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From Breaking News:

A watershed ban on television and radio alcohol advertising is to be introduced next month when new legislation is enacted.

The aim is to protect children from exposure to alcohol advertising and to break any positive associations that may exist between alcohol and lifestyle

On January 10th, the hours permitted under the Broadcast Watershed provision of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act restricts the hours permitted for advertising alcohol products on television and radio to reduce children’s exposure to alcohol advertisements.

In November last, then Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly commenced the Broadcast Watershed provision of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. The Act was developed in 2018 to address the harmful consumption of alcohol in Ireland.

So far 28 of the 31 provisions of the Act have been commenced and of the three sections that remain to come into force section 13 of the Act regulates the content of advertisements for alcohol products and limits that content to factual information only.

In addition, advertisements for alcohol products will be required to include health warnings and details of the Health Service Executive (HSE) alcohol information website

The aim is to protect children from exposure to alcohol advertising and to break any positive associations that may exist between alcohol and lifestyle, according to a Department of Health spokesperson.

“Work on the drafting of the advertising Regulations is continuing in conjunction with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Once finalised, the draft regulations will require submission to the EU Commission for assessment and once they have completed that process, they will require notification under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) process,” the department spokesperson explained.

“Section 18 of the Act introduces a restriction to alcohol advertisements in hardcopy publications sold in Ireland. The provision, while limited to print media, aims to reduce exposure to alcohol advertising.”

A former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Independent councillor Christy Burke has called for an advert for the Rockshore lager which features Boyzone singer Ronan Keating to be removed due to what he calls the “glamourisation of drinking”. Rockshore, the Diageo-owned Irish lager and cider brand, unveiled the Christmas campaign last year

In the new festive advert Keating, who hails from Dublin, shares a reworded version of the 1963 Christmas classic It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and shares the mic singing: “It’s the most wonderful time for a beer.”

However, the Dublin north inner city councillor believes the advert should be withdrawn from TV broadcasts. “The glamourisation of drinking by the creators of Rockshore should be withdrawn. I believe using a well-known figure such as Ronan Keating is trying to make drinking cool which of course would influence younger people.

“Mr Keating is an idol to a lot of people and of course children and younger age groups are going to take notice. Christmas can be a tough enough time for people domestically so glamourising drinking is not a good look,” Cllr Burke added.

Diageo has been contacted for comment.

From Marketing

A new report for Bauer Media Audio Ireland (BMAI) provides an update on how consumers interact with and consume digital audio, connected tv and social media. In particular, it gives a glimpse at the inroads digital audio has made in daily lives where it now leads in terms of trust, authenticity and willingness for ad consumption, while listeners are in a more engaged state of mind compared to those on connected TV (CTV) or social media.

The latest JNLR showed that 3.8 million adults tune into Irish radio every week.

Companionship, customisation, convenience, easy integration into daily life, and the ability to multitask were other factors cited by Irish respondents as the best things about digital audio. These are among the insights in the report conducted by Core Research. Eamon Fitzpatrick, group commercial director, BMAI, said that for brands, brand owners and agencies, the research shows the sense of brand owners investing in digital audio.

Consumption: Adults spend an average of 13 hours per week consuming digital audio – which is 63 per cent more time or five hours more than for social media. One in five plan to increase the time they spend on digital audio, while one in four intend to scale back their social media time. Digital audio slightly over indexes on 18-44 year olds and for ABC1’s. Adults spend an extra six hours consuming ads on digital audio than they do with CTV.

Trust and advertising receptivity: Digital audio has significantly higher trust levels (40 per cent) than both CTV (34 per cent) and social media (17 per cent). Almost six in ten people say they are willing to listen to advertising on digital audio in exchange for strong content. This percentage is significantly higher when compared to CTV (51 per cent) and social media (51 per cent).

Performance and mindset: Digital audio significantly outperforms CTV and social media across most key channel benefits. For instance, it stands out for its ability to provide a sense of fulfilment through good company (56 per cent), meaningful use of time (52 per cent), and authenticity (52 per cent). Additionally, the research shows that it excels at both engaging the mind (56 per cent) and helping people relax (59 per cent).

