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President/CEO Shelton Details Better is Better
January 03, 2012 | 11:05am
STRATA President/CEO John Shelton comments on his recent op-ed commentary “Better is Better”.
Better is Better
November 28, 2011 | 10:58am
Originally appearing November 28, 2011 in MediaPost
When CapCities acquired ABC back in the 1980s, CapCities’ CEO was asked about the new organization being bigger and better. As the story goes, the CEO’s reply was a classic. “Bigger isn’t better,” he said. “Better is better.”
I’m especially mindful of that story as I see a rush to digital and watch a wave of consolidation in the media-buying software industry. The media-buying industry is rapidly evolving, and yet many agency systems providers are still struggling to keep legacy reporting systems up to date.
Even as many media buyers rush to incorporate digital demands into campaigns, their systems often fall short of providing solid core offerings that can organize and manage the entire advertising roster, including traditional. This raises another concern: How can advertising be aligned with the times, if it is supported by old systems?
Put another way, I see many system providers taking a Band-Aid approach. They want to say they offer digital and claim to understand the new media world, but struggle to find a place for digital in their legacy systems.
Using Excel? Really?
Some agencies have even abandoned systems and moved to Excel. Let’s be honest, Excel isn’t a digital system. There is no reporting, no security and no reliability. Because of this, account executives are incorrectly billing clients and organizing digital purchases because many are still utilizing programs (like Excel) for their buys…
Holiday Flash Survey (Q/A)
November 22, 2011 | 2:07pm
(STRATA recently conducted a Holiday Flash Survey of STRATA agencies of varying sizes across the country. The following is a Q/A with CEO/President John Shelton on the survey results.)
What did you find most interesting or surprising about the results of the survey?
Spot TV/Cable advertising still dominates (which isn’t surprising), but Digital advertising is increasingly becoming a strong avenue of choice this holiday season. We are seeing more campaigns utilize cross platform promotions and reaching clients in more ways than ever before. Instead of relying on one or two mediums, a strong media mix has become increasingly important for advertisers to push their products/services this shopping season.
When you take a close look at the industries that are advertising for the holidays, I was a bit surprised. Sure, you are going to have categories that are often synonymous with the holiday season (clothing/apparel, music/movies and hospitality) getting a share of advertising - but they weren’t the leaders. Interestingly, healthcare and financial services (along with holiday favorite, electronics) are the top industry areas that agencies are focusing on this holiday season. These were well ahead of traditional holiday categories
Remembering Arthur C. Nielsen, Jr.
October 06, 2011 | 11:36am
The impact that Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. has had on my life is hard to put into words. Not just because I’m a product of the Baby Boom generation that grew up with the development of TV ratings or because I’ve spent most of my career in the advertising technology world… No, it’s really more personal than that.
I grew up two blocks from the house that Art (as he was known) grew up in. The Nielsen Company started in Wilmette, Illinois where I resided, so I have fond memories of growing up and playing in parks named after him.
Remembering Steve Jobs
October 06, 2011 | 3:30pm
Steve Jobs changed the world and my world forever. I know many people across the globe echo that sentiment, but for me it seems more personal.
I got my first computer, an Apple IIc, in 1984, where I first learned how to play and love adventure games. I fell in love with Steve Jobs shortly thereafter and wished I could have met him, so I could marry him. (That bubble didn’t burst until 1992 when I met my real husband – although you will notice his name is Steve also, and he bears a dark, handsome resemblance to Steve Jobs – no coincidence, I assure you.)
Hear STRATA CEO/President talk about the ePort announcement
September 07, 2011 | 12:05pm
KATZ Media and COXREPS announce a new collaboration with STRATA, assuming financial & directional support of ePort e-business platform. STRATA is now powering ePort and working together, plans to add functionality to ePort that will make local broadcast television even easier to transact.
