2010 forecasts: Confidence makes its return?

In our yearly forecast from the AAAAs, RAB, TVB, CAB, IAB, NAA, SNTA and OAAA, RBR-TVBR asked major industry organization heads for their 2010 outlook, insights, solutions and ideas.

2010 looks to be a rebound year, given the horrific comps for most media in 2009. Confidence is up, and most are conservatively optimistic that dollars and ad categories will make their return – at least sometime in 2010. As well, new technologies in most media aim to grab the attention of agencies and advertisers, with the promise of greater accountability and ROI.

RBR-TVBR spoke to:

Jeff Haley, Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) President/CEO;
Steve Lanzano, Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) President;
Stephen Freitas, Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Chief Marketing Officer;
Mitch Burg, Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA) President;
Sean Cunningham, Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB) CEO;
John Sturm, Newspaper Association of America (NAA) CEO;
Nancy Hill, American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) President/CEO; and
Randall Rothenberg, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) President/CEO

What is the outlook for 2010 for your industry?—local and national if you can break it down that way as well.
Haley: We see a big Radio rebound in both Local and National revenue for 2010. Currently the pace of volume recovery is leading price recovery but that should continue to improve as well as the year goes on. Published surveys stated that the end of 2009 would be better than first half and we’re continuing to see positive signs. There are several additional anecdotal indicators that advertising dollars will increase in 2010. Throughout 2009, we saw National advertisers reintroduce themselves to Radio because of its efficiencies.  The benefits of local and national on-air assets combined with Radio’s digital platforms can provide opportunities that today’s marketers are seeking.

Lanzano: We have seen some positive momentum going into 2010. Auto continues to improve. CMO surveys have been encouraging, indicating increased budgets.  Political should be very strong. Although we are holding with our earlier forecasts (1-3% growth in local, 6-12% growth in national and overall spot growth of 3.6-6.1%), these growth rates may prove to be conservative. We also expect station website growth of 18% and mobile growth of 50%.

Frietas: Overall, the outlook is good for 2010. The ad industry in general and the outdoor advertising industry specifically, are recovering. On all levels, we expect the emergence of TAB’s new EYES ON ratings system to significantly help local, regional, and national advertisers by providing the extensive data that is comparable to other media. Local clients are the bread and butter of outdoor advertising, and local ad placement is particularly showing signs of improvement. We’re seeing, anecdotally, an increase in the number of proposals on the local level, though the lead time on these buys is becoming shorter. In all areas, outdoor advertising is coming back and we’re optimistic about 2010.

Burg: The 2010 outlook for Syndication is strong because we provide a superior value in the national television marketplace.  Economists project that the recession will continue to be an important consideration through at least the first half of the year.  Marketers recognize that Syndicated television is an attractive national television selection for its great programming, important viewers and leadership performance across the year.  These three factors combine to make nationally syndicated television a trusted component of the marketing mix.

Cunningham: The 2010 Cable outlook is for more growth both nationally & locally. Nationally, Cable networks were the only major media in the US landscape that GREW in 2009 – up 1.8% from 2008 to $18.7 billion in 2009 – look for another growth year in 2010. National scatter demand has been strong since summer 2009 and all of the continued rating/reach growth momentum of the multi-platform Cable brands points to a strong 2010. Locally, we’re looking forward to growth as well, both on the core business and through Olympic/ Political dollars in 2010.   

Hill: The consensus among our member agencies appears to be a sense of cautious optimism. And if the conversations with members and the chatter among the participants in our business development blog http://www2.aaaa.org/news/blogs/AAAA-Blogs/default.aspx are any indication, marketers are ramping up by inquiring about agency capabilities and services, and new business activity appears to be on the rise.

Sturm: There are signs that the economy is starting to stabilize.  As the economic picture begins to improve, newspapers will continue to be a strong choice for advertisers seeking to reach an engaged audience across multiple platforms.

