The advertisement industry is in a bit of a tough spot. Not only are people watching commercials less, due to things like On-Demand and TIVO, but online advertisements are in my opinion useless. Banner ads, pop-ups, and things of similar nature are normally ignored or blocked by the web-surfer. They provide almost no information about the company or product, and don’t have the ability of being funny or informative. As for online commercials, posted on sites like Hulu.com, they do not have the same effect as TV. Commercials do, due to the countdown telling you when you’re programming will resume. Most people watch those commercials muted, since they are sitting in front of their computer anyways, and they know just when to un-mute them. This is why most people are arguing that Direct Marketing tactics are dead, and word-of-mouse is now the best way to inform about a product. When it comes to internet related products, or products for the technologically savvy, this is not a bad way to advertise. Also, the costs are astronomically less, which makes it very attractive to companies. However, not everyone is a blogger, and though the amount of people who blog will continue to increase, not all people are active participants, and a lot of products will not find their main consumer groups on blogs.
Advertising is becoming much more personal, directing their messages at the people who want to hear them. There are some products that simply aren’t that interesting, and are one out of a hundred of choices for similar products, so nothing it can say about itself other then it is the best of the choices, are going to make it stand out. I said previously that the internet is making companies provide better products or perish. The internet is doing the exact same thing for advertisements, but instead of moving ads to the internet, I think we simply need to make ads better. This is a concept I mentioned in my previous post: An Untapped Marketing Goldmine. People still like watching good videos, and commercials should be made to inform but primarily entertain. Some of the best ad campaigns barely even mention the product. The goal of any ad is to have as many people see it and enjoy it as possible so they show it to others and watch it repeatedly. I outlined in “An Untapped Marketing Goldmine” what needs to be done, and I can’t stress it enough. The quality of commercials need to go up, and to do so the TV industry needs to start giving extra reason for people to watch shows as they release new episodes on TV instead of later online. Good shows should only have good commercials. Commercials should also start being made for specific shows as opposed to TV in general. The show should provide the companies with all the information they need about what the audience likes, and they should be making commercials that adjust accordingly.
In conclusion, the internet can be a huge asset to a business or a huge hindrance, but either way to ignore or try to suppress its presence is a mistake. It is important now more than ever to make sure you provide a good product, and make sure you let you potential customer base know about it. Not everyone should be doing the same things, and different tactics work better for different companies. Consumers are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you should try to reach them everywhere. Make a product people want, and advertise so people know about it, and it will sell.
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