New Media - Same ol' Mistakes

Marketers are still trying to apply old rules to the new game. Thinking online video ads can be approached like TV ads is a mistake. In fact, a recent study noted that half of all respondents stopped watching online videos once they encountered in-stream advertisements (I know I would have done the same). Expecting viewers to sit through a 15-30 second commercial before getting to the actual content is not realistic in the online world. Heck, people don't even like watching commercials on TV and thanks to DVRs 53% of people don’t have to.

As with everything 2.0 there are some marketers that do this better than others -- those who are experimenting with using just a corner of the screen or placing the ads in separate screens all together are headed in the right direction. I think that there is a place for online video advertisements but we need stop thinking it's just a new kind of TV and come to the boardroom with a fresh new approach. The focus needs to be about making the ads relevant and non-disruptive.

Advertising 2.0: It’s Raining Widgets!

Google launched widget ads – this mashup of a widget with a traditional banner ad creates exciting possibilities. There are a few examples here – I particularly like the movie ad – ‘A Mighty Heart’ and the Honda ad.

I like these two for a few reasons:

• It’s basically a shrunken micro site – it serves as a great source of information. But also (probably because of the size limitations) is meant to present only the most important/relevant information, which is really all most of us want anyways.
• If created properly the content provided may serve as a source of information that may be of interest to special interest groups, partners and hopefully customers. If the right information is put into the ad people will want to post it to their sites and why not let them? Google even thought of that and included an ‘embed this ad’ script (as shown here).
• It’s interactive –they even have video components! Unlike a “pass through” ad, these ads combine the best elements of full web-apps with the portability and size of the traditional Google ad. Videos, forms, games, all possibilities creating an interactive experience for the user.

What would you put in your ad? I think it would be cool to show a 3D model or interactive diagram in there. Or if I were promoting an event it would be nice to embed the registration page in the widget itself.

Needless to say, this opens the door for a new use of the traditional Google Ad budget. The early question is whether this will be part of our existing Google Ad campaign or require a new strategy with a totally new campaign. Either way, I’m sure it means more marketing.

The Changing Forces in Advertising

'The Changing Forces in Advertising' panelists included Deborah Schultz (DRS Solutions), Leszek Izdebski (Cisco), Peter Hirshberg (Technorati), Dick Costolo (Feedburner) Peter Merholz (Adaptive Path), and Evan WIlliams, (Obvious Corp AKA Twitter)

The Marketing Beating Continues

The session continued along the trend that marketers and this time they threw in ad agencies still don't get it 'most of the time.' It was later corrected, or softened to say they do get it but they don't know what to do about it. Instead of understanding that the internet is a different animal they are simply moving traditional advertising concepts online. I have to agree that in my experience I see a lot of that but I also think we are at the beginning of this trend and that a lot of us are clamoring to learn as quickly as possible.

Which leads to the next point, marketers need to be willing to experiment and learn. This is new to all of us and we won't have all of the answers right away. Even Evan Williams of Twitter admits they don't know all of the answers and are still trying to figure out how to monetize it through creative advertising. Leszek Izdebski brings up digital media and one way Cisco is delivering ads by looking at RFID information.

How do you deal with negativity in the market?

When Sun Microsystems launched Java FX they ran banner ads on numerous sites. These ads were negatively received in the community through numerous blog posts because the developer community felt the added features didn't warrant the hype the ads were giving them. Behind the scenes the developers who worked on the product were saying the same thing before the product launched - but rather than being quiet about it they were given free reign to join the conversation. They explained their strategy, shared their roadmap and even asked for feedback. This changed the tone and attitude back to a positive one for Sun. I think more companies can learn from this example and loosen those internal reigns…

In a World of 2.0 Advertising is No Exception

Check out this interesting article -Networks Try New Ways to End Ad Skipping - it's really about Advertising 2.0 and how television networks are forced to re-think their advertising strategy. Without commercials TV would not be free. So how do we revitalize commercials and prevent those thumbs from hitting the fast forward button?

Begin Advertising 2.0 - the concept of integration and interaction enters the commercial world - read the article for some interesting examples of how some networks are evolving commercial advertising.