www.spotsndots.com Subscriptions: $350 per year. This publication cannot be distributed beyond the office of the actual subscriber. Need us? 888-884-2630 or [email protected] The Daily News of TV Sales Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Copyright 2020. NBC MOVING AWAY FROM DEMOGRAPHIC GUARANTEES NETWORK EYES CROSS-PLATFORM GUARANTEE ADVERTISER NEWS NBCUniversal is hoping 2020 will be the year the TV ad Walmart is launching a new service that allows third- marketplace rethinks its reliance on broad age and sex party vendors to hire the retailer to store, pack and ship demographics to sell ads, Ad Age reports. items for customers, a move that could better position To this end, NBCU is approaching the upfront marketplace the big-box retailer to compete against Amazon, CNBC with four ways for brands to do business with its portfolio that reports. Through Walmart Fulfillment Services, third-party work toward stepping back from legacy metrics. vendors that sell clothing or other items in Walmart.com’s As more viewers consume content on a multitude of screens marketplace can pay to have the retailer handle the logistics and through various platforms, it has been a challenge for TV of getting items to a customer’s door. They currently have networks to monetize all of those eyeballs. to use a third-party to handle fulfillment or Traditional media companies have also do it themselves. The company launched a spent the last several years attempting to pilot of the service a few months ago with a compete with the Googles and Facebooks mix of brands across categories, including of the world by introducing ad products that footwear, apparel and electronics... Macy’s allow marketers to use data to target very specific consumers. same-store sales fell 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, but But advertisers have been slow to completely move away the department store operator posted earnings of $2.12 per from historical metrics. share versus the $1.96 expected by Wall Street as it was Much of the TV industry agrees that the use of demographics aided by a “meaningful sales uptick” in the 10 days heading is antiquated in an era where brands have a vast amount of into Christmas, CNBC reports... Home Depot posted a 5.2 data at their disposal that allows them to target audiences percent increase in same-store sales, well ahead of the 4.7 at a much more granular level. It becomes even more percent consensus among analysts, The Street reports. frustrating when you take into account that a large chunk of The home improvement chain’s earnings per share were 18 the audience watching live linear TV is over the age of 50 cents above Wall Street’s expectations, coming in at $2.28... and thus not counted in traditional 18-49 demo guarantees. General Mills’ 301 venture capital fund has joined with DFE So, during this year’s ad haggle, NBCU will look to take Capital Management in leading a $9 million Series A funding initial steps away from those metrics. round for Pet Plate, a startup that delivers freshly-cooked For marketers that still want to maintain demo guarantees, meals for dogs to their humans’ homes, according to the NBCU will look to strike deals that allow them to deliver these Minneapolis Star Tribune... McDonald’s is auctioning off demos from anywhere across the company’s portfolio. This an 18-karat gold cup with diamond and jewels worth $90,000 would allow NBCU to push demand across platforms and on eBay, USA Today reports. Proceeds from the sale of the make up for any shortfall of linear TV. Golden Shamrock Shake cup will go to support the work “We know some advertisers still want to retain Nielsen of Ronald McDonald House Charities. The auction ends age and gender metrics. We are OK with that but allow us March 6... Amazon has opened Amazon Go Grocery, its to tap into the entirety of our assets,” says Tom Winiarski, first full-size checkout-free grocery store, in Seattle’s Capitol executive VP, planning and monetization, NBCU. Hill neighborhood, The Seattle Times reports. The new store NBCU is also looking to guarantee on adults 18-plus instead will have a much larger footprint and stock about five times of on the traditional 18-49 demographic. This would help more products than the Amazon Go convenience stores and, NBCU account for, and monetize, older audiences, while while shoppers won’t have to stop to check out, the store advertisers would still have full input on where and when the will be staffed with employees to keep shelves stocked and ads are running. “It would just make it easier to deliver broad providing customer service... Apple has reopened 29 of its reach,” Winiarski says. 42 stores in China that were shuttered amid the coronavirus For those who are doing big sponsorships of live events outbreak, though most are operating on shorter hours. or integrations