• by February 8, 2001

By Ken Liebeskind

It may be blatantly self-serving, but a recent study by MeasureCast, a streaming audience measurement service, says that streaming media is indeed a viable advertising medium.

The "Ad Agency Streaming Media Awareness Study" surveyed 100 executives from interactive and traditional ad agencies who were interviewed by phone.

The study found that the majority of agencies (55%) have purchased streaming media for their clients and will increase their purchases this year. It also found that streaming media is seen as a more effective branding tool than interstitials and banner ads.

The problem is, according to the study, that many agency clients believe streaming media is too expensive and inaccessible to the average computer user. But Sven Haarhoff, a spokesman for MeasureCast, counters those perceptions, claming streaming media isn't overly expensive because it reaches an affluent audience. He also says it is available on most computers or easily downloadable.

Streaming media advertising is most frequently used on Internet radio, which has advanced faster than films and other streaming video. The streaming ads, which are just like radio ads, are being used by major advertisers, including Sony, Slim Jim and a major car manufacturer and job bank Haarhoff didn't name.

Ads can appear anytime during a broadcast, but are often sold as "start" or "gateway" ads that play as soon as someone tunes in. They are popular because the listener will hear the ad right away. But Haarhoff says all streaming ads will be heard, because "you can't escape them," since they play during the broadcast. This makes them unlike banner ads, which are frequently ignored and never read.

Recommendations at the end of the study encouraged agency executives to sell streaming media by educating clients on their effectiveness and branding capability and demonstrating their cost effectiveness.

The study can be downloaded at www.Measurecast.com.

- Ken Liebeskind may be reached at kenrunz@aol.com