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ADWEEK is reporting that late-night Jimmy Kimmel Livebroadcasts will integrate live commercials into each episode of the program in order to break through the clutter of commercials and beat the DVR systems. Let’s not overlook the fact that it’s also a celebrity endorsement.
Back in the golden age of television, it was commonplace to have a show sponsor and live commercials as part of the program. Videotape made it possible to pre-record commercials and actually show the product in action, to differentiate from the rest of the advertising. So now it’s gone full circle back to where it started – but will it work?
Product placement in prime-time broadcasts has been the hottest trend in advertising, most recently growing 13 percent while total advertising spending rose only 0.6 percent in 2007 according to Nielsen. American Idol topped the list of shows with the most product placements last year, yet the the true value of this type of advertising is difficult to measure.
Whether we’re talking about product placement or live commercials, I have to wonder if advertising is going in the right direction. For instance, can I pay a guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s show to mention my product, is that acceptable? In public relations, it’s considered a success if you can get a reporter to mention your company in an article they are writing, and you don’t have to pay the reporter. Is there any difference?
As a consumer, I don’t mind the ads that bombard us from billboards, at ball games, on the tv, radio, etc.. I think we are all, kids included, smarter than the generation before us in understanding when we are being sold a bill of goods.
As an advertiser that buys media, I worry about all the different ploys to advertise. Should I buy product placement, live commercials, bus signs, sponsor a show? I don’t want to be left out on something that works. And that’s why advertising has gone full circle. Because the question that started the advertising industry still doesn’t have an easy answer today: What can I do to motivate someone to buy my product?
When I was kid there were only three networks to watch. I swore that when I grew up I was going to start a tv station that ran kids programming all day long. I grew up and lost interest and Nickelodon 
beat me to it anyway. My next great idea was new programming all year round. Now NBC beat me to it, but that’s OK. NBC announced what it labeled a “superseason” of new shows that will fill 65 weeks, from this June through August 2009.
Finally, customer service has reached the television industry. If people are happy watching television and there are new shows, people will watch and the networks can charge higher rates. Better service and better quality means value to the customer and they will pay for it. I expect this experiment to not only be successful but to see the other networks follow suit. If not, NBC might have actually figured out a way to differentiate themselves from the pack. But I had the idea first!
On my post from March 28 regarding paid Internet clicks, I concluded with advice to marketers to stay focused on the brass ring – know how many customers your advertising is generating, not just the size of the audience you are reaching. Subsequently, my friend Rob Jewell (read his blog at PR on the run) passed along an article from BusinessWeek regarding Super Bowl advertising. Apparently research is showing that the average brand recall was at only 7% one week after the game. I highly recommend taking a look at the article, “Super Bowl Ads: A Big Fumble.”
A good marketing plan starts with exposure to a large audience, but two other elements are missing – repetition and relevance. Both of these are often overlooked as advertisers get blinded by the glamor of the Super Bowl (or other big events) spotlight. Think of these as a three-legged stool for marketing. Without one, you have no base.
To me, repetition is the most underrated of the three. Too often, by the time a campaign hits the market, the internal audience is tired of working with it. Their perception is that the campaign has saturated the market, when in fact it is still new to the public. Depending on the level of media buys, it can take significant time before the public is exhausted by a campaign. It goes back to basic psychology and memory retention. In today’s media clutter and fragmentation, few people have the unique ability to remember, comprehend and recall a 30 second message they receive once. Tell them, tell them again, and tell them again. Then do your research to see if they got the message.
So, does that mean don’t advertise at major events like the Super Bowl? Of course not, just make sure to do it wisely. Advertising at these events can do wonders as part of a strategy to build brand top-of-mind awareness. Just make sure that it is an event that your target market is watching and you repeat and reinforce the same message throughout your entire campaign.
It is quite possible that Internet advertising has reached its saturation point. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that data from research group comScore Inc. indicates that the number of paid-clicks on Google’s search ads has declined for the second consecutive month. The consumer has become wise to advertising on the Web. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Google maintains that the decline reflects the company’s efforts to improve the quality of leads, that they have made it more difficult for Web surfers to accidentally click on ads. What a great spin! I agree that rather than curiosity clicks, the advertiser is getting more people who are truly interested in their product. However, I find it difficult to swallow that Google intentionally wanted fewer clicks. That’s how they make their money.