into a program, these deals would still be Bloomberg reports the company expects revenue for the guaranteed on demos. current quarter to fall short of forecasts and cited the store Advertisers would also be able to continue to target more closures as a major reason... Victoria’s Secret’s share of specific consumers through NBCU’s AdSmart product. the lingerie market has dipped significantly in recent years In January, NBCU announced its One Platform, which will and a host of established retailers and emerging brands allow marketers to find audiences and optimize campaigns are vying for customers who are increasingly focused on across both linear TV and digital. This is something they comfort, Modern Retail reports. According to Coresight had to do individually in the past. While an actual platform Research, Victoria’s Secret’s market share was 24 percent won’t be available during this year’s ad haggle, advertisers in 2018, down from 31.7 percent five years prior. Aerie has will now be able to apply advanced targeting across NBCU’s won fans and grown sales with a body-positive message, entire portfolio to get unduplicated reach, Winiarski says. and retailers including Kohl’s, Walmart and Target have revamped their lingerie departments to change with the (Continued on Page 3) times. NETWORK NEWS AVAILS Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together) and Malin WYFF 4, the Hearst Television NBC affiliate in beautiful Akerman (Billions) are set to star in the CBS comedy pilot Greenville, S.C., seeks a superstar Account Executive. The Three of Us. Written by Frank Pines, The Three of Us We are looking for an experienced sales follows adult siblings — two of them played by Hudson and professional who can excel with some of the top Akerman — who are children of divorce and must circle accounts on the station while achieving goals the wagons when their sister’s husband unexpectedly across all platforms. Do you have a commitment announces he wants to call it quits on their marriage... to excellence, the ability to own transactional Riverdale is saying goodbye to not one, but two parental business, a track record of New Business figures. Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols will no longer success, and like to have fun? Then come work at one of the appear on The CW teen drama after the fourth season. best television stations and best cities in the country. Google There is no word yet on how and when “Greenville, SC Top 10” and see why they will be written off the show. The everyone wants to live here! Click HERE pair have appeared on Riverdale since Bernie Sanders won big in to apply. EOE. Season 1. Ulrich plays Jughead Jones’ Nevada on Saturday and (Cole Sprouse) father F. P. Jones, is now considered to be See your ad here tomorrow! CLICK while Nichols played Hermione Lodge, the front-runner. That’s HERE for details. the mother of Veronica Lodge (Camila right: There’s a 78-year- Mendes)… Amanda Warren (Three old man running in front. THIS AND THAT Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) A new Netflix feature lists the service’s is set as a series regular opposite Jimmy Kimmel 10 most popular titles for a user’s country Patrick Dempsey in the CBS political on any given day, as well as providing drama pilot Ways & Means (fka The specific top-10 lists for movies and Whip). Written by Republican political consultant Mike shows. That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, which Murphy and Ed Redlich, Ways & Means centers on a says the company remains unwilling to provide specific powerful congressional leader (Dempsey) who has lost viewership numbers... Robert Iger has stepped aside as faith in politics. He finds himself working secretly with an CEO of Disney, though he will retain significant power over idealistic young congresswoman from the opposing party the company that he expanded into Hollywood’s biggest and to subvert the hopelessly gridlocked system he helped most powerful entertainment conglomerate over a more than create. Together, they’ll attempt to save American politics 14-year tenure. Disney yesterday named the company’s — if they don’t get caught... Liza Lapira (9JKL, Cooper head of parks and resorts, Bob Chapek, CEO effective Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life) is set as a lead in the immediately. But The Wall Street Journal reports Iger will CBS drama pilot The Equalizer, a re-imagining of the stay on as executive chairman, overseeing the company’s classic 1980s series, with Queen Latifah starring and creative endeavors through the end of next year, when his executive producing. Written by Andrew Marlowe and contract expires. Terri Miller, who will serve as showrunners, The Equalizer stars Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, an enigmatic figure PACE OF HOME PRICE GROWTH PICKED UP IN DEC.