Thank You, Football and Christmas! Sincerely, Advertisers
August 25, 2011 | 10:48am
Originally appearing August 25, 2011 in MediaPost
The markets are up, then they drop, then they are back up and it looks like they are about to turn a corner and whoop—they drop again. This roller coaster has a lot of people worried. Advertisers are no exception. Basically, advertising doesn’t like change, it likes a trend.
When a company has uncertainty and just doesn’t know how to message, they simply don’t advertise. The recent weeks are an example of that uncertainty, and companies don’t know what is in store for them, so they don’t advertise.
It isn’t all doom and gloom for advertising and ad agencies.
STRATA Survey Shows a Shift in Focus (I'm Looking at You, iPad)
August 23, 2011 | 10:48am
I’m always intrigued to see the results of our quarterly survey of media buying agencies. Since we started conducting this study in 2008, it has consistently reflected the issues and trends in the advertising industry. This past quarterly survey was no exception, as several key trends became apparent after analyzing the results.
First, the positive ad economic outlook isn’t as “sunny” as it had been in the first quarter. The recent volatility in the financial markets definitely proved that finding. Many of our agencies seem to be in a holding pattern as they wait for clients to open their wallets and spend more advertising dollars.
STRATA Gears Up for The Cable Show
June 10, 2011 | 10:41am
The STRATA team is looking forward to attending the premier event for the cable industry, The Cable Show, on June 14-16. Hosted by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the event should prove to be compelling and will feature Oprah Winfrey in her first visit to the show, who will be interviewed by Paula Zahn about her career and the advent of her latest venture, the cable network OWN. Other notables in attendance will include Dr. Jill Biden and Chicago’s newly inaugurated Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
STRATA’s executives will be soaking in everything the conference has to offer and believe that, despite the challenges of a gradual recovery, the cable and advertising industries have much to feel good about. STRATA’s own system data reflect an industry that is making net gains:
AdExchanger.com: STRATA Offering Digital Media Buying and Selling Stewardship Says CEO Shelton
April 06, 2011 | 10:56am
(Q&A with John Shelton orginially appearing in AdExchanger)
By aggregating all the buying through AMBIT, what are the unique efficiencies the platform can provide? Is effective attribution modeling possible?
AMBIT allows us to correlate media activity with hundreds of different metrics. We measure the impact that the media activity has on a given metric and trend that impact over time in order to level the results. This accomplishes two very important things. The first is that it allows us to build a cause/effect data set that can be used for predictive or “what if” scenarios in the future. The second is that it evolves the idea of goals in the media industry to go beyond traditional audience delivery goals.
As for effective attribution modeling being possible…it really isn’t. There simply isn’t data to support the model to gain true attribution metrics. What we have decided to do is use contextual insights to directionally estimate attribution. The reality is there are forces at work on many metrics such as sales that have nothing to do with Marketing and/or Media activity, so it is impossible to accurately define the attribution based on media inputs alone.
Video Blog: Is the Ad Economy Improving?
March 16, 2011 | 11:35am
STRATA CEO/President John Shelton discusses the state of the advertising industry and where it will be headed in 2011.
Transformation 2011 – STRATA's "Post" Newsfeed
March 09, 2011 | 10:42am
(Originally appearing in iMedia Connection)
The STRATA gang was in Austin this week for the 4A’s event, Transformation 2011. We set up “shop” as an exhibitor and showcased our new digital product, AMBIT. Basically, digital and mobile definitely dominated the event in a big way. Below is a quick snap shot of major themes we tweeted during the event: (visit our twitter – @gotostrata – for additional real time updates)
Video Blog: 4A's Transformation 2011, A Great Measure of the Ad Industry
March 04, 2011 | 7:51pm
STRATA Executive Vice President/Managing Director Joy Baer talks about the 4A’s Transformation 2011 and how it is a good barometer of the advertising industry.
Video Blog: What to Expect from the 4A's Transformation 2011
March 03, 2011 | 3:08pm
STRATA CEO/President John Shelton talks about what he expects to see and hear about at the 4A’s Transformation 2011. STRATA will be having a booth at the conference (#16), and will be demonstrating their Digital Buying Platform along with their new platform AMBIT.
