Frame Rate

In the early days of television programs were usually sponsored by a single company, and that particular show would carry the name of its sponsor, like Texaco Star Theatre. It was a format that lasted from the 1950s through the 1960s, but soon thereafter faded from popularity. There were two main reasons: 1) A single sponsoring company couldn’t keep up with the rising costs of production, and 2) Some were accusing sponsors of wielding too much control over programming content.

Well, as the old saying goes, “what goes around comes around.” The New York Times is reporting today that NBC will attempt to bring back this advertising format by partnering with companies like Liberty Mutual to develop and air new programming. Many companies have already developed their own programming for the web, integrating these web-isodes into their overall marketing strategies. This trend will only continue and soon other businesses must come to the realization that if they don’t have video on their sites then they are falling rapidly behind.

NBC’s move doesn’t mean that the traditional 30-second spot will vanish (yet), but it does mark a significant shift in how companies advertise their goods and services. This strategy is an attempt to counteract the effects of TiVo, whereby viewers can simply skip through the commercials. We will just have to wait to observe the long-term effects of this shift.

Saturday, February 23 marked the 50th anniversary for the Birmingham ADDYS - the awards celebrating the best in local advertising. Each year the event centers on a certain theme and I thought this year’s selection was especially meaningful - “Never Settle.” Those two words should serve as great inspiration in whatever role you might play at your workplace. It’s a charge for each of us to select nothing but the best; to keep striving for ideas that are truly innovative and original. I know I will remember this mantra as I write and develop creative strategies for my clients. Wherever you are, whatever you do, never settle. Continue to fill up pages full of ideas. Don’t be ashamed to wad up those pages, throw them away, and start again. It’s all in a process to find the most creative idea out there.

Since my schedule has been so busy in recent weeks, I have gotten behind in my reading. I subscribe to a few blogs through Bloglines and I like to scan the newspaper headlines and read industry periodicals. I know I’m a little late in bringing this to your attention, but the August 31st issue of the Birmingham Business Journal had some great articles dedicated to media and marketing. Fortunately, the newspaper keeps a great archive on their website, in case you wanted to head over there and peruse some of the articles. Atticus Rominger discussed Web 2.0 and how businesses can utilize it in their PR campaigns. Eileen Markstein wrote about how businesses can improve their branding and Ty West discussed how the web is forcing the ad industry to adapt. This particular issue also lists Birmingham’s top ad agencies, PR firms, and TV stations. Some of the articles in the archive are for paid subscribers only, but if you can find a print edition it will be worth the effort. Maybe next time I will stay up to date on my news.

So if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 18 months you probably haven’t noticed how YouTube has revolutionized the internet by providing users with a free forum to share videos around the world. An individual can waste a LOT of time watching videos on the sharing site - some worthwhile, others not so much. But for every user who uploads videos of a skateboarding dog, there are other users who truly see the benefit of YouTube. In steps Google who, reportedly, will soon offer a corporate version of the video sharing site, allowing companies to communicate in several new ways.

In an article from USA Today, it was reported that the percentage advertisers are spending on billboards is actually up, proving that the medium is not an aging dinosaur. In fact, several wonderfully creative outdoor ads received recognition at a recent awards ceremony in Cannes. You can read a more detailed description of the ads in the USA Today article.

Webcams are nothing new and for a little over 10 years now, people have been using them to document little moments of their lives for the entire world to see. However, new technology has allowed some web entrepreneurs on the West Coast to break free from the confines of their homes and go about their daily lives, all of it documented on camera, much like the films The Truman Show or Edtv.

This site is called Justin.tv and chronicles the every day life of Justin Kan, a web guru with several startups to his name. It may not be that interesting to watch, but the entire thing is a way for them to market the technology for greater entertainment value. Soon, as Nick Gonzales reports on Tech Crunch, it won’t be uncommon to follow your favorite band or political figure or athlete as their lives are documented on the web 24/7. What this shows is a continuing shift toward quality online programming content with plenty of options to advertise and promote your business.

