January 28th, 2008
Devices that bring together television and the Internet aren’t new, and the new ways for DRTV to use infomercial advertising with them are plentiful.
For instance, Apple, Inc. offers Apple TV, which copies video, music and photos from a user’s iTunes collection and then plays them on the TV. Then, there’s TiVo, which allows users who have their machines connected through broadband Internet access to watch Internet video.
The Xbox 360 also offers movies and episodes of television shows for download through its Xbox Live online service. These devices are fairly simple to set up and users already have the machine connected to their televisions and in most cases, to the Internet. Gamers love communicating with one another while playing, and this capability has become a major selling point to this technology-savvy group.
Akimbo offers the Akimbo Player which provides access to its company’s broadband service and offers a video-on-demand subscription service. The box sits atop the TV and connects to both the television and the Internet either through an Ethernet cable or wirelessly.
There’s also been a lot of coverage of Apple’s decision to get in on the DVD business, joining “king of the mailbox” Netflix in offering movies through the Internet. Apple recently announced that it plans to offer first-run movies on iTunes just one month after they are released on DVD (with a HD option, no less).
So, if there is a demand (or at least a desire) for combining TV and Internet to create a veritable living room paradise, and most will agree that there is, why aren’t these solutions flying off the shelves?
A Few Kinks.
Just like all mergers, partnerships and technological advances, the television/Internet hybrid solution is not without issues. The main problems seem to be:
The gadgets are too complicated (at least for most people) to set up. Many of these devices need to be hooked up to both the TV and the Internet. Additionally, some consumers feel they need another gadget like they need another remote control: they aren’t interested in adding another gadget to their home entertainment center unless it’s giving them a truly unique service, something they can’t get anywhere else.
Neither a one-stop-shop nor a plug-and-play. Sure, consumers can watch downloaded videos on their television with these gadgets, but what does it take to get to that point? In some cases, the download times can take as long as the actual shows and in other cases, they have to use their computers to place the order before it can be accessed on the television.
Pricing? Sure, technology doesn’t come cheap (though prices are always coming down while the gadgets and services continue to get better). People are still getting used to paying for services and options that simply didn’t exist just a few years ago. So while they may be questioning price or delaying a purchase or choice based on money, in the end, these options become integral and “must-have” parts of home and office life. (Remember the beginning days of the “facsimile?” Now no business can afford to be without a fax machine.)
Not enough choices. People love to watch videos on the Internet because of the wide variety. From streaming television shows to unique YouTube videos, there’s something for everyone. Unfortunately, most of the new solutions don’t offer comprehensive choices.
Even with the questions and hiccups along the way, Internet Television is still expected to be one of the fastest growing trends for 2008. Once advertisers, movie studios and television producers get on board, there’s no telling what the future could hold for this developing technology. Stay tuned!
Posted in DRTV | No Comments »
|
| |
January 17th, 2008
With all of the buzz surrounding the drive to web sales from DRTV advertisements, let’s take a moment to look at the other side of this coin. Advertisers that are using a more multi-channeled approach, including online media, need to make sure they utilize the immense amount of data that goes along with this medium across their other advertising channels. Web analytics has come a long way in the past 10 years and now more than ever the enterprise is driven by these analytics.
Web analytics can gather all the basic information that you would get from a traditional telemarketer, but it also allows the customer to leave a more valuable trail of information that if utilized correctly can change an advertiser’s message on all platforms. For example, page view information allows marketers to see at exactly what stage they are losing potential customers in the purchasing cycle. This enables them to make adjustments to those pages to increase the push to final purchase. They can then implement some of these changes that apply to TV, print, and radio as needed. To take it a step further, advertisers can play a heavy hand in gathering even more voluntary information from customers. Incentive options like free upgrades, options, or shipping if you answer a few questions about the product or transaction can go long way to improving a marketers brand, pitch, price, and even product development.
To make sure you are getting all you can from your web analytics you have to work with a media buying team that can not only understand the importance of the online data, but also see how to make it influence your offline media at just the right moments. As we continue towards a more all-around, direct response driven, marketing environment, advertisers need to manage the flow of data from online to offline in order maximize their ROI
Posted in DRTV | No Comments »
|
| |
January 9th, 2008
In today’s world of bit sized media bits it can be daunting to try and navigate through the multi-layered media map that has unfolded in recent years. Advertisers that are wanting to target the younger millennium generation have to look beyond the traditional advertising vehicles. With digital TV, mobile phones, text messaging, social networking, I-Pods, and blogging all coming of age, advertisers need to not only have access to all of this new media, but to also have the right mix. Finding the right media buying team is more crucial than ever.
Millennials create as much media as they consume. Innovation and creativity are at the center of this media renaissance. Therefore overarching is the only way for advertisers to stay relevant to the millennial crowd. Thankfully almost all the new and emerging media has some sort of direct response component that can be tracked down to the smallest of details. The days of uncertainty about whether or not your ad budget is being spent wisely are long gone. Advertisers can now get up to the minute results for just about all of these new media platforms.
By keeping ahead of the new media curve, and utilizing the strong analytics that come with most of these media channels, savvy advertisers can captain the ship instead of just trying to tread water in the sea of new media.
Posted in DRTV | No Comments »
|
| |
|
|
|
|
