is the blog of NetPlus Interactive: a top 50 Interactive Agency based in Philadelphia. ©2010
I recently came across a promotional video, dare I say commercial for Tostitos Salsa. The way the video is presented as well as the animation blew me away and I had to share it:
Thought this was a great example of creative used to highlight brand attributes.
Leave a comment and see if you can name ‘em!
Denise and I just returned from a “breakthrough” media conference and probably the one thing that struck me as not breakthrough were some of the mega-digital ad network purveyors pushing the fact that “video’s going to be huge on the web!” No kidding, dude? Up on a big screen, a clichéd Euro-produced TV spot for a US brand car rolls, everyone in the audience is drooling, and the speaker goes on about expandables and rich media and video production facilities and bla bla bla.
What’s breakthrough about that? It’s Broadcast Media part deux. And these guys, who probably used to make millions selling TV and radio flights are now putting together more digital ad networks and selling their magic again. And sure, if you produce a super-beautiful-expensive-sexy spot featuring a leggy chick and a cop (I’d seen the same concept 30 times before), you too can get these really great engagement rates, like, 4%! Yeah, that beats your standard display banner, and you can click on the banner and it’ll send more groovy footage to your smart phone, but so what? It’s old school. It’s one way. It’s not the be all and end all. 96% won’t be engaged by it. And can you estimate its ROI?
Social Media engages the viewer in a two-way conversation. It’s not about a one-way, 1 million Euro-produced TV spot and a huge network buy. And if you do it right, you have measurable metrics that you can track directly back to your campaign. And it’s affordable in a recession-driven economy. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a creative director and for the most part, we consider big film or video shoots as perks rather than work. But I’ve seen the writing on the wall (as have, unfortunately, many production companies) and it isn’t the high six or seven-figure shoot and buy.
I consider myself a gadget geek… maybe even a gadget freak… an early adopter out on the bleeding edge of technology. The latest addition to my wired/wireless home is a Mac Mini connected to my living room TV running Boxee.
For the uninitiated, Boxee is an open-source media center software package that aggregates video from local and internet sources into a very intuitive interface for play “on demand”. It has changed the way I watch any form of video programming from network to movies to online.
Using Boxee for the last few months really got me thinking about the future of TV, video, and advertising. I believe that it is only a matter of time before most programming is “on demand”. Many people already have DVRs and record their programs so they can fast forward through the commercials. Hulu has entered the marketplace and you can view all kinds of shows from NBC, Fox, and Disney with some commercial interruption in the form of a pre-roll sponsorship ad and a few ads dropped in here and there.
Some other online “networks” are popping up with other advertising models. One of my favorites is Revision3 which includes shows like the Digg Reel and Scam School. Their model is in the form of direct sponsorship of shows and episodes by brands like Netflix and Adidas.
I am wondering if we are already witnessing the loss of relevance of the major media networks and the death of the TV pilot or 12 episode deal? Will the future look more like producers of shows publishing content to internet-based channels and media centers like Boxee that allow users, through social media features, to decide what is popular and what rises to the top? Then, as a show becomes popular, will the producers directly share in any advertising revenue that it generates?
I really feel we are at the beginning of a radcial shift in how we watch programming and that it is only a matter of time that the network/local affiliate model of broadcast television begins to decay and lose relevance like print media.
