Republicans Like Golf, Democrats Prefer Cartoons, TV Research Suggests

October 11, 2012, 7:42 pm

By BILL CARTER

It sounds like a cliché: but if the results of a TiVo-based research study are to be believed, registered Republicans are very interested in golf.

As for registered Democrats, they seem to be partial to cartoons. And Republicans tend to watch NCAA basketball, while Democrats prefer the National Basketball Association.

The results come from an analysis assembled by TRA, Inc. (which stands for TiVo Research and Analytics), and are based on a model that matches viewing data from cable set-top boxes with voter-registration information from 186,000 households. Measured during the first two quarters of 2012 (which is why there is no football, but plenty of basketball), TRA listed programs by how they perfo rmed with registered voters of either party (as well as Independents) compared to a base of all registered voters.

In general, the conclusions pointed to television viewing that is every bit as polarized as the political culture. The research listed the top 20 shows for Democratic and Republican viewers and not one network show appeared on both lists.

The study didn't rank shows by overall popularity. Instead, they were ranked by how severely they were skewed by party preference. So a little-viewed show on the CW network like “Supernatural” turned out to have a substantial skew toward Democratic voters; 13 per cent above the base. (The base, or index, is given a value of 100; thus “Supernatural” indexed 113 among registered Democrats measured by TRA.) Meanwhile, two of the top indexing shows for Republicans were PGA golf tournaments.

Overall, the Democratic list contained a lot of animated comedies - “The Cleveland Show,” “Family Guy,” “Am erican Dad,”- as well as lightly viewed but critically acclaimed sit-coms like “30Rock” and “Community.”

The Republican list, beyond sports (NASCAR was also big), was populated with a host of reality shows â€" “The Biggest Loser,” “Survivor,” “American Idol,” and “The Amazing Race.'

That was the network list. On cable, the difference in preferences remained: no show in the top 20 of either list crossed over to the other party's list of shows.

Democrats loved coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner (with an index of 126 it was hugely skewed to viewers with that party preference), while also predictably supporting Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in late night. Each had an index of 117 in the Democratic list.

On the Republican side, golf and NASCAR were again all over the cable list, but a drama on ABC Family, “Pretty Little Liars,” a teen-mystery series, had the top index, a 118. The fa vorite late-night show for Republicans was Jay Leno's “Tonight” show. That had an index of 105; the only other late-night comic to index above 100 among Republicans in this survey was Jimmy Fallon â€" barely at 101. (He had exactly the base index of 100 with Democrats and Independents.)

Republican tastes in cable also ran to reality sagas involving pawnbrokers (“Pawn Stars” on History Channel), polygamists (“Sisters Wives Tell All” on TLC), pools (“Cool Pools” on HGTV), and pets (“Posh Pets” on HGTV). Democrats were more represented in dark AMC dramas like “The Killing” and “Mad Men” and anything having to do with the NBA, which accounted for no fewer than five of the top 20 cable shows on the Democratic list.

Digital Ad Report Finds Big Growth in Mobile

October 11, 2012, 3:46 pm

By TANZINA VEGA

Mobile continues to be a sweet spot for digital advertising according to a report issued by the Interactive Advertising Bureau on Thursday. For the first half of 2012, revenue in the category increased 95 percent to $1.2 billion, nearly eclipsing total mobile advertising revenue for the entire year of 2011, at $1.6 billion.

Digital advertising revenue across the board for the year through June totaled $17 billion, a 14 percent increase from $14.9 billion in 2011, the bureau reported.

Revenue for the second quarter increased 13.7 percent, from $7.67 billion in 2011 to $8.72 percent in 2012. Digital video revenues, including revenue from preroll, postroll or display ads with video, increased 18 percent to slightly more than $1 billion in the first half of 2012, from $900 million in the first half of 2011.

Revenue declined for rich media advertising, or display ads that show dancing cowboys and other moving figures, as did revenue from digital classified advertising.

Advertising categories with the most significant growth rates included pharmaceuticals and health care, which increased 81 percent to $1.1 billion; automotive, which increased 29 percent to $2.2 billion; financial services, which increased 16 percent to $2.2 billion; and entertainment, which increased 31 percent to $729 million.

“Movie dollars are going online,” Sherrill Mane, the senior vice president for research, analytics and measurement at the advertising bureau, said of the increase in the entertainment category, which includes advertising for film, music and video games.

Tanzina Vega writes about advertising and digital media. Follow @tanzinavega on Twit ter.