Rothenberg: As you know, the IAB doesn’t issue projections.  But what I can say is that our sector’s performance compares favorably with most other ad-supported media segments.  Broadly, U.S. ad spend fell 14.3% in 2009 but interactive advertising revenues were only down 5.3 percent, indicating that a significant shift of advertising share from offline to online media is underway and we believe that this will continue to occur on a national level. 
Local still appears under-represented in interactive – probably because local advertisers aren’t as familiar with the medium and its opportunities. But there’s an enormous amount of activity in that space, and we are seeing some fascinating business models emerge. There are interactive businesses that provide self-serve advertising solutions at a local and hyperlocal level; there are numerous companies combining mobility, social media, and localism; there are major newspaper and television companies introducing fascinating demographic and social products, and training their sales forces sell offline and online packages at the local level. For these and other reasons, we anticipate substantial local growth.

Are you seeing a light at the end of the tunnel?: When was/will there be a “bottoming out” for some of these tough comps—which quarter?
Haley: Yes, we are through the worst of it. Fourth quarter represented the turning point for most groups due to very favorable comparisons to 2008, but this recovery is still a long climb back. We won’t see it all return in one year.

Lanzano: Yes. As I mentioned earlier, we have seen positive signs in November & December. Auto continues to improve. Retail has also picked up. Clearly the final holiday consumer spending tally will affect retail spending in 2010. Pharma has also improved. Political issue advertising, especially the dollars aimed at affecting the health reform debate, has also helped. We may start seeing some improved comps in late Q4, 2009 and Q1, 2010.

Frietas: Absolutely, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We believe the industry bottomed out in Q2 and Q3 of 2009 and we’re seeing promising signs now. For example, dollars for automotive advertising, which were severely reduced by the recession, are coming back.

Burg: A recent TNS study showed that national Syndication had the most robust performance among national television during the first nine months of 2009.  The 4th Quarter scatter marketplace was strong for all of national television, and syndicated television participated well in this environment.  Moving forward, Syndicated television will continue to be a solid performer with leading television personalities, programs that deliver top ratings across the year and superior value.

Cunningham: Looking through the advertiser’s glasses, it’s easy to see that 4Q 2008 & 1Q 2009 was the toughest period for nearly all of them in terms of their predictive confidence in so many economic health metrics, both macro & micro.  A year later those same advertisers seemed to have a much better feel for what their “new reality” was for 2010 business/budget planning. Importantly for Cable advertising, even through the toughest parts of this past economic recession, fared considerably better than all other major US media forms. 

Hill: I heard an agency CEO say a few weeks ago that “The light at the end of the tunnel no longer feels like an oncoming train.” I think that’s a very adept assessment of the general sentiment that’s out there. 2009 was a tough year for many agencies, and while “recovery” may be too strong a term, I certainly think that there appears to be increasing opportunities for agencies in 2010.

Sturm: While there is not great visibility into 2010 and beyond, the broad consensus is that the worst will have passed.  Newspaper companies are looking to the future, with signs indicating that stability, recovery and growth are on the horizon. 

Rothenberg: We don’t make predictions like that. Interactive media are likelier to do fare than most other media categories, but we are subject to the same forces that affect the rest of the economy.

What are you recommending to constituents? Where are opportunities for growth?
Haley: Every discussion with advertisers should include the following: Radio is the medium that complements promotional marketing best; review what’s new about Radio every time we go to market; and Radio’s Reach Relevance and Receptivity.
As the shift of dollars from media to marketing continues, Radio is primed to receive its share – and more.  Local marketing prowess, nimbleness, access to passionate and receptive audiences combined with Radio’s interactive platforms all serve as a foundation for growth in the new marketing paradigm.

Lanzano: I took this job because I strongly believe in the power of local broadcast TV.  I’m encouraging television stations to continue to aggressively sell in traditionally strong categories and open up new revenue streams including new categories, integrated marketing, web, mobile and hyper-local.

