Set to change

Facing tough screen tests

Geraldine O'Leary talked to Michael Cullen about her role in RTE as commercial director for television, on why talk about the demise of TV is exaggerated, her concern about today's business model in the bigger agencies and why content is paramount

Talkative but in control, outgoing but discreet, Geraldine O'Leary knows the media game and how it should be played. Having worked with agencies like DDFH&B and Saatchi & Saatchi, her grasp of the business is firm and business-like. She has a presence and charm that allows her to take full charge of her responsibilities while never appearing pushy.

In her office in the Stage 7 building, located to the left of the main entrance in Montrose, O'Leary tackles questions with the force of a Munster pack. She talks about advertising, media and representing RTE interests at length. Well versed in a business populated by alpha males, this native of Cork brings substance and style to an onerous job.

O'Leary kicks off the interview by saying the demise of TV is much exaggerated. She pointed to January just gone where there were record adult viewing levels of three hours 49 minutes per day. She admitted that wintry weather and darker days, not to mention less disposable income after Christmas, may well have had some bearing on the result.

But even allowing for seasonal factors, the figure is encouraging. In claiming that young people are switching on, O'Leary said audiences in January for 15 to 24-year-olds were up 16 per cent on the same month last year. People are viewing in a different way and are more selective what about it is they watch; many are creating their own schedules.

O'Leary said RTE has to continue to see its role changing from being a broadcaster to a content provider. “Wherever it is people choose to watch content, it might be mobile or the internet with RTE Player – it's about making sure it's available. Rather than say technology is working against television, it's the reverse, it's actually working for us.”

They decided on a ‘soft' launch for RTE Player, to see how it faired before upping the ante as they are doing now. Over ten million shows have been viewed on the Player. Based on experience overseas, people will only view video on demand, catch-up TV, if there are limited ads shown and not your traditional three-and-a-half minute ad break.

KEEPING IT COUNTRY

Geraldine O'Leary, commercial director, RTE Television and Gary Desmond of Gala at a photocall to announce the convenience store chain as the first ever sponsor of the RTE regional series, Nationwide. The 7pm show has 400,000 viewers three times a week.

While the Player could only be accessed in the Republic at the start, viewers based anywhere can now watch shows which originate here, from Fair City to the Late Late Show. Acquisitions like Desperate Housewives, for which RTE has just the Irish rights, cannot be included on the catch up service as it would infringe copyright.

“The internet is not a threat to RTE,” O'Leary said. “RTE.ie is one of the biggest sites in the country. The trick is in how to use TV and internet together. Studies in the UK show that the two are good bedfellows. TV is still needed to make a brand famous and give it credibility and I believe that's how it's going to be for the forseeable future.”

Ten years ago, advertisers would just talk about ratings whilst today it is about media opportunities. When O'Leary goes to client meetings they want to talk about digital (DTT) and other new and different things. The agencies behind the 30-second spots provide campaign data, reports which are verified for advertisers by media auditors.

O'Leary is back to that word content. She refers to it again because content is the one driver of TV audience everywhere. As 62 per cent of Irish homes are digital, there is a tendency for viewers to be promiscuous in their viewing habits. For RTE to carry out its role as public service broadcaster, a single TV channel, RTE One, would not be enough.

Apart from entertainment, drama, news and current affairs and cultural content, RTE broadcasts a huge amount of sport and advertising and sponsorship responds. With even more sports coverage planned, including Magners League rugby, O'Leary feels there is no way that RTE One on its own could possibly fulfil the public service remit.

Last year, from the top 20 adult programmes in Ireland, 19 of them were on RTE and 17 of these were home produced. While TV3, Sky One and music stations like MTV, NME and Kerrang! made inroads with teenagers looking for something different, RTE ratings among youths still score highly. The RTE programme strategy is simple: go for home produced programmes, sport and a serving of the best of the imported shows first.

Large advertisers and agencies expressed serious disquiet about RTE sales policy in relation to budget share commitment. The practice is said to favour small and medium sized companies and it was said to be anti-competitiveness. But O'Leary was not prepared to talk about the matter as a ruling by the Competition Authority was imminent.

But she is more than willing to discuss about another thorny issue which raised its head not so long ago. Multinationals like Diageo and Procter & Gamble took action against RTE over costs and moved their spend elsewhere. The issue got heated and a Mexican stand-off developed. Could this problem reoccur again and, if so, how would they react?

“RTE doesn't have a divine right to be on anyone's schedule,” O'Leary said. “We have to earn our place on schedules. It depends on what the key drivers are for a client to include anyone on their media plan. If the variable is price – and there's a worrying trend in the market right now, particularly with all the pitching – that it's just all about price.

“Having been in this business for some time now and with both agencies and media, I think it's a disastrous road. I'm genuinely bothered about where this is all heading. If price becomes the key driver, as it has in some pitches, RTE will never be the cheap medium. We're a premium product with less minutage and higher rated content.”

O'Leary said if the driver was price, it is unlikely RTE would be on the schedule. A number of multinationals have excluded RTE from schedules on the basis of price. O'Leary can live with that because while it is her job to protect RTE revenue, unlike some media owners/sellers, she is aware of the need to avoid the race to the bottom.

“If P&G or Diageo or any other client makes a demand and a chasm is created that is too big to fill in terms of what they want us to deliver and what we are prepared to do, that's their prerogative. The only thing is I will always hold the view that this is a long game. We've always kept in touch with clients who have stopped advertising with us.”

Last year, P&G ended up as the third biggest spender on RTE television. Unilever topped the poll with L'Oreal in second place. Mars (confectionery brands like Mars Bar, Bounty, Snickers, Topic and Starburst, along with Pedigree and Whiskas pet foods), Kellogg, Vodafone, National Lottery, Danone, Meteor and O2 completed last year's top ten.

RTE recently rebranded its sales and marketing services to advertisers as RTE Media Sales. O'Leary said that while all was well with the company's three commercial units – TV, radio and publishing – operating as they did internally, marketing them individually seemed cumbersome elsewhere. Clients told them they wanted to talk to “a single RTE”.