By Mike Shields, Mediaweek
January 9, AdWeek
NEW YORK Despite the popularity of the iPhone and the general touch-screen mania that has swept the U.S. over the past year, few people actually watch video on their cell phones. But the numbers are on the rise, according to a new report issued by the Nielsen Co.
According to Nielsen, 10.3 million U.S. mobile subscribers access video content on their phones during a given month -- roughly 5 percent of all wireless subscribers.
However, the audience is growing -- up 14 percent in 2008 vs. '07 -- driven primarily by the presence of more Internet-friendly phones in the market. (Back in 2005, a report issued by mobile researcher M:Metrics found that just 1 percent of mobile users watched video on their phones.)
Nearly two-thirds of viewers are watching video via the mobile Web (66 percent), though paid subscription services and purchased downloads continue to account for a sizable amount of viewership.
Read more this news quote
image by AdWeek
Despite CEO Ballmer's Continued Public Flirting
By Abbey Klaassen
October 17, AdAge
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- "Our position hasn't changed. Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo; there are no discussions between the companies," a Microsoft spokesman said in an e-mail.
f that all sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft has made such declarations several times in recent months as it disputed rumors about making another bid for Yahoo. But this latest statement, sent to Ad Age today, came just hours after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the audience at a Gartner conference in Orlando, Fla., that the deal still makes "economic sense."
Investors encouraged
Yahoo's stock soared 20% on Mr. Ballmer's remarks, indicating just how dearly its investors are hoping for a revived Microsoft bid. It's now up about 10% to $13.
Of course, it makes more economic sense now, given Yahoo's stock price has slumped in recent weeks, dropping into the $12 range. At the time of Microsoft's initial $31-a-share bid (which was upped to $33 a share before negotiations finally ended), Yahoo's stock had been languishing in the $18-$19 range.
Read more this news quote
photo: Steve Ballmer (Credit: Nancy Kaszerman)
By Mike Beirne
September 15, BrandWeek
Just how effective is that Burger King ad in the game NFL Street? Marketers have often wondered. Considering that more than a third (36%) of gamers actually bought, talked about or sought information about a product after seeing an ad in a videogame, per Nielsen Games, a case can be made that they are very effective.
Not long ago, advertising within videogames was looked upon as an exciting new venue to attract a "lost boys" demographic that had stopped avidly watching TV. However, the excitement wore off for some as the ROI for such an unit was difficult to prove.
Looking to get a temperature check among today's gamers, Nielsen Games polled 534 active videogame players last month on Brandweek's behalf (both are units of Nielsen). Of those surveyed, 11% said they purchased a brand that was advertised in a game. Some 19% said they talked about it after seeing an ad and 10% said they recommended the product. Eleven percent said they sought more information. (While no direct comparison rates were offered against other forms of media, 1% of consumers exposed to direct response advertising eventually buy the advertised product.)
Coke was most recalled by the Nielsen panel, then Nike, Burger King, Axe, Pepsi and Pontiac. "Burger King's goal is always to engage gamers in the BK brand through a medium they love," said Brian Gies, vp-marketing at Burger King, Miami. "Throughout, it's been about knowing the target audience [young adult males] and finding relevant ways to reach them through great consumer experiences."
Burger King isn't using games to sell Whoppers, but to pursue what it calls "extended brand interaction." The fast feeder has advertised in top sellers like NFL Street, provided players hidden codes to access the "Burger King Challenge" in Need for Speed and inserted the King into Fight Night. The creepy King served as a corner man that players can pick for their fighters. The company also creates its own proprietary games for the Xbox. Activision's Guitar Hero series was the most popular game among participants who remembered specific advertisers, followed by Need for Speed, the Madden football series, Grand Theft Auto titles, the NCAA Football series and Tony Hawk games.
Read more this news quote
image by brandweek
By Meghan Keane
August 20, Wired
Viewers may flock to funny videos on the Internet, but for advertisers it's not always a laughing matter. The questionable content that so often accompanies user-generated video can cause problems for brands looking to broaden — not damage — their image. So sensitive is the possible stigma that advertisers are even wary of sites that feature polished, professional videos.
Fast Company takes an anatomy of the business behind comedy videos in its September issue, looking especially at some of the larger ventures that have crashed and burned in the last year.
