On Monday, April 10th, over 500 advertisers, ad executives, marketers, publishers, media and research professionals gathered in Dodger Stages in midtown Manhattan to hear media representatives debate and discuss cross media advertising.

Round 3 featured executives from every major media trade association representing broadcast TV, cable, direct marketing, Internet, magazine, newspaper, outdoor and radio. GroupM's Futures Director Adam Smith moderated the discussion and directed questions to the audience for live, wireless voting, provided by MSInteractive.

Bill Sidwell, Director, Global Brand Strategy & Management of HP, presented a creative brief for a "mock" campaign aimed at younger consumers who are "stylish, passionate, and young at heart" for his brand. Each of the panelists responded with a short recommendation as to why their medium should be included in the mix, and according to the audience vote, the Internet made the most compelling case. View Chart

Kenneth Romanzi, Senior Vice President and COO, Domestic of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. presented his "mock" campaign brief to "reintroduce the cranberry to America," targeting women ages 40+ who are head of households and are heavy juice, beverage, and snack consumers. After each media representative presented their recommendations, the audience voted that magazines made the most compelling case to be included in Ocean Spray's media mix, followed closely by Internet and cable. View Chart

Other highlights from the discussion

The number one cross media wish of the audience was "accurate and affordable cross media metrics," while "changing the old habits of planners, account managers, and clients" came in at a close second. View Chart

Newspaper is the medium facing the most challenges, according to the audience, followed by broadcast TV and radio. View Chart

One of the main take-aways from the discussion was that the old ways of distinguishing each medium as separate and unique for planning purposes is no longer a viable approach. Based on the comments from each media representative, many of the media are creating experiences to reach consumers, and many of them cross over from broadcast TV and cable to the Web, event marketing and mobile phones to get advertisers' messages across to key target audiences.

Featured Media Executives: 

Moderated by: Adam Smith, Futures Director — GroupM

Commentary by: Michael Bürgi, Editor — Mediaweek

Questions? Contact: marketing@dynamiclogic.com