By John Altenbern, CJ&N president
During Warren Buffett’s virtual shareholder meeting the other day, he called attention to a line he has used before: “Don’t bet against America.” Today, I will go a step further: Don’t bet against local television.
In some corners of our business the doomsayers are in full bloom. Advertising is gone and will never return… Business will forever change and will never be as good… The glory days are over. In the middle of the darkness of the pandemic it’s hard to see the future, but I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not just a train coming to flatten us.
Take a good look around. In the past few days you’ve seen friends and neighbors eager to re-engage with public life. Wearing masks, they are taking family walks, planting flower beds and grabbing Amazon orders off their front porches. The DoorDash cars cruise through the neighborhood, bringing groceries and restaurant deliveries. There was a line of 15 cars at my local Starbucks drive-thru.
I know families are struggling with fewer jobs, lower incomes and health concerns and it’s far from over. No one is racing to buy a new car right now or get new furniture, but local grocery stores can’t keep up with demand. Local businesses are inventing all kinds of new ways to keep the lights on. Virtual doctor visits, curbside service, daily specials – all bubbling up from adversity. And all in need of marketing.
Do we really think that local television won’t be at least as creative in solving its business issues? Stations will adjust, move on and find new ways to thrive. For the last few years, the hand-wringing involved declining audience levels. Now, local TV has ratings and demographics not seen in years. Streaming apps provide a new platform. Viewers are absolutely finding value in local TV, so it is certain that advertisers will, too.
It may take time, and it will be a different mix of messages, new sales techniques and new clients, but advertising will be back. Unlike a lot of digital advertising, local television can provide measurable audiences and return on messages, so it should be among the first places advertisers turn. Just like those spring flowers that were underneath the snow a few weeks ago, business will return.
Yes, it’s a very tough quarter, but business will not forever go to hell in a handbasket. These are hard times. But the creative power of local television and the marketers who drive it can overcome this adversity too. Don’t bet against them