Frietas: We’re recommending our constituents focus on the core aspects of the medium: providing great reach and frequency, low CPMs and high value. Outdoor advertising companies should focus on those things which make the medium so attractive – that it can’t be shut off, that it reaches the consumer at the point of sale, and that it has a high recall. Additionally, companies should take advantage of the new ratings system, which helps level the playing field between outdoor and other media.
As far as opportunities, we’re seeing a paradigm shift, particularly in local media. Dollars which once went to other media formats aren’t going there any more – so there’s a lot of money on the table that will need to go somewhere else. Out of home is particularly well positioned to snap up those dollars because as other audiences fragment and decrease, out of home’s audience is growing, the delivery methods are becoming more sophisticated and attractive, and the measurement is second to none.

Burg: Our meetings focus on how we can help marketers achieve superior communications performance.  Studies continue to show that television provides the best return in generating positive sales results.  One of the ways that Syndication accomplishes this is through our program formatting where marketers can run in shorter pods that achieve higher recall and greater program audience retention through the commercial breaks.

Cunningham: Cable’s assets for advertisers only got stronger throughout 2009 into 2010 – terrific multi-platform brands, targeting precision by both demographic and geography, with linear and non-linear strength and seemingly perpetual audience growth are big assets for advertisers.  We will be both in local markets and at national advertisers/agencies throughout 1Q 2010 addressing the nuanced needs of each market/category.

Hill: Toward the end of last year, we issued a handful of papers and provided guidance to our members to prepare for bluer skies in 2010. Really, I think that there are greater opportunities now more than ever for agencies to step up and lead client businesses. In 2010, as it has been for roughly the past decade, there are still opportunities for growth in digital, particularly in social media channels and user-generated content.

Sturm: We have continued to support our member newspapers as they transform their business models to position themselves as key players in an increasingly competitive media environment.  This includes growing audience across multiple platforms – print, digital and mobile – while continuing to promote the best value to advertisers seeking to reach an affluent, highly engaged audience.

Rothenberg: Learn more about the diversity of the distinctions within the customer marketplace. Consumer brand marketing and direct marketing are different, and generally require different products and services to achieve different goals. We’re telling media companies to build other revenue streams outside of standard formatted advertising – including marketing services of various sorts. We’re telling our technology-oriented members to learn – and learn deeply – what marketers and agencies do for a living, in order to serve them and their consumers better. We’re stressing the importance of multi-platform marketing; the IAB-Bain “Building Brands Online” study clearly showed brand marketers want to develop comprehensive and creative campaigns that cover multiple media. We’re telling them to be more aware of the political environment: Washington and the states are in a pro-regulation mood, and companies need to be more aggressive than ever in making sure the politicians don’t damage their businesses with unnecessarily or sloppily drawn regulations. They also need to be vigilant in protecting their consumers’ privacy, for this is an industry that depends on consumer trust. Finally, we continue to see enormous amounts of innovation – in video, audio, local, display monetization, and mobile. So knowing how to test and exploit innovative opportunities without getting overwhelmed by them is as important as ever.

What ad categories are looking best for next year? Why?
Haley: Radio’s top 5 categories (Auto, Communications, Financial, Restaurants and TV) will continue to be strong in 2010 – as they have for the past 5 years.  Communications and Restaurants will maintain their top status throughout 2010.  We’re seeing many positive indicators coming from the Automotive category – on the dealer front as well as the manufacturer side.
Political will definitely boost Radio’s revenue in 2010 with gubernatorial races and congressional elections.  Issue advertising, dominated by health care reform, will no doubt positively impact political dollars spent in Radio. 

Lanzano: Political will be very strong with some estimates of over $3B behind a large number of congressional & gubernatorial races. 2010 auto annual unit sales estimates have hovered around +10%, with a high of +20%. This should bode well for increased dealer association and manufacturer spending. Pharma also has some upside with new DTC launches. Pent up consumer demand could help with retail although the retail category is still the most tenuous and volatile. Advertising spending closely follows consumer confidence which is still down mainly due to a jobless recovery.