TBS launched Super Deluxe in January of last year only to lose interest 14 months later. NBC Universal's DotComedy, Time’s Office Pirates, and a joint AOL/HBO venture called This Just In were not long for this world. Sony's Crackle, despite many different approaches and multiple millions of investment, has not turned a profit or generated a consistently high traffic levels.
Even Will Farrell’s vanity project Funny or Die — which partnered with HBO in June — has had trouble maintaining its audience. Its first video, “The Landlord,” went viral with a very impressive 57.8 million views, but a sequel with the same inappropriately-scripted toddler didn't do nearly as well. The site now averages around 1.5 million unique viewers monthly, with the average visitor returning only 1.8 times.
Numbers are a problem, but not the fundamental one. It's understandable that conventional advertisers might be leery of connecting themselves with some of the raunchier items on humor sites — or sharing space with house ads for "The Hillary Duff Sex Tape" like the one the FunnyorDie site currently boasts.
Read more this news quote
image by wired
By Steve Miller
July 3, BrandWeek
E-mail is now the most popular form of direct response marketing, per a new survey of large U.S. corporations conducted by Direct Partners, New York.
E-mail is used primarily by 35% of companies compared to 25% which use traditional direct mail and 21% who use package, statement stuffers or free standing inserts
The finding echoes a study from last fall from MarketingSherpa, where participants reported that "house e-mail marketing" delivered the best return-on-investment in terms of direct response.
The results of the Direct Partners study were derived from 30,000 surveys sent in April to senior executives at companies with 2007 revenues exceeding $100 million. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that e-mail works most effectively for them, with 24% reporting that direct mail does the best job.
"The dramatic emphasis on e-mail as the primary direct marketing vehicle is significant," said Harry Haber, vp-Direct Partners, Marina del Ray, Calif. "And why not? It's fast to deploy, inexpensive to distribute versus other media, and the response is rapid."
Read more this news quote
image by BrandWeek
Search giant dives into online audience measurement
By Mike Shields, Mediaweek
June 25, AdWeek
NEW YORK Google has potentially increased its sizable influence over online ad spending by throwing its hat into the increasingly log-jammed world of Internet audience measurement.
The company has launched Google Ad Planner, a free product that promises to allow buyers to identify Web sites that match their desired target audiences -- and ultimately guiding them toward where they should spend their clients' dollars. The new tool puts Google in competition with established industry metrics players Nielsen Online (owned by Adweek and Mediaweek parent the Nielsen Co.) and comScore -- which charge agencies a fee to access their data -- as well as a host of upstarts, including Quantcast, Hitwise and Compete.
According to a post on Google's official AdWords blog, the tool enables buyers to cherry pick individual sites based on their client's specific target demographics and calculate the total audience for an individual media campaign. Buyers have the option of creating a spreadsheet to compile this planning data or exporting it to DoubleClick's MediaVisor tool.
While not mentioning other services by name, Google appears to be positioning Ad Planner as better suited to reporting the audience for smaller, long-tail sites whose audience data may not be as well captured by panel-based services offered by comScore and Nielsen. "If you're a media planner at an ad agency, you know that planning an online display buy can be challenging, particularly in scaling your campaign's reach while keeping it relevant for your target audience," reads Google's blog posting. "Plus, how do you keep track of the millions of sites out there that might be just right for your campaign?"
Read more this news quote
photo: Ad Planner puts Google in competition with established industry metrics players (AdWeek)
By Michele Gershberg and Anupreeta Das
June 13, Reuters
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp ended talks as the Web pioneer agreed to let archrival Google Inc sell search ads on its site, the companies said on Thursday.
Separate statements from Microsoft and Yahoo signaled a more permanent rift between the two after months of on-again, off-again talks. It also heightened pressure on Yahoo to outline an alternative strategy. Yahoo shares fell 10 percent.
Yahoo said it had agreed to let Google put search ads on its site in what it called an $800 million annual revenue opportunity that would boost cash flow by $250 million to $450 million in the first 12 months.
Yahoo's ads and Google's would be pitted against each other in an auction style process that could make a deal easier to pass regulatory approval.
