Enth Degree’s 2022 Predictions

1. Sitting room only – “Tent pole” program audiences continue to decline as FTA television viewers eschew linear television FTA television and associated stakeholders, including the trade media, focus press releases on 000’s of viewers achieved by key properties. What these figures disguise is how few of us are really watching. For example, the Celebrity MasterChef final attracted just 700,000 metropolitan viewers. Sounds big? This figure represents just 3.9% of television viewers. Even amongst a more focused target of 25-39 year viewers, the TARP achievement figure is just 3.2% (135,000). The Big Brother VIP final attracted an average of 298,000 viewers, or 1.8% of total viewers. For 18-39…

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Reaching Out?

While the term “reaching out” has infected our vernacular, “reach”, the keystone of communications, appears to be taking a back seat to less meaningful measures, namely “impacts”, “impressions” or “views”. This a key observation from the bulk of new business media pitches we have managed over the last 12 months. By way of example, Enth Degree recently witnessed an agency spruiking the superiority of their strategy, rejecting television for an online only communications plan. To paraphrase the agency: “A $1m spend on linear televison would only be enough to secure a 5-week burst of approximately 45% 1+ reach across television nationally. A $1m spend on YouTube would generate…

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COVID-19 Tender Activity

Enth Degree has run a number of very successful client tenders during COVID-19. Hort Innovation (Australian Apples, Australian Avocadoes, Australian Mushrooms, etc.) invests around $120 million in research, development, and marketing projects annually to provide benefits to the horticulture industry and the wider community.

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Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

Enth Degree recently spoke to AdNews about remote pitching and provided some tips based on our current market experience. Should you require assistance in reviewing your supplier arrangements, please get in touch.  

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Which Pitch Ditch?

At a recent industry conference, the Global Head of a Media Agency called for the end of “pitching”. The hashtag #ditchthepitch” was launched amid much fanfare. A great use of rhyme to get your point across. And funnily enough the hashtag shares the same title with the 2014 book from Steve Yastrow that “asks us to throw out everything we’ve been taught about pitching to customers.” In an industry that seeks to differentiate itself through creativity, it is somewhat ironic. However, that aside, without wishing to sound self-serving, let’s look at the speaker’s case for change: “There is a concern in our industry, and I’m talking for both…

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The media pitch glitch

Enth Degree has managed many media pitches over the last few months across a broad range of marketers and product categories. We have compiled the following observations, to hopefully assist Media Agencies provide their best opportunity to leave a positive impact during the pitch process. This is not intended to be an article on “how to get the most out of the pitch process” but to provide some very simple observations for Agencies. By sharing these observations with Agencies, we hope that our clients will benefit through more focussed and insightful proposals from contenders. Don’t pitch if you don’t have time There are many occasions where it is…

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Pitching in – how marketers can improve the process

A successful pitch is not the sole responsibility of the submitting Agencies. Marketers play a key role in the calibre of Agency output. Below we have compiled a list of observations to assist our clients to generate the best possible response from candidate Agencies when they go to market. Those Marketers who have worked with Enth Degree will recognise much of the commentary below.   While some of these are obvious, the distractions of daily responsibilities can often derail the best intentions. Know What You Want from the Pitch Process Sounds obvious? Well not always. Dramatic changes in both marketing and communication channels over the past five years…

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The agency pitch – the last resort?

When advised by a potential client that they want to “review the market” because they are dissatisfied with their Communication Agency’s “_____” (insert here, usually Service/Creative/Cost). We advise that this should be the last resort. Like all partnerships, the Marketer / Agency relationship is subject to significant pressure points. Like a marriage guidance counsellor, we prefer reconciliation to divorce. The Agency often has significant intelligence reserves, with an historic knowledge of the client’s communications, unmatched internally if the client has suffered a high turnover in marketing talent. (Of course the high rotation in Agency talent in some Agencies will contradict this observation.) With a new Agency comes a…

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Optus agency roster

In 2015 Optus engaged Enth Degree to run a comprehensive agency tender process across all media disciplines. The results of this tender were outlined this week in Mumbrella Should you require assistance in reviewing your supplier arrangements, please get in touch.

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This is a first … Commercial Networks raise awareness of bigger issues!

An Article in The Australian on 27th April entitled “FTA Networks unite against GroupM” (Darren Davidson) opens with the statement that “The CEOs of the three main commercial networks have launched an unprecedented attack against the biggest buyer of television airtime in the country, warning WPP’s GroupM to stop talking down the free-to-air TV industry or face ­serious consequences in advertising negotiations.”   It goes on to explain that … “the row has erupted weeks before GroupM thrashes out deals for the 2015-16 fiscal year to determine the share each network will get from an estimated $1bn annual budget. (GroupM) has questioned the cost of TV advertising, citing audience declines and…

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