marketing

With ratings ebbing and business models crumbling, last year’s edition registered the largest audience of any TV event in history, with 115.1 million viewers (albeit with the caveat of revised Nielsen methodology). This year’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Taylor Swift-enhanced Kansas City Chiefs could bring somehow make the big game even bigger.

She will lead an integrated team responsible for enhancing the media properties’ brands and expanding their influence across Northern California.

Berlin, Germany-based research company Eye Square said it launched Memex Jr., a generative artificial intelligence tool designed to explain complex marketing topics and provide insights that can improve advertising performance.

It’s been a long-held suspicion by many people: that smartphones and smart speakers are listening in on their private conversations for various reasons. Now one company — Atlanta-based Cox Media Group — has revealed that yes, your devices are listening to you.

Local TV news marketers may have one of the toughest jobs in television — getting viewers to watch their traditional linear newscasts on their TV channel. What can work and what can be done to stop the drain?

Fox has appointed Diana Ruiz its new executive vice president of experiences and design. Ruiz will report to Fox Entertainment and Fox Sports chief financial officer, Jeff Acosta, and have responsibility for the development and execution of marketing, publicity, sales, hospitality and corporate events and experiences.

Rick Lewchuk, former SVP of creative marketing and brand standards for CNN Worldwide, has started his own marketing company, Film At 11. Lewchuk thinks his experience can help local TV news broadcasters.

Pay TV penetration fell to just 61 percent of U.S. households in the third quarter, its lowest level since 1993, which was just before the dawn of satellite TV competition for cable, according to celebrity equity analyst Craig Moffett’s latest quarterly cord-cutting report.

The former vice president of marketing at NBCUniversal Local, is tapped to be vice president of marketing and creative services at the New York flagship.

The network has promoted Margaret Walker to SVP, NBC brand strategy and audience growth. She will add oversight of brand strategy and consumer engagement for NBC’s entertainment shows in addition to her current role of overseeing digital audience acquisition and growth across the company’s network and cable networks including NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY, Universal Kids and USA Network.

Ukonwa Ojo, who arrived at Amazon Studios and Prime Video close to two years ago as their chief marketing officer, is leaving. In a memo to staff about Ojo’s departure, Mike Hopkins, SVP Prime Video & Amazon Studios, wrote that he’s “reaching out to senior marketing team members in the coming days on how we best move forward.”

Marketing budgets climbed to 9.5% of total company revenue in 2022 — up from 6.4% in 2021, but down from 11% in 2020 and 10.5% in 2019, according to Gartner. The Gartner 2022 CMO Spend and Strategy Survey — released Monday at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo — found 70% of respondents reported budgets increasing this year.

In its fine print, the ad, produced by agency Essence and debuting May 16, says it bases the claim on a 2022 study by SmithGeiger “comparing comparable services over 24 months, including hidden fees, promotion pricing, DVR box rental and service fee, and second cable box for the home, if applicable.”

Netflix is reorganizing its marketing department, promoting some key executives, while eliminating several positions. As part of the move, 25 people from Netflix’s global marketing team of more than 500 employees will be laid off.

As marketers are looking to navigate a world without cookies and device IDs, NBCUniversal is creating a first-party roadmap for them. The company is rolling out NBCUnified, its new first-party consumer data and identity platform for marketers. The platform, due to debut in the second quarter, incorporates NBCUniversal’s network of consumer touchpoints across its entire portfolio into a scaled data offering for marketers within its One Platform ad offering.

TV viewing by Comcast subscribers drops to 6 hours, 2 minutes per day.

As more TV viewers become digital streamers, there are questions about whether outlandish marketing stunts still have a place in the TV firmament.

Called NBC Sports Next, it unifies the SportsEngine, GolfNow and NBC Sports Enterprise platforms.

Amid concerns of COVID-19 issues in Japan, NBC continues to ramp up national TV marketing efforts for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, placing TV promos and TV advertising with a total value of $51 million since last November. The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were rescheduled until this summer due to the pandemic. TV promos on NBCU networks had a total media value of $49.9 million — mostly on its sports-related TV channels and programming, according to iSpot.tv.

WIVB, Nexstar’s CBS affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y., recently premiered a marketing website that showcases its commercial production abilities. It includes examples in a variety of categories including retail, restaurants, medical, car dealers and home improvement, to name just a few.

NBCUniversal on Monday showed off how its technology can help marketers that want to sell products to the people watching its content. At its One21 event — NBCU unveiled relationships with a variety of industry players including Facebook, FreeWheel and the Trade Desk — and additional ways to take advantage of NBCU’s data, automation and commerce capabilities.

Capitol B Creative Studios will offer clients business intelligence and strategy-fueled creative and branding.

Meredith’s decision to create two marketing hubs to handle the day-to-day marketing of all its TV stations across the country is underway. “It’s a juggling act,” concedes Danielle Ray, who leads the Phoenix group.

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a marketing and promotions producer for Cox and a digital content producer for Hearst.

A TVNewsCheck webinar featuring executives from Tegna, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations and Fox Television Stations will evaluate how well local TV is marketing its own brand in a media environment ever more crowded with options. Register here.

Pearl TV and its Phoenix Model Market Partners are rolling out a multimillion dollar, multimarket consumer awareness campaign with local broadcasters who are now transmitting in NextGen TV.

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a multimedia marketing producer at KING in Seattle.

Ford Motor Co.’s new president and CEO Jim Farley hit the ground running Thursday, announcing a laundry list of goals and organizational shifts.

Meredith Broadcasting announced a new initiative called the Meredith Creative Group that will take over the marketing and creative services of its 17 TV stations across the country.

A holiday advent calendar is the latest in a string of licensing deals for the ’90s hit sitcom that could see it build a long-lasting merchandising legacy.