Marketing Cable? First Ask…WWAGD?

Cable World, July 25, 2005

That's "what would ad gurus do?" To help you think like an ad agency guru, we asked four of them how they think cable should market itself.

By Simon Applebaum

Last year, for our CTAM Summit issue, we checked in with a few ad agency gurus to find out how they would market and promote cable. We returned to the ad agency community again this year with a two-part question: As it relates to your own work, what message does cable need to communicate to the public, and what's the best way to communicate that message? Their answers indicate that MSOs still have a lot of work to do.

Jon Mandel

MediaCom U.S.

Cable needs to do a better job getting involved in its communities, says Jon Mandel, a vocal critic of cable's marketing and advertising efforts. Broadcast stations regularly team up with advertisers at health fairs and street festivals, which Mandel insists would be winning promotions for cable operators.

Cable programming has a great public identity, says the chairman of MediaCom U.S., which is among the ad agency giants, with $5.4 billion in billings last year. Operators, on the other hand, "are not viewed as anything special," Mandel says. And that's what needs to be fixed. "I need them like I need electricity, but when the electricity breaks down, the electrical providers come immediately. With operators, you have to make an appointment and get a four-hour window. They have to show [their] value in people's lives on a day-to- day basis and how they provide something other than just programs."

If Mandel ran a system or MSO, his primary weapon in changing consumers' perceptions would be community outreach. He'd forge alliances with advertisers and local institutions and participate in events as often as possible, thereby demonstrating his company's social awareness--along with its new services. He'd advertise heavily for these events via print, radio and cross-channel avails.

"If I'm Comcast, I not only give money to a charity, but have my employees out working the line and handing out water for the race that charity presents," he adds.

MediaCom clients such as Nokia, Kmart and Shell Oil would like to collaborate with cable operators on community outreach, says Mandel. So would local car dealers, real estate and insurance agents. Mostly he's been frustrated in his attempts to get operators involved. "There's a tremendous opportunity here. The more you touch those communities, the better your business is."

System managers also are misguided when they decline to participate in ongoing campaigns such as VH1's Save the Music, he says. Instead of waiting for an MSO corporate directive, individual systems should get involved on their own. For instance, in the case of Save the Music, cable systems can offer music lessons to underprivileged kids. "The local system manager should make the call," Mandel says. "Stop thinking about the dollar potential in participating today, and start thinking about the dollars you won't lose tomorrow to the telephone company by getting involved."

Saul Gitlin

Kang & Lee

Saul Gitlin, EVP, strategic services and new business at Kang & Lee, the WPP Group division targeting Asian-American consumers, says cable can do a better job marketing to this ethnic group by packaging original content that relates to their cultures with product bundles. "If these services can be delivered and promoted under a value bundle, that's a relevant attraction to this audience," says Gitlin, whose agency lists Western Union, Allstate Insurance and Sears among its clients.

Asian-Americans are hungry for original content and empowering technology, he says. Cable can win over Asian-Americans--estimated at 14-16 million, according to the most recent U.S. Census data, with annual growth pegged at 3-4%--if it can position itself as the best source for content and technology.

Gitlin says cable should rely primarily on ethnic newspapers, radio and websites to promote its products to Asian-Americans. Chinese newspapers distributed in Los Angeles, for instance, charge about $2,500 for a full-color page, "compared to spending six figures on one page in the Los Angeles Times," he says.

If a system already has relationships with retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City, they should be expanded to feature in-store technology demonstrations in Asian languages along with English, says Gitlin. Relationships with local grocery, banking and dry cleaner associations also are critical.

"Position what you offer as cutting edge and attractive," he says. "Asian-Americans want VoIP, high-speed access and DVRs. Even better, offering video on demand with the top Chinese, Korean or Indian shows could spur tremendous sales."

To reach any ethnic group, Gitlin recommends ties with niche business and trade associations. "Make a modest investment in them by supporting a dinner or conference, or participate in a street fair with a booth and collateral," he says. "Stick a team of people on a corner, stay there a few days and do some guerrilla marketing. It's another way you can show yourself off as a total solution to a special audience."