Adobe recently announced that they are working on ways to bring Flash-enabled video and animation to TV sets around the world, and they’ve already partnered with television media titans like Comcast and Netflix. This is just one of many mainstream efforts to bring interactivity to the world’s largest mainstream media channel, and sooner or later, one of these efforts is going to pan out.
This shift will impact the average viewer in a myriad of interesting ways (example: sports fanatics will be able to settle arguments about Dale Murphy’s home run total in 1987 without having to run over to the computer or jump on their iPhones). However, what’s perhaps more interesting is the effect this shift will have on marketing and the marketing profession in general.
Here are a few random thoughts:
- Search will grow exponentially.
- My wife and I will often watch TV with laptops on our laps (that’s what they’re for right) so we can instantly perform searches based on what we see on the boob tube, but I suspect that we’re in the minority at this point. As soon as search is seamlessly integrated into the television-watching experience, the volume of individual search queries will quickly rise and rise and rise…
- My wife and I will often watch TV with laptops on our laps (that’s what they’re for right) so we can instantly perform searches based on what we see on the boob tube, but I suspect that we’re in the minority at this point. As soon as search is seamlessly integrated into the television-watching experience, the volume of individual search queries will quickly rise and rise and rise…
- Traditional mega-advertising agencies will be forced to acquire more web-focused agencies/specialists or will quickly die out and be replaced by more agile interactive agencies.
- As soon as television commercials receive the same level of ROI-focused scrutiny as other forms of online media (banners, PPC, etc…) old-school ad agencies will struggle to catch up with the refined processes and analytical approaches that interactive agencies already bring to the table.
- Forward-thinking interactive agencies that have already begin partnering with offline agencies or have begun heavily investing in video production and analytics will be in position to gain large chunks of market share in the TV space.
- Forward-thinking interactive agencies that have already begin partnering with offline agencies or have begun heavily investing in video production and analytics will be in position to gain large chunks of market share in the TV space.
- As soon as television commercials receive the same level of ROI-focused scrutiny as other forms of online media (banners, PPC, etc…) old-school ad agencies will struggle to catch up with the refined processes and analytical approaches that interactive agencies already bring to the table.
- Independent marketers/firms will also begin to capture large chunks of market share.
- Independents like Aaron Walland smaller niche firms like Jill Whalen’s High Rankings – entities that have built up a high level credibility in the online marketing space – will likely have an opportunity to take on mainstream clientele looking to improve their ROI on TV-based paid placement campaigns.
- Independents like Aaron Walland smaller niche firms like Jill Whalen’s High Rankings – entities that have built up a high level credibility in the online marketing space – will likely have an opportunity to take on mainstream clientele looking to improve their ROI on TV-based paid placement campaigns.
- New-school, independent brands will quickly overtake old-school brands that struggle to transition from the old way of scattershot television advertising and into the new age of the ROI and metrics-driven model.
- Certain industries, such as insurance and financial services, will lend themselves to this shift as older companies that struggle to embrace social media and user-generate-content will be felled by more agile firms that take the necessary steps to engage with customers in an intimate manner.
- Certain industries, such as insurance and financial services, will lend themselves to this shift as older companies that struggle to embrace social media and user-generate-content will be felled by more agile firms that take the necessary steps to engage with customers in an intimate manner.
These are just a few general thoughts, and it could be years before any of these trends surface. Still, it’s only a matter of time before these shifts begin manifesting themselves. Therefore, if you’re a visionary marketer (agency or in-house) you’ll spend at least some of your time thinking through how you can leverage the new age of television to your advantage.
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OK, so you’re watching one of the NBA finals and decide to hit Wikipedia to settle an argument with your wife about the history of a team’s playoff performances. You want to do this on the TV screen while the action continues?
Regarding advertising metrics. They’ve never been an accurate measure, though over time we’ve been lulled into thinking so. Now that everything is digital (!) we’re again lulled into thinking that because it’s merely a matter of account for 1′s and 0′s that it will be SO much more accurate. To date, it’s not and it’s unlikely that will change much.
Thanks for the feedback, Gordon! I would definitely want to do that, especially if I could click on a link that would open up in my iphone browser, laptop, etc…(connectivity between TV and other internet-enabled devices). That or a simple picture-in-picture should do.
As for your point of view on accurate measurement, I’m sure that even you will agree that some direct measurement (even if not 100% accurate) is better than zero direct measurement.
Amazon.com and other Internet online brands are turning to television ads and other offline media to sell their products. The success of Hulu.com as a result of TV ads featuring Alec Baldwin has spurred companies such as Kayak.com (travel) and Zappos.com (clothing and shoes) to look into more traditional types of mass advertising such as television, radio and print. Robert Birge, head of marketing at Kayak, says “in spite of the popular folklore, human beings do not live sitting at a browser 16 hours a day. They still watch TV a lot, read newspapers and magazines, drive places where they see billboards and read their direct mail.” Hulu, though is directly geared toward the TV audience, because it is an online service that allows viewers to watch their favorite TV shows and movies anytime they like online, making scheduled family viewing hours obsolete. To many in the entertainment community, it seems odd that Alec Baldwin, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, is asking viewers to watch shows on the Internet, where as of now, actors aren’t being adequately compensated. The recent SAG contract gives actors some residuals for shows that are shown for free on the Internet, but many actors, including former SAG president Ed Asner and Martin Sheen, feel that it isn’t enough, and have been vocal about their disapproval of the contract as it now stands. Many feel that because of the bad economy, SAG is delaying the issue for two years, when the next contract comes up. Alec Baldwin is making more money from his commercial appearances for Hulu than he is from his appearances on his NBC comedy “30 Rock” that show up on the Internet. Some members of SAG are not happy about Baldwin’s participation in Hulu’s success. On the other hand, money from online Internet sites is finding its way to the mainstream media, and TV and print outlets can use the infusion of cash. The irony is that Hulu.com is spending advertising dollars on TV and at the same time exploiting actors on the Internet. At least Amazon.com and similar sites don’t have this type of conflict of interest.
Thanks for the detailed response, Paul!
You make some interesting points, but the one thing that I would point is that you still view TV as an offline channel.
It won’t remain that way for long…
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