2nd term report - much improved Maggie

On Friday December 2, your very own Reptile dissed the Magazines Canada "Financial Connection" Event (read here). And it looked as if the "Automotive Connection" was travelling the same road when it was postponed because of sudden speaker unavailability (read here). But today I attended the rain-checked 2nd instalment in the Connections series and was pleasantly surprised by the attendance (standing room only) and the panel. Al Zikovitz (Al-Z) presided. Of course, the key players from Ford and BMW opted out again and in their place we had John Capella (JC) of BMW and Andrew Schiavetti (AS) of Ford. Bright guys both but after listening to them for a while, it's obvious that media planning best be left to the media planners – Alex Gillespie (AG) of Doner was casual, comfortable and knew what he was talking about.

Al-Z moderated well and kept it on track although he did take a few cat naps (or was it early Al-Z-heimers). For instance he introduced John Capella and then introduced John Capella again. And when AS asked if there were a whopping 1,000+ new magazines launched last year, Al-Z agreed as if he hadn't heard the question but was too embarrassed to admit it.

Some highlights:

• Once again that phrase "content integration" came up. AG: "Hey, if they can do it in TV…" The barbarians are at the gate.
• Nobody on the panel had any idea if their magazine advertising was working. AS: "I don't have the answer". AG: "There is so much going on, it's hard to know what's working".
• AG commented that he has 100 reps on his list and he can't get back to them all. So Al-Z asked JC whether reps can call him if they can't get the information from the agencies. The audience tittered and after a brief pause came JC's quiet response - "No". Seems nobody wants us to call. How strange!
  

The most comical part of the morning occurred when AS pulled out a copy of Lou Lou to demonstrate the magazine's out-of the-box thinking. For some reason I can't recall they masked the Ford logo on the Fusion ad with a peelable label which AS attempted to remove in a showy display. Upon damaging the ad he was heard muttering "Well that didn't work out so well".

And the Hee Haw moment arrived late in the proceedings when Farmer Brown of, I believe, Country Connection asked how his under 5,000 circulation title can get sum-a-dat fancy car advertising. AS, feigning oblivious to the hick publisher's unusual attire and grooming, provided an awkwardly lengthy reply and requested a copy his magazine. Keep your eyes peeled for a Ford Truck ad in the next issue. Because if that happens, I'm never calling an agency planner again – straight to the client for me.

Bottom line - did I learn anything? Hell no. And what a relief. The day I hear something I don't already know at one of these things is the day I'm officially obsolete.

On to the report card:

• Where the auto industry is headed: B
• How current trends affect media choices: F (Al-Z missed this one)
• Acquisition versus branding: A-
• Where magazines fit in the mix: C+
• How magazines are judged: D+ (focused on ROI, not selection process)
• How to get magazines into the driver seat: C+

P.S. for D.B. - before you ask if the breakfast was any good, let me tell you that it was a simple yet adequate buffet of croissants, muffins and fruit.

P.P.S. I didn't see anybody bowing. Lot's of kissing. Remember, we must do our bit to keep the pandemic at bay (see last blog here).