Frietas: We’re looking at five categories for particular growth next year. Restaurants, media, and communications have been strong through the recession and we expect them to continue to grow. People are still eating at restaurants, particularly value chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King – both of which are big users of outdoor advertising. Media entertainment properties such as the motion picture industry are not being hurt as much by the recession and continue to spend. Communications, particularly wireless, is a highly competitive industry and the industry is a heavy user of out of home – that will continue.
Retail, as it bounces back, will need to advertise to bring customers back into the stores – we’re already seeing an increase in proposals along those lines, so retail is looking good for 2010. And, financial, after being down in 2009, is coming back in a big way as banks and financial institutions engage in image repair and rebranding.

Burg: Syndication is a dual revenue model that efficiently reaches every target segment with highly rated, broad ranging programming.  This breadth of programming allows syndicators to be relevant to young skewing categories such as mobile phones, important to Mom’s for packaged goods, and essential to mature audiences that pharmaceutical company’s desire. 

Cunningham: We’re looking for a lift across the board among the 40-some-odd product categories (all measured categories) that advertise in Cable nationally & locally. Some of the big overall advertising decliners of 2009 such as automotive will certainly rebound a bit in 2010 and an influx of political ad dollars in 2010 will certainly help, but growth should occur across a myriad of categories to drive Cable’s 2010 ad success.  

Hill: It’s too easy to say that digital has a strong outlook in 2010, particularly mobile apps and e-readers, but it’s true. However, I’m a firm believer that the best advertisers use everything in their arsenal. It’s simply a matter of how you mix those media—and then adjust accordingly. One category that everyone should have their eyes on—if they’re not already considering—is analytics. Marketers are asking agency partners to do a lot more for a lot less, and true, quantifiable data will be critical to support the value that agencies provide to clients.

Sturm: We have recently seen some modest directional improvement in key categories such as retail and classified. 

Rothenberg: Anything we say has to be accompanied by caution; we’re still in a recession, and if we hit a “double dip,” the economy can get ugly again. Still,  I think most media segments are seeing rebounds in automotive, financial services, telecomm consumer electronics, and even such recession-sundered categories as travel. In interactive, we hear these categories are showing some strength. Packaged goods has always been a laggard in interactive, but will probably pick up steam as innovative CPG marketers show success with highly creative programs. And let’s not forget direct marketing – retailers, fundraisers, and others continue to transfer enormous amounts of activity and spend from the US mail into interactive channels.

What is the biggest issue your industry is facing that you would like to tackle (or continue to tackle) in 2010?
Haley: I would like to see the industry improve its listener experience with a better implementation of RDS and RDS+ tagging for our new partners in distribution - Apple and Microsoft. Allowing listeners to view artist and song data and then tag it for purchase is a development that nearly 50% of broadcasters have taken advantage of. It brings interactivity to Radio and will evolve our business model to include interactive advertising in the very near future.
In addition better creative and improved accountability are still on the radar for 2010.  The Radio Creative Summit was a great success. We launched BestofRadio.com to create a forum for the industry to share ideas and learn about making great Radio ads.  It helped raised the awareness of Radio’s power as a personal and relevant medium within the creative community but we’re not stopping here.  We’ll continue to emphasize Radio’s unique attributes to marketers, provide them with insights on how to message to their consumers more effectively and encourage research to prove Radio’s ROI. 

Lanzano: Growth opportunities from categories that have not spent as much in local in recent years and categories/advertisers that we believe should be spending locally that are not. We believe there is a very strong ROI story that needs to be told regarding the effectiveness of local broadcast. Recently there was a story in Ad Age regarding a major health care provider that shifted their national TV budget to local. The result was a significant increase in additional revenue and a decrease in cost-per-lead. We believe this strategic marketing change would bode well for many other advertisers.

Frietas: All three branches of the federal government are addressing issues which could have some bearing on the outdoor advertising industry in 2010. We’re keeping a close eye on those developments.