Increasing Savings With Promotional C.D. Rates

October 11, 2012, 3:20 pm

By ANN CARRNS

Earlier this week, Bucks wrote about using “laddering” of certificates of deposit as a way to eke out extra interest on your savings. The Web site NerdWallet has done an analysis of banks and credit unions, and has another suggestion for increasing savings rates: promotional or bonus rates on C.D.'s.

While interest rates over all are meager, some institutions - typically credit unions or smaller community banks - may be offering time-limited rates to attract deposits as part of their capital strategy. Usually, such offers apply only to new funds coming in from elsewhere. You won't get the bonus rate if you're rolling over an existing C.D. at the bank. So if you're willing to shop around, and can resign y ourself to moving your money when the promotional rate expires, you can increase the interest rate you earn - and often tie up your money for a shorter period of time, NerdWallet found.

For its analysis, NerdWallet looked at data from Market Rates Insight for the 12 months ending in September and found that bonus rates over all offered up to an additional 0.68 percent over average rates. The average annual percentage yield for a three-year C.D., for instance, was just 0.7 percent, but the average bonus yield for the same term was nearly double that, at 1.38 percent.

The analysis also found that longer-term C.D.'s don't always yield higher returns than short-term certificates, when bonus rates are taken into account. Over the last year, for instance, one-year C.D.'s actually had lower rates than shorter, three- to nine-month bonus C.D.'s, NerdWallet determined.

The catch, of course, is finding these promotional rates, which by their nature are offered for a limited time. NerdWallet has started a weekly index, showing how promotional rates compare with average C.D. rates, and featuring some of the most attractive promotional rates available around the country. Consumers can use those rates as a point of comparison for promotional deals they may find at credit unions or community banks closer to home. (The site also offers a tool to help search by ZIP code for the best  interest rates on C.D.'s and savings accounts, but it generally doesn't include promotional rates, which change frequently.)

The caveat with credit unions is that they often have membership restrictions - you have to work for certain employers, or live in a specific geographic area.

One credit union highlighted by NerdWallet this week, for example, is Service Credit Union, which serves military families as well as residents of specific towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. If you meet the membership criteria, you can join and avail yourself of a three-month C.D. with a 0.9 percent annual percentage yield.

Community banks may offer such rates, too, often without some of the membership hurdles, NerdWallet notes. Doral Bank in New York is offering a two-year C.D. at a 1.5 percent yield, NerdWallet found.

What do you think? Is it worth chasing promotional rates to earn more interest?

Planned New York Media Center Gets a Developer, and an Address in Brooklyn

October 11, 2012, 2:36 pm

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

The planned “Made in NY” media center, a project favored by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, took a big step forward on Thursday as New York City officials designated the Independent Filmmaker Project, a nonprofit, as its developer and operator. They also named a building at 20 Jay St. in Brooklyn's Dumbo district as the center's location. The building, designed in 1909 for the Arbuckle Brothers coffee roasting company, is currently a New York City landmark.

Earlier this year, New York officials called for proposals to design and operate the center, which is supposed to serve as an incubator for media projects by offering low-cost work space and other support. In choosing to go with I.F.P., the city also named General Assembly, an education company, as a partner with responsibility for developing courses that will be part of the center's program.

Through its boards of directors and advisers, the I.F.P. brings connections to some key players in New York's entertainment industry, including Sheila Nevins, an HBO executive who has fostered that company's documentaries business, and Michael Barker, the co-president of Sony Pictures Classics. The center is expected to open in the spring of next year, the I.F.P. said in a statement.

Flying Without a Photo ID

October 11, 2012, 10:56 am

By ANN CARRNS

Not only are extra fees for checked bags annoying, but they nearly caused me to miss a flight.

Last Friday, while my family gulped down breakfast before leaving for a weekend trip, I dealt with a last-minute, work-related technology snafu and went through a mental travel check list. Cancel delivery of the newspapers? Yes. Stop mail? Yes. All that was left was to check in online and print out the boarding passes. I grabbed my wallet to pay the $50 in advance for two checked bags to save time at the airport.

We then piled into the minivan, dropped our dog off at the kennel and headed to the airport, congratulating ourselves that, for once, we were on schedule.

Our self-satisfaction - or at least, mine - evaporated, though, when we arrived at the airport, I opened my purse and discovered that my wallet was missing. I quickly realized that after using my credit card to pay for the checked bags, I had left my wallet on my desk. At home. With my driver's license (read: photo identification) in it.

