds. "It’s less a function of the user experience and more a function of the actual content. Whoever has the best content will win the advertising budgets, and right now the best content is online, not on TV.”

“A mainstream shift to OTT consumption and delivery stands to benefit the media companies that have the best premium content libraries (that is, Disney), and will [adversely affect] legacy distribution platforms still laden with costly, and increasingly antiquated, physical infrastructure -- that is, smaller cable MSOs like Frontier,” says Kantar Millward Brown’s Jeffery.

He adds: “Consumers will still bear the cost of content development and distribution in the form of subscription fees and ads, but at least the OTT era will inject more competition to build great digital products that people love to use, and develop or acquire a wider array of compelling premium content.”

Disruption Rules

Even as the OTT marketplace matures, it will continue to be messy, as more new entrants pour in, companies grapple with the rollback of net neutrality, and as consumers choose winners and losers.

“Traditional distribution channels have been disrupted to a point of radical evolution,” says Rachel Williamson, vice president and general manager of Gamut, Cox’s digital advertising division. “What will be interesting to watch is how -- or if -- the new FCC rulings affect consumer behavior and industry growth trends.”

“The broadcast industry is in flux, driven by disruptive entrants to the market, rapid adoption of new technology and lack of engagement with youth audiences,” says Richard Craig-McFeely, digital media strategy and marketing director for the cloud and data center provider Interxion.

“The transition to OTT video delivery requires a broadcast-quality experience across a challenging network infrastructure, putting the pressure on digital media providers to deliver a quality user experience across a wide array of mediums including TVs, tablets, and mobile phones," adds Craig-McFeely. "In 2018, to support this growing demand, I expect to see digital media companies seeking out co-location data centers as a cost-efficient way to house data in a scalable infrastructure.”

“2018 will herald the great unbundling of video. Social video platforms will expand their footprint in the connected TV space, and the major players -- like YouTube, Amazon, and Roku -- that can successfully curate the right video publishers, streams, and networks will lead in shaping consumer choice and ad spend,” says Pixability’s Hein.

“Audiences will have more options than ever before to watch live video in the living room, and navigating all of these options will present new hurdles for marketers," Hein adds. "But beyond those hurdles will lie significant opportunity for advertisers who take advantage of the new connected TV inventory available. The major challenge will be: How do you choose the right network or platform to reach the right consumers across the fragmented space?”

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January 2, 2018 at 08:30AM