Earlier this year, I went to speak to the (very nice) people at Thinkbox, the group charged with making
the case for the value of TV advertising in the UK, and backed by the UK commercial broadcasters. I had a very stimulating conversation but left confused. Their message appears to be that, despite public opinion, we are not only watching more TV programming but we are also watching more TV advertising. And they've got the science to prove it. In fact, they've got video of people enjoying advertising at home. Hell, they've got video of people watching ads and, "openly expressing wonder at the creative execution!" The Thinkbox boss, Tess Alps has presented the argument over on the Guardian's Technology blog and isn't getting much support. In fact she is being shot down in flames. "I basically stopped watching TV about 7 or 8 years ago when we had
children because of the damage on family life and their mental
development," notes one commenter. Aside from the wisdom of launching a pro-TV rant to the Torrenters and Netheads who populate the Guardian's Tech community, Thinkbox are fighting a losing battle. Even if they are right - they aren't winning many people over. Not least the markets which are suggesting that ITV is now ripe for a break-up, such is the lost cause of TV advertising. However, Thinkbox do have a much more interesting argument that, for some reason, they keep tucked away. It's that TV and web advertising can work better together than they do seperately. Now that's one I think we can all buy. In fact, a client was telling me only last week what a powerful combination the TV-to-web model can be. I've been saying it a lot recently - it's all digital now.
Poor Thinkbox are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Also add there's the third element too - mobile device which makes all media potentially interactive.
Posted by: eaon | July 10, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Thanks Eaon, indeed, but they don't seem to making it any easier for themselves...
Posted by: James Cherkoff | July 10, 2008 at 11:35 AM
James you asked me if I could think about a guest post, and you have actually touched on one of the topics I was considering.
I think that increasingly 90+% of a strong online marketing campaign will be conducted offline.
The other one I was considering was "word of moth marketing" something I saw mentioned recently and I think it could be the next big thing. I didn't read in detail, just saw the reference to it. I presume this must be similar to the old technique, back in my study days, of recording your revision notes on a tape and playing them to yourself on a walkman (now I am showing my age: tape, wow how retro-chic) in your sleep.
Using moths to subliminally influence people's purchasing decisions, its genius. This is a ubiquitous broadcast mechanism which no-one seems to have exploited. You could even get them to chew brand messaging into peoples' best cashmere jumpers.
Posted by: | July 10, 2008 at 03:43 PM
Love it! ;-)
Posted by: James Cherkoff | July 10, 2008 at 05:44 PM