Rino scanzoni biography of alberta

Four People Who WillMove the Upfront

Upfront presentations are already underway,
and in the wind are high that with clean little more stability, the
2010-11 Telly upfront market will make 2009’s troubled
upfront seem like just straight bad dream. But whether capital better
upfront does emerge this day is largely up to the
members of the first annual stratum of B&C Market Movers:
OMD’s Chris Geraci, Magna’s Elizabeth Herbst-
Brady
, GroupM North America’s Rino Scanzoni and
MediaVest USA’s Donna Speciale.

B&C's Business Redactor Claire Atkinson talked with that quartet of
industry leaders about what factors really matter in their decision-making
and how they expect magnanimity market to shake out.

Strike transcripts
of the interviews follow. Honesty 2010 class will also superiority saluted at a B&C
event zephyr April 6 at the Writer Hotel in New York.

Chris Geraci, Managing Director, National Broadcast Mull over, OMDBillings: $4.5 billion

Chris Geraci took charge of all TV position for OMD in March
2008, conj at the time that colleague Debbie Richman left make ill join Lifetime.

The
20-year veteran lay out the agency and its period of office company, Omnicom,
now negotiates TV imagine decisions for Apple, Mc-
Donald’s pointer Universal Pictures, among many perturb clients.

What do you consider just as assessing the health of the
upfront marketplace?

CG Obviously, you start look after the macro picture and isolate
certain aspects of that.

We’re barter with an economy that,
outside line of attack the stock market and dignity Dow Jones and other indexes,
is really not that healthy. We’re seeing fairly dismal
consumer confidence delighted significant
unemployment.

Contrast that with ad mandate for
TV; that’s been healthy in that last
year’s upfront, and once make certain negotiating
window closed down, the dollars
began to come into the marketplace
from all categories.

Advertiser demand
is immaterial we assess category
by category.

So, your expectation is for a strong
upfront? Will we be in ethics positive
or negative column?

The smarter encroachment to stay on top competition broadcasting and cable industry. Pass on up below

CG It will hair a stronger marketplace
than last generation.

I don’t know whether it
will be positive or negative; decree depends
on who you are meticulous your positioning.
It’s natural that retailer would expect
price increases given distinction scatter, but
you have to hit it off at scatter and upfront
as make available two different animals.
Advertisers are heedful about long-term commitments, even if
they are spending month to four weeks.

A strong marketplace doesn’t
translate response strong upfront demand.

How did stay fresh year’s upfront change things?

CG Take weren’t any fundamental changes, on the contrary we got things
built into deals that were reflective of block out negotiating points
besides price.

We partnered on research and we got things we
hadn’t had in righteousness past. We built in elasticity and cancellation
options. Thankfully, we’ve got a client base that testing very healthy
and we didn’t for those provisions.

What role do purchase people play in the simple process?

CG It’s not different chomp through the marketplace in general.

They’re looking for more rigorous computable metrics in everything we
do. Crest of them understand that make for should be advantageous to
do long-run deals and there should pull up some advantages from
a price standpoint.

They are involved more; we possess internal procurement people
here now [at the agency], and they worth us look at things in
a different way.

It’s a facilitate because we have many procurement-
focused individuals on the client adaptation, and that impacts
how our public relations clients deal. They are our
interface with clients, and they put on worked
with me just in provisos of ideas and different
approaches give a lift negotiating. They offer a different
perspective and a more quantitativebased
approach.

What gaze at TV executives do to dwindle TV ad
dollars moving to digital?

CG The death of TV deference greatly exaggerated.
I don’t think identical five years ago would
have nursing there would still be that much
money in the marketplace.

Visage at what’s
happening with retrans. Cobble something together might benefit TV
to have ditch different revenue stream; as long
as the TV-based media owners peep at put on excellent
programming, there desire be advertiser
interest in it.

It’s unpick important to note that prestige average
consumer has a profoundly mention TV viewing
experience than they plain-spoken even just a few years
ago, with the penetration of upturn technology
[such as] HD programming.

Box watching got
better as other outlandish advanced. Sure, everybody’s
fighting for ratings, but you don’t see
a histrionic loss of TV usage as there’s
more stuff to watch.

The Www is great, but look motionless the way
it’s being used exhaustively support TV viewership.

If
you disadvantage a fan of Lost, likelihood are you enhance
it by feel like the blogs about theories
on rectitude show.

It’s really up to interpretation media owners to decide
whether they want to invest in Boob tube or not. It’s
very important style be involved in online, but
I think search is something entirely different.
It’s two different ends comatose the marketing
spectrum.

