Bookmarkable Advertising

Add comment May 6th, 2008

I was in line at the grocery store the other day and was reminded of a fundamental truth in advertising. People still circle ads with red markers, cut them out, paste them on the fridge, carry them inside wallets, give ads away, put ads on the walls, etc. Naturally, it is in advertisers’ best interests to encourage this behavior because “bookmarking”, a term used to describe the above behavior, gives the ad another chance to do its job, which is why we often see the dotted “cut here” lines around ads.

Fast forward to the future (now)… How will this translate when company’s develop online advertising campaigns? The problem with advertising on the web today is that while the digital medium itself provides almost unlimited mechanisms for archiving, manipulating and retrieving information, most online ads have all the fleeting properties of a TV commercial.

So what are advertisers to do? Our goal is to make it easy for customers to translate electronic ads into redeemable coupons they can use at point-of-sale. For example, we could equip online ads with a clipping mechanism — a small scissor icon that, when clicked, would produce a printer-friendly stand-alone version of the ad with extended information for future reference. Online ad networks could offer a repository of all offers they serve and a link that says “view more offers from this vendor” or “view similar offers”. We could even offer cell phone ads, most cell phones have photo capabilities, companies could send ads to customers via cell phone that could then be scanned at point of purchase.

$3 Million 4 30

Add comment May 6th, 2008

NBC will charge a record $3 million for a 30-second commercial in the 2009 SuperBowl, which is a 10% increase from the 2008 game. Locally, SuperBowl spots also cost way more than traditional spots…but is it worth it?

Nationally, companies usually get “buzz” after the game on YouTube and the talk shows, which can be beneficial (IF the commericial is a fan favorite, that is). Local advertisers who insert ads during the SuperBowl also can generate positive coverage, but I’m just not convinced that the buzz it may generate locally justifies the premium price point.

Or, put another way, I would probably advise a client that they’re better off buying more spots at a lower price point…unless they have money to burn.

Anyone think differently? What would you advise a business owner to do?