Media Planners, Media Reps, and New Media Outlets

Clients are confused? Not Proctor, Coca-Cola or AT&T. I am confused, and confusion is good for me and helps to get the creative juices and out of the box thinking flowing strong. Critical thinking about the best media channel or outlet for a client, mixing it up, sell your media and present another to your client can equal customer service these days. I am speaking of media reps that are working with national or regional clients on larger buys that have clients whom are interested in the market and whats new-well the media reps are some of the best resources to these clients (or agencies) and when done with savvy and in a professional manner in which the client will appriciate the insight or broker of a deal; a rep can strengthen the relationship and become to source or go to for that client and thier network. This can be tricky and has to be done with awarness and full understanding of the clients needs and resources. So the article below was a "nice" read about media professional on the buying and planning side and for the most parts at agencies. Media is truly a hot topic, even if you are a spot or broadcast buyer. I sometimes wonder about the "handcuffs" or stuggles some of the younger planners may have with corporate policy and having thier ideas approved-this is some of the reason emerging or new channels of media are not catching on as fast as expected......like any other industry there is always the corporate culture and much appreciated, based on years of research and strong relationships. There are also the agencies and direct clients that are full force and have entire departments checking into this Gen X and Y media.

They Have Lasting Relationships
Remember when media planners and buyers were the low-paid, under-appreciated members of the agency team? Well, that was then. Now media is the place to be. With the splintering of advertising media, clients are confused about how to reach their customers in cost-effective ways. Hell, they're confused about how to reach them, period.
Marc Brownstein So enter the media folks. They're placing advertising everywhere -- on all three screens and in places that were never considered advertising vehicles. And they are leading the way with guerilla marketing. I'm jealous that they have the client's trust to handle all of the non-traditional parts of the buy as well.

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Idol Fundraiser Drops in Ratings

As if this is a surprise.

'Idol' fundraiser hits a new season low Averages 9.6 in 18-49s, off 6 percent from last weekBy Toni FitzgeraldApril 25, 2007
“American Idol’s” first-ever “Idol Gives Back” fundraiser is a noble idea and may well raise millions for charity. But it apparently did not hold as much interest as the usual singing competition for “Idol” fans.
The reality singing show fell to its lowest Tuesday rating of the season last night, a 9.6 Nielsen overnight among adults 18-49, as the contestants and a huge array of celebrity guests appealed to viewers to pledge money for numerous American and African charities.
Of course, a season low for “Idol” is still way ahead of every other show on television, and even though it was off 6 percent from last week’s then-season-low 10.2, “Idol” still crushed the competition on a very slow night.

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Kraft Shifts From JWT......and more..

JWT and Kraft. Kraft very well may have invented the grilled cheese sandwich, I am sure they did from the archives I have researched. I had a discussion recently with a retired agency executive, followed by an hour talk about his career and work for JWT. I learned a lot about the history of Kraft advertising and media use, no secrets though-maybe next time.

Being Shifted From JWT
Kraft Foods is again demonstrating its unhappiness with its largest agency partner, JWT, by shifting the creative duties for six brands to other agencies. Kraft spent more than $160 million to advertise the brands in major media last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a division of Taylor Nelson Sofres that tracks ad spending.
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