Electronics manufacturer LG had to pull an ad for its TV recording devices from Australian TV recently. Was it too racy for television? Not at all; the problem was that the advertisement listed the greatest benefit of the product in a way sure to get the attention of any TV viewer ? the ability to skip commercials!
The ad said something which every viewer could appreciate: "When you replay, you can skip the ads." However, after networks pulled the ad, LG had to submit a different ad for the product which featured the considerably less appealing: "And when you replay, you can skip straight back to the action."
While the networks may have won this time, it's obvious that TV recording technology is here to stay and that the power balance, at least ostensibly, will shift in favour of consumers.
1. Product placement, sponsors and ads that aren't ads.
I recently watched the HBO series The Wire and I couldn't help but notice the very clever product placement of Heineken in the series. Anytime the beer was on-screen, it was with the label facing the camera ? very clever marketing; it leads you to wonder exactly how much money changed hands. In Japan, where I spent some time recently, there is nearly no escape from advertising on television; the ads and programming are nearly indistinguishable! While most of us would probably prefer to keep ads and programming separate, this is a concept which is rapidly going the way of the dodo.
2. Targeted ad messages.
With TV recording technology increasingly in use in the home, advertisers are looking for more ways to get their message to consumers. Many have suggested that we may soon see TV advertising which works much in the way that pay per click advertising such as Google AdWords does. This could be much more cost effective for advertisers, but this is still a form of "push" marketing, even if it may work on a pay per impression model.
3. Information marketing and lead generation.
Many businesses are using DVDs, podcasts, reports and the like as a way of generating leads and raising the profile of their company as of late. This lets their marketing departments focus their efforts on the best prospects, creating a better return on investment for the company's marketing efforts. I've seen companies who once would have never used direct marketing turn to these methods (and I should know, I've been running information based lead generation campaigns for some of these same firms).
4. Accountable marketing will become a necessity.
If you don't do it, you'll be eaten alive (or at the very least, have a few limbs savaged by hungry corporate alligators). The web obviously facilitates accountable marketing like no other medium, but "offline" direct marketing will also experience a boost at the expense of above the line advertising.
5. PR and spin will surpass traditional marketing tactics.
Companies are already putting more of their marketing budgets into making a news worthy stories out of their offerings.
6. Tighter niches and greater specialisation.
Gaining greater "share of mind" will become even more difficult, and we can expect more focus on more highly-specialised niche markets as opposed to line-extension or diversification strategies.
7. Blue Ocean Strategies.
You're definitely going to see companies choosing to stop battling it out toe to toe with their rivals for a piece of the general public and instead working towards building an uncontested market niche, though difficult to achieve. - 15254
The ad said something which every viewer could appreciate: "When you replay, you can skip the ads." However, after networks pulled the ad, LG had to submit a different ad for the product which featured the considerably less appealing: "And when you replay, you can skip straight back to the action."
While the networks may have won this time, it's obvious that TV recording technology is here to stay and that the power balance, at least ostensibly, will shift in favour of consumers.
1. Product placement, sponsors and ads that aren't ads.
I recently watched the HBO series The Wire and I couldn't help but notice the very clever product placement of Heineken in the series. Anytime the beer was on-screen, it was with the label facing the camera ? very clever marketing; it leads you to wonder exactly how much money changed hands. In Japan, where I spent some time recently, there is nearly no escape from advertising on television; the ads and programming are nearly indistinguishable! While most of us would probably prefer to keep ads and programming separate, this is a concept which is rapidly going the way of the dodo.
2. Targeted ad messages.
With TV recording technology increasingly in use in the home, advertisers are looking for more ways to get their message to consumers. Many have suggested that we may soon see TV advertising which works much in the way that pay per click advertising such as Google AdWords does. This could be much more cost effective for advertisers, but this is still a form of "push" marketing, even if it may work on a pay per impression model.
3. Information marketing and lead generation.
Many businesses are using DVDs, podcasts, reports and the like as a way of generating leads and raising the profile of their company as of late. This lets their marketing departments focus their efforts on the best prospects, creating a better return on investment for the company's marketing efforts. I've seen companies who once would have never used direct marketing turn to these methods (and I should know, I've been running information based lead generation campaigns for some of these same firms).
4. Accountable marketing will become a necessity.
If you don't do it, you'll be eaten alive (or at the very least, have a few limbs savaged by hungry corporate alligators). The web obviously facilitates accountable marketing like no other medium, but "offline" direct marketing will also experience a boost at the expense of above the line advertising.
5. PR and spin will surpass traditional marketing tactics.
Companies are already putting more of their marketing budgets into making a news worthy stories out of their offerings.
6. Tighter niches and greater specialisation.
Gaining greater "share of mind" will become even more difficult, and we can expect more focus on more highly-specialised niche markets as opposed to line-extension or diversification strategies.
7. Blue Ocean Strategies.
You're definitely going to see companies choosing to stop battling it out toe to toe with their rivals for a piece of the general public and instead working towards building an uncontested market niche, though difficult to achieve. - 15254
About the Author:
Author: David B. Ascot explains the best of sales lead generation methods and your customer numbers will increase when following his recommendations concerning online lead generation.
