Click to watch ads, not skip them

For me, ads have always been more entertaining than most TV shows out there. But in case I had any doubt, research has increasingly proven me that not everybody shares this opinion. That’s why I was a little surprised when I found out that soon we’ll have some websites online where their sole purpose will be to feature ads as a form of entertainment.

In October, Droga5, an ad agency in NY, will debut www.honeyshed.com, a new site that will offer 18-30 year olds product information in the form of entertaining video clips rather than traditional commercials. The USA Network will also climb aboard with www.didja.com, a site showcasing commercials and movie trailers and featuring social networking and tools that would let visitors make ads of their own.

“I don’t think it is so much about putting entertaining commercials on the web as it is about brands providing immersive experiences for consumers of which entertainment is a component,” said Mr. Jacobs of MRM, whose agency recently won praise for musical webisodes for Intel. http://youtube.com/watch?v=12Icxthmpis

It’ll be interesting to learn whether these sites will actually be able to constantly filter work in order to provide fresh content that lives up to their mission of entertainment. But if they succeed, these new sites could serve as a great playground to reach young consumers who are hungry for work that ‘speaks to them’ in an exciting and less traditional way than everyday TV ads.

Full article on NY times at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/business/media/17adco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Marketing as a value-creation tool

We live in an era where ideas and creativity are becoming more important than technology. After all, we all know that, as far as consumers are concerned, there are not major differences between a Kyocera and a Nokia cell-phone. But anyone will tell you that an iPhone, oh, that may not even qualify as a justa phone.

Why is that? Well, a phone doesn’t have to just make phone calls, does it? We have such hi-tech capabilities these days that consumers expect much more out of their products. They expect products to not only deliver what they’re supposed to do, but to deliver a new, original experience (something different than products a, b and c sitting next to your product on the shelf).

Adrian Ho and Rob White, from Zeus Jones, said it best “marketing needs to move from a communication-orientation role to a value-creation tool.”

According to them, brands can no longer just try to meet consumers’ expectations these days; they need to surpass them by delivering a service, a new experience. That way, brands can continue to strengthen their equity, the emotional link they have with consumers and the ability to differentiate themselves in a ‘sea of sameness.’

Here are some examples of how some brands are providing that added-value and new experience to their consumers while leveraging their equity.

- Volkswagen’s Rabbit widget allows those who download this widget to find out about free events happening in their city (the “rabbit” is a cheap car and it targets young adults who don’t have a lot of extra cash around).
- Time.com has recently launched a quote of the day application that leverages Time Inc. imagery to provide an almost historical, yet updated component to facebook profiles.
-BMW recently announced that Google's local search will be available from their in-dash navigation.