Beating television at its own game

So a lot of smart people, including Joesph Jaffe have commented quite a bit about re-purposing 30-second spots online. Suffice it to say it's not something they suggest doing.

Maybe not. Take a look at this research from  Millard/Brown:

      







"Web spots increased the viewer attention rate by 53%, awareness by 52%, consideration by 27% and favorability by 26%. Prompted recall of brand advertising was four times higher for Web viewers." 

So put all your 30-second spots online? Well maybe, but I think the results are really a result of how people use the different media types. As David Hallerman puts it,

"The Internet is a lean-forward medium, with an actively engaged audience ready to click and type and move around quickly, while television is the proverbial lean-back medium, with the typified image of couch potatoes letting sounds and images wash over them."

This to me means that, although putting your TV ads online may work, it's not the using the medium to its full capability. Good agencies will recognize the best way to integrate the two and will take that into consideration when the 30-second spot is created. They'll extend the campaign by allow interaction, creating additional content or creating communities. Know of some good examples? I think they're few and far between but let's hear 'em. - Paul Herring

Comments

[David Reich]

I agree, it's not just about extending ads to online platforms from the networks. It's about using TV itself.

The nets are struggling to find ways to hold onto their audience during commercial breaks. They're throwing around the word "engagement" as the way they'll keep viewers from hitting fast-forward on the DVR when the commercials come on. But some of the ideas they have, at least as far as the trades are reporting, are not at all impressive.

FYI, I wrote about this yesterday at "my 2 cents."

[Lewis Green]

Cam,

Good post. I begin from the premise that in terms of "reach," TV remains a better advertising vehicle than the web. However, all vehicles simply represent potential customers or current customers based on the audience.

I don't think the problem is TV or any other vehicle. The problem rests with the ads themselves, which are not about the audience (the who) but about a product (the what) and often are created as entertainment rather than as a messages that resonate with us and offer a solution to our wants and needs.