The MoPR Blog

As the never-ending slew of massive corporate Black Friday advertisements begin their impending invasion upon us, I can’t help but be thankful this year for something I never thought I’d utter around this year’s turkey feast: local ads.

Yes, you heard it here first. I, Tamara Parker, will be thankful this year for more local advertisements. Crazy? Well, allow me to explain.

In an economy where the majority of mom and pop shops are suffering under the weight of a sagging economy, it’s easy to notice the decline in local advertisements, particularly the smallest of the small shops. And being an eager advocate of supporting the local market, it disappoints me when my favorite bistro or neighborhood coffee shop can’t afford the massive budget for print advertisements, especially when they rarely see the ROI they expect in return for their life savings investment in this week’s penny saver.

So where do these local shops turn to? Television. And with products like RGB Network’s Broadcast Network Processor, cable operators can easily offer this local advertisement service without a huge mark-up and with a promise of much greater ROI.

The BNP’s ad insertion and real-time digital overlays enable operators to easily insert ads into programming and to further customize these ads in real-time with the addition of locally relevant information that ‘localizes’ them. So when you sit down to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, instead of only large, corporate commercials you might be seeing more neighborhood coffee shop specials taking place at 5PM and deals at the local art gallery all day Friday- all of which are relevant to YOU and based upon YOUR area code.

Just to clarify, I take no personal issue with the corporate commercials, but I do find myself getting irritated when I watch said commercials and either their locations or their products are nowhere near me. Local ad insertion is a win-win for three parties: you as the consumer receive relevant ads, the cable operators are making more money off of advertising, and the locally-owned and operated shops are getting their name out in a far more effective advertising campaign.

So ‘tis the season to be relevant! Cost-effective! And most importantly…local!

Every year, CED Magazine compiles a list of the 50 most compelling and important technologies, people and trends influencing the industry.  For 2008, their writers again consulted the industry’s leading technical minds to craft their list.  Not surprisingly, we immediately noticed three trends on the list that strike close to home based on our clients and our own experience.

1. Targeted Ads: This was listed as No. 2 on the big 50 list.  Needless to say, targeted ads have swept the industry and the technology behind their delivery has exploded. RGB Networks announced back in May 2007 their revolutionary approach to targeted advertising with the use of digital overlays and it would seem as though the industry has caught on.  The ability to deliver ads to an advertiser’s specific target demographic is where the operators are making big money these days.
2. Customer Retention: Listed as No. 4, this topic has been arguably the most popular subject for 2008.  As Brian Santo writes, “It’s desirable to play good offense and good defense.” And how to do that?  Monitor, monitor, monitor! Mixed Signals has been at the forefront of this trend- having pushed for content monitoring back at its inception in 2004- and have remained a strong proponent for content monitoring as way for operators to retain subscribers.The need for cable operators to ensure that their subscribers enjoy the highest Quality of Experience (QoE) is a key priority as subscribers are being wooed aggressively by satellite and telecom. Closely monitoring their programming to quickly solve video and audio glitches is a primary way operators can improve QoE.
3. Show Mergers: Combining the big trade shows comes in at No. 18 on this year’s list, which might not be a bad idea, especially to keep travel expenses down as travel budgets are increasingly dropping.As Traci Patterson writes, “In April, Washington, D.C., will host the NCTA’s The Cable Show, CableLabs’ conferences and the SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies (ET), all at once. And in October, CTAM Summit, the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, the Cable Center Hall of Fame Dinner and a CableLabs seminar will come together in Denver.”

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if it works. But for now, we’re thinking this has the potential to be very convenient and hopefully successful show.

Network TV may be coming to an end.  Well, so says Tivo CEO Tom Rogers.  In a letter addressed to shareholders on July 30, Rogers mapped out the issues, and potential failure, of network television.  The main concern being advertising, and how products like Tivo have nearly dissolved the delicate balance between advertisers and networks.

“We are very worried for the industry… Because we do not believe as a whole that it is responding urgently enough to the massive dislocations these new dynamics will create . . .  Easy commercial avoidance in the next two to three years will create such an overwhelming challenge to the economics of television that it will rock the very foundation of the industry…” said Rogers.

So what’s the solution?  Rogers says it’s creating ad solutions.  And I agree.

As television audiences are whizzing past commercials, thanks to Tivo and other DVRs, advertisers are beginning to wonder what they are spending their money on.  It feels very similar to what is going on right now in the newspaper industry.  Why would advertisers spend precious budgets on a print edition, when the online source is viewed more widely?

But with television, there is still a way to draw in advertisers.  Creative ideas like product placement and digital ad overlays are becoming the industry’s new alternative to commercial advertising.

Product placement is nothing new to the television industry and is an advertising method that has been used for years.  However, with the “fast forward” button glued to the fingers of audiences, product placement is now being recognized as a necessity to the advertising world.

Next time you’re watching an episode of “Flavor of Love”, check and see what flavor has been paid for.  Are they sipping on Pepsi or Coke?  And on “Desperate Housewives”, what cool car can they be seen driving around Wisteria Lane?  My suspicion is that these products will increase almost exponentially as the television revolution continues to leave advertisers in the dust.

But the other alternative that is making waves within the industry is digital ad overlays.  RGB Networks’ Jeff Tyre recently published an article highlighting the importance of digital ad overlays stating that the “value of overlaying text, graphics and images and full-motion video has been proven by broadcasters, who for years have used overlays for various applications, such as branding content with their logos, providing real-time supplemental information such as stock market tickers and local weather updates, as well as schedule-based supplemental advertising information.”

So as ad sales continue to decrease, pay close attention to the changes that will be taking place on your big screen.  Are more actors typing on Macs?  Are you seeing more of an increase in car ads popping up in the right hand corner of your TV?  Viewers be prepared; there is a definite change in the advertising industry taking place…and it’s up to YOU to determine if it will prove successful!