Commentary

You Don't Need To Be A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Ad Downloads

by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, June 6, 2011

Sheila Buckley, senior vice president-digital advertising sales at Weather Channel Interactive, says her company has been having "tremendous success" with its iPad platform, noting that about a year after its launch, The Weather Channel has just under 4 million iPad users. Still, she says, "Where is the money? Where is the advertising money. That's been interesting to see how that is evolving."

I think Buckley was using the word "interesting" in the way some sales executives might use the word "frustrating," because despite the huge consumer uptake, Madison Avenue just hasn't formalized budgets around tablet computers.

The main reason, may be that they just don't know how to categorize it.

Apple chief Steve Jobs, of course, has described them as a "third category" device, which was code for, "doesn't fit in anywhere else."

At The Weather Channel, Buckley says, they think of it as a "fourth screen" device that is separate from mobile, but equally important.

"We think of the tablet as a fourth screen. Some people tuck it under mobile," she noted.

ipad, mobile, tablet

1 comment about "You Don't Need To Be A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Ad Downloads".

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Mark Mclaughlin from McLaughlin Strategy, June 6, 2011 at 7:47 p.m.
A thought for Sheila: Why would The Weather Channel isolate the iPad as a distinct media buy for advertisers? At a minimum, wouldn't all mobile devices be one integrated collection of ad inventory? Even better, wouldn't all digital advertising roll up as an integrated solution? Maybe Madison Avenue has not shown up because you are slicing up the pie into too many slices. Just a thought.
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