Advertisers tell commercial TV to keep marketing the medium

Advertisers and media buyers who attended Tuesday’s Thinkbox Experience have warned that the commercial broadcasters who put together the event should not leave it too late before organising a follow-up session.

They applauded the television sales houses – ITV Sales, Channel 4, Five, Sky Media, Viacom Brand Solutions, IDS, Turner Broadcasting and GMTV – for putting their differences aside and organising the event to help market the power of TV.

Bernard Balderston, associate director of media at Procter & Gamble, says: “I wouldn’t leave it a year to follow up the event. I would encourage them to keep the format short and snappy and to do it twice a year.”

Andy Zonfrillo, broadcast buying director at MindShare, was also impressed with the event, which married onstage panel discussions with breakout interactive sessions on topics such as branded content, interactive advertising, and advertising effectiveness and accountability.

“They have shown they can work together, but the challenge is taking that co-operation forward,” he says.

John Billett of Billetts thought the three-hour event was slick and had depth and variation.

“The broadcasters worked hard not to let anyone talk about their own companies and trading issues,” he said, but added: “Some of the sessions ended up being a little simplistic.”

However, Balderston thought that the event was well-targeted at mid-market advertisers’ level of market knowledge.

Sky Media commercial director Mark Wood says: “The goal of ThinkBox Experience is to inspire and inform advertisers about TV.”

He says the event will be followed up with e-mail updates about TV news and round-table discussions with advertisers. He adds that ThinkBox will be sponsoring the IPA Advertising Effectiveness Awards.

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