"Yahoo is being a reseller of Google whenever it makes sense and that is likely to be a lot of the time given how much more effective Google Web search ads have proven to be," Global Crown Capital analyst Martin Pyykkonen said.
The deal is expected to face a major antitrust review given the rising power of Google, and Sen. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat and chairman of a U.S. Senate antitrust subcommittee, said he would investigate the deal.
Microsoft had sought a tie-up with Yahoo for more than a year and by early May had offered up to $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, to buy the Internet company.
Its latest offer included buying Yahoo's search business and paying $35 per share for a 16 percent stake in Yahoo, said two people briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Read more this news quote
photo: A man runs past the headquarters of Yahoo Inc. in Sunnyvale, California May 5, 2008 (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith)
3-year deal is worth $100 million to Sony
By Matthew Fields, Brandweek
June 6, AdWeek
NEW YORK Sony is opening up its PlayStation 3 platform to allow brands to advertise on the medium. The deal could be worth $100 million over three years to Sony Computer Entertainment America, Foster City, Calif.
Video game marketer Electronic Arts, Redwood City, Calif., will be the first to take advantage of the PlayStation 3 platform via its EA Sports and EA brands. EA Sports games include Madden NFL football, NBA Live basketball, Nascar racing and NHL hockey. EA itself will run ads for The Need for Speed and Burnout.
In-game ad firm IGA Worldwide, New York, will handle. IGA aims to execute highly strategic campaigns to a targeted demographic of males 18-34. The company plans a 70/30 revenue split between it and any game publisher.
"It's exciting that the PS3 has opened up and marketers will now have access to the platform, as this represents a tremendous opportunity for brands targeting a valuable and hard-to-reach audience, plus it sends a clear message that dynamic in-game advertising has arrived as a compelling medium for marketers," said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA.
An advantage to in-game advertising on PS3 is that the ads can be updated and adjusted in real time. The advertising also enhances the gaming experience, according to one study. In-game ad firm Massive, New York, conducted a survey on in-game ads among 30 Xbox 360 clients and concluded that "an average of 70 percent of gamers agreed with statements that the dynamic in-game ads contributed to realism, fit the games in which they were served and looked cool."
"EA is committed to providing effective advertising solutions for marketers," said Elizabeth Harz, EA's svp of global advertising sales. "Dynamic in-game advertising is an important growth area for our business, and we are excited to partner with IGA to provide industry leading in-game marketing."
Read more this news quote
photo: In-game advertising on PS3 can be updated and adjusted in real time. (Photo: The Need for Speed)
T.A.G. and McCann topped the TV/Cinema/Digital competition for the spots "Ammo," "Enemy Weapon" and "Hunted" for Microsoft's Xbox Halo 3
By Eleftheria Parpis
May 19, AdWeek
MIAMI The Clio Awards named three Grand Clio winners at the TV/Cinema/Digital, Interactive, Technique and Radio Gala, held tonight at the Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach, Fla.
T.A.G. and McCann SF won top honors in the TV/Cinema/Digital competition for the spots "Ammo," "Enemy Weapon" and "Hunted" for Microsoft's Xbox Halo 3, and won an additional gold Clio for "Diorama" from the same campaign.
TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York won the Grand Clio in Radio for "Broken Heart," "Lullaby" and "Prison Guard" for Combos. And Projector, Tokyo, won the Grand in Interactive for "UNIQLOCK" for UNIQLO, the second top honor the widget program received this week. Last night, it won a Grand Clio in Content & Contact.
BBDO in New York won the most honors with three gold Clios, one for the AT&T campaign including spots "2 Day Rule," "Butcher" and "Vegas," and a second gold for the "Butcher" spot. The third gold award was presented to the agency for its "Voyeur" campaign for HBO.
Fallon came in second with two golds, one for its "Gorilla" spot for Cadbury Dairy Milk and the other for "Play-Doh" for Sony Bravia.
The TV/Cinema/Digital jury awarded 67 Clios: one Grand, 15 gold, 21 silver and 30 bronze. U.S. gold winners for the night included: Leo Burnett, Chicago, for the Kellogg's All-Bran spot "Construction Worker;" TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York, which won for Skittles' "Touch;" and Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, for Tide to Go's "Interview."
