2) Owning the letterbox. Cable channels like Oxygen and American Movie Classics are using the letterbox aspect ratio 24/7. This is a win for advertisers fearing TiVo. In the very near future branding opportunities will exist "in the margins". "Margins" themselves will become more common as HDTV and Digital TV adoption drive more acceptance of the letterbox aspect ratio.
3) Programming scrawls. Once the war ends, the scrawls populating the bottom of all the news channels may be a remnant that lasts awhile. Scrolls have been quite effective for smart marketers on the Weather Channel in local markets as an adjunct to regular advertising.
4) Product placements. Much maligned for its expense, product placement still makes a tremendous amount of sense to us--particularly for big brands. Apple computer is ubiquitous in Hollywood content, and despite massive efforts to the contrary, Apple continues to have one of the most respected brands in modern business.
5) Long form advertising. Sure "infomercial" is an anathema to many marketers, but not for long. Who hasn't sat in the haze of a few too many martinis and watched far too much "Girls Gone Wild" hype. Hey, I wish I were flying around in my Lear jet (pun intended) shooting cheap footage and making a mint off it. Truth is, long form works. The stigma is gone because sometimes 30 seconds is not enough.
6) Paid viewing. Paying people to watch your ad? Sound crazy? It's not. If you are testing messaging you're going to pay respondents to help you tune it, why not extend the model? Financial service companies are experimenting with this concept for products that require a high lift of education to build demand. Education is expensive.
Feed Your Head