The spin to the story allows Google to charge more per click by assuming a more customers with fewer clicks. But has the actual number of customers increased? The number of customers can stay the same but because the curiosity clicks have declined, the percentage of customers to clicks would increase – that’s not more customers. If Google increases the per click cost, you are paying more for each actual customer.
Advertisers need to stay focused on the brass ring. Forget the number of clicks. How many actual customers are coming through the Internet ads and how much did each customer cost versus other advertising. Without knowing that, the number of clicks is really meaningless.
In my last post, I asked if traditional media was dying. Only a few days later there is more fuel to add to the discussion. In addition to Pepsi shifting their dollars to new media, GM is also getting ready to shift half of its $3 billion budget into digital and one-to-one marketing according to a recent article in Advertising Age.
As I have discussed previously, the important issue here is that the advertising dollars are not increasing to include new media, existing dollars are being taken away from traditional media to pay for new media. Numbers indicate that spending in television, print and magazines for 2007 were well below the dollars spent in 2003 while Internet advertising continues to grow.
Clearly the pendulum is in full swing, an interesting phenomenon that is always fun to watch. Back in the ’80’s, health care industry experts predicted that managed care, and HMO’s in particular, would be the only health insurance available. While today many of us have health insurance plans that have some aspects of manged care, the pendulum never swung so far as to put us all into the shackles of managed care as had been expected.
So the question becomes, how far will the pendulum swing when it comes to shifting advertising from traditional media to new media?
I enjoy watching movies and a number of television shows, not just on the traditional networks, but cable networks like AMC and HBO. One of my new favorites on AMC is Breaking 
Bad staring Bryan Cranston, a story about the life of a high school chemistry teacher whose life is suddenly turned upside down when a terminal diagnosis changes everything.
When the show first started a few months ago, I videotaped it on my old-fashioned VCR since I have not yet taken the plunge into buying a DVR. I actually happen to know how to program a VCR, an art that will undoubtedly die with me. Despite working in marketing, I enjoy fast-forwarding through the commercials – hey, I’m a busy guy! Then I discovered the free on demand viewing option on my cable system. I can call up the show at my convenience, just like on the VCR, only without commercials.
Two issues here for traditional media, and I am only focusing on television viewing. First, the audience gets more and more splintered every day with more cable and satellite options. We all have more channels and shows to watch than ever before and whenever we want. Second, it is easier than ever to skip the commercials.
So maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that Pepsi is launching a new brand, Tava, a no-calorie, fruit-flavored, caffeine-free, carbonated beverage, without the use of traditional media like print and television. Most interesting to me is that their target market is men and women ages 35 to 49, not the stereotypical kids using their I-pods while searching the web and text messaging their friends.
So does Pepsi know something? Is it time to give up on traditional media? Clearly the answer is no, but it does make one hit the pause button to wonder. If a major advertiser like Pepsi is willing to forgo television in a new brand launch, how soon before other advertisers follow suit and give up on television? Will there be a snowballing effect?
For years people thought there was plenty of advertising dollars for both traditional media and new media. With all the new media options these days, I don’t know if that is the case anymore. Follow the money, it’s moving away from traditional media. That’s what the recent writer’s strike was all about. Pepsi has to be making the networks a little fidgety.
I am not asking about the voyeur next door peeking through his shades, I am asking about television viewing habits, as in the Nielsen ratings.
This fall, Nielsen will unleash the Local People Meter (LPM) on northeast Ohio. The audience data from the LPMs are used to determine advertising rates, but it can also determine which television shows stay and which shows go. Got a favorite show that you want to make sure does not get cancelled? Stop by the local Nielsen family to watch it with them. Problem is, only 540 LPM households will determine the viewing habits of all of us in northeast Ohio. Good luck trying to keep the Bionic Woman going for another season!
Concern over advertising rates or your favorite show is irrelevant to the measurement methodology discussion. Nielsen claims that the daily electronic measuringof the LPM is more accurate the old-fashioned diary method, but is it any better? Stay tuned!
