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"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
| - R. Gregg Marketer of Senior Products |
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MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
The New High-Tech Face of Advertising
Published: 09/06 - Ed Play |
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Advertising your toy store on blogs, mobile phones and podcastsm ay seem surreal to
you now, but high-tech forms of communication are merging into the mainstream.
Rapid advances in technology have changed everything from health care to communication. As the latest
technology becomes more accessible to a broader market, the advertising field is changing too. Ten years ago,
you could plan your advertising campaign around a few television commercials and print advertisments. Until
now, most companies would never have considered spending a sizable portion of their advertising budget on the
Internet, but in 2006 online ad expenditures are expected to reach $17 billion.
Advertisers who want to reach their audience and remain competitive in this high-tech world have to change with
the times. They must keep abreast of emerging new technologies, what media types are most popular, and
how consumers use what is available to them. If you want to stay current and advertise your products and
services in ways that reach your target audience on their turf, consider the following forms of emerging media.
Blogs
Blog is short for "Web log," which is essentially an online journal that people without any HTML knowledge
can create easily from any computer. They are frequently updated and usually include the owner's thoughts
or musings on topics ranging from what's happening in the news to what they ate for lunch.
Companies or individuals can keep blogs. Company blogs usually promote products in what is known as an "adverblog".
However, those blogs started by individualswithout commercial affiliation usually have more credibility.
About 50 million people keep blogs, and many different categories exsit, including travel, health and
buisness. Blogs are popular because the provide a concise summary of news and information and give users power
by providing information all in one place and on a timely basis. A blog dedicated to the importance
of play, for example, will likely pull information from sources all over the Internet, so someone surfing for
information on healthy play doesn't have to search several sites for the most up-to-date research about the
topic. Instead they can find everything they need on one blog.
As far as advertising on blogs, ads are generally related to the blog topic. That blog about play could be an
excellent place to advertise the toys or learning products on your store's shelves. If you're interested in
advertising on blogs, I suggest you first look for help from marketing companies that measure hot blog topics
and provide market research based on blog content.
Podcasts
Podcasts deliver digital audio and video files to a user via the Internet. The name comes from the iPod, but
podcasts aren't just for iPod users. A podcast is an audio file in MP3 format that consumers can download to
their iPods, MP3 players, or computers. Then you can listen to it over and over again, share it with friends,
or save it on a computer's hard drive.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 6 million people have downloaded podcasts. And of the
22 million iPod owners, 29 percent have downloaded podcasts.
Podcasts are an emerging media form that will continue to grow, and as this media outlet increases in popularity,
the advertising possibilities will grow as well. Viacom, Disney and Clear Channel all have radio-type podcasts,
and even print media outlets use podcasts to broadcast interviews and other audio supplements to their print
stories. For example, you might read an article in a magazine and listen to the accompanying interview in its
entirety on the magazine's website.
Gaming
Out of 108 million households, 68 million currently play video and computer games, according to the "Digital
Gaming in America" Ziff Davis report of August 2005. Advertisers can reach this market, which is mostly comprised
of young males, in two ways.
First, advertisers can use gaming technology to insert their ads in popular games. For example, say you are
playing a football video game on your Xbox 360. You'll see ads placed on the sidelines and on the scoreboard just
like you would if you were in a real football stadium or watching a real game on television. Video games are
also played online, allowing gamers to compete with opponents in other parts of the world. These games offer many
opportunities to place logos and products that a huge audience will see.
Another way to advertise using games is to literally create your own game that the consumer can play online.
This is commonly referred to as "advergaming." Many companies, such as Lipton and Mountain Dew, have used this
advertising technique. The greatest benefit of these games is that they get people involved in the brand.
Game designers create these games to interest a particular target audience, such as young children. Be aware,
though, if you're marketing to kids, you must closely monitor the game's content.
Mobile advertising
Nearly 199 million people in the United States subscribe to mobile phone services, and every phone produced in
the last year is capable of accessing the Internet. What does this mean for advertisers? It's yet another method
for reaching the target audience. People now use mobile phones to search the Internet, play games, instant
message, access sports scores, learn breaking news and even check out horoscopes.
Mobile advertising presents a great means to reach the high-school and college-student markets with banner
and video ads. Currently, mobile ads are usually simple text banners, but down the road as this technology
continues to advance, cell phones may be capable of displaying television ads. However, this media outlet
is not without limitations. Everything in your ad has to be cleared by the phone company, so you must consider
the logistical aspects of placing mobile ads.
A high-tech future
If you want to remain competitive in the future, technology will be key to your success. You should consider
these four, and other new types, of digital media when putting together any advertising strategy. While it's
difficult to predict exactly where the trends are headed, when you keep an eye on new technology, you and your
products won't be left behind.
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