Video Blog: Driving Digital at the 4A's Transformation 2011
March 02, 2011 | 10:30am
STRATA Executive Vice President/Managing Director Joy Baer discusses how digital is taking center stage with advertising agencies and how STRATA is driving digital with their software. STRATA will be demonstrating their digital platform and hot new product, AMBIT, at the 4A’s Transformation 2011.
Video Blog: STRATA Announces Revolutionary Platform: AMBIT
March 01, 2011 | 12:39pm
STRATA Vice President Rob Burkhart talks about STRATA’s new platform AMBIT which gives users an unlimited number of metrics at their fingertips to monitor advertising flights and campaign performance. These metrics go well beyond the analytics that have been commonplace for years in advertising. AMBIT allows users to measure their advertising’s return on their investment on items such as online registrations, retail foot traffic and sales lift.
Video Blog - AMBIT: Measuring True ROI
February 28, 2011 | 7:11pm
In this Video Blog entry, STRATA Executive Vice President/Managing Director Joy Baer talks about STRATA’s new platform, AMBIT, and how it has the ability to allow media buyers to compare their ad spend from an apples-to-apples ROI viewpoint.
Video Blog - STRATA Develops the Future of ROI Management with AMBIT
February 28, 2011 | 4:07pm
STRATA CEO/President John Shelton discusses the release of AMBIT. The revolutionary new platform gives media buyers the ability to measure the impact of all of their advertising buys and provide a true comparison of their digital versus traditional ad buys. STRATA developed AMBIT in response to a growing need among the media industry to utilize measurement analytics that reflect specific levels of campaign initiatives and success.
Video Blog - The Expanding Digital Landscape
February 26, 2011 | 7:27pm
In this, the first of a series of video blog entries, STRATA CEO/President John Shelton talks about advertising agencies media mix and how it is constantly changing. STRATA constantly is developing to meet those evolving needs.
Super Bowl Recap: Welcome Back Advertising Industry
February 16, 2011 | 2:27pm
(Originally printed in iMedia Connection)
As we slowly crawl out of one of the most devastating recessions in recent history, this year’s Super Bowl may have acted as a bellwether for our economic recovery. It signaled that a. consumers have regained some buying power b. automakers are recovering and c. advertising is back.
Automakers have been deathly quiet over the past few years, understandably more concerned with improving their balance sheets than creating entertaining advertisements. But there was a dramatic shift during this year’s Super Bowl, with nine different automotive companies dominating the evening. Chrysler, who almost completely disappeared from advertising in recent years, was seen throughout the night, spending close to 9 million dollars on an ad starring rap artist, Eminem. The advertisements themselves ranged from family fun, like Volkswagen’s adorable Darth Vader commercial, to Chrysler’s Glee advertisement, which succeeded in converting a few more “gleeks”. Overall, advertisements were noisy and filled with special affects, working hard to take advantage of the new economic climate.
TV: The Really Big Show that Aint Over Yet
January 31, 2011 | 12:42pm
(Originally appearing in BrandWeek)
When I was growing up, I was like most kids: I watched The Ed Sullivan Show every Sunday evening on CBS with my parents. Back then, in the 1960s, TV really was king—and so was Sullivan. He was the electron impresario, the Oprah (if I can bend the metaphor a bit) of his era. An appearance on Sullivan’s stage—or, Studio 50 to the CBS folks—could make your whole career. Witness the Beatles.
These days, as I watch the growing number of people heading off to the Apple Store for their iPads, I feel the gentle tug of those early days when TV was a family event and everyone would gather around the “set.” A couple of years ago, USA Today reported that, on average, the American home now contains more TVs than people. So, forget about the family gathering around anything—let alone a TV.
So you probably think I’m ready to shift into that familiar dirge—the elegy (c’mon, you’ve heard it plenty) that TV is dying or that digital has, at least, kicked it off its throne; that the digital future is here, and all the rest of it. Well, not so fast. Consumer buying power is beginning to rise again, and I believe this bodes well for the TV networks, their advertisers and the ad agencies, too.
