It aims to put on good shows all year, and, with a selection of its stars wheeled in (including a performance from the biggest of them all, Billy’s Big Brass Brand), a few branded ice sculptures (rumour has it new chief executive Kevin Kenrick fashioned them with his bare hands), lots of bass, some slick production and plenty of delicious things in spoons, TVNZ certainly put on a good one last night to launch its 2013 season.
MediaWorks showed off its new season nuggets yesterday, and TVNZ is doing the same next week. So we thought it was high time we took a look at Nielsen’s TAM figures to see what shows tickled the fancies of New Zealanders from the key demographics in 2012.
What do you get when you cross glitter canons, cheerleaders showing their bums, overly dramatic sound tracks, media types eating all the nibbles and Paul Henry? A new season TV launch, of course. And first cab off the rank for 2013 was MediaWorks, which announced some of the goodies it will be showing on TV3 and Four at Sky City, interviewed some of 2012’s stars on the couch and introduced the first X Factor NZ judge, Stan Walker.
The TV industry, here and around the world, is currently dealing with some major challenges, but all that serious business was mostly forgotten on Saturday night as the stars—from in front of and from behind the camera—of the local industry turned up to accentuate the positive at the 2012 New Zealand Television Awards. And in the annual (mostly) two horse race, it was MediaWorks that wrested the big news prizes off TVNZ, and TVNZ that took home most of the prizes in the drama and reality sections.
As the digital TV switchover begins rolling out in New Zealand, the latest Canstar Blue survey on television viewing, ownership and purchasing habits has coughed up a bit of bad news for TV advertisers, with more than three-quarters of the 587 respondents saying they avoided watching ads and 31 percent recording TV and fast-forwarding through them.
The first season of The Block NZ was a huge success for MediaWorks. For the sponsors, however, it surpassed even their high expectations of what television can do.
When mainstream media outlets put their minds to it, they can be a powerful force for good. Campbell Live, which was in the headlines today after the announcement about is main rival Close Up, has given it a good nudge this year with a series of fundraising initiatives and it’s been shining a light on child poverty in New Zealand and its social and economic impacts this week. To raise funds, it’s instituted Lunchbox day with KidsCan and there are a number of businesses and community organisations doing their bit around the country. So as you slip back to work from your Friday power lunch, either text lunch to 8595 to make a $3 donation or harass the boss to come up with some cash. Or both.
The axe is hovering over Close Up after a release was sent out yesterday saying it was looking at a ‘proposal’ to switch it off in favour of what TVNZ’s news and current affairs head Ross Dagan calls a “new daily current affairs show with a distinctively different format”. Most believe it’s already a done deal, and if it goes ahead, the show will finish up by the end of the year, bringing an end to a format that’s been running for 23 years.
Coming at a cost of $3.2 million, TVNZ and NZ on Air, along with major sponsor Toyota, have invested heavily in New Zealand’s Got Talent. And after the first episode of the international format show aired last night, that investment looks set to pay off, as it was the highest launch for a New Zealand entertainment/reality show in the past seven years.
TVNZ’s balance sheet took a hit last year after the ill-fated TiVo investment was written off. But, despite an almost $4 million decrease in underlying earnings, the bottom line is looking healthier, with after tax profit for the year ended 30 June 2012 increasing from $2.1 million in 2011 to $14.2 million this year. PLUS: new chief executive Kevin Kenrick’s speech at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards.
M&C Saatchi caused a bit of a stir last year when it used stencil art in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland to tell some extraordinary police stories. That work, created by Otis Frizzell, received some international media attention (and, in Auckland, some attention from taggers). And the latest phase of the campaign builds on that idea, with TVC, radio, online, and ambient/out of home activity that aims to challenge prevailing perceptions of what it takes to become a cop.
The profitability of Big Pharma’s brands can collapse suddenly when patents expire and generic ‘knock offs’ flood the market. When this happens, the accepted norm is for up to 90 percent of an originator brand’s volume and share to be lost almost overnight and it’s an issue the industry hasn’t yet been able to resolve, so, typically, blockbuster compounds and their brands are simply written off or retired. But the local Pfizer branch wasn’t going to take the early patent expiry of Viagra in New Zealand lying down, so to speak, so it took the very unusual step of launching its own generic brand called Avigra and trying to migrate consumers to the cheaper, Pfizer-made alternative. And now, after a pun-laden press campaign and a bit of TV masthead activity, it’s stiffened its resolve by creating a new TVC.
TVNZ’s new chief executive Kevin Kenrick has had his feet under the desk for a few months now and Jeremy O’Brien took over from MediaWorks-bound Paul Maher as its new head of sales back in May. And now it’s announced five new senior appointments, four of them coming from within, that “herald a new era for the company and recognise the changing needs of consumers and customers in the modern media landscape”.
There was plenty of pomp, ceremony and promotional activity to celebrate the airing of the first episode of MediaWorks’ big reality show The Block last night. And the Nielsen TAM numbers have given the network something to crow about.
MediaWorks TV has confirmed it will be not be renewing its output deal with CBS and is instead shifting the funds into the creation of local content. And Sky’s free-to-air channel Prime has taken over the rights and signed up for its first ever output deal.
North & South’s My Space hit TVNZ Heartland’s screens last month. And now ACP and TVNZ have announced another broadcast/print media hybrid with a slightly longer name: Entertaining in Style with The Australian Women’s Weekly.
