The Future of TV Affects Mobile Advertising

The Future of TV Affects Mobile Advertising

The television screen and computer screens are blending. For the next generation of media consumers, “watching television” does not always mean using an actual television to do it. If you ask the younger generation, watching television can be watching shows on a computer, tablet, or a smartphone. It does not always have to be an actual television screen in your living room like was traditionally the case for many decades. Regardless of how television viewing is done, advertisers have more challenges than ever because so little television is watched live. This also means that advertising is changing and television advertisers have to innovate and get clever in order to get in front of fleeting eyes and overcome the fast forward button.

Clever Advertising Techniques

Advertisements have to be interesting and eye catching enough to stop the fast forward button or in some cases they are designed so that the brand can still be seen while fast forwarding. Then there are the new versions of television ads that actually integrate them with the television programming. Viewing on mobile devices also often disables fast forwarding and requires the viewer to watch the commercials in exchange for getting OnDemand programming. If this is the case, the commercials had better be engaging and varied lest they turn the viewer off altogether. There are too many other entertainment options available to television watchers these days to not make commercials excellent quality. Commercials should either entertain or inform in order to captivate today’s the frugal attention span of today’s media viewer.

Trying New Things

The need to innovate has brought advertisers to try new things. One such innovation is using the social media video site Vine for commercials; like Dunkin Donuts just did. Their latest commercial is a Vine video, which repeats on a 6 second loop. Their first Vine commercials aired during Monday Night Football, so not only were they short and innovative in style, but incorporated football, with coffee cups vs. latte cups on the football field mimicking the coin toss and replaying important plays throughout the game. This incorporates another new addition to advertising, real time advertising: brands playing off of events as they occur.

Benefits of Advertising to Mobile Users

Have you ever been so annoyed by a commercial that it prevented you from buying from that company? Repetitiveness works with advertising only to a point. One of the huge benefits of showing ads to mobile users is that mobile devices almost always require the user to be logged in. This means that advertisers can limit the amount of times the same commercial is shown to the same user. Most mobile advertising platforms also give the user an option to choose which ads to see or not. The added bonus for advertisers who participate in these types of networks is that they do not have to pay for their advertisements to be seen by those users who are definitely not interested. Those un-wasted ad-spend dollars can greatly increase the return on investment for marketing campaigns. The mobile advertising experience becomes much more personalized and interactive for users. Users can click on ads to get more information and further engage with the brand’s web page or social media channels. Conversely, for the advertisers, the experience becomes smarter and leaner with the ability to target and then retarget interested consumers.

Combining Television Ads with other Media

Some advertisers are combining advertising campaigns through multiple channels, using varied techniques. For example, running contests or sweepstakes are a great way to catch the attention of viewers and make them want to stop that fast forward button for a chance to win something of value. Another popular combination for ads is social media. Most big brand commercials now include the logos or mention to visit their social media channels for more interaction, coupons, contests, and more. This is how companies are engaging with viewers and going beyond just having them watch a commercial.  One new trend is for commercials to tell a story that is just a teaser with “the conclusion online”; thereby driving interested consumers to the company’s website, Facebook page, or video channel to see more.

Resorting to Alternative Advertising Options

Finding the right mix of advertising is more important than it ever was. Any good marketer will tell you that you have to test out different methods and then continue to test until you find the combination that works best for your unique product with your unique audience. In some cases, television advertising might not be the answer or it may be only a supplement to other advertising methods that have a better return on investment or work better for branding. One such advertising method that has proven to increase brand awareness  is the use of GoPromotional Products. Since promotional products are kept for a long period of time, it increases the number of impressions well beyond that of a television commercial or online advertisement while improving consumer sentiment at the same time since everyone loves getting a free gift, even if it is branded merchandise. A blending of different advertising methods is often the best way to increase sales and brand recognition at the same time.

Conclusion for Television Advertisers

Innovation in advertising techniques and styles is the only way to keep up with the new technology. Embracing the new technology is the key to unlocking increased return on investment for your advertising dollars. Blending a variety of advertising of traditional television commercials with offline, online, and social media can result in finding engaged consumers that are likely to buy your products.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday November 01 2013, 5:11 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0