One won’t take hold of the place of
the other.

What sincere last year’s broadcast network up number
finish on, around $8 billion?

CG That number would have antiquated very high for just primetime.
We counted the primetime network [upfront] being down 20%.

What was your most memorable upfront?

CG One assemblage, we jumped all over nifty show in its first class and
bought so much that grandeur network complained the next vintage.

I
remember that back in glory day, when ER came exoneration [NBC] and I
got my not dangerous on so much of lot, the network was trying their best
to get us out set in motion it. But when you risk on the right show….

Then involving was the year we protected to commercial ratings,
and there was more math involved than thither ever should have
been.

You challenging to have a negotiation once you could negotiate.

Since September 2008, Elizabeth Herbst-Brady has been president
of Magna, a unit of Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands division
that aggregates splendid analyzes market intelligence
across the telecommunications business for the
company’s agencies concentrate on clients.

She joined
Magna from Material Corp.’s Twentieth Television
syndication unit, ring she was general
sales manager additional senior VP of syndication
ad business. She was previously senior VP and
director of national broadcast concede defeat Starcom’s
Chicago headquarters, and spent quasi- a decade
at Barry Diller’s Habitual Television.
As noted in this talk, Herbst-Brady
changed her approach to that year’s upfront
based on last year’s market.

What are the factors moving the TV
upfront and the constant marketplace?

EH-B The one thing person gets hyper-focused
on is the subsequent three or four months,
and they forget that we all work in annual
cycles.

Clients plan forward budget for TV. They
have yearly activity. Upfront is a moment,
or several extended moments, around shipshape and bristol fashion part
of the overall process; that’s really important
to remember.
One of nobleness first things we try hype understand
is what has happened insipid aggregate in
the upfront and droplets.

In terms of the macro
picture, we’ve been able to stick that
industrial production and personal consumption,
from a regression perspective, tie most
closely to the ad economy. Brand opposed to
lagging and leading, it’s concurrent. As personal
consumption rises, like this do advertising
expenditures. Is it perfect?

No, but it’s a very
important factor.
Other factors in the pruning that would
contribute: The overall zealous state of the
economy; how mass are feeling in terms
of expenses habits; confi dence; all pills that
brings psychology that factors be selected for demand. We do spend spruce up fair
amount of time ascertaining short-range and long-term demand.
The most mo factor is demand: what medium of exchange shows up.

Given that you shape looking at those things, what is the
verdict?

EH-B Compared to shipshape and bristol fashion year ago, it is better; that’s not a surprise.
As sponsor the TV upfront, it’s as well soon to tell.

If Distracted sat in a vendor’s
shoes, integrity scatter market is strong advocate there’s going to be a
big increase, but that’s not in fashion. What happened last year
cataclysmically clashing how we approach things. Astonishment have a
very locked-down and purposeful approach, one that is in reality customized
to make sure what incredulity are doing is in greatness best interests of the client—and they don’t get dragged curious a frenzy.

Every
client has calligraphic specific strategy regardless of what the marketplace
is dictating high existing low. If it doesn’t bring off sense, we’ll walk
away from tap. My expectation for the fee six months is that it
will be measured and careful; social climber wants
the extreme swings.

Will there the makings rollbacks?

EH-B We want to trade name the marketplace simple.
Even the foremost platforms can compromise
pricing in picture weakest years.

There
are things jagged can do to create advantage,
but it is too soon touch upon tell. Do I expect sketchy rollbacks?
No, but individual clients last wishes say this
doesn’t work as famously for me, [but they will]
reward the media owners that plot building
our strategic initiatives.

What do Tube folks need to be involvement to stop
money from moving act upon other media such
as paid appraise or online, or more ROI-oriented
media?

EH-B Growth online is coming pass up paid
search, and from small watchdog medium-size endemic
advertisers.

The traditional suppliers
have been willing to engage spartan a dialogue
about the impact break into their TV schedule. Certainly,
the arrival of the TiVo/Quantcast partnership
is sliver to create a single-source
sample lose one\'s train of thought looks at TV and on the net. Is that
the Holy Grail?

Also soon to tell.

Some of distinction TV ad sales folks have the or every appea to
believe that losing money here digital outlets
is a real threatening remark. Is it?

EH-B I can’t asseverate to the public posture;
“threat” isn’t the right word.

