Robert Eckelman’s Post

I have never been scared to bring up the elephant in the room. Why are TV stations, Radio stations and cable willing to give away their airtime to clients to buy #CTV | #Streaming | #OTT   Is there a product worthless, I think not (but they may think it is, who knows). Do they get free streaming inventory, absolutely not Are there streaming margins that high...

Wendy Longley is #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested?

A Fresh Start Every Day: My Powerful Morning Routine Personal and Business. For years, I've carved out the first 30 minutes of each morning to set the tone for the next 16 hours. It's a ritual that transcends yesterday's events and to-do lists, greeting each sunrise as a clean slate. This approach has made a world of difference in both my professional and personal life. Even before climbing out of bed, I take a moment to focus on gratitude. I reflect on the people who enrich my life, the experiences that bring joy, and the positive moments that color my world. This practice sets a positive foundation. I also use this time to mentally prepare for upcoming tasks and goals. Like my upcoming bike ride for MS on April 20th – the mental training starts today! Sunlight is my next priority. Stepping outside bathes me in natural light, resetting my internal clock and boosting my energy levels. Once I'm fully awake, I stretch and perform breathing & balance exercises to get my body moving. Finally, I take a cold plunge – either a dip in the pool or a cold shower. Throughout this entire routine, I stay screen-free, avoiding TV's Computers and phones my ritual is complete. My MS Ride journey hasn't been smooth sailing. Surgery in November threw me off track for 8 weeks. Once returning to riding, the usual challenges of work, weather, and personal recovery hampered consistent training to 3 rides a total of 60 miles. In mid-March, COVID-19 sidelined me for 2 weeks (I still feel fatigued from covid) . I now have 16 days left until the ride, my resolve is strong, I will complete my ride (a bit slow). This event holds special meaning – I'm riding to Raise Awareness and Funds for MS and to honor my mother who battled Parkinson's for 20 years. She past in 1993 but it does not seem like 31 years to me. Sharing my story has two goals: Fundraising: Every contribution to my ride brings me closer to my goal. You can donate here (link to your ride). I am currently at $4735 goal to get to 5K need $265 more https://lnkd.in/ephV9kze Morning Routine Inspiration: Life throws curveballs, work can be demanding, but finding strategies like this morning routine can equip us with resilience and success. I encourage you to try it and see how it transforms your day! Best to you

The Spark of Excellence Remember that pre-COVID feeling? That drive to go above and beyond. Let's reignite that spark and bring back the extraordinary in everything we do! Ordinary vs. Extraordinary: A World of Difference Ordinary is...well, ordinary. It's the routine, the expected, the "just getting by." Extraordinary, on the other hand, is exceptional, remarkable. It's exceeding expectations and leaving a lasting impression. Lessons Learned at Sea: Service Matters I just returned from a fantastic great cruise. The difference between a good Cruise and a Great cruise for the workers are the gratuities above and beyond the daily standard/required. Every person I came into contact with was pleasant and greeted me with a big smile. They were all very helpful. I have dietary restrictions and my waiter was absolutely amazing. While employees on cruise ships work long hours and sacrifice time with family for six months at a time it was fairly evident they were happy to be working. Keep in mind it wasn't long ago that the cruise industry was in disarray because of COVID. I don't know if it's new but they certainly have an appreciation for work. This experience highlighted the power of service-based pay. It's about exceeding the minimum, creating loyal customers who rave about their experience. In my line of work, these "raving fans" are the key to new business. Bottling that Enthusiasm: A Call to Action Keep in mind 80 to 90% of ship employees are not from the US. Wouldn't it be amazing to replicate that cruise crew's enthusiasm everywhere? In including the US. In the US, post-COVID work culture can seem focused on just getting by. Let's change that!

CTV & OTT are close, but not the same thing. All advertising impressions are not equal. CTV is a great equalizer. Many individuals use CTV and OTT interchangeably. CTV advertising exclusively occupies the television screen, excluding ads on computers, phones, tablets, and other non-TV devices. OTT video is transmitted over the Internet, similar to CTV, but appears on computers, phones, tablets, and more. You can find the article here from eMarketer on the difference. https://bit.ly/3Pd5dnv All ad impressions are not the same. CTV is full-screen, people build rooms around their big screens, making CTV a central point of interaction. CTV ads frequently capture multiple viewers, and have a substantially higher video completion rate than smaller devices. This contrasts with the small size of OTT ads on phones, and the potential oversight of OTT ads on computers if the viewer is focused on a different tab. The discrepancy between CTV and OTT is evident. CTV is a marketers equalizer CTV is the equalizer, shifting power and influence from major media conglomerates to savvy marketers and advertisers. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on buying programs, targeting Age and Gender, and hoping to reach your ultimate customer, CTV targets audiences. It enables advertisers to hone in on specific in-market, interested, qualified audiences. With a meticulously crafted CTV campaign and a precisely defined target audience, smaller budgets can effectively compete with industry giants, yielding meaningful results for marketers. Lets talk CTV

Bring on the streaming era, welcome the advertisements! Above graphic from eMarketer Link to full article here https://bit.ly/3TmoCoz Streaming audiences have demonstrated their acceptance of advertising repeatedly. 60 to 70% of Peacock & Hulu subscribers to ad supported plans. Netflix has quickly added 24,000,000 to their ad-supported option. It is still early with Amazon (advertising just started 1/29/24), I have read that about 9% of Amazon users opt for ad-free experience. I have seen forecasts that go as high as 15% of Amazon users going for Ad-Free. That leaves 85% of Amazon viewers watching ad-supported.   Many viewers claim they don't like commercials. In reality, it is through advertising that they discover products and services that benefit their lives. Leveraging #Streaming #CTV #OTT for advertising is advantageous to both viewers and marketers. This approach entails smarter marketing, offering more relevance through improved targeting, tracking, reporting, and overall effectiveness in delivering valuable content to the audience. Let's talk CTV & Streaming I have some great ideas that may benefit you