Naomi Staff managing director, Core Research, said the survey was the most current examination of the factors that make audio a compelling choice for advertisers. “It provides a level of previously unavailable insights, especially when comparing digital audio with connected TV and social media,” Staff said. “For brands, the findings provide a compelling spending rationale as they develop and implement their 2025 plans,” she added.

The research involved a national sample of 1,000 adults, with interviews in October.

BMAI national, regional and local stations include Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, Spin1038, Spin South West, Cork’s Red FM, iRadio and Beat, with a weekly audience of 2.26m while its daily listenership stands at 1.51m. It also operates the Off The Ball audio sports brand, the aggregated listening platform Go Loud for radio, podcasts and music, Media Central sales house and AudioXi, which is said to be Ireland’s largest digital audio advertising exchange.

From Irish Times:

Omnicom and Interpublic in talks to merge in $30bn-plus deal to create the world’s largest advertising agency (Admatic update December 12th – deal completed)

The global advertising industry will surpass $1 trillion (€945 billion) in revenue for the first time this year, with Google, Meta, ByteDance, Amazon and Alibaba expected to earn more than half the total in a market dominated by the technology sector.

GroupM, the media agency owned by WPP, estimates that global advertising revenue will increase 9.5 per cent in 2024, more than it had expected at the midyear point, despite tough economic conditions in larger, developed markets such as the US and UK.

The group forecasts that the market will expand by a further 7.7 per cent in 2025, and that most of the growth will directly benefit the largest sellers of digital advertising in the US tech sector, rather than providers of marketing services such as advertising agencies.

The forecast comes as advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic are in talks to merge in a deal worth more than $30 billion that would create the world’s largest advertising agency and reshape the global marketing industry. The combined US group would probably overtake France’s Publicis and WPP in the UK, which have been vying for the top spot for the biggest holding company in the industry based on net revenues.

The all-stock deal is structured as a takeover of Interpublic by its larger rival Omnicom. Interpublic was worth $10.9 billion at the end of trading on Friday while Omnicom was valued at $20.2 billion. The combined group would have net revenue of more than $20 billion.

The GroupM report has chosen to exclude US political advertising, citing its “skewing” effect on year-on-year comparisons. In 2024, US political ad revenue added $15.1 billion to the total, close to a third more than in the 2020 presidential election year.

In the report, GroupM said that “while the next several years are unlikely to have the same near-zero interest rates that further supported advertising growth following the financial crisis and through the pandemic, we do expect the further application of AI and automation … to more than offset that and drive further innovation”.

Digital advertising is forecast to account for 73 per cent of total revenue by the end of next year – growing at 12.4 per cent globally in 2024 and 10 per cent in 2025 – or 82 per cent when including revenue from streaming and digital newspapers and magazines.

Traditional advertising channels such as television, print and radio are suffering from the dominance of digital options.

Globally, total print advertising revenue will decline 4.5 per cent in 2024 and a further 3 per cent in 2025, the report says. Audio revenue will remain flat next year while TV, including both linear and streaming, is forecast to grow just 2.4 per cent on a compound basis from 2024-29.

The US is the largest advertising market, forecast to be worth about $379 billion in revenues in 2025, despite higher costs of borrowing and more cautious guidance from some retailers including electronics and home improvement stores.

The report warned that tariffs and a stronger dollar following the election of Donald Trump could have an impact on the market. “Both of these developments would likely further challenge consumer goods and luxury advertisers facing a period of more muted consumption.”

The report pointed to initiatives in China aimed at promoting consumer confidence and spending that, if successful, could “see more robust advertising growth as local and multinational advertisers look to capitalise on pent-up demand”. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024

From NextIO:

In a bid to tighten oversight of gambling advertising, Irish regulators are preparing to divide responsibilities for handling ad-related complaints. This change comes as the country gears up for the implementation of a new regulatory framework aimed at curbing the influence of gambling ads and promoting responsible betting practices.The Gambling Regulation Act (GRA), only recently approved, set the stage for the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). This authority is expected to begin operations by mid-2025, ushering in a new era of accountability for gambling operators in the country.

