Internet’s influence over consumers has been immense, to say the least. Web interactivity has changed the way people buy, spend and choose products. This has necessitated ad agencies to make a paradigm shift in the way marketing and publicity is planned. Internet has taken away a considerable amount of TV viewers mostly because of the interactive features it offers. Advertisements meant for TV have to bring in that quality of interactivity, if TV viewership has to increase again. With this in mind, many companies such as Disney, Bertolli, Nike, etc have launched ad campaigns, which bring in a degree of interactivity between the ad and the TV viewer.
The TV remote plays a major role in such a communication between the advertiser and the viewer. At the push of a button on the remote, the TV viewer and the consumer can communicate with the advertiser, though the interaction would certainly be limited. Cable operators such as Charter and their rivals have been experimenting with interactive TV ads to compete against Internet ads. Interestingly, most of these interactive ads do not exclude the Internet, but actually use it for their convenience. Hence, Interactive TV and interactive ads are not meant to replace the Internet but they complement each other, making use of each otherâs advantages. To put it simply, they are not mutually exclusive. At the moment, these interactive ads are still at a nascent stage and are limited to studying consumer behavior, receiving feedback, ordering brochures, sponsored polls and to some extent, direct selling as evidenced by Reebok.
A major advantage of interactive TV ads apart from the ones discussed above is reaching the right target audience at the right time, which is the crux of advertising. For example, dog owners could be prompted to push a button on the remote if they wish to view dog related programs or advertisements. Hence, dilution of the ad message is reduced. A challenge, which remains, is coordinating between the technologies and cable operators and TV channels. The cost might be reduced by cable operators allowing those interested to buy ad time to do so. The existence of digital cable boxes seems to be driving the trend, which offers interactivity and two-way cable communication. Concerns of privacy must be rightly addressed as many consumers and subscribers may feel threatened about lack of privacy. With these factors in mind, the interactive ad might combine the TV and the Internet to change the way we think about media and advertising.
Via: USAToday