In Interactive, 39 Clios were awarded: one Grand, five gold, 15 silver and 18 bronze, with U.S. agencies taking home two golds. BBDO in New York and Big Spaceship won for HBO, and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, won for the "Get the glass" online game for the California Fluid Milk Processors Advisory Board.
Read more this news quote
photo: Dramatic efforts for Microsoft's Xbox Halo 3 impressed Clio Awards judges (AdWeek)
How these Web 2.0 companies build good relationships to build their brands
By Brian Morrissey
May 13, AdWeek
NEW YORK For Tony Hsieh, CEO at Zappos, meeting up with a customer at a bar in midtown Manhattan was perfectly natural. Most execs with 1,600 employees and doing over $1 billion in annual sales would probably pass on having drinks with an individual customer, but Hsieh is not your typical CEO. In the past week alone he had given away shoes on Twitter, sent out an open invitation to a company barbecue and solved a service problem a customer left in a blog comment. If this seems exhausting, Hsieh sees it as part of a larger strategy to build Zappos into a brand on par with Virgin.
"We think our brand is going to be different because we want people to feel there's a real person they're connecting with, whether it's when they call us or through Twitter or any way they come in contact with us," he said.
The path Zappos is taking has been forged by some of the Internet's top brands, like Craigslist. It's part of a newer crop of companies, including T-shirt phenomenon Threadless, handmade-craft site Etsy and review destination Yelp, quietly building powerful brands online on the strength of communities. For these companies, community is not a tactic or marketing plan line item, but core to what they do. It means being hyper-responsive to customers, laser focused on usability, unapologetically human and OK with customers determining the course their businesses should take. The bonus: When they take off, these brands don't need to do much in the way of advertising, instead letting their customers spread the word.
Read more this news quote
image: Forging strong communities is a key for marketers looking to build brands online. (By AdWeek)
Stop the daily rapes in Darfur.
April 29, AdsofTheWorld.com
Advertising Agency: DDB Budapest, Hungary
Creatives: Holly Fleming, Giovanni Pintaude, Rodrigo Fernandes
Published: April 2008
April 23, Reuters
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's top electoral body ordered broadcasters to stop running a controversial TV ad on Monday that compares a firebrand leftist leading a siege of Congress to dictators Hitler and Pinochet.
The TV ad, funded by a Mexican businessman angry at a blockade of Congress by opposition lawmakers trying to derail an oil reform plan, says the antics of protest leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are endangering democracy.
"The complaints committee decided unanimously to order the withdrawal of the spot from today," a spokesman for the Federal Electoral Institute told Reuters.
Leftists seized Congress podiums on April 10 to block a government proposal to lower barriers to private investment in the oil sector, controlled by the state since 1938. The action has left Congress paralyzed.
"Who shuts congresses? In 1933, Adolf Hitler in Germany. In 1939, Benito Mussolini in Italy. In 1973, Augusto Pinochet of Chile," the ad says, over grainy footage of the Nazi leader, his fascist ally in Italy and Chile's late military dictator.
The 30-second spot was a flashback to conservative ads run in the 2006 election campaign calling the former rights activist and then presidential hopeful a danger to Mexico.
"Our democracy is in danger. Our peace is at risk. Mexico does not deserve this," the voice-over said.
Read more this news quote
photo: Former presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speeches to supporters during a meeting as Mexico celebrate the 70th anniversary of the expropriation of Mexico's oil industry at Mexico City's Zocalo in this March 18, 2008 file photo (REUTERS/Henry Romero)
By Eric Newman
April 20, AdWeek
Beverage heavyweights Coca-Cola and Starbucks are reaching back into the memory banks to drive some consumer engagement with the introduction of limited-time-only, vintage designs on their packaging.
Coca-Cola, Atlanta, recently reintroduced its 1906 bottle design, dubbed "Diamond Label," hoping to get the brand's product heritage and history into consumers' mindsets. The bottles are available nationwide, in special four-packs.
"The vintage bottle is an opportunity for us to reinforce what makes Coca-Cola so special," said rep Scott Williamson. "Programs like this allow us to reinforce what are the things that make Coca-Cola special, like its iconic packaging. There is a timelessness that appeals there."
