Media Buying Briefing: Buyers may have more to spend, but they’re looking for flexibility in video investments

By Michael Bürgi

Spring is in the air. Trees and flowers are blooming, the weather’s getting warmer, dolphins are swimming in the East River — and agency chief investment officers are nailing down their clients’ budgets to take into the video buying season.

More than ever, media buyers in 2021 are playing both in the NewFronts (the digital marketplace for streamed content) and the TV upfronts (showcasing mostly linear, but now more digital and streaming, content from the traditional network owners) at the same time, and it could mean billions more being spent on content across linear, connected TV, streaming and digital video, given a more robust economy.

For the most part, chief investment officers at the major media agencies are looking to spend from one major pool of dollars across both markets. “This year, it’s more important than ever to employ a holistic video strategy when entering the marketplace,” said Amy Ginsberg, chief investment officer at Havas Media North America. “Shifts in consumer behavior will result in parity in time spent between digital and linear. You will miss out by focusing on only one or the other.”

But there are definitely haves and have-nots. And the have-nots are pretty much where you’d expect to find them: linear TV. Buyers are frustrated with the massive under-delivery of network programming that has resulted in a similarly huge makegoods market—which has, in turn, tightened up inventory so much that networks are trying to secure higher-than-they-should-be-asking-for cost-per-thousand viewer (CPM) increases. At least that’s how the buyers see it.

The networks “are telling us it’s a supply-challenged market and that pricing will follow that. The question is, ‘well what’s the issue with the estimates?’” said Geoff Calabrese, chief investment officer for OMG North America. “That’s the battle you need to have — get to the appropriate estimates because that’s what’s causing a supply-challenged market is that under-delivery. Right now the issue is they don’t have the capacity to make good because the under-delivery is so [severe] that something else has to be done.”

What can linear TV do differently to win more dollars from media buyers? Calabrese pointed to “More accurate estimates in regards to linear ratings; content delivery that’s fluid going across platforms, for the same content and audience (where it’s possible); and more flexibility in cancellation terms.”

Because so many of the traditional TV players now have a relatively secure footing in the streaming space, buyers told Digiday that they want more than anything to have their clients’ dollars follow the content they’re purchasing regardless of the platform. In other words, ad dollars should flow to where the client’s viewer goes. The marketplace still isn’t quite built that way, but it’s getting there. “Keeping dollars fluid between linear, digital and streaming video will help us follow the migration in viewing behavior and allow us to better manage the supply erosion in linear,” said Ginsberg.

Of course, not every media agency approaches the NewFronts and upfront marketplaces as one. Barry Lowenthal, CEO at MDC Partners’ Media Kitchen, argues that approach may serve …read more

Source:: Digiday