Commentary

Young TV-Media Consumer May Not Think The Word "Advertising" Is Cool; But The Actual Business Activity Is Okay.

Facebook and Twitter don't like the word "advertising". Instead, we get other references for commerce connected with media, like "promoted tweets."

It's not just Twitter; Facebook tends to avoid the word. At a recent event, "advertising" was conspicuously absent concerning a new messaging format: "Premium on Facebook," according to one Times of India report.

Much of this avoidance in the "A" word maybe be directed at these social digital media platforms main customers: Young people.

But I'm guessing, it's not that doing 'advertising' business is bad, per se. Many polls and surveys have say young digital consumers fully understand that advertising -- in some part -- is necessary in a new digital world, especially for content, apps, or whatever comes 'free.'

You could imagine this works the same way for young TV consumers. We can hear a TV talk show host still say, "Now a word from our sponsors" or "We'll be back in the moment" or "We need to do some business. Back in a minute."

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One Facebook executive calls some of its advertising messages, "stories". Indeed, some of the newer versions of TV commercials -- longer TV commercials -- try to do the same thing.

Some networks, like Turner Broadcasting channels, have tried to "extend" the story line of TV shows, for example. This might come at the end of a segment of a particular drama or comedy looking to bridge into the first commercial messaging of a typical TV commercial pod. Turner isn't the first TV network to do this, nor the last. Many other TV sellers have tried to push longer-form interstitial forms of TV entertainment/commercials for years.

Still, TV -- as well as the Internet -- has a long way to go. For example, it is only once a year that you can find TV consumers who actually engage in TV advertising -- sharing and talking about commercials. That comes with the Super Bowl.

The business needs more of that buzz -- not just addressable advertising for a car company, for example, that targets one person who is just ready to leave his home to buy a fuel-efficient car.

As always, a still older point of view needs to have its place -- that commercials need to entertain, not just inform. In that regard, I may just forget I'm watching something called advertising.

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