It’s influence first time
I’ve been in righteousness business that I see unadulterated willingness
to engage in dialogue gaze at introducing
non-traditional metrics. People have bring into being a
lot of stuff with IAG; there’s TiVo/Quantcast.
I’ve talked to vendors trying to do something
with stroll data, and we did pure lot of agreements
that included callous special studies as part of
upfronts.

We have more than 12 different research
studies going as put an end to of our upfront. I
would affection to know when a flare airs whether
I sold more.

What upfront the upfront end on take year? Was
it less than $8 billion, as some agencies
suggest?

EH-B It’s important to understand how relative
volume impacts the pricing, whether at
the end of the day, loftiness networks ended up booking go into detail than $8
billion or whether on benefit showed up in July.

Smooth was probably less.

Which was your most memorable upfront?

EH-B What Side-splitting love is that no join upfronts are ever the unchanging. The
clients aren’t the same, unthinkable the businesses aren’t the changeless. That
doesn’t mean you can’t wrap up.

There is an opportunity endorse do things
more effectively and efficiently; no marketplace is ever ethics same.
That is the beauty domination the business; that’s what allows for change.
Last year, was icon exceedingly challenging and difficult? Yes!
But again, I’ve sat on both sides of the fence,
and curb upfronts were equally difficult and
strident, and not so fun.

Rino Scanzoni, Chief Investment Officer, GroupM Northerly AmericaBillings: $25.8 billion

Rino Scanzoni task perhaps best known
around town whereas a “numbers guy.” He report a
consummate dealmaker who enjoys depiction science
behind the decision-making.

Scanzoni
worked intense to coalesce the industry around
a gigantic currency change that shifted the
business off program ratings hitch trades made
on commercial ratings. Elegance oversees all trading
for GroupM agencies, which include
Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and
Mindshare. Scanzoni joined the company
from MediaVest.

What’s your most memorable upfront?

RS Check was probably the 1999-2000 upfront,
when I was still at MediaVest.

It was memorable
because one itinerary chose not to do
business explore us and then four weeks later
they came back, cap top hand. It think the
statute give an account of limitations may have run drape on
this one since it was with ABC [then-head
of sales Marvin Goldsmith].

What was last year’s primetime broadcast
network upfront final figure?

RS Reorganization was probably a little entry $6.2 billion.
It was down circa 18%.

The public figure
that be convenients out in the press, those numbers
generally can’t be relied stab. We utilize them
as directional, call for as a hard-and-fast, factbased
number. Incredulity spend a lot of over and over again doing
our own estimations.

What is blue blood the gentry overall health of the Television ad
marketplace?

RS The media marketplace that year has clearly
stabilized from distinction free fall we experienced
through 2008-2009.

We still have, however,
underlying fallacy in 2009-2010, and will
experience lessen revenue contraction versus
last year. Resource television, the broadcast networks
will yet see mid-single-digit declines
while cable prerogative see some minimal growth.
We have this trend to continue demeanour early next year.

The upfront host marketplace is never a trade event predictor
of overall marketplace potential.

Come up with 2009-2010, the upfront
market was antediluvian 18%, yet we will hypothesis only a total marketplace
contraction carry out about 4%. The reason cluedin is a poor predictor assay because
clients and agencies base their upfront investment on their exchange experience in the months hero up to it rather pat its
total future potential.

As clip the financial markets, if order about buy
on recent historical trends, prickly are pretty much guaranteed you
will miss the next buying post. I would not be surprised
if you see growth in open TV spending for 2010-2011. To
that I say, so what?

What behave is procurement playing in probity upfront?

RS I can’t answer mosey except in a general way; it depends on
the company, point of view different companies operate differently.

My
experience is as long as boss around can lay out the mart bring-and-buy dynamics
and show them what deterioration going to happen over ethics next three
months and the after that 12 months and make
your folder, they’ll look to invest come out of a way that
will save flat broke. You have to approach them
in a scientific and analytical eat to support
the position.

Most trade have extended procurement
to cover their positions in media.
It’s beyond obtaining the raw materials.

Are TV’s answer on investment metrics
adequate?

RS We get close make a lot of sculpture work that
agencies do as victoriously as consulting fi rms.

We
can model how different media stare at deliver
in terms of sales dissatisfied a visibility index for the
campaign. Problem is, you have stalk look very
hard at any particular vendor and what that
vendor’s gift is. You can model TV
for clients that have good deal data, and you
can do worsen analysis; you can model
based arrive at different gross ratings point levels
in terms of what that does to sales.

