As all of us wind down and celebrate the first holiday of summer, let's take a few moments to remember those who served their flag, their country, and all their fellow citizens. And let us not forget all our children now serving in our name. May G-d bless them all.
Forgive my sarcasm, but audio on the Web has finally arrived! Branding expert Martin Lindstrom, writing in ClickZ today, actually says audio might be good for enhancing a brand message.
WOW!
I guess he was never one of those people who've had a jingle "stuck in their heads." Remarkable.
AdTech opened today, and, predictably, a hot topic was rich media. (MarketingVox gives a good report on their blog.)
Again, predicatably, talk turned to repurposing TV ads for the Web. It seems people find TV ads "less annoying" on the Web than they do on their big screens. Let's hope this talk ends quickly. (I have to wonder how long it will take until Web surfers turn off, too.)
Creativity - like the kind evidenced by American Express with their Seinfeld/Superman ads - is what's needed to realize the potential of online marketing.
Yes, it costs money to create ads like these, but it also costs money to create insipid 30 second messages no one really notices. This type of creativity, partnered with true interactivity, is where Web advertising needs to go.
I-Media Connection reported today that Unicast will be introducing a "fully interactive video experience" for their advertising accounts this June.
Yes, Virginia, there really IS a Santa Claus!
First banners, then pop-ups and now rich media ads. How badly has the well been poisoned?
Yup. An article in Wired on how to block rich media ads.
Great technology humbled by lousy execution. Sad.
I know I'm preaching to an empty room when I rant how the Big Brands don't "get" online advertising. If they did, why is everyone touting those full screen Intersitials? (EyeWonder just came out with a new "VideoSitial" system today.) These really aggravate Internet users. Most good online marketing/advertising firms know this, yet they persist.
Why aren't we teaching that the Internet isn't TV, won't ever be TV, doesn't work the same as TV, and shouldn't be TV?
Yes, I know how hard it is to change the way things have been done forever. But will the true potential of this medium ever be reached when the money is still more important than the medium? (How naive IS she, you ask.)
Doesn't the success of the Seinfeld clips, the Cog, BMW etc. tell people that online ads can be more effective than 30 second spots? With the TV audience diminishing every year, these Brands had better start looking to the Web.
According to DoubleClick, rich media ads were served 40% of the time - up by over 50% from the same time last year.
While all response rates were anemic, rich media ads converted at twice the rate of non-rich ads.
All this tells me is that there's something very wrong with the advertising community. They have more and more tools available, and they still can't produce ads which engage the Internet population.
Tom Hespos got it right today in Online Spin. HE was talking about Home Depot and how they add value to their products and services, but he really was talking about the Internet.
The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) has come out with "guidelines" for rich media advertising on the Web. (You can see the guidelines here.)
The IAB seems determined to turn the Internet into a venue for TV type ads with 15 & 30 second spots! BMW attributes much of the success it had with its recent campaign to the fact it wasn't limited to TV timeframes. So did Ford. (The two companies also attribute interactivity to success, but the IAB doesn't talk about that.)
The beauty of the Web is that time has no meaning if the user is engaged and involved with the message. Should we limit creativity because it doesn't fit into a certain time frame? I don't think so, and I venture others will agree.
I suppose we should be grateful they've finally realized audio should be controlled by the visitor.
The BBC is planning to offer downloads of TV shows. (Article) You'll be able to watch it on a PDA, burn it to DVD etc. They say the quality will be excellent and compare it to watching a movie while on a plane. The pilot program will be offered to 500 broadband users.
The BBC doesn't want what happened to the music industry to happen to TV. Have to admire their foresight.
One question: Even with broadband, is anyone thinking about the size of these files and the resources necessary to deliver them? Music files are tiny; video files aren't.
Stay tuned....
I've always liked Sean Carton. (He writes for ClickZ and is an astute commentator on online marketing and advertising.) His article today only confirms my thoughts on the best uses of rich media.
Use it interactively!! Use that real estate to assist buyers instead of trying to turn the Internet into a bad imitation of television. And, yes - rich media banners can be an answer to the intrusiveness problem.
Did I mention interactivity???? And just wait till you see what's coming with new DVD authoring tools.