Supermarket chains score high on trust

SUPERMARKET CHAINS SCORE HIGH ON TRUST

The supermarket industry earned the highest average (61%) in the sixth annual Temkin Trust Ratings based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers. Insurance companies, retailers, investment firms, and hotels were next on the list with “mediocre ratings” between 54% and 55%. At the other end of the spectrum, pay-TV providers (27%) and Internet services (29%) fell far below any other industries. The next lowest industry was health plans, which had a rating that is more than 10 points higher (40%).

For the second straight year, USAA (for banking and insurance) took the top two spots. The next highest scoring companies are “credit unions,” Publix, Mercedes-Benz, USAA (credit cards), Chick-fil-A, Amazon.com, Residence Inn, H-E-B, Lexus, and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Also for the second year in a row, Comcast earned the lowest two spots in the Ratings for its TV service and Internet service businesses. But many of its competitors also earn very poor ratings. The next lowest rated companies are Charter Communications (for Internet service and TV service), Time Warner Cable (for Internet service and TV service), and Cox Communications (TV service). "TV service and Internet service providers have let down customers so regularly that they've fostered an environment of deep mistrust," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Mercedes-Benz, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Charles Schwab and Fox Rent A Car were the only companies with double-digit increases in their Temkin Trust Ratings over the last year. And outperforming their industry average by 15 points or more were USAA (banks, credit cards, and insurance), Kaiser Permanente, Chick-fil-A, credit unions, Amazon.com (computers & tablets), Lexus and TriCare.

Dodge, Office Depot, E*TRADE, Toys 'R' Us, Subaru, Chrysler and Cadillac declined the most, leading 78 companies that feel by more than 10 points. And ranking 15 points or more below their industry average were Motel 6, Chrysler, HSBC, Citibank, Super 8, Days Inn, Compaq, Spirit Airlines, Compact, Haier, and Dollar Rent A Car. Of the 260 companies in both the 2015 and 2016 Temkin Trust Ratings, 81% of companies decreased in score while only 13% increased.

The average Temkin Trust Ratings across all industries declined between 2015 and 2016, with the largest drop in Computers & Tablets (down 8 points) and the smallest decline in hotels, wireless carriers, and Internet service providers (down 3 points each).

Details are starting to emerge from that meeting at the NADA convention between Volkswagen dealers and representatives from the factory. Nothing new about fixes to the diesel problems was told to the dealers, one of whom commented “I would title the meeting ‘We’re working on it’…This is nothing more than more of the same.” VW sales in the U.S. were down 12.5% for the first quarter……Sales of the Dodge Dart are down almost 33% so far this year (compared to competitors such as the Ford Focus down 5% and the Toyota Corolla down 7%) and Fiat Chrysler hopes to rejuvenate sales on the model by lowering prices and changing some accessory packages. “We are repositioning the Dart lineup to better align production and dealer inventory with consumer demand and preference,” an FCA exec said……Private equity group Z Capital Partners, which currently owns and operates the Real Mex chain of 100 company-owned restaurants and 13 franchised locations, is acquiring Pink Taco (currently only in Los Angeles and Las Vegas) with the plan to expand the concept domestically and internationally……Here’s a new convenience offered by a convenience store: More than 7,000 7-Eleven units nationwide will accept cash payments from taxpayers who owe money to the IRS. There’s a $3.99 fee for the service, which provides a receipt after accepting the cash. Posting to the taxpayer’s account is expected within two days……Yesterday we reported on how well Constellation Brands has been doing with its Mexican beers; now Heineken plans to roll out Tecate Light nationwide, breaking a 39-week TV campaign to showcase the product. Previous distribution had only been in the Sunbelt states……Birmingham-based bottler Coca-Cola United continues to expand its exclusive territory in the Southeast by taking over New Orleans and other areas in Louisiana, giving it almost all of the Pelican State. Coke United had recently signed a deal to take over Atlanta, Coke’s hometown……Best Buy’s Geek Squad, which has been making house calls in VW Beetles for the past 14 years, is switching to Toyota Prius. It’s also changing its logo to reflect the full range of Geek Squad activities beyond just computer repair……Store brand sales hit an all-time record of $118.4 billion last year according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association, which also says store brands’ dollar share rose to 17.7, also a record. Supermarkets do particularly well with their own brands, with total store brands sales of about $62.5 billion and a unit share of 22.9%. To put that in perspective, the PLMA notes “nearly one of every four items sold in the country’s supermarkets last year was a store brand.”

For Week #29 of the season, April 4-10, FOX was at 1.5 18-49 and 3.3 HH; CBS 1.3 18-49 and 4.9 HH; NBC 1.2 18-49 and 3.6 HH; ABC 1.2 18-49 and 3.3 HH; Univision 0.7 18-49 and 1.1 HH; Telemundo 0.5 18-49 and 0.7 HH; and The CW 0.4 18-49 and 0.8 HH.

The Nielsen Marketing Cloud is currently being implemented with Nielsen clients that span verticals including food and beverage, personal care, pet care, wine and spirits, digital media, cinema, broadcast, out-of-home and retail for applications in digital and offline marketing. Among early adopters, Nielsen reports that a leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) client increased client acquisition ROI by 4.1x by leveraging first-party and third-party online and offline data to identify and engage lapsed product-category buyers. And a top 5 Auto OEM partner was able to decrease eCPA by 20% with advanced audience modeling that identified potential test drive prospects.

The Nielsen Marketing Cloud provides tools for planning, activation and analysis. In the programmatic buying realm, users are able to connect in real-time to all major media and marketing platforms including mobile, online, over-the-top TV, video, social media, email and content management systems.
TURNER AND CBS RENEW NCAA TOURNEY

The NCAA announced an eight-year extension of its multimedia rights agreement with CBS Sports and Turner, a division of Time Warner, for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The new contract extends the agreement through 2032 for a total of $8.8 billion in rights fees over the eight-year period.

Through the terms of the new deal, Turner and CBS Sports will provide live coverage of all NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship games across any platform within their respective portfolios, including those to be created over the life of the agreement. CBS Sports and Turner will continue to manage and collaborate on the NCAA’s corporate marketing program. Additionally, Turner will continue to manage March Madness Live and NCAA.com, along with major events surrounding NCAA championships, including the NCAA March Madness Fan Fest and Music Festival.

All opening-, first- and second-round games will continue to be shown across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV with Turner and CBS splitting coverage of the regional semifinals and regional finals each year. Live coverage of the Final Four national semifinals and national championship will continue to alternate between CBS and Turner each year, with CBS broadcasting the games in 2017 and TBS televising them in 2018.

Turner and CBS Sports will maintain the existing sales partnership surrounding the NCAA Corporate Champion and Partner program. This program has grown from nine to 17 members since the previous deal was announced in 2010.
SCRIPPS GETS CRACKED FOR $39 MILLION

In a bid to expand its Millennial audience, The E.W. Scripps Company has acquired multi-platform satire brand Cracked from Demand Media for $39 million in cash. The announcement says Cracked had revenue in 2015 of approximately $11 million and was profitable.

--Jimmy Fallon

--Conan O’Brien

Editorial comments/promotions: editor@spotsndots.com