Simon Watson

Director of Digital @wearerom. Advertising, sport & occasional rant...

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Hey @AmazonHelp @AmazonUK 👋
Has one of your couriers gone AWOL as this bag (and jumper within) has been outside my door for days?!

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Hey @G4S, any jobs going next summer?

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

A key theme of @marketingsocSCO #digitalday24 so far… 😉

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@stuart_feather @jurawhisky @blisglobal This missed the raffle… 😉
Looks good - enjoy!

[Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano]

Amazon is paying $100 million to broadcast the NFL's first-ever Black Friday game.

But it's really a chess move to steal market share from brick-and-mortar stores and generate online sales.

Let me explain 👇

Thanksgiving Day football has always been huge.

Last year's games averaged 33.5 million viewers, including 42 million viewers for the Cowboys vs. Giants — the most-watched regular season game of all time.

2022 Average Viewership
• NBA Christmas Day: 4.27 million
• NFL Thanksgiving Day: 33.5 million

But the NFL has never done a Black Friday game because 1) it's a holiday known for people leaving the house to go shopping and 2) the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 prohibits NFL games on Fridays after 6 pm ET and all day on Saturdays during the fall.

This rule was implemented by Congress to protect high school and college football from seeing a decline in attendance and viewership because of the NFL.

But Amazon offered the NFL $100 million for the game, so they decided to put it at 3 pm ET to skirt the rule.

And it's an even better deal for Amazon.

Amazon is allowing anyone to watch — Amazon's first TNF broadcast generated more Prime sign-ups than any other 3-hour window in company history — and Amazon is also reportedly charging 2x more than their TNF broadcast for 30-second ad placements.

Cost Of A 30-Second Commercial
• Thursday Night Football: $440,000
• Black Friday: $880,000

But more importantly, Amazon will leverage its new ad strategy called "audience-based creative."

This will enable brands to target different audience segments with different ads in the same time slot.

For example, according to Ad Age, Bose will show three different ads using Amazon's ad technology.

The first ad features Joe Burrow and will be delivered to non-Prime members, while the other two Bose ads will feature different products and be shown only to Prime members based on their Amazon Prime search history.

And here's the best part...

These targeted ads will also be shoppable, meaning viewers can watch the commercial, place the product in their cart with the click of a button, and checkout without ever leaving the broadcast.

That makes Amazon's broadcast far more valuable than a typical commercial — brands will be able to retarget these customers after the game — and it also gives us a view into how brand advertising could look in the future.

Companies like Amazon and Apple are only going to spend more money on live sports rights, and their ad targeting could change how brands market forever.

Now that's pretty damn cool.

** If you enjoyed this breakdown, follow me @JoePompliano for more sports business content **

[Stuart W Hogg @StuartWHOGG_]

❤️

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@jamierkennedy @TheTodaysGolfer I assume you’ve counted how many you’ve already played? Gonna hazard a guess at 68!

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Ooh - Big Brother - The Mars Edition!
“But you’ll let us out for Christmas, right?!” 😅
https://t.co/QRCcGK75eB

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Bringing media fight night to a whole new level! Sign me up for front row seats! 🥊
https://t.co/vrijSp4Yxp

[Jamie Kennedy @jamierkennedy]

Today I’m attempting to play a 50-mile golf course spanning across 18 courses on the east coast of Scotland.

Follow the the thread 🧵

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@jamierkennedy Excellent mate - congrats!! 🙌👏

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

*Big Brother voiceover*
Day 2 at Programmatic Pioneers. Key themes of the day: sustainability, CTV, data & attribution 🌍🚀📈
(ignores panel about in-housing) 👀

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

“Cookies have never been great - there should be no fear factor over depreciation” - finally sensible chat from @weareilluma. Let’s move the conversation on - there are other excellent ways to identify audiences. #programmaticpioneers

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@ctshirts what does it take to get off your postal mailing list? Old address for me has ‘returned to sender’ 20+ heavy paper mailers as well as direct contact for removal to no avail. Please also now remove me from email list given your disregard for planet. DM me ASAP

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@lufthansa @Edelweiss_Air I don’t have a ‘lost report’.
There was no one at the desk in Edinburgh Airport so I filled out a lost luggage form and left it. Since filled others out online. No one is taking responsibility. Can you call me with an update? How long do you expect it’ll take to find my luggage?

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@Edelweiss_Air @lufthansa why has someone not been in touch about my lost luggage?
I’m been sent round the houses to telephone numbers that don’t work, broken URLs, and agents who seem to not care and want to shift the problem to someone else.
Please call me with an update.

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

@ee look at the timeline here and I wasn’t even using my phone. Please refund the full £32.64 asap for this hopeless bundle you upsold me.

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Ignore Web3 at your peril - “the train has left the station” 🚂
Great talk by Tom Head with lots to take away, including “analogies are like bumbags”

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

Panellist on gaming session about a TikTok trend: “Rosemary oil helps hair growth”.
Me: rosemary oil ordered & arriving via Prime tomorrow 👍
@marketingsocSCO #digitalday23

[Simon Watson @si_watson]

A flagship event not to be missed (he says knowing he's at a wedding! 🤦‍♂️) - grab your tickets & prepare to be inspired! 💫

[The Marketing Society Scotland @marketingsocSCO]

'A day of digital marketing at its very best is not to be missed'

New column from @leesymacD, Fellow of The Marketing Society and Joint MD @luxeventsltd talking all things Digital Day: https://t.co/ewfwYMwLfF