Burg: Our industry needs to focus on delivering messages to valuable audiences for marketers.  In order to do this, we need to have great programs that attract significant audience, deliver younger viewers, have formats that keep viewers through the breaks and build innovative solutions that defeat the DVR.  
Great programming attracts viewers and Syndicated television continues to focus on delivering great new content.  Each year for the last seven years, Syndication successfully introduced a new franchise that’s become a household name:  Dr. Phil (2002), Ellen (2003), The Insider (2004), Tyra (2005), Rachael Ray (2006), TMZ (2007) and The Doctors (2008).  For the 2010-11 season, we’re looking at the largest group of first run candidates in many years.
Syndication has proven that the sitcom is very much alive with Two and a Half Men, Family Guy and The Office joining perennial favorites Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends.  Syndication’s sitcoms combine national leadership ratings with a significantly younger audience delivery than network primetime.  Our pipeline is full with the Syndication runs of How I Met Your Mother, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage joining the national Syndication sitcom lineup.

Cunningham: The US consumer’s emergence from this recession into new spending patterns and the country’s overall economic health trumps all other 2010 issues. We believe that Cable will continue to be a must-have component of any sales approach to a 2010 consumer from brand-building to price-point & location-driven advertising.

Hill: It’s difficult to pinpoint a single “big” issue that the industry is facing, so in no particular order:
* Diversity and inclusion remains a critical issue that the entire media and marketing ecosystem must address. It’s not just something that agencies must contend with. I strongly believe that in order for there to be true inclusion in the advertising business, all partners—agencies, clients, media—need to thoughtfully and proactively have diversity policies and strategies in place to ensure that our business accurately reflects the diversity of the consumer population.
* Digital technologies have dramatically transformed all aspects of the media and marketing ecosystem, and agencies must continually adapt to new technologies that are coming at us and find ways to use technology to their clients’ advantage. In many case, this means revising or upgrading skills.
* Also, I think that defining what is the “new normal” for agencies and advertisers in this new economic environment will be an essential task, especially in the first half of 2010.

Sturm: Next year, NAA will focus on public policy issues that affect the newspaper business, including tax issues, the need for a federal shield law and media ownership rules.  We will continue to help the industry grow advertising revenue and audience, and will communicate our industry’s transformation to advertisers, suppliers and media.

Rothenberg: For us it breaks down to two critical areas—the first is our strategic objective to sustain self-regulation.  This year together with the 4As, ANA, DMA and CBBB, we developed the industry’s first Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. It’s going to be absolutely essential that media, marketers, agencies, and service providers step up and support the self-regulatory program we’re building through these associations – and when I support, I mean with actions AND with money. They have got to show by word and deed that they love their consumers, deserve their trust, and are willing to be scrutinized by a strong self-enforcement mechanism.
The second is the ongoing measurement troubles that plague the rapidly evolving interactive media industry. The IAB continues to take the lead in improving online measurement.  We are committed to helping all stakeholders in the interactive space by advocating transparency and improving the methodologies of measuring audience size, ad effectiveness and consumer behavior online. Some of those steps include the creation of measurement guidelines and the establishment of a Cross-Industry Measurement Task Force representing media companies, marketers and agencies to drive change and make measurement make sense. 

What is the biggest project you will be working on for 2010 to help your industry? What are some recent accomplishments?
Haley: Our expanded partnership with the NAB is a huge project because, for the first time, we are going to be jointly producing a series of events that allow the industry to come together and speak with one voice. The combined Radio show is just the beginning of what the two organizations can accomplish together. Our training will continue to be crucial to the industry and we will be rolling out several new products over the next few months.

Lanzano: As mentioned previously, continuing to sell local broadcast as a missed marketing opportunity to those advertisers /categories & agency partners currently not using spot or to using spot to a limited extent. We believe there is a powerful ROI story we could be making. In fact in some of our smaller to mid-sized markets we have been moving away from traditional metrics and making an ROI argument that has been very successful.
We must continue helping our industry with new revenue streams including digital and multi-platform.
We will be expanding our purchase funnel research demonstrating the dominant influence of television in both upper (awareness) and lower (purchase intent) funnel segments across all categories.
We also have been catalysts to continued e-business solutions. We will be announcing another major milestone for ePort in early January.