Historically, at least, TV has long been advertisers’ favorite medium. But as we’ve seen over the last few years, when corporate profits dip, so does the TV ad budget. Nowhere
Consumer Electronics Show 2011
January 07, 2011 | 4:26pm
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is always a highly attended event. This year is no exception. It is packed. I have spent the past few days at the show in Las Vegas. If this show is any indication, companies are letting their people go on boondoggles again. This show is elbow to elbow people and it’s a bit useless as well. A bit useless because every TV maker has a 3D version; every computer maker and phone maker has a tablet computer (the tablets don’t appear to be as good as the iPad). To be honest with you, the 3D TVs give me a headache. 4G is a hot topic and the phone makers tout the best 4G network. But let’s be honest – the 4G networks they have run down every battery so your 4G phone lasts about half a day before you need to recharge.
2011 Advertising Outlook (Podcast)
January 04, 2011 | 11:22am
STRATA CEO and President, John Shelton, was recently interviewed for Street.com podcast – The Real Story by Gregg Greenberg. From a STRATA perspective, John provided the 2011 advertising outlook and predicted leading trends for the media industry. To listen to the entire interview, follow this link. (John’s segment starts around the 5-minute mark)
TV Advertising Still Rules in 2011
December 31, 2010 | 12:35pm
(This was originally published in iMedia Connection on December 30th)
TV has historically been the favored medium for advertisers. But as we know well from the last several years, as profits wane, so does advertising. This has been especially true in terms of the struggling automakers. Historically the top TV advertiser, automakers, failed to make an impact in recent years, and were “out bought” by consumer electronics companies and other related firms. Overall, this has lead to a decline in TV ad revenue and a blow to the networks, both traditional broadcast and cable.
World Series Ratings and Revenue Without the Yankees
October 27, 2010 | 11:32am
I was recently asked by a writer for the Hollywood Reporter about advertising for the World Series and how the absence of the Yankees will impact ad sales and viewership. Clearly, the Yankees would have been better for the series in this respect. They are from the biggest market and almost everybody roots for the Yankees or the team playing the Yankees. The Yankees also have a national following like the Cubs and the Braves.
That being said, there is a good story with Texas (who has never been in the World Series, let alone won a playoff series). The state of Texas will be watching, that will be certain. Plus, since the economy is much better in Texas, expect a good showing with local ads and support. An argument could be made that the opposite is true in San Francisco. There are five teams in California and the state’s economy is struggling. This is not as good a situation. So clearly, this series match-up may tend to tip towards Texas as far as the state that may benefit the most.
Association of Hispanic Ad Agencies 2010 Conference Review
October 13, 2010 | 10:58am
I recently had the opportunity to attend the AHAA (Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies) Conference in Miami, Florida. We have attended this conference the last couple of years and it is always a great event that allows us to showcase STRATA to the Hispanic market. I always love conferences like this because it allows us to interact face-to-face with the key players of current and future agencies (all in the same place).
I know this doesn’t come as a surprise to many of you but the Hispanic market is growing and the needs of this segment need to be addressed. The AHAA conference showed a shift in the mindset of agencies by focusing on understanding the Hispanic consumer in more detail, defining various Hispanic households into various categories and targeting those categories with distinct campaigns and messages.
Can Mobile Advertising Be Favored by Consumers?
September 15, 2010 | 4:45pm
From time to time we get the opportunity to provide commentary for various publications. This one that was recently published in iMediaConnection: (you can also see the article at http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2010/09/15/can-mobile-advertising-be-favored-by-consumers/ )
Can Mobile Advertising Be Favored by Consumers? That is a question heavily debated by both advertisers and consumers in the short history of mobile advertising. Consumers have always had a love/hate relationship with advertising; they get frustrated when it interrupts their favorite shows, yet applaud when it fulfills their needs. What reaction can consumers and advertisers expect from mobile advertisements: frustration or applause?
