You want 30, I’ll Give you 10 | Advertising 2.0
Entertainment is changing. It’s all online and in bite-sized chunks of 30 second clips and videos. Sure, there is the exception, the odd site that shows full-length programming, but much like everything, entertainment is becoming “smaller.” The obvious example is YouTube, but extends to small snippets of stories (RSS), email and a little thing called Twitter. Advertisers have had the luxury of a full 30 seconds to show you their product and convince you that you needed it, or a full page print ad that grabbed your attention. This, however, is the past. There is the obvious need for change when the entertainment ITSELF is only 30 seconds and the print is but a few lines of text, with maybe a picture.
People have also become a little less open to the idea of having their entertainment interrupted. There are a tons of options, including the ever popular Bittorrent, where I can view the same entertainment without interruption or a single bit of advertising. It’s just as easy and fast, and we won’t bother to talk about the legality, because that’s no really a concern as far as I can tell.
So, what are the options?
I think one of the better options is to make the advertising part of the entertainment. Advertising, done right, can become the show. The best example is the Superbowl. Companies pay millions for their time, and they’re going to make the best of it by showing commercials that you will not want to skip. While the “big game” is talked about in the office the next day, the following topic will be the commercials. Advertisers need to embrace online video as if every day were the Superbowl. On the Internet, your advertising can go “viral,” and be seen and talked about by millions each day for weeks. If a piece of advertising is “boring,” we, as consumers who want to be entertained, will find a way to skip it.
Another option, is to “reward” those who watch. People love free, and honesty prefer to take the legal route if given the option. (I’m sure someone has thought of this, but if not feel free to take the idea, but just remember me when the time comes.) Make a site devoted to advertising products and give people credit for watching commercials or clicking advertisements. Make sure no one can “game” the system by the use of a small random quiz about the content, and just let the system work for you. With the credit they receive, use a partnership to let them download music, movies, shows, and games, or have them trade it for products that are associated with their products. The other part of the deal is that people must enter personal information that will be shared, but have the promise of no spam. The reason, of course, is demographics. Advertisers and marketers will know exactly who is exploring their product, with solid metrics. This information would be invaluable, I would think. Another option with this is to give extra credit to those who share their favorite advertisements with friends (set a limit to avoid friends spamming friends). The possibilities really seem limitless if done with the consumer in mind and rewarding them for having an interest in your product.
This isn’t about me selling an idea, it’s actually something I would like to see and become a part. I’m fascinated by the two-way street of advertising, and the give and take between advertiser and consumer.
The final option is the blitz and it’s really the combination of the above. The idea is to use entertainment and the promise of something for free in return for your constant use. This is the model I believe that has worked for Google. The idea of having a multitude of great tools and ways to access entertainment for free makes Google a very attractive company and option for people to use. The way I see it, the more people on the Internet, the more people there are to click they’re partnered advertising. If you know only 1 out of 10,000 people will click the ads, you want as many as possible as your audience. This is one reason I’ve been very surprised that Google has not gone the ISP route and offered the Internet for free. I can only figure that’s it’s not cost effective for the amount of people it would take to pay for their venture, but make no mistake that Google wants the Internet to be easily accessible and free.
I’m not an expert in advertising, but I would say I’m an avid consumer, which makes me somewhat of an expert when it comes to the results of advertising. If you want my attention, you need to keep up with my interests, and I’ll leave it at that.
More to come…
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