Survival Guide

In an earlier post, I sang the praises of the advertising model offered by Pandora.com. Another site that is taking an innovative approach to advertising within broadcast media content online is ABC.com.

As television networks continue to make more programming available on the web, they have taken different approaches to incorporating advertising into their online program streams. Most of the networks have basically created a video stream that mirrors their on-air model. They play a portion of the program, then switch to a 30-second advertiser’s spot, then continue on with the program.

But ABC.com has taken a different tact. Within ABC’s online video player, advertisers have the option to load in a branded web page or even a microsite during the commercial breaks. This branded page is completely under the control of the advertiser, allowing the brand to include a variety of content - video and audio streams, flash product demos, user polls, online games - whatever the brand want to provide. A countdown timer keeps viewers on the advertisers page for the length of a standard TV spot, and after that the user actually needs to click to continue with the program - it doesn’t just start again. This model is really forward thinking for a television network because of all that it offers both the advertiser and the viewer:

1. The viewer MUST have at least 30 seconds of exposure to the brand, but could have far more if she chooses. Unlike simply showing a TV spot and then moving on, the ABC model allows the user to take a break from the program and spend a little more time with the brand to learn more or to interact with whatever features have been built into the branded micro site. After 30 seconds it’s up to her - she’s in control of the time that she spends with the advertiser.

2. Advertisers can easily combine the best of several media formats. Because the viewer must remain on the ad for the length of a 30 second spot, many advertisers embed a 30 second spot on the main screen of their ads, allowing them reuse the same brand assets that they have already developed for broadcast. The microsite ad can then deliver additional content such as interactive product demos, enhanced product information, content downloads, etc. The ad can collect information from the users as well.

3. Advertisers can take advantage of longer-format messages. Some brand messages really work best when explained in a format that’s longer or more straightforward than a standard 30 second television spot. Advertisers have 30 seconds in which to grab the viewer’s interest, but unless the user clicks to continue the program, the message can keep right on playing. This allows the brand to deliver far more information than a television commercial does, and in a less hectic or hurried way. And if the viewer isn’t interested, they’ll get the first 30 seconds and move on.

4. Finally, ABC.com opens up broadcast network advertising to brands which haven’t produced television commercials. Though many advertisers replay their TV spots on the ABC.com program stream, that really isn’t necessary. Since the ad space is essentially a rich media microsite, even brands without existing TV spots can advertise during the broadcast programming, creating an engaging branding message through flash animation, interactive features and non-broadcast audio-video content. This gives ABC a larger base of advertising clients and allows far more brands to reach network audiences.

Let’s hope that more sites continue to challenge existing digital advertising models, and that advertisers demand more innovation in ad space formats. More creativity in online ad formats, like those being explored by Pandora and ABC, will help support the providers of traditional broadcast media as they continue to move their content onto the web.

Here are a few examples of great microsite-style ads displayed during commercial breaks on the ABC.com programming stream.

Juicy Juice Ad

Nissan Murano Ad

Band-Aid Ad

You can’t read, listen to, or watch anything about business lately that doesn’t have to do with speculation on the economy. A lot of the speculation we in ad agencies read, not surprisingly, centers around how advertising will fare. Because ad budgets are one of the first things affected when businesses sense a downturn.

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I’m not always a big fan of online banner advertising. They certainly have their place in the mix. But display banners often try to entice people to stop doing what they are doing on the page (reading content, checking email, interacting with other users, etc.) and click through to an advertiser’s web site. And depending on the audience trying to do anything more invasive, like over-the-page ads, can be found to actually annoy and frustrate users. That’s not really what advertisers should be setting out to do. We need to strive to be more innovative and relevant.

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My Top 5 short-list of what a client can bring to the table to strengthen the agency relationship (in no particular order):

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That probably seems like a weird thing for an Interactive Creative Director to say, but truth is, it’s not. Not a single discipline, anyway. At least, not when you look at the way the people use digital things.

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In the many client meetings I attend each week, I often hear the phrase “we need to get on YouTube” or “we need a MySpace page”. Getting a brand into these popular online properties is often seen as akin to getting past the velvet rope that separates the popular kids from the rest of the world. But uploading brand content to these and other social networks needs as much of a strategy and objective behind it as any other marketing initiative.

Knowing the target audience is crucial in determining if these networks are right for your brand—does your product appeal to that younger, more internet-agile consumer? How often do they watch video online? Do you know what they do when they go online? Taking a strong look (ie. research) at how your consumer behaves within this medium is just as important as understanding how and why they read Women’s Day or watch Desperate Housewives.

Because most of the social networks require constant supervision and updating (more so than many websites or microsites that a brand would launch), having plans, and funds, in place for ongoing content development often resembles the plot points of a television or movie script. Telling a story, creating character, working with the variable ebb and flow of entertaining commentary can make or break your presence—the more you plan and create, the better you will be.

We recently learned one of our TV spots created for MTD’s Cub Cadet brand was one of the five least TiVo’d (read: least deleted) spots of their most recent tracking period. To me, that’s really exciting and significant. It proves a big hairy audacious theory: if we create great ads, whether TV, digital, print, whatever, people will actually watch them! This might be most true when it comes to online advertising where there is possibly more clutter and bad advertising than any other medium.

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It occurred to us that a lot of marketers (including us) use the “I” word but often in very different ways. We use the word so often that sometimes we don’t realize we are using it. I asked around for a definition of Integration and heard the following: “It’s all marketing functions working together”; “It’s a communication that works across all channels” and perhaps my favorite “I know it when I see it”. Let’s have some integration and everyone will be happy…YES!..integration.

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