TV advertising is no longer considered the primary medium to market a brand, and an explosion in the different channels available through which to speak to consumers means there are multiple ways to do so. However modern TV programming does still have something to teach us about speaking to an audience.
If you examine the successful formats currently dominating prime-time TV schedules, they are based around content that not only engages the audience, but encourages them to participate. From X-Factor to Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity, audience participation is a fundamental part of the format. Yet advertisers are completely failing to follow suit with their content.
When you watch TV there are two conflicting worlds colliding. First we are being asked during TV shows to participate in what is termed a "lean-forward" engagement and vote, or contribute in some other way, then the ad break starts and we are shouted back into our sofa's with messages to "buy, buy, buy." The contrast can be excruciating, and it is no wonder consumers are tuning out or using methods like Sky Plus to avoid the ads altogether. So what is a brand to do?
During the golden age of TV advertising in the 50's and 60's, brands bought large chunks of the available media and created programming themselves, around which they would exclusively advertise. Notable successes were Colgate-Palmolive, Lever Brothers and Proctor and Gamble, whose soap Days of our Lives still runs to this day. By using the media in this way, advertisers could guarantee a recurring audience and a level of ownership over the consumer relationship. Part of the reason these companies became the super-conglomerates they are today is their early adoption of TV and other media during this period.
Advertiser-funded programming is on the rise again now, but costs are usually high, and so can effectively nullify any profit earned through increased product sales. Brands are also recognising how vital it is to develop an ongoing relationship with consumers. So the trick is to build an ongoing conversation with your audience wherever they are, deepen the customer relationship, and do it at a price that will create significant ROI. We believe that a powerful way to do this is through the use of v-commerce, and the development of branded media channels. It is the modern equivalent of brands becoming media owners in the 50's and 60's, this time through the web.
With modern filming techniques and equipment you can produce up to forty short films for less than the price of a TV ad, and by adapting engagement techniques from radio we develop content that doesn't just draw in consumers, but also encourages them to get involved by either clicking on the content or sharing it with others. A radio DJ reaches out to an audience by asking them to send in requests, take part in phone-ins or enter competitions. By taking those ideas and applying them to video, brands can keep consumers coming back for more. From videos demonstrating "how to tie a bow tie," to make-up tips through to wine-tasting, we can deepen the relationship between brand and customer, and increase the likelihood that the customer will buy at the same time. By distributing these films over the internet they can appear on anything from the brand website, YouTube, social media sites like Facebook, other platforms such as mobile, tablet PC's and even in-store at point-of-sale.
For the brand the returns can be huge. A report commissioned by our client Marks and Spencer found that visitors to their M&S TV channel (see below) spend on average 23 per cent more online, return to the site twice as often and stay twice as long. We are in the process of moving that content onto mobile and in-store, and expect similar success with both. The early adopters in this space could well emulate the success that Proctor and Gamble achieved after the birth of television.
If you would like to learn more about how to make the most of v-commerce, we have written a white paper with our technology partner Brightcove, which can be downloaded here go.brightcove.com/forms/en-rise-of-online-video – or you can watch a video case study about the success of M&S TV here:
Chris Gorell Barnes is CEO of Adjust Your Set. For more information visit adjustyourset.tv
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