Gregory Wilson

Articles by Gregory All articles by Gregory

• Why Does A Second Of Production Cost The Same Whether Anybody Watches Or Not? in Video Insider on 06/16/2008
  

  It was the brand manager of a large package goods company that asked the question: "Why does a second of production cost the same whether anybody watches or not?" The agency producer who was dining with us, slowly put down her glass of wine and looked at me for help. As if somehow I would have a better answer than she.

• In The Digital Age, Failure Will No Longer Be Lucrative in Video Insider on 05/21/2008
  

  In the non-digital age, we knew that half of all the advertising that ran didn't work. In the non-digital age, agencies were paid well regardless how feeble or magnificent their efforts. If an ad didn't work, agencies blamed many factors. Not surprisingly, the creative itself was seldom on the top of the list. In the Digital Age, all this changes. Especially when it comes to video.

• Agency Time Sheets Vs. Viewer Time Sheets  in Video Insider on 04/21/2008
  

  The meeting was starting to get interesting. The creative agency had just presented to the client what they would charge to come up with a concept for a 90-second, online video commercial. The cost-controller on the client side, who had been listening silently, now had center stage. Not surprisingly, he was making the best of it; slicing and dicing like a Benihana chef. Number of people on the job, hours against, agency time sheets, all being gutted by the cost-controller. The agency was taking a beating, and when the cost-controller finally sat down, the proposed fee lying in tatters, the agency's Managing Director stood up. "Agreed," he said. The cost-controller looked up, perplexed...

• 'But Sir, What About Impressions?' in Video Insider on 03/24/2008
  

  I was in a conference room in downtown Manhattan. The CMO of a large package goods company was addressing his media agency, asking questions about branding on digital platforms. His queries were pointed. His patience, short....

• Is Time Spent With A Brand's Messaging Becoming As Important As The Number That See It? in Video Insider on 02/11/2008
  

  Recently, over a glass of bourbon with an online publisher, a question was raised that I found quite intriguing: Is an analog impression the same as a digital impression? Obviously, my first reaction was "But of course." After all, an impression is an impression, isn't it? "Well, consider," said the online publisher, "on my site, I can tell you how much time a viewer spends with a commercial message. True, the advertiser might be buying a 30-second impression, but what if the viewer only watches five of those 30 seconds?"

• Becoming Impression-Agnostic Before It's Too Late  in Video Insider on 01/14/2008
  

  Tomorrow, when you go to work, try something different. Don't give a damn how many people see your advertising. Really. Tomorrow make it a point not to worry whether three thousand or three million viewers end up seeing your television commercials. Instead, go to work tomorrow worrying about something even more important. Rather than how many see your commercials, worry about how much time they spend with them

• How Much Involvement Will $1 Million Buy Me? in Video Insider on 11/26/2007
  

  Over lunch recently, an online publisher shared with me an RFP that he had received. The advertiser wanted to know how many impressions they could get for a million dollars.The publisher looked at me and said, "See, they still aren't getting it, are they?" When I asked what he meant by that, he said, "Broadband isn't about building reach. It's about building relationships. Broadcast is all about how many saw the advertising. Broadband is all about how much time they spend with the advertising. What advertisers should be asking is not how many impressions they can get for $1 million, but how much involvement they can get for that amount."

• Perhaps The Behavior We Should Be Targeting Is Our Own in Video Insider on 10/22/2007
  

  The logic behind behavioral targeting, at least on the surface, is difficult to refute. By targeting messages based on user behavior, we will be able to place more relevant ads in front of more interested consumers. Makes perfect sense. At least, in theory. My problem with behavioral targeting is that it seems to sidestep one of the most important viewer behaviors. To see if you agree or not, I'll need you to answer a simple question: When you skip commercials at home, are you actually skipping commercials, or, are you skipping the interruption to the program you are watching?

• How Engagement Can Add Up  in Video Insider on 10/01/2007
  

  t's curious, at least to me, that the dialogue around the concept of "engagement" remains focused primarily on media. Most of the talk you hear today is about how engagement can be enhanced through pod position, time of day, type of program, etc. And while these are all pertinent to the discussion, it seems to be counterproductive to be talking about engagement while ignoring two equally important components of it: viewer intent. And, the creative itself.

• Should The Worth Of A Commercial Affect The Cost Of A Commercial? in Video Insider on 08/21/2007
  

  Ask advertisers this question -- if the worth of a commercial should affect the cost of a commercial -- and the answer is unanimous. "But, of course," they say. Ask the same question of agencies, and the response is decidedly mixed. The handful of creative, more confident agencies are excited by the idea. But outside of those three or four, well... Not surprisingly, both advertisers and agencies ask the same question: How exactly does one go about measuring the "worth" of a commercial?

Comments by Gregory All comments by Gregory

• Consumers To Marketers: Fast-Forwarding Through Commercials Means We're Less Likely To Hate You by dave.b and Max Kalehoff (Online Spin on 07/10/2009)
  

  Here's a slightly different take on it. People are not skipping commercials per se, they're skipping interruptions (which just happen to be commercials). If we fixed the actual problem - interruptive nature of the advertising - perhaps more commercials would be watched. How many would need to be watched? According to Todd Juenger, 70% of viewers fast-forward any given ad. Which means we would need a 30% opt-in rate. That's too high. But, according to TiVo data released in December of last year, 90% of DVR users almost always, or always, fast-forward through commercials. If this is true, we'd need a 10% opt-in rate. Slightly more possible. But what's most important, is because viewers self-select commercials for relevancy, once they opt-in, they should spend more time with the brand. Time-spent versus fewer impressions. A possible and necessary trade-off as control continues to shift to the viewer.

• Time Spent Is The Right Metric To Measure Engagement by Cory Treffiletti (Online Spin on 06/03/2009)
  

  Nicely put, Corey. As you know, we've been recommending time spent as the "engagement metric" for the digital platform for some time now. Branding, after all, is about building relationships. And relationships can only be built through time spent together. The more time spent with a brand online and/or its advertising, chances are, the greater the affinity for that brand. Our belief, which we're now in the process of proving, is that share of time leads to share of mind which leads to share of market. Nice to find another supporter.Gregory Wilson, redballtiger.com

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