|
The Brainsnack - Number 18
By Tom BarnesTackling TiVo 4/09/03 Personal video recorders, PVR's, are hot. So hot in fact, they are making a significant contribution in the frying of consumers' attention spans. What's an advertiser to do when the most affluent customers aren't compelled to watch TV commercials and are, in fact, actively avoiding them? The problem is so acute former Turner exec Jamie Kellner was recently quoted: "[Skipping commercials is] theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial . . . you're actually stealing the programming." Wow! And I thought Hillary Rosen at the RIAA was peeved. Of course skipping commercials isn't stealing, or we wouldn't have VCR's. So despite Mr. Kellner's understandable shoe pounding, marketers are still stuck. How do we get our messages out to someone who wants to avoid them? Here are some ways we think you can avoid the TiVo (ad-skipping) problem, whether you are advertising on TV now, or plan to in the future. 1) Banners at sporting events. There is a reason sport banners are becoming increasingly more expensive. You can't miss them. Old fashioned? Sure. Effective? Without question. The best money spent at this year's Final Four was the dough dropped on courtside banners. But, you don't have to spend a fortune. Banners at extreme sports events can do just as well with the right target. With the innovation provided by pixel manipulation and green screens (look behind many home plates this year with Major League Baseball), real time messaging can be developed in context with the content of the event for maximum impact. For example, in auto racing a sponsored driver's leadership position combined with the immediacy of a relevant on track message heightens awareness and leverages the power of the brand. Plus, it won't be missed if the race is watched at a later time. |
To get the latest from MEDIA THINK 
