Good News From Around the Industry: Why Local TV News Matters for Advertisers, Navigating Brand Deals with Athletes, the Four-Day Work Week, and More!  

Here’s what came across our desks this month:  

Advertising Week: Local Matters: Why Local TV News is Always an Essential Media Buy
For brand advertisers, local TV news, sports, weather, and feel-good content spotlighting local heroes and good Samaritans, is still an extremely effective way to reach a targeted and engaged audience. Not only is local news a brand-safe haven for marketers, but it also helps to build trust and credibility, creates a connection in the community, and provides a wealth of high-value sponsorship opportunities. As a result, local TV media buys should be a part of your media plan.

Axios: Analysts Predict Streaming Spend and New Content Slowdown in 2023
Increased competition has forced Netflix to reconsider its business strategy to mimic its legacy competitors — adding an ad-supported tier, experimenting with theatrical releases, and cracking down on password sharing. Therefore, spending on new content in the streaming world will flatten in 2023 as streaming companies shift focus from producing a glut of original content to more cautious spending. Shifting strategies and a drop in new streaming content could be good news for traditional programmers and help reclaim viewers to platforms like linear TV. 

Hollywood Reporter: GLAAD Finds Racial Diversity Up Among LGBTQ Characters on TV; Overall Representation Drops
As audiences around the country clamor for diversity in TV and advertising, a new report from GLAAD finds that the overall representation of LGBTQ characters on television has decreased from 637 characters to 596 characters. In contrast, racial diversity has increased to more than 50 percent of those characters being people of color.  

Marketing Brew: The Four-Day Workweek: Why Amplitude Tried it and Wants to Make it Permanent
You’ve probably seen the buzz about the hopes of a four-day workweek, but you may not know that in the trial held in the UK, marketing and advertising was the most-represented industry under the microscope. Marketing Brew sat down with a few of the trial’s participants to discuss the experience.  

Marketing Daily: Chris Rock Takes Brand-Bashing Rampage To Netflix
Chris Rock is back and aiming at more than Will Smith and “the slap.” In his new special, “Selective Outrage,” the comedian slams brands like Tesla, Subaru, and Lululemon’s fight against racism and discrimination, claiming he’d rather see the donations these companies make go to his pockets rather than charitable causes.   

MediaPost: Searches Up 43% for “Is My Money Safe” as Another Bank Collapses
US consumers increasingly searched for answers on how to keep their own savings safe after two recent bank failures: Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Google Trends data reveals that searches for “is my money safe” rose 43% as news broke of the two banks’ collapse. Since no banks are immune to market fears, maintaining shareholder and customer trust is paramount in a highly digitized economy where panic can spread rapidly. 

• With TEGNA, your financial brand has an opportunity to support your community members during times of uncertainty. Let us help you craft a multiplatform campaign in which consumer fears are assuaged and trust is reinforced. Let’s get in touch.

MediaPost: When Misinformation Passes the Turing Test
Advertisers have another brand safety issue to worry about with ChatGPT. New research from NewsGuard, a veracity rating service, indicates that ChatGPT has the potential to be used by purveyors of misinformation to spread false narratives more widely than ever. With nearly 20% of marketers already using versions of ChatGPT and all but 10% saying they ultimately plan to do so, the time for the advertising and media industry to develop ethical protocols, guidelines, and standards for not just using but for creating a marketplace that accelerates these technologies, is now.

• TEGNA is a leader in the industry regarding fraud protection and safety — all of our platforms are TAG certified, and our VERIFY team researches claims and provides trustworthy and credible information to prove or disprove them.  

Yahoo! Sports: March Madness: Women’s Tournament Ratings Up Significantly in 2023
ESPN is reporting a 28% increase in viewership of the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the first two rounds, totaling 2.1 billion minutes viewed, setting a new record. Better yet, ratings are expected to increase even more as some of the biggest names in women’s basketball will square off in the third round, and the tournament continues.  

• Marketing Brew: How Soccer Star Ali Riley Navigates Brand Deals
  With a handful of brand sponsorships in her pocket, professional soccer player Ali Riley is taking advantage of the growing interest in women’s sports as brands also start to recognize the value of partnering with high-profile athletes for marketing and advertising.  

Yahoo! Advertising: Attracting Attention: Optimizing CTV Advertising Engagement
A new study from Yahoo! And Publicis Media called CTV Ad Attention & Receptiveness finds that consumers recognize and are open to ads’ role in reducing the cost of AVOD channels and in CTV environments. In the study, 46% said they prefer paying less and seeing some ads when adding a new streaming service. Moreover, 82% of CTV viewers have come to expect ads on free streaming services, and most respondents found ads to be helpful, with 56% noting that ads give useful information. 

Sound Good? 
If you like what you’re reading, #TeamTEGNA would love to talk to you about how we can translate this good news into results for your brand. Let’s get in touch.