 |
 |
||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Car Marketers and Networks At Odds Over Heavy Traffic.Navigation: Main page Author: Edwards, Jim jedwards@brandweek.com Section: News
The Tracker AMERICANS love cars. This, after all, is the country that since 2001 has had more registered cars sitting in driveways than registered drivers living in the houses next to them. Each evening, many of those drivers endure hour-plus commutes (often conducted at walking speed), and park in their double garages, located in distant exurbs constructed without sidewalks. They will eat a dinner picked up at the drive-thru window, and then relax by switching on the TV, where most nights they can enjoy a good car chase. And, if they prefer cars to humans, maybe they will watch something where the car is the star, like Nascar or reruns of Night Rider, Viper or The Dukes of Hazzard. So it's hard to imagine that America could become even more of a car culture than it already is. But according to Nielsen Product Placement, we are seeing even more vehicles in what appears to be a concerted effort by auto marketers to write their products into the scripts of TV programs. In the first six months of 2005, the number of car brands seen or mentioned during prime-time TV shows rocketed 49%. In 2004, the Top 20 most-seen auto brands appeared 3,198 times between Jan. 1 and June 21. In the same period this year, that number was 4,759. The total duration of those appearances increased by a similar proportion, from 13.2 hours to 19.6 hours. If that trend continues, the second half of 2005 could see the equivalent of a full day of pure product placement viewing. If that kind of exposure were bought at $200,000 per 30 seconds of commercial time, then its value would be $784 million. But Is It Ads?HOWEVER, THERE'S A debate over whether placement time is equivalent to commercial time. Bob Hadler of Hadler PR in Glendale, Calif., which places Chrysler brands, is something of a booster for the field. "Granted you're not getting the voiceover, but even better you're getting the implied endorsement from the hero of the show." He points to Walker, Texas Ranger, in which Chuck Norris drove a Hadler-placed Dodge Ram pickup for seven years. "In the Midwest he is virtually a god," Hadler said. On the other side are those who say the value of what they do is more atmospheric than promotional. Asked whether his placement of the Hummer on CSI: Miami--one of the most dominant placements this year--actually sells vehicles, Norm Marshall of Norm Marshall & Associates in Sun Valley, Calif. replied, "I don't think so … you don't get that call to action. Not once has David Caruso jumped down from his Hummer and said, 'Get down to your local Hummer dealer!'" ABC Draws a LineTHE CONTEXT HERE IS that there is actually a fight going on in Hollywood between car marketers, producers and the TV networks. Most car placements occur on the cheap--the marketer provides free product (occasionally destroyed in a fiery clifftop crash) and pays its agency a fee. Thus, the producers cut their production costs, and--in theory--the networks get cheaper shows. But some networks are rankling at all that unpaid placement time. ABC, for instance, has taken the hardest line on placement deals occurring between producers and marketers without its input, agencies say. An ABC representative confirmed that its sales department must see all deals before they air ("The Tracker," June 27). "The general rule of thumb is all deals have to go through ABC sales and there is a requirement that you get media time on the network," the exec said at the time. That does not sit well with marketers' agencies. One exec said flatly last week, "If the logos don't show up, we're pulling the vehicles out. That's $2 million in rentals they'll have to pay for next year." "ABC has definitely been the most rigorous," agreed Gary Mezzatesta, president of UPP Entertainment in Burbank, Calif., which handles Lexus. "Last year was the first time the battle really began to play out," he said. Lexus believes it has an advantage because certain characters and scripts call for its upscale brand--there are times when an Escort won't cut it. "If [Lexus parent Toyota] is making a huge buy across the network [then] if a specific character in a specific show wants a Lexus, usually the director wins," Mezzatesta said. Until the marketers and the networks figure out their differences over unpaid placement deals, some manufacturers are going full steam ahead. While most brands increased their prop reveals over last year, one in particular has put the pedal to the metal: Toyota. The import saw an 810% increase, from 121 views in 2004 to 1,102 this year. Unfortunately, Toyota's Mark Simmons, national manager for advertising strategy and media, was on vacation and could not be reached at press time to explain his sudden enthusiasm for all things television. TOP 10 AUTO BRANDS ON PRIME TIME, JAN. 1-JUNE 21, 2005
Legend for Chart:
A - BRAND
B - OCCURRENCES
C - DURATION(*)
A B C
Ford 1,229 21,354
General Motors 1,172 19,734
Toyota 1,102 9,622
DaimlerChysler 612 11,385
BMW 139 1,771
Volkswagen 118 1,270
Honda 92 1,075
Nissan 84 1,690
Porsche 48 576
Hyundai 46 959
TOP 10 PRIME TIME SHOWS FOR AUTOS, JAN. 1-JUNE 21, 2005
Legend for Chart:
A - SHOW
B - NETWORK
C - OCCURRENCES
A B C
The Contender NBC 843
Amazing Race CBS 279
CSI: Miami CBS 171
Extreme Makeover Home Edition ABC 152
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 143
Veronica Mars UPN 129
24 FOX 128
The Apprentice NBC 119
Joey NBC 112
Without a Trace CBS 109
(*) Duration in seconds
Source: Nielsen Product Placement
~~~~~~~~ By Jim Edwards in the Fair Use guidelines of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act. info [at] singlearticles.com Powered by CommonSense |
Cowon's New MatchBox Car-Size MP3 Player. Professional Golfers' Association Leading Money Winners, by Year. Renovations Could Get Hammered. |
||||||
 |
 |
||||||