Brand managers live in a finite world of restricted budgets, limited manpower, and only 24 hours in a day. Although a typical television station will have a programming inventory of dozens of “brands,” the true profit-generating business of broadcasting occurs usually among only a handful of these programs. People, money, promos, advertising, and public relations resources must be allocated according to some overriding guidelines. Priorities need to be established so that the brand manager’s valuable resources are not squandered. Here is a series of recommendations for setting these priorities.

13.1          PROFIT POTENTIAL

Broadcasting is in the business of selling audiences to advertisers (and vice versa); therefore, any guideline must ultimately address the issue of profitability. Some programs and dayparts simply have more sales potential than others. The television brand manager needs to know what programs offer the best opportunities for the station to gain a profit.

For decades American retail businesses have used the “80/20” rule to manage their marketing resources. Typically, 80 percent of a store’s sales revenue is derived from only 20 percent (or less) of all the products they sell. The same is true for branded television programs. Although a station is on the air 24 hours a day, the greatest sources of sales revenue are concentrated among only a few all-important time periods or programs such as Prime Access (7–8 PM eastern) Early Fringe (4–6 PM eastern), and Local Newscasts.

All key station managers must agree as to which programs should be considered top priority for station branding efforts.

13.2          DETERMINING SALES POTENTIAL

Several factors need to be weighed in this process. And, again, this process takes information from the sales and programming domains.

13.2.1       The Audiences Available to Watch

First is the available audience, or in ratings terms HUTs (homes using television) and PUTs (people using television). Winning isn’t everything if HUT levels are too low. Earning a 50 share Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. is a hollow victory.

13.2.2       Advertiser Needs

For many advertisers, some portions of the broadcast day are more attractive than others—regardless of the number of HUTs (HUT level). For example, the cost per thousand (CPM) rates for morning television tends to be disproportionately lower than rates for late afternoon or early fringe. In addition to the total number of homes, the demographics (gender and age segments) can be equally important. Sophisticated media buyers ignore total homes and focus more on key consumer demographics.

13.2.3       Selling “Demos”

A specific program may win its time period but remain a poor selling tool because of a disappointing skew in its demographics composition. Conventional wisdom holds that as a consumer ages, he or she is less likely to be swayed by advertising, despite having more disposable income. This is due largely to brand loyalty and attitude persistence. It is not age per se that affects this behavior. It is the fact that brands have become established over time. However, if a new type of product (such as cell phones or the iPod) comes to market, the boomers will shop just as younger people do. The problem is that so many ordinary consumer products (toothpaste, canned soups, car oil, soda, etc.) have been around for so long, “older” people become brand loyal and refuse to switch brands as readily.

Television is the same way. If a viewer has watched 60 Minutes for the past 20+ years, they are less likely to shop around Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Rarely can marketing alter the demo composition of an established program. Conversely, a second- or third-ranked program may command high commercial rates because of its positive skew toward more attractive (or younger) demographics. These younger viewers are highly susceptible to channel grazing and need pinpoint marketing efforts to pique and sustain their interest.

When negotiating rates, media buyers will often calculate a target audience efficiency score for a program. They look at the time period’s demographics to see if the message will reach more of their target demographic. If one spot will reach 10 percent more women aged 18 to 34 than does another spot, it gets a higher efficiency score.

13.2.4       Cash-Producing Avails

Another crucial factor for the brand manager to consider is the number of commercial opportunities (or spot pods). This is the number of usable commercial (and promotional) availabilities within the program. Regrettably, some sales departments look at the promotional spots as lost revenue rather than as opportunities to increase viewership.

Barter programs are often popular with station management because they don’t require the station to lay out cash for a program. In exchange for this inexpensive programming, the syndicator retains a few minutes of commercial time for commercials it sells to national advertisers. Programs with a heavy syndicated barter commitment can steal away local avails, generating little cash flow. High ratings with high barter do not equal high revenue potential. In fact, syndicators of very popular programs to require cash plus the barter time. Network programs offer limited local avails. The majority of prime-time commercial opportunities belong to the network.

The networks also promote themselves using their own air. Because the nets want as much promotional support as they can get, they appeal to local affiliates with various co-op advertising schemes. Consider all co-op offers carefully. Beware of having either a network or a syndicator talk you into spending money ineffectively, even with a 50 percent refund incentive. At the very least have your co-op campaign tie in with your access programming or late news lead-in. Many stations are reevaluating their relationship with their networks, as well as vice versa.

13.2.5       What Will It Cost?

Stations invest millions of dollars in purchasing the syndicated broadcast rights for a daily program or local sports franchise. Operating a competitive local news department requires huge investments in production and talent. Group broadcasters invest in programs for distribution among their own stations. Each station has an equity investment in the future success of the program. The bottom line is that the company is looking for a return on its investment (ROI). Effective brand marketing strategies can help make these expectations come true.

13.2.6       Maintaining Audience Momentum

The branding game is a matter of both attracting and maintaining audiences. Maintaining audience momentum for a successful show should never be considered a low priority. Defending your number one position is vital to long-term success. Remember, successful consumer brands continue to market themselves to their current loyal customers. Media brands require the same strategy. Earlier we discussed the importance of telling your loyal audiences how smart they are for choosing your brand.

13.2.7       Lead That Horse to Water

Sampling is what marketing accomplishes best. The art and science of persuading audiences to break old viewing habits and try a new “product” is one of the cornerstones of effective marketing. This is no truer than during the time-honored annual television “Fall Premiere Season,” when dozens of new programs need to be sampled. Some years ago, FOX challenged this tradition with their strategy of introducing new product throughout the summer months. However, there is a point of diminishing returns, because once a program has been sampled by a significant number of people, the continued success of the program will be dictated by the program content itself. Great promotion cannot resuscitate a bad program.

