Comcast Spotlight Take Five

What if you could take the sight, sound and motion of your on-air advertising and combine it with the engagement and targeting capabilities of online advertising? Watch this brief video to see examples of how advertisers are using video online in conjunction with on-air advertising to engage the consumer and build reach for their message.

We hope you had a chance to attend our Take Five for Your Future webcast, Achieving Reach in a Fragmented Media World, which took place on May 18. If you didn’t, you can watch the complete webcast here.

A panel of media experts including Jonathan Lichter; Chief Strategy Officer for Kelly, Scott & Madison; Ken Nippes, Vice President and Media Director for Cramer-Krasselt; Charlie Holmes, VP of Satellite Sales for NCC Media; and Peter Heisinger, Regional Vice President for Comcast Spotlight, participated in a lively discussion on how fragmentation is changing the media landscape.

Our panel felt that increased fragmentation of audiences across multiple media platforms can pose a challenge for advertisers in their efforts to achieve effective reach goals, and is requiring more resources from agency media departments as they attempt to evaluate the growing range of media options. Ken Nippes and Jonathan Lichter agreed that the increased focus on media alternatives have increased the importance and stature of media departments within agencies.

Diminished reach is the largest single issue that comes up with clients,” said Lichter. “And the resources required to evaluate everything that comes through is in fact the key agency operational issue.” Nippes added, “We have the benefit of being the first to know about a lot of new things, so we’re a logical filter for what the rest of the agency needs to know about.”

That’s where I+, or “Interconnect Plus,” comes in, according to NCC’s Charlie Holmes. He introduced the new platform for spot advertising in local markets, and explained how it will simplify the process of reaching, and reporting on, fragmented television audiences by allowing advertisers to reach cable, telco and satellite subscribers with a single media buy. Holmes said affiliation partnerships between cable MSOs and, AT&T U-verse and DirectTV would be in place by the end of the year, building on an agreement with Verizon FiOS that rolled out last year. Peter Heisinger provided specific examples of how I+ can help advertisers increase reach in specific markets thanks to I+. Comcast Spotlight is launching I+ partnerships in 33 of its markets, including Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami and Detroit, among others.

We polled the audience during the webcast and the attendees agreed with Lichter and Nippes that fragmentation was affecting their ability to do their job. When asked what consequence of audience fragmentation had impacted them the most, 55% said they have difficulty combining campaign metrics from multiple sources, 24% felt that that time required to deal with more media sales organizations is their obstacle, while 21% said that fragmentation was making it difficult to achieve reach goals. The panel concluded that the I+ affiliate partnership offered by NCC and Comcast Spotlight would help alleviate all three concerns.

To download the slides from this or other educational videos and webcasts, please visit: http://www.comcastspotlight.com/takefive

The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of media outlets available to advertisers, as well as fragmentation of the audience they are trying to reach--making it even more difficult to achieve effective reach levels. And with that trend come more reps, more creative materials, more invoices and more metrics for already overworked buyers to deal with. Watch this brief video to learn how media experts are dealing with the new fragmented media world.

We hope you had a chance to attend our Take Five for Your Future webcast, “Advertiser Success Stories: Multi-Screen Campaigns that Produce Results” on June 3. If you missed it or would like to view it again, you can do so now.

A panel of Comcast Spotlight advertisers talked about how they successfully combined television and digital advertising to achieve their company’s goals. Webcast attendees got insight into the advertisers’ business needs and how custom multi-screen advertising solutions were crafted to reach their target audiences. Attendees also learned how each business experienced a measurable impact from multi-screen advertising.

The panel shared a wide array of solutions that were used to meet their specific goals. Geographic targeting honed in on audiences for many of the businesses, while some also used Comcast Spotlight’s I+ platform to reach satellite and telco subscribers in addition to those who subscribed to XFINITY from Comcast. The advertisers also shared that a strong online presence increased reach, awareness and recall. Online video was particularly beneficial: in-banner and pre-roll video enhanced advertisers’ television campaigns and offered a cost-effective way to re-purpose creative elements and reinforce the brands’ messages.

Attendees also gained insights into how a digital campaign can complement a television one through geographic targeting that matches the neighborhood-level precision of geo-targeted TV advertising.

To download the slides from this or other educational videos and webcasts, please visit: http://www.comcastspotlight.com/takefive

Watch this brief video and you'll hear how both large national advertisers and local retailers have used interactive applications such as "Request for Information" and "Telescoping." What challenges did they experience and what were the results?

Advancements are allowing traditional media platforms to carve out new and expanded roles in the marketing mix. Watch this brief video to hear from Manish Bhatia, formerly of Nielsen, share his take on these trends. You will also hear from Greg O'Brien, Regional VP for Comcast Spotlight, about recent trials of "Video Circulars on Demand," which transformed retail store newspaper inserts into VOD content this past holiday season.

Watch this brief video to learn about the increased demand for, and reliance upon, metrics across all media platforms. Hear insights from experts such as Tracey Scheppach, SVP, Innovations Director for SMGx, and Robert Ivins, former VP, Data Development, for Comcast Spotlight talk about using research and data to gain advertising metrics.

Although television has traditionally been thought of as a reach vehicle, new technologies are allowing advertisers to also engage and connect with consumers. Watch this brief video to hear from Sean Cunningham, President & CEO of the Cable Television Advertising Bureau, as well as Andrew Ward, Regional VP for Comcast Spotlight, who explain how advertisers are engaging with consumers by integrating telescoping to VOD, iGuide Banners and Remind Record into their campaigns.

More than ever, media pros are recognizing the effectiveness of reaching consumers using multiple touch points. Watch this brief video to hear from Tom Straszewski, VP, Interactive Sales for Comcast Spotlight, share his thoughts about the effectiveness of extending on air ad campaigns to online platforms such as Comcast.net, as well as how local retailers can accomplish on air/online integration easily and inexpensively using Spotlight´s partnership with Mixpo.

An examination of television as a two-way marketing tool and the impact it will have on advertisers. Watch this brief video to hear from Craig Woerz, whose agency, Media Storm, has planned and implemented more that 350 campaigns with interactive elements. You will also hear from Mike Miller, Regional VP for Comcast Spotlight, about successful trials of "Request for Information" (RFI) in the Chicago DMA.