The 1906 design follows a similar program the soft drink giant created for last year's holiday season, when its 1899 bottle design hit shelves. According to Williamson, the limited supply product sold out quickly and was popular with many age demographics.
Similarly, Starbucks, Seattle, last week replaced its familiar green and black logo with a vintage all-brown icon, which was printed on coffee cups in tandem with the launch of a new flavor. The original logo appeared on Starbucks cups from 1971 until 1987 when it was replaced by the green logo. The original features the company's nameplate and tag: "Fresh Roasted Coffee," as well as a full body shot of the two-tailed mermaid.
Read more this news quote
image by AdWeek
By Kenneth Hein
April 15, BrandWeek
Forget polyester and rayon, the new hot fabric will be recycled plastic bottles if Coca-Cola has its way.
Coke is attempting to turn a negative into a positive. Saddled with complaints from environmentalists that its plastic bottles are clogging up landfills, the cola giant has come up with a unique solution: turning recycled bottles into "Drink 2 Wear" apparel.
This week, T-shirts that read, "Make your plastic fantastic" and "Rehash your trash" will appear at nearly 400 Wal-Mart stores as well as at Walmart.com. The shirts are retailing for about $7.50.
"These fun T-shirts merge trend with consciousness, reminding shoppers that small steps like recycling a few bottles can go a long way towards helping preserve our environment," said Stuart Kronauge, vp-marketing at Coca-Cola North America, in a statement. "If the 200 million Wal-Mart shoppers in the U.S. purchase these shirts, they will help us reuse and divert more than 700 million bottles from the waste stream."
TV, radio and print ads from Wal-Mart's agency, the Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., tout the availability of T-shirts.
Read more this news quote
photo by BrandWeek
The company's online marketing highs and lows show an old brand learning new tricks
April 11, AdWeek
NEW YORK Back in June 2006, a now-famous Coca-Cola video began making the rounds. In it, two men made a geyser out of bottles of Diet Coke and Mentos candies. Coke representatives were not pleased.
Later, another Coke-themed video appeared, this time from France, showing young men throwing cans of the soda into the garbage from impossible angles. It was a neat trick, entertaining enough to draw millions of views on YouTube. But this time around, rather than wringing their hands over their brand literally being thrown into the trash, Coke rushed to embrace the consumer-generated content. It even collaborated with the Lyon-based youth to make another video.
"The biggest takeaway [from the Diet Coke-Mentos video] was consumers own our brands," said Carol Kruse, vp of global interactive marketing at Coke. "We had absolutely nothing to do with it, but we were the beneficiaries. [We] needed to embrace that."
The schizophrenic responses show the uncertain embrace Coke's made of social media as it tries to translate its over 50 years of success in the traditional marketing world to the new terrain. The pitfalls the company has faced and concessions it's made highlight the challenges faced by big brands navigating the new marketing playbook.
Read more this news quote
images by AdWeek
By Stuart Elliott
April 10, International Herald Tribune
In cartoons, the Road Runner goes "beep-beep." In the advertising world, the popular onomatopoeia is pronounced "bleep-bleep."
Advertisers are winking at the contentious issue of content regulation by using bleeping sounds in commercials and video clips. The bleeps mimic how television and radio obscure bad language in live news coverage or taped reality shows.
Many times, the bleeps heard in commercials are covering actual expletives, which are written into the scripts solely to be censored.
For instance, in a commercial for the New York Film Academy, a crude word spoken by Brett Ratner, who is the filmmaker, is bleeped.
"We were playing poker and he lost and I said, 'Instead of giving me money, why not do a commercial for me?' " said Jerry Sherlock, director of the academy. "So we made it into a whole joke."
In a video clip for Bud Light, titled "Swear Jar," that appears on the bud.tv Web site and sites like YouTube, cast members curse a blue streak.
The plot spoofs a demand for linguistic purity in a large office. When employees learn that the quarters deposited into the jar will go toward buying beer, the 4-, 7- and 12-letter words fly freely.
Read more this news quote
image by IHT
By Kenneth Hein and Eric Newman
April 7, BrandWeek
Old school brands still rule among teens, according to a new survey from virtual online community Habbo.
From Coca-Cola to CoverGirl, many of the favorite brands of today are the same as yesterday.
