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Live TV still key in the Dutch viewing ecosystem By Jessica Viles

How important is it to rank #1 in the SERPs? By Nikhil Shah

The million pound C4 win By Frances Jerram

World Password Day By Luigi Raw

ARM Weekly

by All Response Media.

Real industry comment, and how it impacts your business.

5th

May 2016

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

TV

BGT reigns supreme over bank holiday weekend Unsurprisingly, Saturday saw ITV's Britain's Got Talent (8pm) kick off the bank holiday weekend TV in style and managed to secure the weekend's biggest audience. A massive 43% audience share tuned in to watch the usual array of singers, dancers and crossbow enthusiasts perform for the judges, who dutifully got through the usual array of pre-scripted emotions, resulting in an audience of 8.8 million.

BT 'most likely' to bid for a privatised Channel 4 as debate continues BT is the most likely UK company to bid for Channel 4, according to a new report that estimates a sale protecting the broadcaster’s model might only raise about £500 million for the government. The 74-page report, commissioned by C4’s board, argues that the impact of selling off C4 would be ‘overwhelmingly negative’ for the UK economy, the broadcasting industry and creative industries. It rejects the widely reported £1bn potential sale price attached to the broadcaster, arguing it is unachievable unless a buyer was given huge scope to commercialise the not-for-profit business. A report by academics at London Business School and Oxford University rejects this view, arguing C4 has a ‘comfortably sustainable’ business model as state-owned and commercially funded. According to the report, its most likely buyer is a US buyer or consortium, such as Discovery or Viacom.

UKTV's Dave strikes deal to air BDO World Trophy Dave has made its second move into live TV sports, striking a deal with Frank Warren to air the British Darts Organisation’s World Trophy event. UKTV, the owner of channels including Gold and Alibi, has been emboldened to extend its coverage of live sports after attracting a record-breaking audience of 3 million to watch David Haye’s comeback fight (free-to-air) on Dave in January. ‘This is an exciting time for the BDO and I’m thrilled that we’re able to bring Dave viewers the BDO World Trophy, free to air and live from Lakeside,’ said UKTV Director of Commissioning Richard Watsham.

Live TV Still Key in the Dutch viewing ecosystem

First of all, Fijne Koningsdag! Or Happy King’s Day, for last week. For those not familiar with King’s Day, it is a national holiday in the Netherlands to celebrate the King’s birthday. People don their orange apparel and take to the streets to sell their unwanted belongings. SPOT, the Dutch marketing centre for TV advertising, last year commissioned a study to be carried out by MWM2 on the role live TV now has in Dutch viewing. The survey was carried out in two waves; firstly the panel were asked to answer questions about their viewing everyday via their smartphone. The second phase was more in-depth and was based on interviews with the panel about the data they entered in the first week of the study. The study was divided into six key findings which are outlined below: Live TV is still integral to the Dutch daily routine

Watching live TV relaxes people and strengthens the feeling of being part of a group

Watching TV is seen as an activity in itself, regardless of what you are watching

There is not much difference in the live viewing habits of different age groups

Those under 30 years old are more likely to communicate about TV on social media

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

The consumer feels in control of their TV experience

Watching a TV set is still preferred; it looks better and is still a central point of the lounge

Digital TV and VOD (video-on-demand) give the viewer a feeling of control and convenience

Watching YouTube and videos on Facebook is not considered watching TV Everyone is using on-demand capabilities to enhance their experience

Even older groups are using VOD technology within their TV routine

People differentiate whether an experience should be live or catch up; programmes such as ‘Who is the Mole’ should be live, but series are better on catch-up

Live TV still gives a sense of belonging The attention given by consumers varies greatly on the content

Genres such as cooking or news are more likely to blend into the background; it is seen almost as an extra family member

Even when people are not paying as much attention, they are still receiving the message and are able to multi-task

Social Media creates solidarity and reinforces the desire for live TV

TV remains a central part of daily conversation and people show this through their social media interaction

TV advertising is accepted over online advertising

People accept that advertising is part of live TV and found actual adverts entertaining

Online ads were seen as a nuisance, people were in the frame of mind to watch something and find the advert overbearing or intrusive

