Here you are, reading the TV Board on MediaPost. So it's probably safe to assume that you, like me, love -- or at least give a hoot about -- television.
Those of us who have created new
companies in the space -- TRA, Invidi, Visible World, Simulmedia, Black Arrow, Media Bank, Canoe -- have joined the big players (networks, stations, media agencies, advertisers) in pursuing a big
opportunity in TV and TV advertising.
But have you ever asked yourself why? This is a question that the inspirational speaker/advisor Simon Sinek rhetorically asked in a TED talk last year. As Sinek pointed out, most people have no problem explaining "what" they do (broadcast a program, for instance) or "how"
they do it (on a branded network addressing a specific niche). However, very few can say "why." For example, as he likes to say, Apple's "why" is that it
challenges the status quo and thinks differently about everything it does. This is much more than what other computer companies do -- make consumer electronic devices and computers (the "what")
that have unique designs (the "how").
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So, again, "why" TV?
It's not the most interactive medium around. It's not the most dynamic medium around. It's not the most innovative or even
the most profitable media around (though I might argue that it's getting there).
Nonetheless, as David Goetzl wrote last week in MediaPost's TVBlog, "TV is a triumphant medium." Despite increasing competition for
viewers' eyeballs and advertisers' dollars, and despite new-media fear mongers who point to imminent declines in consumer spending, program ratings, and media budgets, the reality is this:
· Most people -- at least most American adults -- still watch
more television than any other medium.
· Television ad spending is poised to
increase.
· Though online advertising is growing more rapidly, most
ad dollars still target TV.
So television continues to be resilient as ever.
But "why"?
Television is a great branding medium. In fact, according to a study by Innerscope Research and Fox Broadcasting, it's the best branding medium -- better than
online. The study, which looked at participants' biometric response to advertising, found that "unconscious emotional responses direct attention, enhance learning and memory, and ultimately drive
behaviors that our clients [aka advertisers] care about." Combine that with the fact that new data solutions now allow advertisers to track how ads are driving actual sales, it becomes clear that even
as online and other platforms continue to join the media mix, television will remain a core branding platform.
Viewers connect with television and its
advertising. There's little question that television viewers connect with their favorite programs. But they connect with the advertising, too. Big-screen advertising is mostly branding, while
online advertising is generally transactional -- users (not "viewers," note) are asked to click through to see or read or buy something. By contrast, television inhabits a certain sweet spot that may
or may not lead to a transactional event. Either way, however, viewers will certainly be entertained and engaged.
Television just keeps getting better. Television may be "old"
media, but technology is changing it rapidly and dramatically. When was the last time the TV industry had hundreds of millions of VC dollars flood into the space? Every day, television
programming is becoming more interactive, is available on more screens, Web analytic techniques are now available to create more accountability, and addressable advertising on television is just about
here. As anyone who was at CES this year knows, more great change is just around the bend.
For all
these reasons, and despite myriad challenges, television seems not only to be here to stay, but it's thriving. You see it in the creative renaissance in programming and advertising, and in viewers'
response to both. Now it's up to us to make it so -- keep the programming innovative (and mostly ad-supported), the advertising relevant, and the right audiences watching. Why? Because we love
television -- and the ads that run on television.