There wasn't time to go home and get my wallet. I would have missed the flight. And my family didn't want to go ahead without me. So we approached an agent at the security checkpoint, handed him our boarding passes and explained the situation.

He wasn't amused. (Are security agents, ever?) But, after asking my husband and children to step aside, he summoned a colleague - some sort of “no photo identification” specialist - to deal with me.

According to the Transportation Security Administration's Web site, a federal- or state-issued photo identification is required to fly. But, the site adds: “We understand passengers occasion ally arrive at the airport without an ID due to lost items or inadvertently leaving them at home. Not having an ID does not necessarily mean a passenger won't be allowed to fly. If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone's identity, like using publicly available databases.”

The special T.S.A. agent had me sign a form, allowing the agency to verify my identity. He asked me if I had any other form of identification (I didn't), or if my husband had anything in his wallet that had my name on it. (Again, no.) I did have a checkbook, bearing checks that had both my name and my husband's, so I handed that over for him to examine. Then, he called someone else on his phone, and asked me some questions - things like my previous addresses and my date of birth. It reminded me of the online verification process you go through when opening a bank account or obtaining your credit report.

Apparently I answered sat isfactorily, because the agent was finally given a number that he jotted on my boarding pass, before waving me on to be screened. The process took about 15 to 20 minutes. I asked if I could have some sort of documentation of the screening process for my return flight, but he shook his head. “Make sure you get to the airport early,” he advised, in case the screening process took longer on the trip home. (It didn't. The process was much the same, although I was asked slightly different versions of the screening questions, and had my hands swabbed before being sent on my way.)

We made our outgoing flight with a few minutes to spare, but the whole process was very stressful. I know that it's ultimately my fault that I left my wallet behind in the rush to get out of the house. But I can't help but blame the airline's extra baggage fees. If I hadn't had to grab my credit card from wallet to pay for them, my wallet wouldn't have been out of my purse in the first place.

Have you ever flown without your photo identification? What happened?

Ad Conference Poised to Set New Attendance Record

October 11, 2012, 9:00 am

By STUART ELLIOTT

The Association of National Advertisers, whose members are the senior marketers at America's largest companies, expects to set another record for attendance at its annual conference.

The conference began on Wednesday evening in Orlando and is scheduled to continue through Saturday morning. Registration for the 2012 conference was closed at the 2,050 mark, Robert D. Liodice, president and chief executive of the association, said in an interview this week.

That figure is well above the attendance last year, of 1,650 to 1,700 people, and in 2010, when about 1,600 people attended the 100th anniversary meeting. About 1,200 people came to each of the conferences in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Asked how so many people will be accommodated at this conference, Mr. Liodice joked, “They're going to stay in one place and not allowed to move around for three days.”

Of those scheduled to attend, about 950 will be members, Mr. Liodice said, with the rest from advertising agencies and media companies. It is the presence of and participation by such a large group of marketers that stimulates interest in attending the conference among the advertising and media executives.

Another reason that attendance has been increasing is the decision by the association to recruit speakers from among its members who oversee large ad budgets for blue-chip companies.

The conference “has gained a reputation as the place where the C.M.O.'s are the speakers,” Mr. Liodice said, sharing case histories of how they try to grow sales and market share.

“I'm not going to exaggerate and say we're Cannes-like,” he added, referring to the annual festival in France for creativity in advertising. “What differentiates this conference are conversations about how your brands, your companies, achieve growth and how we as an industry need to fuel and incentivize growth.”

“As I'll say in my opening remarks, great marketing isn't great marketing if it doesn't come with results,” Mr. Liodice said.

Among the scheduled speakers are senior marketers from companies like Allstate, BP, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, MasterCard, McDonald's, Subway and Unilever.

Could attendance at the conferences next year and beyond grow even more?

“This has to be it,” Mr. Liodice said, because future sites for the conference will not allow the group to register any more people.

One idea would be to consider other sites, but there are some that Mr. Liodice has already ruled out.

“We're never going to go to Vegas,” he said, because in Las Vegas “people are easily distracted† and would leave the conference hotel, and conference events, for other attractions.

Thursday Reading: Motorists Warned About Counterfeit Airbags

October 11, 2012, 8:13 am

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.

Thursday Reading: Motorists Warned About Counterfeit Airbags

October 11, 2012, 8:13 am

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.