All Response Media Viewpoint

Whilst the findings of the research seem to fit with other studies on the subject, it is worth noting that the panel for this research are classified as ‘innovators’ which is representative of 33% of the Dutch population. So although a wide range of age groups was covered, it is biased towards people that actively use digital and VOD platforms. Whilst the feelings may not be representative of the whole population, it does offer insight into how people might feel about live TV in the coming years. The study backs up what the numbers are saying, with over 90% of TV still being watched live, and although there is a convenience and control element to catch-up TV, the enjoyment that people get from live TV still exists and is the driving force behind its continued viewing. For advertising, live TV still dominates as the medium where people are most receptive, and is especially beneficial for response driven advertising. Firstly, people expect to multi-task whilst watching TV, and we have become adept at picking up on things even when the TV doesn’t have our full attention, going on a website or calling a number is therefore less of an issue than when we are engaged in catch-up content. Secondly, viewers expect adverts to be on live TV – they are more open to listening to the message than when served an ‘intrusive’ ad through an on-demand service. Undoubtedly, these attitudes will change, and as people become more used to seeing adverts on catch-up/on-demand services it will feel like less of an intrusion. Until then however, advertising on live TV is still extremely effective, and consumers haven’t abandoned the remote control just yet…regardless of what Google says.

By Jessica Viles, International Account Director

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

The million pound C4 win

After seeing London hit by a blizzard (OK, a very light dusting) in late April, it’s safe to say we’re all eagerly awaiting the beautiful British Summertime that seems to have arrived today as we dive into May. The quintessential British summer brings BBQs, strawberries and cream, seaside trips with an ice-cream or two and this year, after a four year wait…the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics will arrive! For the Paralympics, C4 have won the UK broadcasting rights for a second time, and as part of their Diversity Charter – which commits to putting diversity at the heart of everything they do – C4 have created an incredible competition for one very lucky advertiser. Advertisers have the chance to win £1 million worth of airtime across C4, Box and UKTV stations, as well as a launch spot in the 2016 Rio Paralympics Opening Ceremony on the 7th September. In 2012 the opening ceremony attracted over 7.8 million viewers and we’re anticipating high numbers this time as well. So what are the rules and how can you enter?

The campaign idea needs to be a 30-60 second advert

Summarise your idea on up to 2 pages of A4 and submit your entry by 5pm Wednesday 25th May…simple

The shortlist will be announced on the 27th May, followed by a pitch day on the 7th June, with the winner announced on the 9th June

All Response Media Viewpoint

Well, the first question is, what’s the catch? The honest answer to this is that there doesn’t appear to be one. There are some minor conditions to be aware of that can increase your chances of winning though:

You have to organise production and broadcast approval of the ad prior to launch

Campaign ideas should prominently feature disabled talent as well as normalising disability, challenge misconceptions or make a positive statement about disability

The judges want to see how the campaign idea can live beyond that spot through both TV and alternative media

So, why would this be good for you?

It’s £1 million of free advertising

It’s a great chance to test C4 across all day-parts and stations risk free

There’s an opportunity to develop a new creative

Improve on-screen representation

Challenge perceptions and support those who are disabled or disadvantaged

Those who typically run a DR creative can test brand – helping to increase overall brand awareness and perception

If we’ve piqued your interest and you want to know more – or if you already know this is the right move for you – then do contact your team who will help throughout. Now let’s go win you that £1 million!

By Frances Jerram, Account Manager

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

Digital

BT to spend £6bn on superfast broadband and 4G rollout BT, under pressure from rivals and Ofcom, is to invest £6 billion on improving its services, including extending superfast broadband and 4G coverage to more than 95% of the UK by 2020. The UK’s largest telecoms firm laid out its investment plans today as it reported a 15% rise in pre-tax profits to £3 billion for Q1, helped by stronger demand for its broadband and TV bundles. At least 10 million homes and businesses are to get ultrafast broadband through a combination of fibre and copper technology called ‘G.fast’, with an ambition to reach 12 million. The group is laying even faster fibre-optic broadband lines (called fibre to the premises or FTTP) to 2 million customers who want speeds of up to 1Gbps, mainly in new housing developments, high streets and business parks.

SoundCloud to introduce advertising and subscriptions in UK Music and audio streaming firm SoundCloud is to introduce advertising and launch a £9.99 subscription service in the UK and Ireland. SoundCloud, which with 175 million users claims to be the second biggest streaming service in the world behind YouTube, will launch a range of advertising to its service. This will include audio ads, promoted tracks, creator partnerships as well as a deal with Global Radio, the UK’s biggest commercial radio group, for its DAX audio exchange to sell ads across the SoundCloud service. SoundCloud, which introduced advertising to US users in 2014, will handle native advertising partnerships in-house.

Periscope mimics FB Live by letting you permanently #Save replays Periscope added its biggest missing feature today to help it compete with Facebook Live. You can now permanently save replays of your broadcasts by including #Save in their title. You still can delete them later if you want. Previously, broadcasts disappeared after 24 hours.

How important is it to rank #1 in the SERPs?

