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Since the introduction of commercial entertainment, advertising has been trying to get in on the act. Radio programs were sponsored by drink mixes. Television shows were sponsored by laundry detergents. Now with the market for online TV growing, advertising agencies are starting to make inroads there, as well. No longer seen as a novelty, online TV is offering a market segment that companies want. With advertisement recall percentages among online TV viewers posting stats over twice as high as traditional television spots, what company wouldn’t want to get on board?

Two years ago, ABC first decided to make network episodes available online for free. At the time, advertisers were not overly concerned about spending precious marketing dollars on an unproven delivery method. Their ideal demographic wasn’t found in front of a computer screen between the hours of 7pm and 11pm. But recent studies are showing that the up and coming consumers certainly aren’t glued to their TVs any more. As shown by eMarketer’s latest study, 27% of people are viewing their favorite shows online. But why? What’s the appeal? Fewer commercials, and the ability to watch any episode at any time. In short: show me what I want, when I want it with fewer interruptions.

In an effort to truly understand what is being done with online advertising, I watched three programs on three different web sites. With one exception, the online advertising was standard TV spots simply placed every seven minutes or so throughout a half hour program. Banners sat above the viewing screen for the advertiser who had bought the time slot so viewers could click on it in the middle of the program they were watching. (Who does that?) In some cases, there were shows that were brought to you by an exclusive sponsor. Sadly, this sponsor chose to use the same TV spot over, and over, and over, and yes…over again during an hour long show. As a viewer I was annoyed. As a consumer I was put off. The one exception came from viewing an hour long show on ABC.com.

I don’t know if it’s because ABC.com been in the game longer or if Royal Caribbean was adventurous enough to take the first step in making an advertisement that embraced what a viewer with a mouse and a keyboard could do. Either way, Royal Caribbean had created an ad expressly for the online viewer. Built with floating menus, hover context, and an area that offered a free interactive vacation planner, the Royal Caribbean ads worked. Each ad enticed me to find out what neat new things were hiding behind hypertext. Granted, the ads poked fun at the online viewer with statements like “Don’t know much about cruising? Well, let me tell you… it sure beats watching TV on your PC.” Flashed between videos of jet skiing couples, luxurious accommodations, and ocean views, these coy little barbs got my attention. Interestingly enough, I was more bemused and appreciative that Royal Caribbean respected me, the online viewer, to offer rich and varied content. After the online ad was finished, Royal Caribbean had a close button feature which would not allow the next segment of the show to start until you clicked on it. As a viewer, I was no longer passively watching, but rather actively participating. Bravo!

While speculators are often warned that past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the recent statistics for online TV viewership have marketing directors salivating. So much so, that Hulu has announced that the ad space inventory for their service has been filled for the entire year. Viewers are flocking to online TV to watch their favorite series at times that are convenient for them and also to escape the amount of ads that plague television.

But is it really the amount of ads that viewers despise or the quality of the ads? Done right, advertising can be as popular as the feature, itself. Please see how eagerly audiences anticipate Super Bowl commercials. My experience leads me to believe that online TV viewers will tolerate more commercials if the advertising is active web content versus passive TV spots. Online TV offers marketing a new medium with something that no other form of communication has been able to do since vaudeville criers said “Step right up!”: the ability to interact with their audience.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to book a cruise…

Friday, June 6th, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Alicen Hogan