CCTV auction signals end to adspend fears of clients in mainland

<p>The annual benchmark CCTV auction, held on November 8 in Beijing, </p><p>showed an increase over last year's turnover of 12 per cent - a stark </p><p>contrast to 1999's drop of 34 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the results were greeted with mixed feelings, with only a few </p><p>foreign brands making their way to the auction, which sells off the </p><p>primetime slots for the national news and weather report on CCTV for the </p><p>year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The auction brought in RMB 2.15 billion for 2001 slots, up from RMB 1.92 </p><p>billion in 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The overall situation was better than last year according to some media </p><p>executives, while Ms Grace Wen, buying director with Zenith Media </p><p>Beijing pointed out that "two new timeslots were auctioned this year and </p><p>accounted for much of the increase." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While the CCTV auction is an important benchmark for the advertising </p><p>industry, much has changed since its initial beginnings in 1994, making </p><p>the event more transparent amid growing competition and an increasingly </p><p>sophisticated market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While until 1996 the auction was held as a closed bid, a lack of other </p><p>alternatives and effective media measurement tools made bidders </p><p>outperform one another. Following widespread criticism, the auction was </p><p>changed to a partially open bid in 1997, while the winner of the </p><p>"Auction King" title, going to the biggest spender, was also scrapped a </p><p>year later. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Industry experts agree that the open bid has substantially brought down </p><p>the price of advertising slots. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But more clients are looking at the cost efficiency of advertising </p><p>slots and with the auction this is not easy to calculate," said Ms </p><p>Wen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, even though there are more than 1,000 terrestrial, cable and </p><p>provincial satellite channels, nothing challenges the national coverage </p><p>of CCTV, especially for brands with national distribution. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It depends on what the advertiser is looking for. The big budget time </p><p>slots are still worthwhile for some local brands which have national </p><p>distribution," said Mr Gary Sin, Universal McCann Beijing general </p><p>manager. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"People living in remote areas often only have access to low quality </p><p>programming from local TV stations and CCTV is widely watched. Also, it </p><p>is matter of image. The auction gives a brand a big name and </p><p>credibility." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Foreign brands, including Colgate, Philips and Hitachi, have found their </p><p>way onto the slots. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Foreign goods often have their distribution restricted to key cities, </p><p>so there is no need to pay for national coverage," said Mr Charley Kan, </p><p>media director of The Media Edge. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Also, the five-second time slots do not fit in with the marketing </p><p>strategy of international players. They prefer to send out a message for </p><p>a product, while locals like the five-second brand announcement." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This year's auction saw seven timeslots (228 blocks) auctioned off. </p><p>According to Zenith Media, the 3rd Harbin Pharmaceutical Factory was the </p><p>top bidder, spending RMB 112.57 million; the Tai Ji Group for the weight </p><p>loss product Qu Mei came in second with RMB 97.63 million; and Bubugao </p><p>Group for home appliances third with RMB 95.24 million. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While TVCs for electronic goods have cluttered the slots over the last </p><p>two years, and alcohol limited to a few categories, this time medical </p><p>products were the among the top winners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Source: CMM Intelligence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>