There’s no doubt that the world today has more access to information than at any other time in human history. The internet has made it possible to share information like never before, and with video-on-demand, people can search for and find almost any kind of video. As Dane Cook said on his SNL appearance this season, “Every video that’s ever been made is already on YouTube… Here’s a little test. Go home, go to the YouTube search engine and punch your keyboard. Just punch it twice, and hit ‘enter.’ There’s a video for that.”

Major news organizations like NBC, CBS, and ABC realize the public’s demand for video and in an effort to compete with an infinite number of other news sources, sometimes they can be tempted to air whatever comes their way, without thinking about whether or not they should.

Case in point: There’s been a controversy brewing over the past few days regarding the video NBC aired of Cho Seung-Hui that the killer apparently made between the two shootings that claimed so many lives on Virginia Tech’s campus. In the video, Cho appears before the camera spouting off his reasons behind his evil actions - blaming a world that he felt had wronged him. Some, like Ray Richmond feel that it was in bad form for NBC to air the video. On his blog, Richmond editorializes NBC’s decision. In response, Barry Garron defends NBC for airing the video.

With the increase of video on the web, people are exposed to a number of potentially violent, objectionable, or offensive materials. Long term exposure can result in a desensitizing of the viewing public whereby they will soon be looking for other videos that are increasingly violent and shocking.

So here’s your chance to sound off: was NBC in the right by airing the Cho video, or should it have been kept under lock and key out of respect to those people who lost their lives?

Some love them, others hate them, but they have certainly saturated the marketplace. Since 2004, Geico has created ads featuring high-society cavemen who detest the insurance company for their slogan, “Geico.com is so easy to use, a caveman could do it.” Even if you hate the ads, they ARE memorable, and you can’t help but remember Geico’s name. Now the insurance company might be on the threshold of doing something revolutionary - using their campaign mascots in a prime time sitcom. As more and more consumers gain resources to block commercials, it becomes increasingly important for advertisers to find creative ways to get their brand out to the public. Product-placement shows could be the answer. Imagine television shows with no commercial breaks. Advertisers pay to have their products featured in an episode. “X” amount of dollars buys you “X” amount of screentime. Currently I’m developing a series of product placement shows, so it will be interesting to see if this strategy gains a foothold.

I was in attendance today for the monthly Birmingham Ad Federtaion luncheon, during which I heard an interesting speech from Don Logan, Chairman of the Board from Time Warner Cable, Inc. He spoke on “Advertising in the New Millenium” and discussed how advertisers must re-think traditional strategies in order to reach an audience that have more and more ad-blocking resources at their disposal.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, newspapers carried advertisements from local shops. With the invention of the radio, ads could reach a wider audience, so you began to hear more national campaigns. Television increased the reach astronomically, but now advertisers are faced with iPods, TiVo, and the internet. Through these three resources, viewers can easily skip through commercials. With viewers now controlling what they see and when they see it, networks will soon be forced to re-evaluate their traditional “line up” model. In future generations, terms like “Prime Time” or “Day Time” will be foreign.

With a shift in the market and the evolution of technology, people must adapt, or fall behind the competition. Record labels refused to see the market demand a few years back and there was an explosion of file sharing sites like Napster. Comsumers didn’t want to buy all 15 songs from a musical artist when there were only two or three in which they were interested. Now, however, record companies are adapting to this demand. The same is true for advertisers.

The important thing to keep in mind when promoting your business is that you can’t ignore the market demand. The public responds to video, but they want it on their terms. Adaptation requires a recognition of what’s currently happening in the marketplace, and we must respond with creative ways of getting our messages out there. We live in a very exciting time and it’s interesting to see the evolution in progress.

As video-on-demand rises in popularity, along with portable video devices, we will start to see a shift in the way content is produced by major broadcasters. Michael Eisner, former Disney Chairman, is already jumping on the bandwagon. His investment firm is backing production of 80, 90-second episodes for broadcast online. Do you think future generations will have the attention span to sit through an hour-long television drama, or a two-hour feature film? Or will they be groomed on one to two-minute shorts? Will Keifer Sutherland’s next series be “60?”