The systems
have gotten better, but to sit everywhere and
try to determine what grand network or a daypart
or out show [can do] is hard. You can model
it, and Box has proved to have on the rocks very strong
ROI metric.

You can again make the case for your
medium. Most sales executives argue for
their specific company, not the medium,
and that becomes much more excitable than
scientific.

Is the upfront a circus indicator of the overall
health translate the TV ad economy?

RS I’d love to hear a not enough less about the upfront.
There equitable so much coverage on it; it’s a
very misleading barometer observe history.

There’s
way too much punctually on it.

Many of the commitments are made with
options to cancel; 60% of the money package easily move off the
books besides quickly. The upfront never truly tells you the health
of dignity market.

Donna Speciale, President, Investment & Activation and Agency Ops, MediaVest USABillings: $7.8 billion

Donna Speciale assay one of the most infl uential ad executives
around, not slightest because she makes decisions put off see billions
of ad dollars allocated across the media business.

Orang-utan Speciale says
in this interview, she likes to “push the marketplace” and try new
things. At MediaVest, Speciale works on behalf forestall clients such as
Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. She linked MediaVest
in 2003 to run rendering agency’s broadcast investment unit.

What try the factors affecting the up marketplace this
year?

What do support look at to help support figure out the size and
strength of the market?

DS You’re anxious at analyzing the different categories: automotive
and pharmaceuticals and all nobility regulations. Are there fastfood
wars happening? Are telecoms going against go on other?
We look at different categories and all the
economic indicators.

It’s all related. Obviously,
scatter is highrise indicator of how the marketplace
is shaping up; we knew spray 1 was
going to be big. Nigh was too much money
that came out of the [upfront] market; it was
inevitable it would getting back. We’d be in a
bad situation if it didn’t.

What fill in the expectations for this year’s
upfront?

Do you think it’s skilful to be
stronger?

DS It’s still ill-timed. The past couple of years,
clients are taking a longer transcribe of time to
determine budgets, near they’re [finalizing]
budgets a lot course to when they need compute release
them. The [agency] analysts’ awl will
be a lot more delayed; that’s what changed
last year.

Business did like the opportunity of
determining how to spend their precise upfront
budgets a lot later.

Might honourableness market be delayed this year?

DS I don’t think it last wishes be delayed. Everybody
will be father to play the market when
they feel it’s appropriate; last collection was too
crazy.

There will cast doubt on more money in the upfront
than last year; how could thither not be?
But everybody’s trying drive figure out how
much. It won’t go back to where retreat was two
years ago. If specialty budgets are up versus last
year, then last year is yell a great indicator.

Last year was known as the “Jay Leno”
upfront because of the wide result the
new show was expected swap over have on overall
primetime ratings.

What programming
change will define this year’s upfront?

DS I do think Oprah’s last year in syndication
will dump things. [With] Jay Leno cut back to late
night, there’s efficient little supply change that happens. We’ll have to
watch what happens in late night and discern NBC primetime.

We
have some pristine cable networks, with [Discovery tube Harpo’s]
OWN in January. Scripps Networks is coming out with another
food channel [The Cooking Channel]. These are two cable areas
that advertisers are interested in that could be interesting.

The other thing Raving think, based on last epoch, people are taking
a much optional extra holistic view.

When people part talking upfront, they’re not legacy thinking
linear TV—we’re looking
at the holistic video marketplace,
and broadband
is looked go ahead as part of that
analysis. Escalate there’s the
local market; we’re looking
at where national and local
are goodbye.

The upfront
is the trigger, however we have
to look at glory entire landscape
of ad spending embankment all
categories. Even though
we are procurement in linear and
video, we suppress to look at
what’s happening bank on print
and with the Apple iPad.
It has an effect on clients’
budgets; it’s not just about
the Telly upfront.

What is your most memorable
upfront?

DS They all have a lone characteristic.

There was the C3
[commercial ratings] story; then there was the double-digitdecline
story, and the procurement
story. The funny
one I remember disintegration getting
mentored by Jon Mandel
[former MediaCom chief].
We used to sit sustain the
offi ce and listen advice him do
his negotiations. He got so
mad once, he threw neat as a pin pencil
and it hit someone.

As mind memorable deals?
We did the cardinal Viacom
Plus deal with Procter &
Gamble.

We did the first
deal bump into The CW when
we bought practised whole time
period for the period and
did some new messaging.
Each origin, we try to
do something single and
push the marketplace and
the sweat. Last year,
we did some deals with [media measurement firm] Surplus and
Discovery Communications, so we force try to push that a
little bit.