New Media is Changing TV Advertising? Really?
This should come as no surprise, but never underestimate the perpetual pining for the fjords among major media companies -- but not among advertisers -- hoping that this whole Interweb/iPod/YouTube stuff is a fad. The following is a little on the biz-speak turgid side, but it does make some important points about media, advertising, and some signals that will show up in the current upfront ad-selling season:The substantial revenue generated by the broadcast and cable upfront is more a result of long-standing process than logic. The billions of dollars generated for the broadcast and cable networks persist on this imprecise practice of guaranteeing a reach of demographic viewers. Nielsen Co. and others are struggling to improve their techniques for measuring audiences for this medium at a time when television programming is extended to more digital platforms than ever before, and a click of a computer mouse can render a frighteningly detailed snapshot of a user.[via Hollywood Reporter]
... The smart advertisers simply doesn't care if frequent YouTube visitors watch less television because they plan to be on whatever media platform best facilitates their connection with target consumers at a cost-effective price. How much and how fast advertisers shift their spending around from television to interactive media platforms is the billion dollar question--a perturbing answer to which will give way to a slew of new advertising business models to go around.
The nagging dichotomy between advertising form, function and price on traditional TV and on the Internet is in the process of rendering a new hybrid standard to extend across all media platforms.
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