Notifying audiences of day or time schedule changes is also a priority. The smart brand manager won’t give the competition an advantage by allowing some of your loyal audiences to get lost if their station’s schedule suddenly and unexpectedly moves one of the audience’s favorite programs! Many daily schedules at home are built around the viewer’s favorite program.

Smart managers need to recognize lost causes: disappointing brand situations that cannot be rescued through marketing/promotion alone. For any branding effort to be successful, there is an assumption that the product is viable in the marketplace, meaning that there is some minimal level of consumer satisfaction associated with its use.

13.2.8       Something Special

Unfortunately, not every program situation can be categorized neatly into a particular level of priority. Locally produced specials, such as long-form news specials, may not generate a great deal of advertising for the station, but they often cultivate an image of quality and community involvement that can have positive impact on future audience ratings. The use of public relations and special events in branding becomes another tool for the savvy brand manager.

Brand managers may encounter the special issue of promotion agreements in which the station is contractually obligated to run a specific number of network or syndicated promos. There is often a tendency in the sales or traffic department to treat these spots as promotional inventory charged off against the marketing department’s contract instead of cash spots. Be aware of this potential problem and how it may impact the on-air schedule for spots.

13.2.9       Dayparts and Image

The art and science of setting priorities is truly a juggling act. Remember that priorities are fluid. It is unlikely that current priorities will remain fixed for more than a few weeks. Things happen whether those that are expected and those that are unwelcome surprises—such as new competition in the market, declining viewership, or the defection of on-air talent.

13.2.10       Be Ready to Adapt and Change

In a perfect world, the brand manager would always project accurately what life will be like 12 months from now. But in the highly competitive, ever-changing real world of broadcasting, overly rigid, long-term projections are a straight-jacketed liability to good management.

Branding opportunities and threats will change inevitably and so must your marketing plans. Don’t be blind to a new or unexpected opportunity. Keep your eye out for “sleepers”: programs or features that initially held little promise but suddenly take off. Historically, sleepers have included such programs as Star Trek and Friends. Conversely, don’t be trapped by lost causes, despite the pleadings from your network or some syndicators; you can’t afford to squander your limited resources on battles you can’t win.

13.2.11       Setting Objectives and Strategies

The first objective should be to either establish or firmly re-establish that brand. The classic example of effective media branding in the late 1980s and early 1990s was the establishment of the FOX network. Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller faced the seemingly insurmountable task of taking on ABC, NBC, and CBS to form a fourth national network, something that had not been done since the days of the Dumont Television Network in the early 1950s. The savvy FOX marketing staff relied heavily on branding to position their product in the hearts and minds of America. They relied on branding so much that they invented new and improved ways of accomplishing it.

Crucial to this branding effort was the network’s purchase of National Football League (NFL) television rights, taking them away from CBS. FOX became the football channel, the take-a-chance, in-your-face channel that had football. Football brought in male demographics and the opportunity to promote other programming to an audience that had formerly only been watching one of the Big Three. In the 4 years that CBS did not enjoy the audience brought in by the NFL, the venerable Tiffany network’s brand lost awareness, especially among the younger demos and males, and their total audience shrank much more than their competition’s total audience.

Other objectives, which follow branding, will be determined by the market make-up and situation. For the purposes of this book, we will confine our discussion to increasing brand awareness.

13.3          BRANDING IS NOT PROMOTION

As discussed earlier in this book, branding and promotion are not interchangeable. Although efforts to establish and grow a brand may involve promotion, much day-to-day promotion may not involve branding.

Promotion will be used extensively during the media sweep weeks to build and retain audience so the Nielsen numbers will give the sales department something to sell. Each February, May, and November rating period lasts 4 weeks. Most marketing departments add a week in advance of the start of the sweep, thus marking off 12 weeks of the year. In these 12 weeks, the station will primarily be concentrating on increasing the numbers of HUTs and PUTs tuned to their station. (For more details on ratings, see Appendix B, “Basic Training: How To Read A Rating Book.”)

Promotion moves the viewer to use your product.

BUT

Branding moves your product into the viewers’ minds.

The 40 other weeks of the year should contain a major element of branding as part of the station’s branding and promotion mix. We will explore the ways a station can ensure this later in this book.

13.3.1       Set Timetables and Measurable Outcomes

Continuing with developing the station plan, you will need to determine realistic timetables to meet your objectives. Built into these timetables will be such variables as availability of talent and vendors, equipment delivery (if needed), any regulatory needs (such as Environmental Impact Studies), and any number of the thousands of other variables any business must deal with on a day-to-day basis.

By recalling that part of the goal is to move forward, setting measurable outcomes will allow the management team to know how they are measuring up against their expectations. These are way-points on your road map to success. Such goals may include the obvious:

   Increase gross sales (x%)

   Increase ratings and shares from sign-on to sign-off (x%)

   Increase late news rating and shares in women aged 18 to 49 (x%)

The goals may also include the less obvious:

   Increase fixed promotion inventory by eight spots per week

   Increase number of public appearances by anchors by five times per week

   Increase public relations efforts by three news releases per week

How are you doing with your goals?

Goals should be measurable and specific. And the plan must work toward the goals. Communicate these goals to everyone who can touch the product. Let the staff know what the station’s goals are. Post them on the bulletin boards, in the newsroom, in the editing suites, and near the coffee machine. In the business lingo of today—get the staff all on the same page.

Now it is time to translate this plan into something that will gain the interest and attention of the target audience.