Commentary

The Essence of Television

Anyone else notice that the essence of television is appearing online? Recently I have become aware of some very eye-catching creative running on the web in pop-ups, interstitials, webmercials and LREC units. These creatives utilize photography and animation in much more effective executions than the traditional, animation-centric ads we are used to seeing. Though they still incorporate a proven direct response call to action, they are more deeply rooted in strategic concepts. Could this be the beginning of the Renaissance that I referred to just a few weeks ago? I certainly think so!

Here is just a little of what I am talking about:

Element #1:

Traditional online advertising has been more similar to billboards and direct response.

Television advertising plays off of emotion and/or makes a connection to the viewer that relates their experience to the products/services they are trying to promote.

Next-Generation online advertising appears to be incorporating emotion and/or make a connection with the viewer to invite an interaction and promote their products/services.

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Element #2:

Traditional online advertising has been based on animation and illustrated images due to technical limitations and limited k-sizes.

Television advertising is more robust and incorporates live action, video, special effects and more advanced animation to create something that is more entertaining than distracting.

Next-Gen online advertising is incorporating a real world element via photographs, video, and other effects to create something that is more personal and entertaining. The interactive nature of the web is especially important here.

Element #3

Traditional online advertising was more focused on “click now” and other immediate calls-to-action to inspire a visit and interaction from a viewer.

Television advertising has been more about developing a brand and increasing awareness of a product/service so that they will be top of mind when the decision-making time approaches.

Next-Gen online advertising seems to be becoming more deeply rooted in strategy that mirrors the offline campaigns and is more about inviting the user to interact or bring the brand top of mind. There are still calls-to-action incorporated into the executions, but they are more subtle than “punch the monkey” or “click here now”.

The fundamental shift here comes as a result of the opportunity to truly track extended conversion or view-through to determine if later sales or visits are directly attributable to previous online exposure. The difficulty for proof here is that traditional ad exposure is not easily factored into the mix, but a strong marketer should be able to estimate exposure and lift to a brand based on the amount of offline exposure and its affect on the online results. We are seeing the growth of the medium based on historically proven ad metrics. Now, if we can just resist the temptation and stay away from other more “traditional” ideas (like, ahem… sweeps week) we should be able to truly acquire larger ad dollars. We are proving that the Internet is the viable 4th medium to be considered in the mix with TV, Radio, and Print.

When you get a chance, look around the web for some of these ads… I won’t name any names here, but I guarantee that when you see them, they will do the trick. They will break through the clutter and stand out effectively.

Cory Treffiletti is Media Director at Freestyle Interactive in San Francisco, CA.

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