Consumer concerns over mobile advertising can be divided into two areas: advertisement overload and privacy. Both are incredibly important to consumers and each concern can provide a cautionary guideline for advertisers. The new iAd platform by Apple will allow advertisers to directly engage consumers on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad through “in-application” advertising. While there are a couple of different mobile advertising strategies in place (i.e. opt-in options for costly applications to be free), the most promising for both consumers and advertisers is location-based advertisements and behavioral targeting. Unfortunately, this targeted advertising is one of the main criticisms levied against mobile advertising.
TAB in Review - Hot and Helpful!
August 17, 2010 | 4:26pm
It’s always a pleasure to visit Austin for the Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB) annual convention. August in Austin is always the same – hot! (I don’t know how those Longhorn football players handle it, but that’s a topic for another day.) I have attended the TAB show for a number of years now and I’m always impressed that no matter the format - TV, radio, digital concerns – the TAB handles it all, offering what’s billed as the largest state convention in the country.
Under the Lights at Bloomberg TV
July 27, 2010 | 3:58pm
By now whether it was through our website, the Washington Post, YouTube or even live, many of you have watched my interview that was on Bloomberg TV. It was an interesting experience to be a guest on the In Business program. I’ll get more into that in a second. The main reason we were on the program was to talk to about our latest survey (www.gotostrata.com/news). Since we started doing these surveys at the end of 2008, we have noticed some interesting trends. Digital advertising has taken a big leap forward, TV remains tops, and agencies have gone from shedding employees to returning to a hiring process. We use this valuable information in many different ways. One, it helps us get a gauge of what our clients are going through – their struggles and successes. Two…
Social Media is Changing Advertising
June 30, 2010 | 3:42pm
Many media buyers that we hear from say that their clients are more and more interested in putting dollars into social media advertising. According to a recent Nielsen report, the world now spends over 110 billion minutes on social networks and blog sites. It also pointed out that consumers spent more than five and a half hours on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter in December 2009. That is an increase of 82% from the same time a year earlier.
Great Job STRATA Runners/Walkers
June 04, 2010 | 4:36pm
STRATA proudly sponsored a team of runners/walkers for the recent J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge. The JPMCC is a huge run in Chicago that saw nearly 20,000 people run and walk 3.5 miles near the shores of Lake Michigan not far from our offices at STRATA. The theme this year was “Working Together for a Greener Tomorrow”.
Social Media: Is it Measurable?
May 20, 2010 | 10:26am
I attended The Cable Show recently in Los Angeles. Among the many great points discussed at the conference were Social Media and its impact on advertising. We use various forms of social media here at STRATA in our marketing efforts, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn just to name a few. We aren’t alone either, hundreds of thousands of businesses use social media to connect to their clients, customers and prospects.
Olympics or No Olympics… a Ratings Tale
March 26, 2010 | 11:33am
The much-anticipated Nielsen February ratings started rolling out this week. For the majority of Nielsen clients that’s one of the four report cards most stations look forward to getting. I say most stations because this release presents a quadrennial set of challenges for TV stations and their buyers. The Vancouver Olympics may be just a memory now, but they’ve left quite a legacy in the short-term for broadcasters. The February 2010 survey period was influenced by impressive Olympic numbers for most NBC affiliates, which in turn made this rating period anything but normal. For familiar primetime “hits”, well, some of them took a big hit running against the Olympics! So what’s a station to do?
Political Advertising Affects Everyone
March 12, 2010 | 12:10pm
If you have one shot at keeping your job what do you do? For many politicians, they launch a television campaign. Television commercials are still the avenue of choice for politicians and this is a huge election year for senate, house and gubernatorial races. You couple that with the recent Supreme Court decision to open campaign finance limits, and the floodgates are wide open for political advertising and lobbying groups like healthcare, energy providers and many more.
