Broadcast Advertising Fails for the Season
I recently completed a business plan on a Word of Mouth marketing firm for class, so I have traditional, broadcast advertising on the brain. Everyone from Seth Godin to Guy Kawasaki has ripped broadcast, “interruption” based advertising in the last few years, and I’m with them 100%.
Last night I got my latest fix from a book called The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR. The book does a great job of pointing out how many of the “great” ad campaigns of the past 10 years have actually been for products that have *fallen* in market and value share in during the promotion period. The examples given include Budweiser during the “Wassup” campaign, and Nissan during the “Barbie and Ken Doll in a car” campaign. Both were award winning campaigns, and both saw market and value share drop significantly during and after the ads ran.
This morning, at the breakfast table, I could help but feel a mirthful when I read NBC Gives Back Money to Advertisers.
I guess that media buyers typically get reimbursed if TV shows have ratings below what the networks promise at the beginning of the season. Reimbursement usually come in the form of extra ad time in the *next* season. In this
case NBC does not have confidence in next season’s ratings (they fear the ratings will be too low again) so they are just opting to give media buyers their money back.
For some reason I see poetic justice in this.
Yes, they’re typically called ‘make-goods’. Having been a long-time proponent of Nokia and S60 using television advertising (albeit cable, and not broadcast), I have to say my foot is in my mouth.
I wonder, as Nokia prepares to move from the technology leaders towards the mainstream (as mentioned at Nokia World), what medium they see the most opportunity in? The online campaigns and viral stuff is good, but not when you’re shooting for a more mainstream group, I’d imagine.
In any case, interesting stuff.
I agree with you that to target the mainstream, viral and word of mouth needs to be augmented by other forms of promotional marketing. But I think a case can be made that the next best form of getting the word out is through PR, as opposed to “broadcast” based marketing. I see broadcast ad as “part of a nutritious breakfast” of WoM, targetted/contextual ads, and PR. Today, the broadcast budget is often “THE” budget, and everything else is an afterthought.
At the same time: our aim here in S60 marketing is more to spread the word among the tech leaders out there, so I don’t necessarily think S60 needs TV ads at all. In other words, I think an argument can be made that the mainstream may not necessarily need to know what kind of platform software runs in their phones.
BTW a semantic note: you said “cable” as opposed to “broadcast” ads…I would include cable and radio ads as “broadcast”, I mean that word in the general sense of indiscriminate plastering of messages onto millions of viewers/listeners, as opposed to OTA vs. wireline.
New media will have new revenue models. Clearly the big media companies haven’t sussed this out yet, or are too busy trying to fit the “square pegs” of new media into the “round holes” of the old media.
You’re lucky if the average mainstream person knows the brand of phone they own, much less what platform it runs on.
After the California campaign started, I’ve noticed the billboard ads of N95 popping up in the core of LA. Each billboard I’ve seen states one main function of the N95. People are at least more aware of the existence of the N95 than before. Also the opening of the Nokia theater here in LA has helped with brand awareness as well.
Since NBC has run away from the iTunes mothership, dont you think there should be some kind of relationship with Ovi?
Dan, you forgot to mention the most important reason for the reimbursement. The writers’ strike has forced the networks to air reruns in place of new shows. Of course the rating will be down.
IrishGuy: Actually the ratings were from last season…I suspect that NBC will be hurt further with the strike this season. From WSJ: “The fourth-place network is in a steeper ratings depression than its peers, with no standout new shows in the fall season, say media buyers. That makes it harder for NBC to make up ratings shortfalls by giving away additional commercial air time. The reimbursements were reported by Mediaweek this week.”
Love the moniker btw…who are you?
We’ve met a few times at S60 Evenings. I’m Joe from the Davis area. I work with Chris F. at a certain downtown research firm.