‘Very bold, very confident without arrogance’: Media buyers on SBS’ Upfront
Following SBS's Upfront event yesterday, Danny Bass, Steve Allen and Philippa Noilea-Tani each give their take to Mumbrella's Calum Jaspan on the public service broadcaster's future-facing approach, why it stands up against global SVOD services, and its embodiment of multicultural Australia.
It was a new and improved SBS on show at its Upfront yesterday in Sydney, talking and walking with a sense of swagger, according to Dentsu Media CEO, Danny Bass, who is back at the Upfronts with his media hat on.
“If you think about an SBS Upfront ten-plus years ago, they were sort of nice, small, and maybe dare I say, a little bit apologetic at times. That is certainly very, very different from what we saw yesterday which I think was, very bold and it was very confident without arrogance. Sometimes that’s a difficult line to tread.”
“All in all, I think it was pretty good”, says Pearman Media’s Steve Allen. “Will ratings go up? Well, they won’t go down,” he adds on SBS’ “pretty comprehensive” showing as he describes it.
Wavemaker’s chief investment officer, Philippa Noilea-Tani says too that it was a “celebration of diverse cultures and one of understanding and embracing difference. An embodiment of contemporary Australia for contemporary Australia.”
Pretty high praise as the on-screen in 2023 Upfronts come to a close.
Bass says its content for the upcoming year – which includes local programming such as Safe Home, While the Men Are Away, and Erotic Stories, as well as internationals such as Rogue Heroes, the sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Doll Factory – is a “very strong slate, with high class local and international drama”.
“I think there was a challenge to the industry wasn’t there. If you’re an agency or a brand, a marketer, or if you’re a custodian of a client spend and you’ve publicly come out talking about diversification of that spend, then they certainly are a very compelling option.”
SBS flexed its translation services, highlighting First Nations stories in over 60 languages, and Bass says added to the stats on how many Australians speak a second or third language in their home, we are yet to see mass marketing at scale in a second language yet.
“But if the population growth continues in the way it is, that clearly is going to play – or has to play – a consideration in marketing plans moving forward. And I think SBS has positioned itself very nicely for that.”
Noilea-Tani agrees SBS has positioned itself as multi-lingual storytellers, also saying that it has a strong and clear positioning to the market.
“NITV featured a prominent role, with a clear and important message sent to the market, to continue supporting SBS’s Beyond 3% initiative.”
On top of that, she adds that SBS’s self-appointed position being a little more akin to the global SVOD players than local FTA networks is on the money, aided by its content strategy and user experience.
“Fewer ads, less cluttered, high-value unique audience. A positively provocative positioning, that in my opinion suits perfectly.”
Bass was impressed by the punchy start too, coming out of the blocks spruiking its share and competitive set.
“I thought it was interesting that they referenced their competitive set, not just being the traditional four, but also Netflix, Prime and Disney. And you look at the way they’ve developed SBS On Demand I think they’ve got every right to position themselves as that.”
Allen says the overarching feeling at Pearman is that there is a more solid programming lineup next year than there was this year, and that it has been aided by impressive ad revenue figures in SBS’ annual report.
“That enables them to get into commissioning these dramas, the three in particular they mentioned, which is kind of a signpost of their overall level of commissioning and the kind of content they’re now able to produce or commission.”
Will it move share?
What none of the networks have mentioned, or will admit says Allen, is that audiences are down at peak times at night between 16-54 audiences, which is the catch-all for 85% of dollars to go to TV.
“Everyone’s down this year, but all of them are running head-on into fragmentation by the various ways you can consume their content.”
He adds there were two “very good plays” by SBS, one of which was the Butterfly effect, SBS’ research that highlights the cost-per-reach efficiency across its TV and BVOD services, which “we all kind of buy into, but we keep forgetting,” he says.
“If you reallocate some of the dollars from where you’re traditionally spending into SBS, you increase your reach and you lower your CPM. They’ve been telling that story for ten years, but we do keep forgetting it as an industry.”
The second good play from SBS, Allen adds was again around SBS On Demand as a destination, rather than a time-shift or catch-up service.
“They’re not the same as the others and they’re not really competing in that space, they’re more competing with SVOD,” he says, which is very handy right now he says.
Noilea-Tani says supporting greater risk mitigation and automation for clients remains a key priority for us next year, and as a result, SBS Connect is extremely welcome news, come April.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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