The coronavirus pandemic led some advertisers to exercise options to obtain media placements at lower prices, but the scatter market is recovering as demand bounces back. Marketers seeking measurable business outcomes don’t want to be left behind as many cities and states ease lockdowns, letting brands reconnect with their customers.
Laura Molen, president of advertising sales and partnerships at NBCUniversal, discussed how those dynamics helped the scatter market to recover in this episode of the Beet TV/VAB “TV Reset” forum.
Speaking to Bill Koenigsberg, the president, CEO and founder of media services agency Horizon Media Inc., Molen said demand started to pick up going into Memorial Day weekend, traditionally a heavy promotional period for advertisers as summer gets under way.
“The floor right now isn’t dropping. We’re actually so encouraged by the second quarter scatter market,” Molen said. “Marketers know that they have to market their way out of this to really get their companies back on track.”
A key test for broadcasters will be the upfront market, which typically offers lower prices than last-minute media buys in the scatter market. Molen said that while some advertisers have changed the timing of their campaigns, they are looking for opportunities in the upfront.
“We’re hearing from marketers that they’re still very interested in the upfront market,” Molen said. “If you are looking to secure inventory to get your message out there, particularly in certain time frames, the upfront is the way to go.”
Business Outcomes
With marketers facing greater pressure to get the most out of their media budgets during a period of heightened economic uncertainty, business outcomes have become a more important metric than ad impressions.
Molen said NBCUniversal has responded to those demands for business outcome guarantees, both for traditional brands and direct-to-consumer startups seeking to drive a response.
“For some clients, that meant traffic in stores, traffic online, subscriptions — all different kinds of business outcomes,” she said. “We are really invested in continuing to help our clients to measure what’s most important to them.”
You are watching TV Reset, a leadership forum produced in partnership with VAB. The series is presented by 605 and Magnite. For more videos please visit this page.