35,000 feet up – and worlds away from good customer service
February 24, 2010 | 3:48pm
Good customer service is essential. When it isn’t a priority, you notice and it can negatively influence the way you feel about a company. I was a victim of bad customer service recently. Imagine this – you are 35,000 feet in the sky, belted to your seat and the service you received makes you want to grab a parachute and jump. Ok, it wasn’t quite that bad, but it did leave a negative impression on me. I was on an airline (that shall remain nameless) flying back from New York. I travel quite a bit, so I redeemed some frequent flyer miles for a first class seat. What I received there was less than first class and even less than my luggage in the hull…
Predictions… Results… Changing Landscape
January 26, 2010 | 3:02pm
Electronic channels have definitely changed the advertising industry and are shaping the future of this space. According to a recent article by Jennifer Seidel of the 4A’s, “Advertising has undergone dramatic changes…Digital technologies have transformed the way we do business.” Here at STRATA we see that change every day. We had over 2.6 million electronic orders and invoices flowing through our systems in 2009. We expect that number to climb higher this year.
2009 Ended with a Rush to Advertise
January 05, 2010 | 5:46pm
Quality is quality. And when it comes to advertising everyone showed up in the 4th quarter buying quality media. Most media sellers reported surprisingly strong fourth quarter business. Surprising - because there were virtually no pre-sales.
Advertisers waited until the last minute, risking a sell out. And most of them were able to get their ads placed, this year.
Advertising Feast or Famine this Holiday Season?
December 04, 2009 | 10:37am
HDTV’s are cheap! There are also plenty of jewelry specials to be had. If you watched any television, listened to the radio or read any newspapers so far this holiday season, you have been inundated with advertisements. If you have ventured out shopping, you can tell that the advertising is working because the stores are packed. In a study by BDO Seidman, LLP, 19% of retailers have increased their advertising budgets…
Media Buying Agencies Hiring Soon?
November 16, 2009 | 10:45am
One thing we noticed in our third quarter survey of media buying agencies was that while the economy shows signs of improving, hiring by media buying agencies remains stagnant. Of those polled, 82.5% said they plan on keeping their staffing the same for the rest of the year. One interesting thing was that for the first time in a year, less than 10% in our survey said they will add staff. That is a 56% decrease from a year ago. With fewer employees, many agencies are purchasing advertising that is easier to produce and purchase. That’s one of many explanations to the strength of Radio and Internet advertising in our latest poll.
Are We at a "V" or a "W", and Where Does Advertising Fit?
November 02, 2009 | 6:14pm
We are at a point in the recession where everyone is wondering: Are things better? In the economic cycle, are we going to have a “V” recovery or are we partway through a “W”? There are different parts of a recession – we just need to figure out which part we are in right now.
Easy to Use and Packed with Info
October 20, 2009 | 7:01am
Our new website can help you get the information you need along with details on products and services that can serve you and your company best. Whether you need to learn about upgrades to our products, new product offerings, trends in the industry or find out our latest FAQ’s - the new website is the place for you. Think of it as your one-stop-shop for all things media buying and selling.
The New STRATA Logo
October 16, 2009 | 7:55pm
25 years have passed since STRATA started as a small software company. Now, we are in virtually every corner of the media buying and selling business with over 12,000 users. We have definitely evolved and we knew we needed a new brandmark that describes what we are today and into the future.
25 years of experience and poised for many more…..
October 08, 2009 | 7:44pm
The STRATA Blog is where you will find the latest news at STRATA and the industry – from product and service updates to marketplace trends. The STRATA Blog will provide insight into the media buying and selling industry from not only me, but also our experienced team of executives including Joy Baer, David Prager, Paul Levy and many more.
What is going on in the media buying/selling industries?
July 23, 2009 | 9:35pm
What is going on in the media buying/selling industries? What is the future of Advanced Advertising? How has television advertising changed and what will it look like tomorrow? How has STRATA pushed e-Business forward in our industry and what does that mean for you and your company?
STRATA President/CEO John R. Shelton has his opinions. Click on STRATA’s Blog regularly to find out the answers to these and other items in the news today!
