Advertising
Todays world and technology come with a host of challenges to advertisers. Tivo allows people to skip commercials altogether, the net poses an entertainment alternative that is not always easy to market products on. Current solutions are posting little advertisements on popular web pages, and now product placement is making a come back. Personally I don’t mind product placement when it’s not overdone, but unfortunately shows will be forced to point out the product to the audience. Simply drinking a coke or driving a Jetta won’t be enough.
People fight technology. Industries do not want to change with the time, for it means an overhaul of the business structure and often some initial investment. It is a risk when one fits into a market already and is forced to find a new niche.
The solution I believe is that today it is becoming as (relatively) cheap to generate content as it is to sponsor content. Rather than seeking to create commercials, companies today should try to release virtual goods and services with their logo on it. Certain companies have gotten into the game a bit with offering free music downloads via digital money that is on candy wrappers or beer boxes.
Eventually companies will have to go a step further. They can sponsor small net projects such as games, cartoons, mp3’s and comics. Advertisers can release mp3’s from known bands with a quick sponsored by Pepsi or a logo on the screen. The player and the mp3 can be packaged together to make it more difficult to crack, though this would probably be undesirable to most users. Small games can be released on the net with corporate logo’s on it. Net cartoons can be made, probably for about the same cost of advertising on a popular show-that carries the products information. Many techniques are available, the face of the entertainment world is changing; this allows for many niche markets that may not have a large target audience-but also won’t have as large a cost to advertise too. At the end of the day, generating content will drive advertising. It could be as simple as five minute downloadable comic sketches or music videos. The corporate site could release digital version of novels and games. Content is the solution, why force product placement into a show when creating the media itself is just as cost effective?