When carrying out SEO activity, every SEOer strives to get all their core keywords ranking at position #1 on the SERP (search engine results page). But how important is it? Position #1 is the Holy Grail in natural search, however in the past just being on page 1 for a core search term was good enough. But ranking at position #1 is now tougher than ever before with challenges ranging from competitor’s SEO activity and budgets, to paid ads, as well as position #1 not always being the ultimate goal (Google is always offering new opportunities). One of the main challenges are paid ads. A major change occurred in February, with Google introducing a 4th paid ad at the top of search results and removed all side ads. This meant natural search results were pushed further down meaning Google could control 80% of the results above the fold creating a major concern for natural CTR (click-through-rate) for the results below the fold. To the right is an example of a SERP and how the paid ads dominate the space.

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

Other challenges and opportunities include rich snippets and mobile search that push position #1 results further down and below the fold. With ads taking most of SERP real-estate above the fold (all when looking in mobile search), the importance of ranking #1 is as high as ever, especially when looking at the business point of view: The higher your website ranks -> increase chance of click through -> increase traffic -> increase conversions -> increase revenue. But as mentioned earlier, position #1 might not be the ultimate goal, with Google offering other opportunities to rank above natural search results, such as rich snippets. To the right is an example of a rich snippet result: Age UK’s result above the first natural search result. All Response Media Viewpoint

Despite the challenges, the opportunity for SEO to drive business performance is as high as ever, but to drive (long-term) performance, a full SEO strategy is required. There are over 200 ranking factors that contribute to where a website/page ranks. The points below are a summary of activities/tactics that can help your website rank position #1 or as high possible giving them the best chance of high CTRs:

Quality and relevant inbound links o Link acquisition activity to acquire those inbound links that will positively impact SEO

performance o What to link to? – Great on-site content such as interactive content

Content, content, content. o On-page content to drive relevancy o Content promotion (paid platforms as well on social)

Focus on other relevant keywords o If core keywords are too competitive, focus on a range of other relevant keywords

that are less competitive and with search volumes that match or exceed the original core keywords

Technical and UX o Technically optimised website lays the foundation for all SEO activity o UX is being an increasingly important ranking factor for Google

However, is this enough? To truly dominate the search results, SEO should be part of a full SEM (search engine marketing) strategy. An SEM approach is more important than ever as it can allow websites two bites of the cherry. For example, if a keyword used for paid ads doesn’t convert, that keyword could rank position #1 in the natural search results thus increasing the chances of it being clicked there.

By Nikhil Shah, SEO Account Manager

ARM Weekly – Weekly Media News 5th

May 2016

World Password Day

Today is World Password Day (yes, it really exists) and it is all about creating awareness for online password security. Each person has various ways of managing passwords but it is scary how many use passwords that are easy to guess. Here are some stats for you:

In the past year, 2 in 5 people were subjected to account hacking/hijacking through poor password management

Around 21% of people have been using the same password(s) for many years

The most common passwords are ‘123456’, ‘password’ and ‘qwerty’

Over 30% of people use a birthday as their password

Around 73% of users use the same password across multiple accounts

2 in 5 people have passwords written down

8 out of 10 people are concerned about password security

68% believe a company should provide the security

86% of users who use 2FA (ie extra security codes etc.) believe it to be a secure layer. It is! Let’s be honest, using password strings like ‘bNps7nqSz75v’, although secure, is not always easy as there is no way to remember that. The good news is that there are ways to remember your passwords by the use of password managers. Browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox have them built in but if you would like an even more secure setup there are other options:

Internet Security Packaged – Some companies such as McAfee, Comodo, etc. provide applications for managing password security

Independent Software – LastPass, 1Password, etc. provide cross-device applications for managing passwords as well as running security checks, updates, and so on.

Open Source Software – If you want to be ultra-secure, you can use applications such as KeePass to keep all your passwords offline (can be risky if you are relatively inexperienced)

It seems like there is a designated ‘day’ for everything nowadays, but at the least this one is a timely reminder to keep your accounts secure!

By Luigi Raw, Tech Ops Analyst

Press

New Day sets tomorrow as final day as doomed paper finally ceases Trinity Mirror is set to close its new national daily The New Day after just nine weeks, as the publisher reports an -11% decline in print revenue for the first four months of the year. Citing a ‘below expectation’ circulation – which reports estimated decreased 25% within its first 10 days – The New Day will go to print for the last time tomorrow. ‘Although The New Day has received many supportive reviews and built a strong following on Facebook, the circulation for the title is below our expectations,’ Trinity said in its latest company statement, published today. Rather defiantly adding: ‘Whilst disappointing, the launch and subsequent closure have provided new insights into enhancing our newspapers and a number of these opportunities will be considered over time.’