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASA) announced on Tuesday that it had finalised an agreement with the GRAI to streamline the handling of complaints about gambling advertisements. This collaboration is designed to ensure greater clarity and efficiency for the public when lodging complaints.

Orla Twomey, CEO of the ASA, explained that the GRAI will manage complaints related to breaches of the GRA, including violations of the TV watershed and other obligations imposed by the legislation.

Meanwhile, complaints concerning breaches of the ASA’s code of standards that are not covered by the GRA will remain under the ASA’s jurisdiction.

Twomey emphasised that the partnership would enhance public accessibility to information about responsible gambling advertising, ensuring a more transparent and user-friendly process. “By joining forces with the new betting regulator, we are ensuring that the public can easily access information on responsible gambling advertising,” she added. Anne-Marie Caulfield, CEO-designate of the GRAI, echoed these sentiments, noting the importance of collaboration in addressing public concerns.

The ASA has also signed a cooperation agreement with Coimisiún na Meán, which is responsible for online safety and media regulation. This agreement establishes a cooperative framework to address shared interests in advertising and commercial marketing communications.The Gambling Regulation Act (GRA), only recently approved, set the stage for the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). This authority is expected to begin operations by mid-2025, ushering in a new era of accountability for gambling operators in the country.

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASA) announced on Tuesday that it had finalised an agreement with the GRAI to streamline the handling of complaints about gambling advertisements. This collaboration is designed to ensure greater clarity and efficiency for the public when lodging complaints.

Orla Twomey, CEO of the ASA, explained that the GRAI will manage complaints related to breaches of the GRA, including violations of the TV watershed and other obligations imposed by the legislation.

Meanwhile, complaints concerning breaches of the ASA’s code of standards that are not covered by the GRA will remain under the ASA’s jurisdiction.

From Business PLUS:

Netflix has said that 60m households watched the exhibition boxing match between YouTuber Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, the streaming giant’s first live sports broadcast.

At peak viewing, viewers globally watched the fight, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Texas on 65m concurrent streams while nearly 50m watched Katie Taylor’s rematch with Amanda Serrano.

The event aired in a further 6,000 US bars and restaurants due to a deal with Joe Hand Promotions.

Although the fight was a top trending topic on social media, there were a significant number of complaints about buffering and technical issues on site as Netflix continues to grapple with live streaming.

The streaming giant also experienced issues with its live Love Is Blind reunion special last year, and the company has further dipped its toes into live broadcasting with a Katt Williams stand-up comedy special, comedian John Mulaney’s Everybody’s in LA talk show, and the three-hour Roast of Tom Brady earlier this year.

From Business plus

Television advertising revenues for the first nine months of the year increased 7.6% compared to the same period in 2023.

Figures from TAM Ireland show that revenues for January to September totalled €198.3m, coming in ahead of expectations and representing the highest total for six years.

There was an 8% increase year-on-year in the average number of minutes per day that ABC1 households watch television (71 minutes), with 80% attributed to live TV.

People aged 15-35 watched TV for 35 minutes per day, an increase of 6%, and 77% was live TV.

TAM Ireland credited sporting events such as Euro 2024, the Olympics, the UEFA Nations League and the URC for the figures and said “this viewing momentum demonstrates the strength and resilience of broadcaster content despite competition from other streamers.

“They have also been driven by the new autumn programming schedule from broadcasters with top performing programmes such as Real Life with Lucy and Gogglebox Ireland on Virgin Media One, The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 , the return of The Late Late Show to RTÉ One and The Overlap on Tour on Sky Max,” the company added.

“The forthcoming programming and news updates around the general election will ensure the Irish population will continue to be glued to their TV screens in the weeks to come.”

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From Irish Independent