It is very apparent to marketers as well as consumers that the shift is going digital, in practically all arenas, especially television. Remember when you had to actually be home to watch your favorite tv show? Or if you were going to miss it you had to set your VCR and hope that it worked to tape the show and then laboriously fast forward or rewind to the spot on the tape where it was? That is all in the past with the popularity of online sites and DVRs. It is expected that by 2013, 50-60 million households will actively use DVRs. So what does that mean for the advertiser now that more people will have the ability to fast forward through their ads? Some companies, like Pepsi, have already made some small changes in their television ads, by making sure that their logo was prominent during certain parts of the spot so that the brand can be relevant even when viewers are fast forwarding with their Tivos. That’s a decent temporary solution, but we need to plan to adapt to this challenge and find new and creative options.
New platforms such as Google TV Ads seek to aggregate and monetize the impending growth of the fragmented television landscape.
How it works: This tool allows for psychographic contextual targeting by providing advertisers with detailed information used for programming and search tools. Advertisers are able to reach their targeted audience across hundreds of channels (rather than the typical 10-15 with traditional TV advertising buys) in a relevant context. Google then measures all channels and only charges the advertiser when the ad makes its way onto the viewer’s TV – whether in real time or time-shifted – and when the viewer actively watched, not when they fast forwarded through it. Google sends results back the next day, so advertisers can quickly adjust their TV buying, similar to online advertising
The significance: The ability to measure across all channels, and bill advertisers only for the TV sets that are tuned into the ad, allows advertisers to effectively employ the “long tail” of media.
The Birth of T-Commerce
What if you could order a Domino’s pizza from your TV, or get movie tickets from Fandango? What if getting additional product information on that hot new BMW were just a click away? TiVo subscribers already have those capabilities thanks to TiVo’s new deep functionality ad units.
How it works: Direct-to-consumer ads are created based in T-commerce (commerce conducted over TV) or in this case, TiVo-commerce. Advertisers who buy in this medium can capitalize on TV interaction and try to engage an audience that tends to fast forward through advertisements. It utilizes a real-time measurement platform that, like Google TV Ads, uses set-top box data to report actual audience views and interactions with ads.
The significance: It provides marketers with higher accountability in television advertising and greater insight in creating more effective ads. Additionally, it provides a direct-to-consumer channel that can be fully monetized.
Rethinking Prime Time with Social Media
The idea of appointment-based TV may very well be saved by the very medium that is driving the changes in television across the board—the Web. Social media has shifted “time-shifting” back to real-time for select events, and advertisers should take note.
How it works: Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming integral to our television experience. Now, during major events, viewers are texting, IMing and tweeting about the events as they happen—with their friends or “tweeps” – which means they have to be watching the same thing at the same time.
The significance: As TV becomes more social this collaborative aspect becomes one of the best arguments for event programming. Social media capabilities bring a segment of viewers together at a certain time, to discuss and debate the content they are watching. Think American Idol finale, think the Superbowl, think Lost, think Facebook/CNN’s collaboration during the U.S. Presidential Inauguration—these events all represent spikes of activity surrounding a captive and, some would argue, more engaged audience than those in the past.