Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection

From the first moment it was introduced, TiVo has been feared by the ad guys. For consumers it’s dramatically improves the television experience, but for content owners TiVo and other DVRs have created new challenges for them to address. For decades, Hollywood has made a killing by selling 30 second spots, but as we move to an on demand society, this new paradigm has shifted the balance of power to the consumer and has forced mainstream media to think ahead. Those who can make this adjustment will be met with success, but the advertisers and content owners who refuse to change will be left behind.

Some content owners may view fast forwarding through programs as being equivalent to stealing from the content creators, but I don’t buy that line of rubbish at all. As much as they’d like to belive it, there is no social contract when it comes to television. Viewers aren’t required to sit through the commercials, they’ve just never had an easy way to opt out before.

Advertising may help to pay for the programming, but it’s the content itself that is competing for my attention, not the ad spots. If the content owners really don’t want their customers fast forwarding through their ads, then they need to make their content compelling enough that you are willing to watch all 30 minutes of a show, instead of just the 20 minutes that actually entertains us.

Fusing edgy advertising with good content is no easy task, but the ad agencies and content owners that can pull it off, will be the real winners when it comes to marketing to an on-demand customer. The content owners may wish that the technology companies would keep their paws off of their videos, but now that the power of time shifting has been turned over to the consumer, there is no turning back.

Some ad buyers have already begun to figure out the power of product placement, but it still amazes me that we haven’t seen a single show in the industry completely abandoned the 30 second spot just yet. The first TV show to run without a single 30 second ad is certain to get a lot of buzz, but unfortunately, for far too long, the status-quo has been plauged by it’s own inertia and it’s taken an influx of new ideas and technologies in order to force Hollywood to adapt.

I can’t really speak for everyone, but I know that at least in my case, product placement is an extremely effective advertising tool for a couple of reasons. When I bought my a car a year ago, it wasn’t the Super Bowl commercials that convinced me to buy my Thunderbird, it was smart ad placement in the 2002 season of 24 that made me fall in love with that car.

One of the reasons why product placement is such a powerful marketing tool is that it actually reaches 100% of your audience. While some aren’t as aggressive about cutting out clutter from their TV viewing, I’m a power ad skipper when it comes to my TiVo. I have very little tolerance for the commercials that programmers bombard at me, so if you want to get my attention, you need to embed your commericials in the actual shows, if you even want me to watch.

Perhaps more importantly then just reaching your audience, product placement is also an effective tactic psychologically because people associate the positive feelings they get from watching a good show with the brands that show up in the program.

A good example of how influential product placement can be, is to look at the most recent marketing campaigns for where you purchase your office supplies. In one corner you have Office Depot. They’ve been using a traditional 30 second spot to try and influence people into shopping at their store. Their commercial uses every annoying marketing gimmick out there. They’ve incorporated a jingle into the spot, to ensure that it will stick inside your brain for months, they purchased massive amounts of ad time on the same programs just in case someone may have missed it the first 50 times, and they’ve run the same commercial over and over and over again so that they can beat their message into potential customer’s heads, they even threw in a freaky looking mascot in a misguided attempt to help consumers better identify their brand.

This is the old paradigm, the way things have always been done. It requires no innovative marketing strategy or a rethinking of consumer demand. It represents a general malaise and lack of respect towards the new, more sophisticated time shifting consumer.

In the other corner you Staples. I’m not sure whether or not Staples still runs 30 second ads, but I can’t remember the last time I saw one of their 30 second spots. Instead, I actually look forward to seeing their ads once a week, when I’m watching one of my favorite shows, The Office. Each week they make their “commercial” different and fresh by integrating their products into the actual storyline of each show.

In the case of Office Depot, I don’t choose to watch their ad, they thrust it on me. Normally, it’s easy enough to tune this out, but because of their jingle, everytime this commercial runs, it’s impossible to ignore and my stress-o-meter starts heading through the roof. The first time I saw their creepy little mascot hand, I was ambivalent about the spot, but after watching the same ad fifty times, I now get an irrestible urge to start stabbing that freaky thing with a dull pair of scissors, everytime it airs.

While Staples hasn’t used any annoying jingles during The Office, because their content is already engaging, when their ads do show up, it not only creates an impression, but it’s a positive impression because I’m already enjoying the show and I know that the ad is directly supporting a show I know and love. This impression can later be reinforced in a variety of clever ways. For example, after the show where Dwight Schrute “quit” his job at Staples, the company actually went so far as to release a memo announcing that they weren’t very sorry to see Dwight leave their fine company.

This was really smart on Staples part because it not only extended their marketing campaign into other forms of media, but it also reinforced their sponsorship of the show. This in turn, helps viewers to later be on the lookout for the Staple ads embedded in the program.

Now compare this with how Office Depot has supported the marketing message that they are sending. Not only can you not find toys of their creepy hand mascot at their stores, but if you go on their website, they don’t even mention the hand. Given how much money they’ve spent trying to brand this image in people’s minds, you’d think that they’d support the marketing campaign by including it in other forms of media as well.

I’m not sure how much money Staples spent in order to get their ads embedded into The Office, but compared to Office Depot’s efforts, I have to believe that this has been money well spent. Office Depot may have been more successful at getting me to notice their ad and notice it more often, but Staples has actually won my heart by partnering with programs I care about, instead of mentally assaulting me with with programming that I don’t want to opt into.

At the end of the day, by using their annoying jingle to try and force me to pay attention, Office Depot has actually created hostile feelings in me when I think about their brand. Meanwhile, Staples advertising has not only made me laugh, but it actually makes me want to spend money at their company.

When all is said and done, it will be the Staples of the world, that end up succeeding in an on-demand environment, because they don’t hold you hostage for 30 minutes in exchange for 20 minutes of content, they make every single minute count. Some content owners may not be happy with consumers having control over their television viewing, but I’m excited that TiVo is forcing this transformation, because in the end, product placement will make everyone’s television better. It will help to ensure that our favorite shows continue to stay well funded, it will challenge advertisers to think more creativity when competing for your attention, and if it’s done right, it will make your programming more engaging and entertaining.

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by Davis
Filed under: Disclosure - I own stock in co. mentioned, Marketing, Spam, TV, Technology, TiVo, VOD