Letters - 12-19 December 2006

TV VIEWERS ARE SWITCHING TO CHANNELS THAT TARGET THEIR SPECIFIC INTERESTS

James Wildman. Executive sales director, IDS

Media Week's news story on the IPA's Q3 Trends In Television report (page 5, 5 December), highlights a fall in TV viewing, but this does not tell the full story.

Firstly, you highlighted a drop in Q3 viewing compared to Q1 viewing. However, this reduction in TV viewing in the summer months is an established annual trend and if you compare Q3 2006 to Q3 2005, it is pretty flat compared to the drop of 15% you have reported.

Secondly, while you have quite rightly pointed out that the decline is driven by the terrestrials, the fantastic growth of multichannel has been glossed over. In fact, viewing to multichannel has increased year on year by an impressive 12.5%.

While the IPA report is one metric for measuring TV viewing, it misses many others such as the commercial supply of TV, which is surely of more interest to readers of Media Week.

The commercial supply of hard-to-reach demographics, such as 16-24 adults (the audience that many commentators to your magazine assume have left TV for online), has actually increased across this period.

The new medium of TV is providing more and more choice and viewers, having never had it so good, continue to watch in huge numbers. The fact that they are switching their viewing habits to affinity channels targeted to their specific interests should be applauded, as TV advertisers can increasingly connect with consumers more easily than ever before and at great value.

While I've pen in hand, IDS second-half revenue was misreported in last week's Media Week profile. While we are delighted to be the only TV sales house delivering revenue growth this year, it is our impacts that are up 17%, not our revenue.

INTEGRATING CROSS-MEDIA EXPERTS DELIVERS RESULTS

Mark Milner, Managing director, AN Digital Integrated Media

I read with interest your analysis Papers gear up for cross-media ad sales (page 18, 21 November). However, I was surprised to find that, according to the article, mid-market titles are "slower to respond to cross-media selling", a point I strongly disagree with.

At Associated Northcliffe Digital, cross-media proposals are widely presented across all our digital and newspaper brands by both agency and client-facing teams, and have been for several years, long before other newspaper groups who are only now responding to the demand.

It's a common-sense decision and one that has paid dividends for us, integrating cross-media experts into sales teams enables us to provide holistic solutions that deliver across digital and print.

No client wants a campaign that has an online presence simply bolted on to it. They want strategic guidance and platforms that deliver genuine value for advertisers.

Stating that we are "slower to respond" is misinformed and inaccurate. In fact, with other newspaper groups only just restructuring to suit this approach, it seems we have been leading the charge and, in doing so, creating a model that works.

FMCG BRANDS NEED TO UNDERSTAND ONLINE WORLD

Alex Marks, Head of trade marketing, UK Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions

Following your interesting article on the GroupM report's prediction (FMCGs to fuel £160m boost to online ad spend in 2007, page 4, 21 November), there's more to this than simply migrating spend from one medium to another.

Online is consumed in a different way to traditional media and the opportunities to engage with consumers are far more diverse.

It might be that FMCG brands need to think about investing more pro rata, not less.

Aside from display advertising, one of the real challenges they face is understanding what their brand actually means in the online world.

I can see some FMCG brands are well placed to embrace all that online has to offer and others that will struggle.

LEISURE CENTRES REPRESENT A VITAL ADVERTISING PLATFORM

David Walsh, Marketing director, In Situ

It was a shame not to be included in your Young People supplement (5-12 December).

In Situ has a network of 700 UK leisure centres under contract for the display of posters, banners, leaflets and postcards, the distribution of samples and giveaways, the organisation of competitions and roadshows, and the sponsorship of classes and events.

Our campaigns reach 300,000 children every day, a combined footfall of 8.4 million every month. In term time, there are 25,000 school swimming sessions every week, and there are hundreds of other dedicated sports and leisure activities all year round (leisure centres are open 16 hours a day every day, 362 days a year).

Our media formats impact this audience with very high share of voice (minimum 25%) and exclusively in category. Leisure centres are focal points in every community in the land for families and children. In effect, they are centres of excellence, the majority now with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment following massive private and public investment over the past 10 years.

Leisure centres are where all grass-roots sport happens and where future champions are born. No other country in the world can match the UK in this respect and, despite the continuous moaning on TV and in the press, the nation's sporting failures are in no way due to lack of facilities or opportunity.

As 2012 approaches and the drive to national health and fitness begins to take effect, we believe that this platform, which is both broadcast and experiential, will become increasingly important to advertisers.

We welcome your letters and e-mails by Wednesday to mwnewsdesk@haymarket.com or MediaWeek, Haymarket Business Publications, 174 Hammersmith Road, London, W6 7JP, or fax us 020 8267 8020.

This article was first published on Media Week