MAM
Audience for interactive TVCs to hit 10 mn US households
NEW YORK : Within 18 months, the number of US homes able to view interactive television commercials will drive a huge increase in the number of advertisers using interactivity in their campaigns.
This finding is contained in a study conducted by newly formed BrightLine Partners, a company that is tracking the impact of digital media technologies on the television advertising market.
Interviews with top television advertisers and in-depth market research reveal that the 6.5 million US households with access to interactive television commercials needs to grow to just 10 million before the audience is a sufficient size to spur most television advertisers to incorporate interactivity into their commercials. BrightLine predicts that the threshold will be crossed by early 2004, with a number of factors driving the pace of deployment, including intensified competition among cable and satellite operators, the ongoing quest for new sources of ad revenue, and the potentially catalytic effects of Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of DirecTV.
The study states that effective positioning to prepare for a major departure from current trends in the use of digital media in TV advertising, coupled with an ability to rapidly execute new strategies, will distinguish savvy advertisers.
BrightLine co-CEOs Jacqueline Corbelli and J.R. McKechnie said, “Ironically, advertisers are having a hard time getting unbiased and fully informed guidance about current conditions in the TV ad market. Best positioned advertisers are expanding their capability to systematically track rapid developments in advanced TV services and quickly convert identified opportunities into fresh sources of ad strength and revenue potential.”
AD Agencies
Omnicom Advertising names Ellie Brocklehurst chief growth and marketing officer for Asia
The former TBWA Asia marketing chief returns from maternity leave with an ambitious mandate to make Omnicom the most sought-after network in the region.
NEW YORK: Ellie Brocklehurst is back, and she is not easing herself in gently. Omnicom Advertising has appointed Brocklehurst as chief growth and marketing officer for Asia, a role that puts her in charge of growth and marketing initiatives across the network’s three flagship agencies: BBDO, McCann and TBWA. Her brief is to sharpen existing capabilities while identifying new avenues for expansion across the region.
Brocklehurst brings a career that has moved steadily upward through some of the industry’s most recognisable names. She began at Source Music before moving through Exposure Public Relations and Marketing, Taurus Marketing and LEWIS Global Communications. She then joined BBDO Worldwide as communications manager for the Asia group, rising to regional communications director for Asia. At Wunderman Thompson, she served as head of marketing and PR for APAC before being elevated to APAC growth marketing lead, where she worked closely with local management teams on client expansion strategies, new business acquisition and brand building. Most recently, she served as chief marketing officer at TBWA\Asia.
Brocklehurst, who is returning from maternity leave, was characteristically direct about what she intends to do with the opportunity. “Transitioning back from my final maternity leave is a significant personal milestone,” she said. “While it’s the end of one era at home, it marks the beginning of an ambitious new one professionally.” She left little doubt about the scale of her ambition. “I’m stepping into this role with a clear mission: to make Omnicom Advertising the most awarded, revered, and sought-after agency network in Asia.”
In a region where agency networks are jostling hard for creative dominance and client loyalty, that is a target worth watching. Brocklehurst has spent two decades learning exactly how this game is played. Now she gets to set the rules.
