FRANKthoughts

The times are a changing and the good news is that we can now measure what we’ve all been doing for years…time shift viewing on free-to-air networks and subscription TV using VCRs, DVD-R, TiVo, Foxtel IQ, Austar’s My Star and others

There are three viewing definitions, basically;

 ”LIVE” – viewing TV content as it goes to air

 ”AS LIVE” – viewing TV content at a different time to the live broadcast but within the same day 

 ”TIME SHIFT” – viewing TV content 24 hours after the live broadcast

As i write we have one week’s data…so it’s ambitious to draw any trend conclusions, however here are 8 observations to be getting on with (when i talk about time shifting here it includes ‘as live & ‘time shift’ viewing…makin’ sense?)

 1. News and sport are the least time shifted content (not surprisingly) and drama (particularly US drama) is the most time shifted

2. In the US and UK where such viewing has been in place for several years only 10%-15% viewers time shift

3. The current level for time shifting is only 4% viewers (less than we may have anticipated).

4. The introduction of time shift viewing in Australia has coincided with the establishment of the additional digital channels Go, 7two, One, ABC2 & SBSTWO. The net  effect of these has been a reduction of about 7% viewers on the ‘parent’ networks

5. The loss to digital channels is likely to be made up by time shift viewing

6. We must anticipate that time shift viewers are largely skipping the ads and this may well increase in-programme integration

7. Last ad in break will become more important as ’shifters’ possibly fast forward too far and rewind back to the last ad

8. The networks will no doubt try to increase their rates even more than during their annual negotiations and we can anticipate a ding-dong battle with buyers as the months unfold.

If you have any other questions or points of view please let me know, by commenting below and i’ll get back soonest.

I don’t catch many TV ads these days thanks to Windows Media Centre  but the occasional one slips through when I am not paying attention. I was first drawn in to the latest AAMI Safe Driver Rewards TV spot by the tongue-in-cheek use of an annoying yet comfy Gen X classic ‘What about Me’, and the twit who crashed into the shop .. whilst tweeting…

Then as the stereotypical scenarios rolled out it kept me engaged and entertained. It also appealed to me because, like everyone else, I am the most responsible, safe and best ever driver in the history of driving and it annoys me that I pay for other people’s stupidity. A strong product built on a solid insight. And a well pitched campaign (even if they do drive ‘lorries’ at Badjar Ogilvy) that has generated some good early social media chatter.

After just two weeks there have been over 7,700 youtube views with over 60 positive comments . (they couldn’t all be from the agency could they?)

A quick search of Twitter reveals a similar picture of overwhelming positivity:

can’t get rid of the soundtrack in AAMI’s latest TVC out of my mind “what about me….” it’s been playing in my mind whole night…”

Lol at the aami add lol “I was twittering and drove into thr corner shop” :p

You know that car insurance add for aami, does that dude say he was twittering away before he crashed into the corner shop? Lolol

♫ ♫ ♫ I was twittering away when I crashed into the corner shop ♫ ♫ ♫

What about me it isn’t fair .. Cldn’t help myself AAMI TV ad LOL Lol -AAMI Insurance Ad – What About Me?

And ofcourse the odd whinge (can’t please everyone):

Anyone else cringe over the new AAMI TVC with “What about me?” song (orig by Moving Pictures)? The talent can’t sing, the song is wrong.

With so many fans of the ad I wonder what AAMI are going to do to nurture them? How about a simple facebook ‘what about me’ fan page where they get people talking about their own experiences and scenarios. Maybe incentivise them.

Does this campaign strike a chord with you too?

This week saw the combined efforts of LeoBurnett Melbourne, Blackwood Communications Group NZ & FRANkVizeum Melbourne help launch SEEK’s new brand advertising campagin ‘If it exists’.

The idea works on the promise that jobseekers can find whatever job they can think of on the website. The TVC’s have been shot in a mockumentary style to explore the work day life of employees with quirky roles such as a cannon safety inspector and a shopping trolley mechanic.

The campaign is running across both Australia & NZ, with our media investment heavily focused on TV, Radio & Outdoor.

Meet the stars of the new TVC’s below (produced by LeoBurnett Melbourne):

Greg Walters is a talented Shopping Trolley Mechanic and Damien Mashall is obsessed with cannon safety.

Have you considered a career change lately?

2.1 million viewers can’t be wrong about the massive appeal of Hey! Hey! It’s Saturday That’s how many people tuned in last night to see Daryl, Plucka and the gang back on our screens for the first of two reunion shows.

Not surprisingly, Melbourne (the home of Hey! Hey!) pulled in the majority of viewers with just over 790,000.

I never once thought Ten’s Celebrity MasterChef would be able to outshine the return of what was an Australian  institution for so many of us growing up, and I’m pleased to say I was right. However, regardless of my opinion Celebrity MasterChef did pull in a respectable 1.3million viewers, which is a great effort!

It is a huge windfall for Nine, which would have still been reeling from the less than impressive launch of The Apprentice Australia, on Monday night. It barely registered on the radar with just under 700,000 viewers.

