One of the biggest events of the year for TV advertising is coming up on Sunday, February 7th 2010. Super Bowl XLIV will be a time when we get to see commercials that push the envelop of creativity. But this year marks a transition as we see a major contributor, Pepsi Co, without a commercial presence. This breaks a 23-year long tradition.
This opens an interesting question, how will television advertising transition to internet/web advertising? Are big companies like Pepsi beginning to see that consumers are increasingly more receptive to commercial spots on website programming such as Hulu.com?
We’ve really become an internet-based society. If you don’t have Tivo or a similar system and missed a favorite TV show, you can hop on the web to watch it later. Amazing! And major brands are taking notice of this change. But have no fear, there will still be advertising delights on Super Bowl Sunday. It is a cultural tradition with a momentum that doesn’t show signs of slowing down.
Adage recently wrote an article about how with more and more people opting to watch online videos instead of standard television, advertisers are faced with a predicament. Their consumers are changing and so must the ways in which they are being advertised to. “Interruption advertising” has long been the standard for television, consumers have to watch commercials in order to watch their favorite programs. However, with NBC, ABC, CBS, Hulu, and numerous other platforms offering on-demand television experiences, advertisers are revising their plans to be more “on-demand” as well.
Hulu offers viewers a choice to either watch a longer movie trailer or several shorter commercials through out the show. An interesting feature is an audience rating system on whether a commercial was liked. Car companies are creating experience driven ads in order to allow viewers to interact, choosing which feature they would like to see or different videos to watch. These are just a couple of examples of how advertising is changing. Check out the Adage article to read more examples.
So what does this mean for your marketing plan?
Go where you audience is: Consumers are relying more heavily on Internet hubs where information is gathered for them. So consider distributing your content to different online platforms in order to increase its visibility and reach. Think outside the box about where people might find you. What you find may be surprising.
Think Interactive: If you don’t want consumers to tune you out after a few seconds, you need to give them something to stick around for. Consumers are not as engaged by online static video. If you are producing a product demo, you can use a tool such as Adobe Flash to program in choices, allowing audiences the ability to view the product the way they want. It will personalize the experience for the potential customer and give them a better idea of how your product will help their needs.
Although online advertising models can be considered work-in-progress, new formats of online advertising are flexible enough to quickly adapt to changing consumer habits. By being prepared, you can ensure that your customers are creating conversations about your brand and the unique way you engaged them.
