In 2012, television dominated both the Automotive advertising and Government/Political/Religion (“GPR”) verticals, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Media Ad View Plus. More on the GPR vertical later.

Television’s $4.6 billion share of automotive advertising represented 28.4% of total automotive advertising in 2012. This $4.6 billion represents 22% of television’s total advertising revenue in 2012, making it the highest spending vertical for television.

2012 Automotive Ad Spending by Media

Media Ad View Plus’s automotive vertical includes five subcategories: automobile dealers and automotive manufacturers, other motor vehicle dealers, automotive parts and accessories stores, tire dealers, and gasoline stations and automotive repair. Of these, automotive dealers and automotive manufacturers were the predominant advertiser category, accounting for more than $3.8 billion of the total automotive advertising $4.6 billion spent on television.

“If it’s got a screen, automakers want to advertise on it,” said Ad Age in a recent article, Automakers Like Video, But Still Pour Gas On TV For Big Product Launches. While the automakers on Ad Age’s 100 Leading National Advertisers list have been increasing their digital advertising, “they’re also showing enduring faith in the American couch potato, with spending on television increasing from 2011 to 2012. Ad Age attributes the continued popularity of television to the automotive vertical to major product launches. The top five spending automakers, according to Ad Age, are General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Fiat (Chrysler Group) and Honda.

In 2017, television’s share of automotive advertising is expected to increase to 32%, while the shares going to other traditional media such as newspaper and direct mail are expected to decline significantly. Newer media, such as online and mobile, are also expected to increase their share of the automotive pie. Part of this increase can be attributed to the significantly lower GPR revenues expected to be spent on television in 2017. Without GPR dominating television commercials in 2017, as happened in 2012, there will be more inventory available for the other verticals, such as automotive.

More information on Media Ad View Plus is available here.

The post Media Ad View Plus Shows that Television Dominates the Automotive Advertising Vertical appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

As Social Local Media — BIA/Kelsey’s newest advisory service — marches toward its Feb. 23 launch and Feb. 24 free webinar, we’re using social media channels to present data to our audience and learn more about your challenges, successes and needs in social strategy.

Now, we thought we’d change it up by breaking out the social local media ecosystem into some key segments and offering some tidbits on the penetration and struggles of each. Hence, “industry flash … by the numbers.”

Broadcast: Radio & TV

– Generally, local radio stations lag well behind TV in their use of social media. Only 27 percent operate a Twitter account, and startlingly, just 1 percent have their own Facebook page (source: RTNDA).

– Local TV has shown a greater propensity to adopt social tools, but the results are uneven. While 77 percent are incorporating Twitter into their newsrooms, only 20 percent are active on Facebook (source: RTNDA).

So, the question for both is: Where are radio and TV stations missing key opportunities to use social media to connect with their audiences, market their brands and enrich their content? What are next steps that each can take?

Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) vs. Online Local Search

A “quick and dirty” content analysis of major domestic directory publishers (AT&T, Dex, Yellowbook, Superpages) uncovered some eyebrow-raising stats and practices:

– On Facebook, IYPs averaged 5,045 fans, or “likes.” Of the more than 20,000 “likes” discovered, more than 56 percent came from SuperPages (11,400+, which has elevated its fan total by more than 9,000 since November. By comparison, Yelp has more than 31,000 “likes” by itself. Of course, sites such as LivingSocial (3+ million active users) elevate “social buzz” to an entirely different level.

– On Twitter, IYPs aren’t nearly as “in the game.” Among the four brands sampled, the average follower count is about 1,500. Again, Superpages dominates, accounting for 71 percent (3,160 of nearly 4,500). Yelp’s Twitter count: 40,000 on the main site, with many of its 100+ city accounts attracting thousands, too. Citysearch also employs this local approach with similar results. Superpages is the only IYP trying this.

What opportunities in social are publishers missing? How can they get more active?

Let us know on our Twitter feed (@BIAKelsey), our Facebook page, or in our LinkedIn Group…or post a comment directly to the blog. You can also E-mail us (webinarsATbia.com). We’ll address your recommendations and questions on the free SLM webinar– Thursday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. ET.

The post Social Local Media: Industry Flash … Social ‘by the Numbers’ appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

If the first two decades of the local Internet were primarily about on-boarding traffic, then CBS Local Digital Media President Ezra Kucharz foresees that the next decade will be about “opening doors to consumers, getting them the information they want, and getting them to transact.”

This philosophy drives CBS Local’s digital philosophy across its 28 owned-and-operated TV stations and 39 radio properties. Four consumer desires undergird this strategy: robust content (news, sports, local info, weather and traffic), business listings, local deals and answers to local questions. Kucharz shared with the ILM:10 audience that CBS Local will launch a Local Answers platform in January that will address queries as diverse as “who do the Yankees play?” and “who’s a trusted plumber?”

Like so many others who see deals as the hottest inferno of opportunity in the red-hot local ecosystem, Kucharz is also a believer. He spearheaded CBS’ deals launch four months ago and calls local deals “the best way for SMB to get local consumers in the door right now.” He also stresses that business listings must include “rich experiences” that exceed mere links within a directory.

Of course, none of these insights is necessarily new, so what positions CBS Local to capitalize where others may fail?

According to Kucharz, the network’s well-etched brand advantages with its local business partners distinguish it. SMBs encounter several problems in moving their message and money online, from an aversion to complex digital buying to a lack of creative to a general lack of coherent strategy. CBS’ formula to leverage its assets is “the reach of traditional media + the targeting of online media + mobile media = results for SMBs.”

To generate even greater brand and platform synergies, CBS Local is in the process of rolling up its various properties in major markets under a larger banner. In New York, for instance, three radio and one TV have been fused into CBS New York. This approach will scale to its 24 major metros in 2011. The bundled effects (both in revenue and traffic) of rolling up individual properties into an aggregated brand have produced “1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 7″ benefits.

The post ILM:10: CBS’ Ezra Kucharz Envisions ‘the Next Decade in Local’ appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

These are the ingredients behind our new advisory service, “Digital Strategies for Broadcasting.” Technology can drive new workflows, partnerships and revenue streams, and in doing so challenge existing management and operational structures and processes. Running a broadcast company with digital media assets is quite different from running a traditional broadcast property.

BIA itself has taken the “digital plunge” with its acquisition of The Kelsey Group, which extended our expertise, knowledge and relationship base into digital media. With the launch of DSB we are leveraging those resources along with the expertise, data and services BIA has provided the broadcast industry with since 1983.

The explicit goal of DSB is to help our advisory clients develop and execute their digital strategies as successfully as possible. This may mean broadcasters but it can also mean assisting those firms elsewhere in the local media ecosystem looking to understand and work more productively with broadcasters as partners, service providers or vendors.

For more information about Digital Strategies for Broadcasting, click here.

Click to register for our free webinar on Tuesday, March 16, Digital Strategies for Broadcasting: Capitalizing on the Shift to Local and Digital Media.

The post Launching Our New Advisory Service for Local Broadcasting appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.