Frietas: Last year it was the roll out of EYES ON – this year it’s the implementation. This new ratings system is a major shift for the industry and it’s up to the industry to educate agencies and brands about the new system. OAAA, TAB, and the industry as a whole will be devoting considerable effort to education about EYES ON in 2010.
The industry is very environmentally conscious, and in 2009 it completed a conversion of the majority of poster inventory in the United States to a recyclable substrate. Since last March, the industry has recycled over 1 million pounds of material. We view this as a significant achievement for the industry and the environment.

Burg: The SNTA endeavors to provide marketers and their agencies with relevant insights that help them achieve success.  Our economic situation is different than in years past and this raises both new opportunities and approaches.  During the first half of 2010, we will offer perspectives that address effectively reaching younger viewers, ways that marketers who depend on the weekend sales can succeed, and ways that marketers can effectively reach viewers in DVR households, as well as new multiplatform approaches.
For example, while retailers conduct business every day of the year, their greatest sales occur at Christmas and at Back to School.  The SNTA shared information on how to better communicate during these key timeframes, how the recession has impacted the peak sales weeks within these events, even how consumers changing mode of payment suggests new communications approaches. 

Cunningham: Like the CAB’s previous years, our biggest projects will be dictated ultimately by the advertisers & agencies we call on daily. How US media consumers process video advertising on different screens continues to be a key area for continued CAB research and we’re excited to again field a major multi-screen study in 2010. With respect to our recent accomplishments, 2009 saw the CAB provide more research/rationale about video consumption & advertising in more markets than ever before. If we are being of real use to a record number of advertisers/agencies/markets, that was/is our most important “accomplishment”.   

Hill: Providing the best professional development and training opportunities for our constituents continue to be important projects for the 4A’s. Possessing the right and relevant skills to succeed and thrive in the business has changed tremendously over the past decade and that change will only accelerate.
In 2009, the 4A’s collaborated with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), to release self-regulatory principles—that were praised by the FTC—to protect consumer privacy in ad-supported interactive media that will require advertisers and Web sites to clearly inform consumers about data collection practices and enable them to exercise control over that information.

Sturm: Lobbying for our medium’s interests on Capitol Hill will continue to be our primary focus.  In just the last year, NAA advocacy efforts resulted in Congress approving a provision that would allow newspapers (and other businesses) to carry back losses from either 2008 or 2009 income for five years and receive refunds from previous taxes paid.  We also persuaded the U.S. Postal Service to revise new postal rates that would have been detrimental to newspaper companies, and have made significant progress on moving a media shield bill through the full Senate.
In the last year, we also released new NAA research that quantified the impact newspaper advertising has on consumer spending.  We will continue to forcefully and creatively deliver the industry’s value proposition in 2010.

Rothenberg: As part of our industry-wide effort self-regulation effort, the IAB is in the process of creating a comprehensive privacy program based on a foundation of consumer education and an industry code of conduct that we believe is critical  to forestalling adverse legislation.  As part of this program we have launched the industry’s first major consumer educational campaign on targeted online advertising, “Privacy Matters,” which will run well into 2010 across a broad swath of IAB member company inventory.  The campaign was launched in December of 2009 with 500 million donated impressions and our goal is 1 billion impressions—enough to reach every American and provide them with the tools and information so that they can manage their privacy online. 
Another important area of work for the IAB is the continuing transformation of the supply chain within interactive advertising, reducing costs and discrepancies.  At the end of 2009, together with the 4As, the IAB released an updated Standard Terms and Condition (Ts&Cs) contract that encompasses the breadth of advertising platforms and tools that are currently used in interactive advertising.  In 2010, we will continue the rollout and adoption of the Ts and Cs and the “supply chain reinvention” initiative the two associations spearheaded.  This program, which includes the adoption of standardized e-business tools and practices, will save publishers and agencies tens of millions of dollars annually in such areas as discrepancies resolution.