When your company’s Org Chart looks like Wile E. Coyotes blueprint to catch the Road Runner you can probably guess what's going to happen next This serves as a continuation of a post shared on February 18, Call me old school but I believe salespeople are getting too far away from their customers. Initially, I intended to kick off this continuance with quotes from the iconic movie "Glengarry Glen Ross," specifically the famous lines, "Coffee is for Closers"... "Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired." However, my narrative took a turn when I stumbled upon our 2016 New and Improved Organizational Chart, it was just like Wile E. Coyote's elaborate blueprints to catch the Roadrunner. The crux of the matter lies in the transformation that unfolded around 2016, not just in the company I was associated with but also across various broadcast companies. It commenced with the centralization of traffic, followed by the consolidation or integration of national sales. This restructuring journey then cascaded into significant overhauls within local sales departments. The shift involved a pivot from core product focus to a myriad of offerings, accompanied by the introduction of intricate compensation plans and the creation of what seemed like arbitrary job titles. The consequence of such organizational complexity was confusion among employees, it created a lack of accountability & trust, a talent drain, and an overall descent into mediocrity. It's akin to Wile E. Coyote's genius plans to capture the Roadrunner—ambitious but ultimately doomed to fail. While I speculate that revisions have occurred since 2018 when I choose to leave, it is disheartening to acknowledge the departure of numerous valuable individuals from the industry during this tumultuous period. Personally, I opted for a different trajectory. Today, I take pride in being the owner of a small #CTV #Streaming company that upholds significant values. Embracing an old-school ethos, I hold dear the authentic relationships with my clients, considering them my true north in the ever-evolving landscape of business.

Don Koehler Don here's the problem with this article and it was not addressed. When you and I first started we knew the process top to bottom. We were accountable every step of the way from understanding pricing, to seeing demand on inventory, from pre to post sale planning, we would often walk into the traffic department o make sure things were good. We were painfully aware of pre empts, program changes... and part of our day was optimizing our clients schedules. Today many digital sellers are trained specifically to sell, not to understand. I always say seek first to understand then to be understood. In fact when it comes to digital sales many are told their job depends on it. They parrot what the trainers tell them and it is not always the truth. I specifically remember we were trained to sell products we didn't have. As soon as I found out about it I stopped it immediately and had arguments with corporate. Many sellers have zero training on what it takes to run a campaign. What it takes to optimize a campaign, what the real truth is behind footfall, match rates, margins… Many sellers operate under tremendous pressure from corporate and sales managers. They lack a true understanding of the products they sell. This leads to overstating the facts and under-delivering the promise and breaks client trust. It makes me cringe. Keep in mind a lot of this knowledge is hard to acquire because much digital is not handled within the building. For some reason, there is a cloak of secrecy around much of what the digital department does. Fixing the above will go a long way towards fixing sales outcomes

Faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap Broadcast & Cable in just a few years, CTV Streaming is Super. What's next, could Paramount+ Peacock merge? Don't blink #CTV #Streaming #OTT has already changed how viewers consume media and how advertisers and marketers influence their best customers. We are in a demos + world, today's best marketers are using data and technology to improve the impact, relevance, and engagement of their advertising. It is still early in the streaming life cycle. Changes are being announced early and often. 2 weeks ago 2/6/2024 I read an article about ESPN, FOX, & Warner Brothers forming a sports streaming package for fall 2024. Last week 2/16/24 I read an article about Peacock & Paramount+ potentially merging. In the #CTV | #Streaming | OTT world both of these announcements are already old news. I recall when Pluto, Xumo, Tubi & Crackle were the only names in CTV & Streaming (way back when people only called it OTT). I remember reading articles where Reed Hastings, then CEO, of Netflix said Netflix will never have advertising. By the way that was 2019 or 2020, not long ago. I guess never is not really never! I am really amazed by all of the new and quality supply sources. It is only a matter of time before most entertainment, movies, and sports are streamed. Advertisers follow audiences, and they are following them directly to CTV & Steaming. It is smarter marketing and advertising through better targeting, tracking, reporting, and more Let's talk CTV and Streaming

Call me old school, I believe salespeople are getting too far away from their customers. Everything starts with the client and the salesperson should be responsible for every step of the process. It takes time and effort to build strong customer relationships and trust. Customer bonds can be destroyed in a poor conversation, a misinterpreted e-mail, a strange text, or the dreaded mention of SLA (sales level agreement) and the salesperson not stepping up and taking full responsibility for the entire chain. When I started the advertising business, I would make a sale and own the process order to post sale. Years later sales assistants were added, but I was still responsible for the process and the outcome. Fast forward a few more years account managers, with little or no relationship to the clients, were added. They took over the order once the sale was made, removing the seller. The goal was to free up time for the salesperson to sell more clients. It is not spoken about but this caused a problem of poor customer satisfaction, lack of loyalty, customer attrition, and low employee morale. The additional layers also introduced a new term to the sales process. The dreaded term SLA. That stands for Sales Level Agreement. The SLA gives everyone an excuse not to get their work done quickly, accurately, and somehow absolves most involved of responsibility. Relationships build sales. Trust wins ties. When businesses focus more on internal issues than external customers no one gains Full story here https://bit.ly/3I4mYS3