Message From Michael Feb16th

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                       February 16, 2006                                                                                                         

• SWEEPS AND OLYMPICS


• GOVERNMENT VS THE MEDIA


• GLOBAL TEEN CULTURE


• COCKTAIL CHATTER

• SWEEPS AND OLYMPICS:  No doubt you’ve read all the stories about Olympics ratings, which basically boils down to… If you’re NBC, the glass is half full; if you’re the other networks, the glass is half empty.  Not unexpectedly, the ratings for the Opening Day ceremonies were less than half those for the Salt Lake City Olympics (22.82 M vs. 45.6 M total viewers) but also off significantly from the Nagano, Japan, Olympics which had 27.5 Million total viewers.  It tells you one thing that Tuesday’s edition of Fox’s American Idol beat the Olympics in total viewers (23.17 M vs. 18.64 M) and also in Adults 18-49 (9.6/24 vs. 5.6/14), but it’s another when ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Gray’s Anatomy actually beat the Olympics on Sunday night in the Adult 18-49 demo by two-tenths of a point.  However, the ratings for the Olympics were in the 12 to 14 range that NBC had promised advertisers.  And keeping a promise to itself maybe, NBC scored revenue-wise, cramming 14% more commercials into each hour of Olympic coverage.  Media observer Wayne Friedman noted that NBC had 40 minutes of advertising in the opening ceremonies this year compared to 35 minutes in 2002.  


• GOVERNMENT VS THE MEDIA:  Here’s a study to give you media mavens a boost.  While the public’s view of Congress and the federal government has dropped pretty significantly over the past year, the public’s view of the media has actually risen.  That from a study released this month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.  The headlines were about President Bush’s negative drag on the Republican Party and the perception that Hilary Clinton was the head of the Democratic Party.  But buried in the report was the media and government comparison.  The public view of Congress is at its lowest in a decade with 47% having an ‘unfavorable’ view of Congress versus 44% with a favorable view.  The last time it was this low was when Congress shut down the federal government in 1995.  The same report shows two-thirds (65%) of the American people say they trust the government “only sometimes” or “never.”  Only about a third say they think they can trust the government to do what’s right “just about always” or “most of the time.”The report says the public’s satisfaction with the news media has “rebounded” over the past year with 59% rating the news media favorably.  That compares to 52% in October of last year and a low of 43% in December of 2004.  People on both sides of the political aisle feel more favorably toward the media, although it is a tight race among Republicans, 49% of whom score the media favorably and 48% unfavorably.  But that 49% is up from 32% in December of 2004.  Democrats gave the press a thumbs up by a margin of 71%, which is a significant increase from 56% in December, 2004.  People who identified themselves as Independents in the survey gave better ratings also (57% in February, 2006, vs. 50% in December, 2004).Even better (yes, that is editorial opinion), Americans have moved away from the belief, after the 9/11 attacks, that government should have the right to censor news stories on national security grounds.  Although there has been a favorable shift toward press freedom across the political spectrum, there is still a dramatic difference between Republican Democratic views.  Republicans by a wide margin (53%) favor government being able to censor the media with only 38% favoring the media’s ability to report.  Democrats on the other hand hold an opposite point of view with 68% favoring the media’s ability to report as opposed to 23% who favor the government’s ability to censor.  Independents are more in line with Democrats (62% media and 28% government).  


• GLOBAL TEEN CULTURE:  Teenagers around the world are so ‘wired’ that for them, there is no such thing as ‘new media.’  Where once ‘wired teens’ were a phenomenon of developed countries, now they are so wired that “there is an entire world of communication going on that adults aren’t a part of and don’t even know about,” says Chip Walker, executive vice president of Energy/ BBDO and author of the GenWorld Global Teen Study.  And that’s not even the half of it.  In the survey of 13 countries, fully 56% of the teens aged 13 to 18 qualified as “superconnectors” using at least two of five electronic devices or services every day.  Walker writes in an article in ChiefMarketer that, “connecting virtually is how they live.”  And despite a growing global uneasiness among these teenagers because of concerns about terrorism and war (only 14% say the world is becoming a better place), there is also a growing sense of activism with six out of ten saying they would “fight for a cause I believe in.”  There is a pragmatic side with teens in eight out of the 13 countries saying that their number one ‘expectation’ was being financially secure or better off.While USA Teens were considered the vanguard of youth culture in the 1990’s, that is no longer true.  Now today’s leading teens (30%) are “creatives” – curious about the world, altruistic, open to new ideas and interested in self expression.  At least globally.  In the U.S., conservative ‘traditional’ teens still make up half the population.  Considering that the report is from BBDO, obviously marketing is an issue.  The report says 62% of teens globally are apathetic about marketing and advertising, with fewer than ever (13%) wearing brand logos.  Also, the report notes that while American brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds retain the highest awareness, the best liked brands, in order, are Sony, Nokia and Adidas.  As Walker so nicely puts it, “hype causes apathy but meaning energizes.”  If you want to read the full article on this fascinating report, go to --  http://chiefmarketer.com/global_teen_culture_02022006/index.htmlOn the flip side of the equation, ChiefMarketer also had an article by Cynthia R. Cohen, president of Strategic Mindshare, with her view of the top ten consumer trends for 2006.  It seemed to focus on the Baby Boomer impact, predicting that “60 is the new sexy” (Goldie Hawn turns 60) with lavish themed parties on the horizon for those hitting that mark, and more Retro Rock interest, from the Beatles to The Stones.  Other trend predictions include a return to dresses for women along with Bling jewelry; more interest in organic foods along with high quality packaged foods; a new word “artisanal” (which is a cheese made by Monks) being used to describe home and kitchen accessories; and pregnancy (a la Katie, Brooke and Gwyneth) becoming fashionable.  Other things to look for – electronic devices like iPods will sell because of color and style more than feature-crammed gadgetry; and Chihuahuas are out and bulldogs and pugs are in.


• MARK TWAIN:  One of my favorite quotes for my writing workshops was one often attributed to Mark Twain, “I’m sorry this letter is so long.  I didn’t have time to make it shorter.”  The point being the emphasis on brevity and re-writing.  Now, I have a new one thanks to an article in The New York Times about the end to telegrams (also reported in MfM).  In it, the article quotes a telegram exchange between Mark Twain and his publisher.  From the publisher – Need 2-page short story two days.  From Mark Twain – No can do 2 pages two days.  Can do 30 pages 2 days.  Need 30 days to do 2 pages.  


• COCKTAIL CHATTER:  A humorous side note to the telegram story is an exchange between Cary Grant and a reporter:  Reporter:  How Old Cary Grant?  Cary Grant:  Old Cary Grant Fine.  How You?  The Populos Vox On-Line encyclopedia and reference site Wikipedia has had to block several government IP addresses, including Congress, because the politicians were hacking the reports to take out any negative references to themselves and putting in negative ‘facts’ about opponents.  Semi-staid Time magazine is expected to launch an ‘irreverent’ men’s online website, officepirates.com, which will feature videos and off-color jokes. The Bush Administration spent $1.4 Billion on 137 contracts with ad agencies since mid-2003, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office and released by Congressional Democrats and reported in AdWeek.  A plaque honoring Edward R. Murrow has been unveiled at his London home of Weymouth House in memory of his broadcasts during the blitz.


• FOOTNOTE:  Because of several requests, back issues of Message from Michael starting in January of this year are now posted on the blog site – media-consultant.blogspot.com.  


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