Maximizing Summer Sales: Dive for the Treasure

2. Dive for the Treasure • The competition is fierce for you and your station – and your prospects and clients – so now’s the time to plan a sales strategy and start to show your superior skills as advertisers’ preferred problem solver and media consultant. • Multiple sources report record, or almost-record, levels of consumer and small-business owner confidence in the state of the nation and their financial situation. • Share this Special Report from Media Group Online, Inc. with your prospects and clients to maximize their sales during a summer season of travel and fun and more consumers willing to spend more money to enjoy all the summer has to offer.

3. TV: The Impregnable Sand Castle • Despite all the newcomers to the media beach, such as streaming media services and mobile video, TV still outmuscles everyone with 45% of total media time spent each day by adults 18 and older during 2017. • During the two-year period from Q2 2015 to Q2 2017, total daily linear TV viewing (including DVR) decreased all of 13 minutes, or 4 hours, 40 minutes to 4 hours, 27 minutes. • App/Web use on a smartphone has increased the most during this period, slightly more than 100%, but still only totaled 1 hour, 18 minutes.

4. Millions on Their Smartphones While Watching TV • 70.3% of the total population regularly used another digital device while watching TV during 2017 – and most of them, or 162.2 million, were on their smartphone. This number is forecast to increase to 187.3 million by 2019. • Most of those people, or 131.5 million, were interacting with content unrelated to what they were watching on TV. The remaining 46.2 million were interacting with related content, but they were all watching TV. • This close affinity of simultaneous TV viewing and smartphone use is an excellent opportunity for your prospects and clients to use this combination to their advantage, driving viewers to their Websites and social media pages and vice versa.

5. Retail Starting to Rock It • Not only did 2017 holiday shopping increased 5.1%, compared to 2016 (and a larger increase than the National Retail Federation [NRF] forecasted), but it continued into 2018, with January retail sales increasing 5.4%, compared to January 2017. • Among 8 major retail sectors, only sporting goods stores experienced a year-over-year decrease (January 2018 vs. January 2017), and some even had increases from December. • The typical expectation is for January sales to be less than December’s, but this trend bodes well for the remainder of the year, as the NRF is forecasting an increase of 3.8% to 4.4% for all of 2018.

6. Active Purchasing on the Horizon • January 2018’s retail sales were very positive, but an even better measure of the strength of retail is consumers’ planned purchases, as reported in The Media Audit’s 2018 Rolling Aggregate Report, which represents 120.98 million American adults. • Of these adults, 22.2%, or 26.89 million, plan to buy a car, van, truck or SUV; 18.1%, or 21.84 million, plan to buy new furniture; 17.2%, or 20.83 million, plan to buy a major household appliance; and 22.8%, or 27.62 million, a new TV. • More than 10%, or 12.7%, plan to buy a new home during the next 2 years; and 5.7% now own a home and 7.0% now rent.

7. Consumers Are Hot for In-Store Summer Sales • Of those consumers participating in a March 2017 Walker Sands Communications survey, 83% said they had made a purchase at a physical store during the past year, and 54% preferred to shop in a physical store. • Both the Walker Sands survey and Retail Dive’s February 2017 survey revealed Millennials and Baby Boomers prefer in-store shopping primarily because they want to touch, feel and try items, even though some will then purchase online. • For the 52 weeks ending September 2017, consumers shopped fewer times at pet stores, conventional food stores and drug stores, but increased their trips to dollar and value grocery stores and warehouse clubs and mass merchandisers.

8. Understanding the Middleburbs Phenomenon • A few years ago, many Millennials, especially as young, single adults, chose to live in urban environments where many retail stores, entertainment venues and workplaces were within walking distance or very short Uber/Lyft rides. • Now, however, these Millennials are aging and becoming homeowners, and married and parents. They are moving from the center city, bringing the urban vibe with them and contributing to the growth of “middleburbs.” • Middleburbs aren’t traditional suburbs, but, instead, independent living/working environments that don’t rely on a central city’s shopping, entertainment and workspaces.

9. The Sports-Lovin’ Summer, Part 1 • Baseball may dominate the summer months, but this year, the world’s most-popular sport will certainly be sharing the stage, as the World Cup begins June 14, with the championship match scheduled for Sunday July 15. • The US team did not qualify, but many hard-core as well as general-interest soccer fans will be able to view the matches on various Fox Sports channels and Telemundo, which has the exclusive Spanish-language rights. • With Russia as the host country, many live telecasts will be at least 8 hours ahead of the US Eastern Time Zone; so, for example, the 6:00 pm (Moscow time) for the finals will air at 10 am.

10. The Sports-Lovin’ Summer, Part 2 • Baseball is likely to attract new interest during summer 2018, as the two leagues are implementing a number of new rules to shorten games and accelerate the action. • The French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open are sure to see increased viewership with the return of Serena Williams to these championship stages and Roger Federer being the oldest men’s tennis player to be ranked #1 in the world. • Tiger Wood’s return to golf competition is sure to boost ratings, as his participation in the Farmers Insurance Open during late January 2018 did, increasing the tournament’s rating to the highest since 2013.

11. The Slugfest That Is Politics • According to Borrell Associates’ forecast, a total of $8.5 billion will be spent for the 2018 Midterm elections; although it is only 2.5% more than the 2014 Midterms because more money will be allocated for less-expensive digital media. • The total digital media forecast is $1.88 billion, compared to $3.36 billion for broadcast TV. Many House and Senate seats will be highly competitive as well as many statewide and local elections. • The Cook Political Report forecasts $2.4 billion will be spent for local broadcast and $850 million for local cable.

12. Ready to Travel and Relax • Almost 85 million Americans traveled during 2017 Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends, combined. An estimated 16.1 million Americans were forecast to fly during the Labor Day Weekend, a 5% increase from 2016, a new record. • Gasoline prices typically have the greatest impact on Americans’ summer travel plans and the most-recent forecast from GasBuddy.com indicates that summer 2018’s price ranges and averages will be similar to 2017’s. • Weather is also a critical element of Americans’ summer travel plans. The general summer 2018 forecast is rain along the entire Atlantic seaboard, with the middle of the country experiencing drought and extreme heat.

13. Music and Arts Make the Summer Hum • Major music festivals include June’s Bonnaroo in Tennessee, July’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, August’s AFROPUNK FEST in Brooklyn and the late August/early September Burning Man in Nevada. • Some of the “must-attend” arts festivals/fine craft shows are Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show, June, Philadelphia; Cherry Creek Arts Festival, July, Denver; and Sausalito Arts Festival: early September, Sausalito, CA. • Summer is always blockbuster-movie season and this year offers Avengers: Infinity War, May 4; Solo: A Stars War Story, May 25; The Incredibles 2, June 15; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, June 22; and Mission: Impossible 6, July 27.

14. The Sun Shines on a Season of Promotions • June is Great Outdoors Month, a perfect tie-in for weekend specials throughout the month for sporting goods and camping equipment stores, boat dealers and others. • Help food stores, grills/barbecue retailers and restaurants make the most of July’s National Grilling Month, with bundles of grocery items for the grill, special prices on grills and outdoor grilling at restaurants. • National Exercise with Your Child Week occurs during August and is an opportunity for health & fitness clubs, martial arts studios, YMCA and other businesses and organizations to promote healthy living and family activities.