What new technology(ies) will help your medium in 2010?
Haley: Streaming, multi-casting via HD, mobile devices, branded opt-in communities, music purchases from Radio are just some of the technologies that will continue to change Radio’s perception in 2010.  Radio’s on-air core business combined with these technologies provides a menu of interactive opportunities for marketers to reach their customers.

Lanzano: The DTV transition has been completed successfully after local stations spent billions in making the conversion.  New consumer and advertiser benefits are now possible, including the build-out of mobile.  TVB will work closely with the OMVC to make agencies & advertisers aware of current and future mobile applications.  This is definitely a home run for local television stations: a recent survey by Magid Media Lab found that local news and information content will drive live mobile DTV, with “88% of respondents expressing interest in watching this content on mobile devices.”
The stations are rolling out new digital sub-channel programming, including local community & diversity programming.   And hyper-local continues to be a growing opportunity.

Frietas: Digital remains at the forefront of the outdoor advertising industry and will be leading the charge in 2010. Digital billboard deployment is helping to drive growth in outdoor advertising companies operating them. Digital out of home networks are expanding in many spaces and that technology is helping make out of home a medium of choice for accessing hard to reach consumers, especially young people on the go, with relevant messages.
Additionally, technology is making the industry greener, a trend which will continue in 2010. More recyclable substrates are becoming viable, lighting is getting more efficient, experiments are underway with solar and wind powered billboards, green bus shelters are being built – the list goes on. All of it shows the commitment this industry has to being a good corporate citizen and advertisers appreciate that dedication.

Burg: Syndication continues to innovate new approaches and applications.  Our multi-platform integrated programs have moved marketers into new and exciting communications solutions that put their brands at the forefront of the media experience. Today’s Syndication solutions delivers content through on-air, on-line,  mobile, tweets, database, blogs, FSI’s and in-store solutions that drive sales every day.

Cunningham: From consumer video consumption to advertiser stewardship, technology continues to drive Cable in its marketplaces. At both the network and the MSO level, the ways a consumer can access Cable video content continues to expand into 2010. While technologies providing options such as on-demand escalate in use, similar strides have been achieved to make electronic stewardship of Cable buys more turnkey than ever before.  Another interesting evolution in video sampling/consumption has been the effect of massive internet video & social networking sites on the growth of Cable TV viewing. Part of our record-high levels of televised Cable content has been because of all of the tuning in that occurs from the snippets of content available across the internet. As the entire video industry continues to come to grips with new economic models that help drive proliferation of content and the “feeder” affect that has back to Cable TV, watch for 2010 to be another year of technology-enabled Cable growth.

Hill: N/A to 4A’s.

Sturm: New technologies such as the Kindle and other e-readers could provide an additional platform for newspapers to reach a new audience, further monetizing the award-winning content our medium produces each day.  In addition, many newspapers are working to harness mobile technology to reach new audiences.

Rothenberg: Constant technological change is a hallmark of interactive.  Even in a tough economy there are always new ad formats and technologies being launched, and the IAB tries to stay informed about the whole spectrum of the industry. But even for us, there’s too much to follow. Some of the change-agent technologies will be new; “augmented reality” tools are coming into the market and showing exciting promise in linking mobility, social media, and local advertising. New generation mobile devices are causing a lot of excitement among print and video content companies and consumer and entertainment marketers. Then again, there are “old” technologies that are undergoing a complete transformation, like television: Finally, full Internet access is coming to your 50-inch HDTV!
But at IAB, we’re also excited about the back-end sausage making. The work we’ve done on digital video standardization and systematization will lead to enormous growth in online video advertising. We also are watching with interest the emergence of so-called “ad verification services,” a relatively new category of vendor in the supply chain that help publishers demonstrate to advertisers where and when their ads run online, and in many cases whether those ads were actually visible to end users, and for how long.  These metrics may help improve advertisers’ confidence in the interactive medium.

--Carl Marcucci