Village Soapbox: Pritchard's BackFront, Effectv, Hulu, a4, Cinema, ARF, Ageism and More
Whether this will go down as a watershed moment in advertising history is still a TBD, but there is no doubt that the talk of the town is Marc Pritchard's announcement that P&G is dealing directly with the networks and will no longer be participating in an "Industry Upfront." While Pritchard did say that the media agencies still have a role, he was not clear what that role is. It also appears that P&G is definitely intent on moving their media buying to a calendar year cycle versus the traditional September – August broadcast year. Whether other large marketers will follow and what impact this will have on the buying clout of agencies is to be seen, but it definitely has the industry abuzz.
•Theaters took a hit this week with Disney pushing Marvel's Black Widow to next May. However, there are still many films releasing into theaters as they slowly, but surely reopen. If you missed Jack Myers' Leadership Conversation with NCM's Cliff Marks, Regal Cinema's Ken Thewes and celebrity host of Noovie, Maria Menounos, that centers around the reopening, you can watch it here: It's Showtime, Folks! Preview the New Cinema Experience. A big thank you to NCM for underwriting the event and for their generous donation to the Advancing Diversity Education Fund.
•Jack hosted another inspirational Leadership Conversation last week around Ageism. If you were unable to attend, you not only missed one of the most topical and relevant conversations yet, but one for which we've already received a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Jack moderated a truly engaging panel which included advertising agency legend and Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide, Keith Reinhard, founder of One Kings Lane and In the Groove, Susan Feldman; aging expert and CEO of Age Wave Ken Dychtwald, and MediaVillage's The Age of Aging columnist, Peter Hubbell. You can watch the entire discussion here: Jack Myers Leadership Conversation, "Confronting Ageism in Media and Advertising"
•Research attribution and analytics dominated the headlines at MediaVillage last week. Brian Jacobs covered a release from the World Federation of Advertisers that attempts to create a standard framework around Governance, Standards and Metrics, Privacy and Technical Infrastructure. It's an ambitious start, but as Brian says, Media Measurement Is a Marathon, or Rather Multiple Marathons, Not a Sprint.
•Our friend and columnist of In Terms of ROI, Bill Harvey provides an executive summary of some of the key takeaways from this year's annual ARF (Advertising Research Foundation) Conference, virtual edition. In addition to some fascinating insights from marketers and media organizations including GM, Pepsi, Bank of America and Ampersand, Bill finds that the ARF did a fantastic job on the technical aspects overall. This is a can't miss summary that you can read only on MediaVillage: Top Takeaways from ARF 2020
•And speaking of research, Effectv in conjunction with research lab MediaScience released results from a cross-platform study that showed the positive impact of the combined power of TV and digital. MediaVillage columnist Simon Applebaum provides highlights and implications of the research in "What the Ad World Needs Now, Effectv Says, Is Combined Digital/TV Love."
•Last week in TV/Video Download, there was an eye-opening review by #AndradeSays columnist Ainsley Andrade of Hulu's new dramedy Woke featuring New Girl's Lamorne Morris as cartoonist Keef Knight, who goes from a Black man in America who was fairly removed from issues that many people of color face to someone thrust into the heart of today's headlines. As serious as the topic is there are many humorous moments and top Black comedic talents Cedric the Entertainer and J.B. Smoove play unique roles in the show. "Hulu's Woke Is a Masterpiece for This Moment"
Ed Martin, our long-time contributor and editor of TV/Video Download, also recently went behind-the-scenes with the production of Woke. Check out his piece: Hulu Gets Woke.
•In a nod to National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15), Media Insights columnist Charlene Weisler speaks with a4 Advertising's Head of Multicultural, Glenda Villanueva-Marchetta, about current best practices in reaching the Latino community and the impact that the pandemic has had on both the way marketers communicate and the entire media buying process, as well. Please read "Ignore the Hispanic Consumer at Your Peril, Says Glenda Villanueva-Marchetta."
Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet.
Jeff Minsky
Jeff Minsky is editor of and lead industry analyst for The Myers Report at MyersBizNet. He also writes the Village Soapbox and But Wait,That's Not All ... columns for MediaVillage. He is a multi-award-winning advertising and digital media pioneer, innova…