It really is quite amazing how much technology is being packed into our pockets at the moment. And Massey University and Assignment Group’s Wellington office have shown just how far things have come—and how ‘the engine of the new New Zealand’ is changing the lives of people here and around the world—by getting the University’s vice-chancellor Steve Maharey to film its new 30-second commercial on an iPhone, something the Commercial Approvals Bureau has confirmed is a New Zealand first.
Total online advertising spend in New Zealand for Q1 2012 totalled $79 million, up $11 million year-on year. But that figure is down almost $10 million on Q3 2011. And over on TV, total television advertising revenue for the March quarter rose four percent to $125 million, up $4 million on the first quarter of 2011.
Avid fans might remember the debut of Shortland St back in 1992. Aside from delectable ’90s fashion and haircuts, it featured a particularly naughty romantic rendezvous between Dr Chris Warner and a lycra-clad aerobics instructor played by Suzy Aitken, and also gave birth to that line now etched in the Kiwi psyche: “You’re not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata.” Early signs weren’t too promising, however, and ratings dropped after its launch. But that was two decades ago and as the show edges closer to its 20th anniversary, its popularity seems well assured, with the show consistently capturing over 600,000 viewers in the 5+ market, second only to One News. And with a big promotional push to celebrate the milestone, culminating in a special anniversary feature episode on Monday 21 May, TVNZ is hoping those ratings will soon be shooting upwards.
There’s been a bit of chatter in the media recently about whether MediaWorks will renew its licensing deal with CBS and whether the end is nigh for its flagship current affairs show 60 Minutes. That decision is still up in the air, but what is clear is that 60 Minutes host Mike McRoberts and new arrival Guyon Espiner are involved in a new international current affairs show called Three60 that’s screening on Sunday mornings and is being sponsored by Massey University.
Tomorrow sees the launch of the first “broad-appeal” free-to-air TV station in more than a decade in New Zealand. And Choice TV is taking a slightly different approach to its programming by featuring shows based around a different theme each night—and trying to align sponsors with them.
Following in the footsteps of Jason Paris, who shifted from TVNZ to take up the role of MediaWorks TV chief executive, TVNZ’s director of sales and marketing Paul Maher has switched sides after almost two years to become the new chief executive of television at MediaWorks. But that’s not all he’ll have on his plate, because as well as leading TV3, TV3+1, FOUR and C4, he will also assume the responsibilities of the outgoing director of sales for MediaWorks TV, Linda Farrelly.
In an effort to reward the ads that worked hardest—and the agencies responsible for them—we kicked off the Ad Impact Awards with Colmar Brunton early last year. Between February 2011 and February 2012, approximately 4000 Kiwi consumers were asked four key questions via an online panel about the new TV campaigns that had aired that month: did you notice it? Did you know who it was for? Did it engage you, stand out and arouse your interest? And how did you feel or act after seeing it? We focused on brand building ads, rather than those communicating special offers, and the results were then compared to Colmar Brunton’s vast normative database, which is based on the more than 72,000 ads that have been tested around the world over the past 30 years. The six ads below were at the top of the pile, and we will announce the overall winner next week. But we thought we’d try a bit of an experiment first to see if the opinions of the industry folk matched the opinions of the consumers. So help us out and pick the ad you think got the most bang for the advertiser’s buck.
TVNZ was left to lick a few wounds after its $15-ish million TiVo blow-out. And there’s also been plenty of movement among senior staff since then, with the broadcaster still operating without a chief executive or a head of news and current affairs. But despite those difficulties, it’s managed to turn things around, with a half year unaudited net profit after tax of $19.2 million, an increase of $14.3 million on the prior year.
After launching in January, giving away a new car to one person who signed up and doing a fair bit of promotion through MediaWorks’ channels, over 43,000 smartphone users have downloaded the Pluk app, which claims to offer an added level of interaction between brands and consumers and was developed by local company Foxtrot Media. And, after the first Pluk-enabled TV commercials went live this week, Foxtrot’s managing director Boyd Wason is fairly chuffed with the initial results—and so, he says, are the first clients Holden, InsureMe, Subway and Roadshow.
Outward Bound is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. So, to mark the occasion and show how the organisation has been unlocking Kiwi potential for 50 years, two 15 second TVCs—one aimed at those aged 18-26 years and another targeting those over 27—have set off on a journey of their own.
Nielsen has now implemented its new Unitam model, which takes into account both overnight viewing and time-shifted viewing and also features an expanded panel, so it marks a new step in the way TV ratings are gathered in New Zealand. Added to that, the two major broadcasters are both back into full swing and many of the big new and returning shows that were trumpeted at the vastly different new season launches last year are now on the box. So how is New Zealand watching? And how are the new season ratings stacking up?
Increasing uptake of portable devices, faster broadband speeds and the convenience factor while watching TV are all creating a perfect storm for advertisers. The challenge now is to embrace digital technology to create two-way conversations in what has previously been a one-way street.
In case you haven’t noticed, the nation has fully embraced the Rugby World Cup, as evidenced most clearly during opening night festivities, when, according to a special survey of all the individuals (15+) in Nielsen’s 500-home TAM panel, the opening game was watched by 81 percent of all New Zealanders, with 11 percent of those watching it at a pub or outdoor venue.
TVNZ and MediaWorks are always competitive, as the rather confrontational comparative promo TV3 ran after the Japanese earthquake showed very clearly. But this was taken to a new level on Sunday when TVNZ sent out a press release saying 60 Minutes had “lost almost half its audience since March and almost 300,000 viewers per week since February”. Embarrassingly, the figures TVNZ used were wrong and, understandably, MediaWorks is none too pleased.