Ten will be consoling itself in the knowledge that the MasterChef franchise is a slow burn. When it launched earlier this year it barely nudged a million, but it finished with more than 3 million viewers.

Mention also needs to go to Seven who kicked off this huge ratings week with their new sci-fi drama Flashforward pulling in 1.8 million viewers and of course wrapping up last week was Ten’s coverage of the 2009 AFL Grand Final which pulled in a massive 2.9 million viewers.

Nine, meanwhile, are considering whether to commission a new series of Hey! Hey! on a permanent basis. It would seem that the old format still has legs and the intergrated use of Social Media sites such as twitter during the live broadcast has helped catapult the show into the 21st century.

It remains to be seen if Daryl would stay on board as host, but would it work as well without him? I’m not convinced.

On average a staggering 3.7million viewers tuned in last night to watch Julie Goodwin, an IT business owner from NSW take the crown of Australia’s first ever MasterChef. This broke the previous record for a non sporting event also held by Channel Ten thanks to the 2004 Australian Idol verdict.

While there are those who are speculating the result was rigged – shame on you! I think she was thoroughly deserving of the win.

Well done Julie!

Keep your eyes out tonight for the start of The Ashes cricket on SBS.  VB will be debuting their 2 minute branding campaign ad before the first ball, with their irreverent take on the types of ‘blokes’ we should be celebrating as a nation – ‘The Regulars’.  Pup Clarke, Molly Meldrum and other famous Aussie ‘blokes’ feature in the ad.  Outside of the AFL/NRL Grand Finals, it’s probably as close as we’ll get to a ‘Superbowl half time ad‘ this year.

VB are doing a great job with their site, with online content mirroring the campaign, and plenty of fun gadgets to engage the average beer drinking Aussie.  It’s hard to follow up ‘A Hard Earned Thirst’ which has gained the brand so much mileage through the years – but this isn’t a bad follow up.

C’mon Aussie, C’mon!

Constantly thinking about new ways to attract web-savvy audience, TV networks are finally adopting online to promote their shows. Tomorrow, for the first time in Australia , From 12pm on July 3, 2009 until Midnight on the 5th of July, Ten will release the first 2 episodes of Rush – Series 2 – Online. This means that two weeks before the first episode of Rush plays on TV, It will be available online at the TEN Rush site. They also have a facebook page.

This is a massive shift from past years when TV networks protected their content and were inclined to put it up online. But why should they resist? Advertisers would love the extra exposure and the show will gain fans before the actual premier. I would love to see the show taking advantage of it’s key young talent and making some live updates on facebook/twitter/whatever. After all, Ten’s already doing it with So YOu Think You Can Dance twitter and enjoying more than 2700 followers. Will be good to find out how many people watch Rush online and if these people become the show’s most loyal audience.

European mobile phone network T-Mobile have continued their trend of ‘flash mob’ marketing, with 13,500 people joining in a karaoke singalong at Trafalgar Square, London.  On the 30th April, BBC radio DJ Vernon Kay hosted the event, which was pre-promoted via SMS messaging and a YouTube teaser video.

The event featured 24 cameras, 2,000 microphones handed out to the crowd, professional dancers and singers, and even a guest appearance from pop star Pink.  One hour of popular karaoke hits were filmed, with ‘Hey Jude’ from The Beatles condensed into a primetime two minute ad on ITV 48 hours later, breaking in ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

It follows the mobile phone company’s ‘Dance’ ad that took place at London’s Liverpool street earlier in the year, which has been viewed on YouTube more than 11m times.

This recent event reinforces T-Mobile’s dedication to community building, through their ‘Life’s For Sharing’ YouTube channel, and the other social networks it uses.  Hundreds of user comments, thousands of YouTube channel subscribers, and millions of video views supplements their bought media presence, and enables them to communicate with their audience beyond a 30 second TV commercial.

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The first audience results are in for Channel Ten’s new free-to-air digital channel ONE and I don’t think it’s the results Ten were hoping for. The top rating shows to date have been Tread BMX, which won an audience of 53,000 and Sports Tonight – Weekend Wrap which got 50,000. While they are pitching themselves as a competitor to Fox Sports, they certainly have a long way to go before they can compete with the 300,000 or so viewers Fox Sports gets for its NRL matches. However, in fairness many viewers are still probably not aware they can switch across to ONE to watch Ten’s coverage of the AFL, which under current anti-siphoning laws must remain simulcast on Ten.

There’s a great website (a weekly summary of which I’ve been viewing via podcast) that showcases creative talent from around the globe.  Bestadsontv.com (contrary to it’s name) provides a weekly update of interesting work in breaking campaigns across TV, Print, Outdoor, Radio and Interactive.

It’s great for anyone who loves great creative, wants to keep tabs on global brands, or is seeking inspiration.  One of the best features is that the content is provided in a number of formats; via the web, on weekly podcast through iTunes, an RSS feed, and also via their presence on Twitter.  This means users can interact with the content on their own terms.

My current favourite is the Vanilla Ice TV ad from the Virgin ‘Right Music Wrongs’ campaign out of Sydney.  Enjoy!