Mediacorp 'radically restructures' advertising rate

Mediacorp is reworking its advertising rates as the media industry continues to be in a flux.  In a statement, Mediacorp said that the company is announcing "significant rate card changes that offer clients greater value, effectiveness and impact with their advertising spend.” The restructured TV rate card has also been optimised for parity with digital media. According to Mediacorp this can result in potential savings of up to 80% for clients and the new advertising rates are available from 1 April 2019. “One of the biggest dilemmas advertisers face today is whether to invest in mainstream or digital media. Mediacorp, Singapore’s largest transmedia company, has come a step closer to solving this with a bold restructuring of its advertising rates,” the company said in  a press statement to Marketing. In addition, Mediacorp is offering all-in-one transmedia master contracts which are long term advertising deals of one year or longer covering Mediacorp’s multiple platforms. Mediacorp said that this is the first time that it has “radically restructured its rates and marks a major departure from standard practice in the television industry.” "These changes are part of Mediacorp’s efforts to form the most comprehensive set of transmedia solutions available to marketers in Singapore," it said. In May 2018, Mediacorp introduced a new way of optimising video buys through its blended cost-per-viewer (CPV) model. The model provides reach at the most cost-effective rate across Mediacorp’s TV channels and its over-the-top platform, Toggle. On 1 February 2019, YouTube announced that Mediacorp was its strategic content partner in Singapore, giving advertisers the unprecedented option of buying integrated ads from Mediacorp across YouTube and TV platforms. The new offers are: More competitive TV advertising prices: Mediacorp says it will offer more dynamic rates which take into account seasonal ratings changes. The rates will also be reviewed regularly to reflect the actual ratings performance and ensure advertisers enjoy consistent value. With prices now comparable with digital media, TV advertising is even more cost effective. Better informed choices: As with digital media, advertisers can now buy TV ads using their targeted cost-per-thousand (CPM) as a benchmark. This allows clients to compare the effectiveness of advertising over TV and digital and make better informed choices. Under the blended CPV model, campaign performance is actively monitored and media split is adjusted accordingly to achieve advertisers’ campaign objectives. Greater flexibility: Clients with long term commitments through Mediacorp’s popular Master Contract programme will no longer have their advertising spends tied to specific media. They can now freely deploy their budget across TV, radio, digital and OOH media, thereby leveraging multiple advertising opportunities to suit clients’ changing needs. Mediacorp added that TV "intrinsically holds unique commercial benefits" to advertisers which cannot be replicated on other platforms. It added that TV remains the "most effective platform to reach mass audiences and the medium remains one of the most highly consumed media platforms in Singapore", with nine in 10 people (3.7 million people) watching free-to-air and cable TV on a weekly basis. This gives advertisers the wide reach and extensive coverage they need to ensure superior visibility of their brands, products and services. Moreover, it added that for companies looking to grow their brands, Mediacorp offers an environment that guarantees brand safety and credibility, providing the greatest cost-efficiency at the lowest risks. It adds that its TV ads are proven to increase buying intention and customer retention. Mediacorp’s chief commercial and digital officer, Parminder Singh, said: “We are making these changes based on our audiences’ changing media habits and our clients’ feedback. With parity between TV and digital media, cost effectiveness of our revised TV rate card and flexibility of the new transmedia master contracts, we are confident that our clients will get significantly bigger bang for their buck.” “With our new transmedia solutions, advertisers and clients can embark on campaigns with greater confidence and focus on achieving results without worrying about being tied to specific media platforms,” he said. Singh, a veteran in the digital media industry having worked with the likes of Google as managing director, and having held the managing director role at Twitter SEA, Middle East & North Africa and India, was brought in in 2017. His role combined two separate positions in the company and follows a series of hires reflecting Mediacorp’s move to bolster its digital capabilities.