Seven goes hard on content and avoids the technicalities

Upfronts have traditionally been a showcase for the content, but in recent years media players have sought to use their events to also demonstrate their credentials in the tech and data space.

Yesterday Seven chose to zig where others are zagging, with an upfront focusing almost exclusively on content.

The Seven Network, like Nine, focused the story for marketers and agencies yesterday on its core strength — an emotional connection, enabled by great content, that delivers real performance for brands.

There was barely a mention of retail and “purchase click”. This was a smart move: I mean, why fight on territory where you are at a disadvantage?

Instead it was all about content and, rather than selling hard the new, as so many upfronts have done in the past, the emphasis was on the proven, trusted and loved programmes that continue to be the backbone of station loyalty. As the execs told the room: “consistency beats novelty”. The line aptly encapsulated their strategy.

CEO Jeff Howard noted: “We’re doubling down on what works: content that helps brands meet audiences wherever they are, and of course, delivering results”.

Don’t get me wrong, there were new programs announced, but these were presented as extensions of the promise rather than key ingredients on which the promise relied.

Pick of the new content for me would be:

• The new unnamed show featuring Mick Mollloy and Glen Robins. No detail yet but the presence of two of Australia’s funniest didn’t require content detail.
• Seven’s challenger to Nine’s The Block My Reno Rules with Dr Chris Brown.
• SAS – Australia vs England is timed nicely with an Ashes series.
• Caught in the Middle – a new quiz show hosted by Shane Jacobson will be interesting.

All of these are new shows, but as the TV landscape continues to evolve and become more and more competitive, Seven is leaning hard on tried and tested personalities.

Sport remains a heartland of Seven’s trusted relationship and loyalty with audiences. The network navigated the switch from tennis to cricket, but yesterday it threw its own curveball with the announcement it had secured the Rugby League World Cup.

Threaded through the announcement of new and existing programmes was the theme of connection, more particularly the potential depth and breadth of connection that local networks are able to provide.

The lines reinforcing this difference were being a place where “storytelling and strategy align”.

There were some great case studies of how marketers can leverage that connection. The best for me was a Dilmah campaign, with execution that was uniquely personal and could only have been delivered by a free-to-air network.

The author Stephen Wright

This was an upfront that started hesitantly and grew in strength and confidence throughout the hour. You almost got the sense that the network started to believe in itself as it was reminded of what it does.

These are changing times for Seven as it prepares to merge with Southern Cross Austereo. The network didn’t go into what the merger — which is still in a proposal phase and is awaiting shareholder and regulator approval — would mean for advertisers.

It was only a couple of years ago TV upfronts were very much a battle between Seven. Nine and Ten, but the landscape has changed rapidly. Seven’s reels and narrative last night, perhaps for the first time, really appear to acknowledge that while Nine and Ten might be rivals, they are not the enemy.

The fierce competition which has long defined the battle, particularly between Seven and Nine, appears to mellowed considerably. If the two can continue to align and chant a mantra of growth, partnership and performance, then marketers will take notice.

Stephen Wright is the global media lead for marketing management consultancy TrinityP3. See his other upfronts coverage here.