Contentinople - Nicole Ferraro - Online Advertising: Better Than Yoga

Written by Nicole Ferraro

Wednesday, January 2. 2008 at 08:00 AM EST 9 comments

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This just in from a survey by the marketing services firm Experian Research Services: Consumers are 47 percent more engaged by ads that run alongside television content online in comparison to those ads that run on the actual "boob tube," as someone very, very old and creepy would say.

According to MediaPost, the study defined engagement according to the following criteria: "inspirational," "trustworthy," "life-enhancing," "social interaction," "personal time-out," and "receptive," with the first five characteristics relating to the program's content and the last questioning how well targeted the ads were as a result.

Inspirational? Life-enhancing? Are we talking about Web video or yoga?

If online advertisements are any more tolerable than those on television it is because they are short and often hardly noticeable. It is not because of this inane idea that the Internet is your best friend with whom everything is fun.

Some online advertisements are -- dare I say it -- even enjoyable. Hulu, NBC and News Corp.'s online video service, has become home to many adored television favorites such as 30 Rock and Arrested Development. Each time hulu users view an episode, they are interrupted three times (thrice!) with 30-second advertisements by one sponsor throughout. This is much less intrusive than the string of irritatingly looooong and diverse televisual advertisements that interrupt our TV-viewing experience (or did way back when there was new TV content to watch). Moreover, the quick commercials on Hulu are often quirky, and even if they're not, at least they're brief. So, no skin off my toe, or what-ev-er.

Contrary to the opinions of the 75,000 people surveyed, none of this (absolutely NUNOFIT) makes online TV watching any more uplifting or trustworthy or life-altering than regular TV watching. Our ability to engage in and perceive online advertisements is more likely a result of our dwindling attention span and interest in new media and less likely due to the Internet's role as video's Lord and Savior.

Tags: Advertising, Hulu, Services, Video, Video

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Online Ads
Frank
Staff
Wednesday January 2, 2008 10:32:31 AM

Dwindling attention span, yep.

If I'm watching something online, I tend to have a few other windows open and am doing other things, but still my attention is tied to the computer. The computer is still where I go to work, so if I'm paying attention to online ads, it's because I'm just generally more aware of what I'm doing than with my tee-vee set, which is often used as background noise.

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Re: Online Ads
Nicole Ferraro
Rank: Caliph
Wednesday January 2, 2008 4:28:18 PM

What's interesting about this survey is that it mentions our engagement in online ads without determining their effectiveness. The fact that these ads are very quick and quirky and, therefore, more appealing does not mean the propaganda is as effective as it is when distributed on other media. TV probably has more of a shot of branding brands onto our brains (a bit of alliteration for a Wednesday afternoon) because the ads are relentless. However, it's probably still too soon to conclusively determine which medium is more effective in manipulating people into buying things. Regardless of how engaging an online ad is, that 30 second break is often valuable Facebook-checking time.

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Re: Online Ads
A. L. Friedman
Staff
Wednesday January 2, 2008 4:36:31 PM

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yeah but even if the video ad is playing in the background while you check facebook, you are sitting through a 30-second video ad. getting consumers to experience half a minute of advertising is like pulling gorilla teeth. those ads are worth a lot.

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Re: Online Ads
Nicole Ferraro
Rank: Caliph
Wednesday January 2, 2008 4:41:03 PM

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For the record, pulling gorilla teeth is really not that hard.

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Re: Online Ads
Pete Baldwin
Rank: Sultan
Wednesday January 9, 2008 1:34:55 PM

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that's all well and good but can someone please ditch the dancing sillouettes trend in online advertising? first it was the dancing ipod enthusiasts, then it was the dancing mortgage rate enthusiasts, and recently it's the dancing energy enhancer enthusiasts!! doh! i prefer bikram/ashtanga yoga. :-p

also, while i'm here and complaining about advertising - please nfl, i'm beggin' ya - ditch that "so you had a bad day" nfl.com commercial. worst song ever to associate with the nfl.

also, that yawning dallas cowboys pepsi commercial. definitely gets my most-annoying-achievement-in-advertising award for 2007.

/unsolicited rants. :->

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Re: Online Ads
rayno
Staff
Monday January 14, 2008 4:21:58 PM

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Has anybody noticed that while channel surfing it's becoming increasingly difficult to find content.

The other day I was watching a football game or something that went to an ad and I clicked through at least 3 channels before I found something that was real content.

Alternatively, often when I am toggling between two channels (ah, the all-important "last" button), I find commercials overlapping -- and not just in time slots for sitcoms but for sporting events. So, clearly, we must have reached the crossover point where there are actually more ads than content!!

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Re: Online Ads
Frank
Staff
Monday January 14, 2008 5:21:44 PM

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I was watching a movie last night and every five minutes it went to commercials. I timed it at one point with the DVR remote, which in turn made me more annoying than the commercials to the person I was watching TV with.

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