More than 7,700 U.S. teenagers (ages 11-18) were asked to reveal their favorite brands in an online poll conducted last October and November. The study was organized among teens participating in Habbo.
Other veteran brands, like McDonald's, Nike, MTV and Seventeen, also were tops. "These preferences definitely show that investing in brands still matters," said Anastasia Goodstein, founder of Ypulse.com, San Francisco. "Does this mean teens aren't spending lots of time with other lesser-known brands, especially when it comes to media and technology? No. It just means that these brands have succeeded in branding by being the ones teens think of first and foremost when asked."
The pervasiveness of these brands helps place them top of mind, according to experts. "When you consider Nike's market share, at 40%, versus a player like Converse at 3% to 4%, it stands to reason why their presence among teens would be so high," said John Shanley, a senior analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, New York.
Still, the fact that Nike has taken a page out of Vans' book, "with substantial quantities of lifestyle footwear in their product lineups," has helped Nike stay on top, Shanley said. Vans placed second in the poll.
Read more this news quote
photo by Getty Images
By Kenneth Hein
March 27, BrandWeek
Red Bull is looking to add some energy to the slumping cola category. The No. 2 energy drink hopes its new Red Bull Cola, launching in Las Vegas in June, will grab a larger share of the mainstream crowd.
The debut comes as Red Bull has fallen behind Monster as the top energy drink in terms of sales volume, according to Beverage Digest, Bedford Hills, N.Y. Monster owns 27.6% of sales compared to Red Bull's 24.6%.
Unlike Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Red Bull Cola will be 100% natural and command a premium price. Its formula will consist of kola nut and coca leaf.
"If, as energy drink proponents have been saying, energy drinks are the new colas, then it's perfectly logical for Red Bull to try to reinvigorate the declining cola segment," said Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights, West Nyack, New York. "It's also worth noting that quite a few of the alternative sodas have been edging into colas lately, from Grown Up Soda to, most recently, Virgil's. So it seems to be open hunting in that once-impregnable realm."
The realm has fallen considerably from its golden era. Carbonated soft drink sales shrank 2.3% in 2007, per Beverage Digest. Cola, which makes up more than half of soda sales, was down 7.7%. Coke's volume was off 3% while Pepsi's was down 4.8%.
This trend will present a long-term challenge to Red Bull Cola, said Beverage Digest editor John Sicher. "Red Bull is a very strong brand and it has an enthusiastic following but the cola business in the U.S. is in decline. Even with their brand strength they will face headwinds after some probable initial excitement."
Read more this news quote
image by brandweek
March 26, Ads of The World
Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Antwerp, Belgium
Creative Directors: Geoffrey Hantson, Dirk Domen
Copywriter: Kristof Snels
Art Director: Sebastien De Valck
Account: Matthieu De Winter
Photographer: Koen Demuynck
Graphic Designer: Davy Dooms
How C3 ratings continue to change the business
By Steve McClellan
March 25, Adweek
NEW YORK In June of last year, less than a month after Nielsen Media Research unveiled its new commercial ratings system known as C3, NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno aired a live 45-second commercial for Garmin's Nuvi car navigational system. It featured Leno sidekick John Melendez expounding on a serious male malady he termed "direction disorder," which often causes men to become "lost, confused and not knowing where to turn."
The timing was no accident: It was the first live spot the late-night program had aired in 14 years. And it was directly tied to the client's desire to try a different technique to keep viewers tuned to its marketing message in the rapidly expanding DVR world, just as the industry was switching to a measurement system that not only measures audiences for commercials but also tabulates playback viewing of the spots.
"Probably most people had no idea they were being pitched a commercial," said Steve Lovell, media sponsorship marketing manager at Garmin and the architect of the spot. "It looked like a skit." He said that post-telecast research showed that effectiveness and awareness levels for the live spot were significantly higher than for many of the company's traditional 30-second spots. The company is planning another live spot on the Tonight Show in the second quarter of this year.
The live Garmin spot illustrates the sharp focus that has been placed this season on viewing patterns of ads, driven largely by the switch to commercial ratings. The adoption of C3 marks the first time in the 60-plus year history of the television medium that the official yardstick for buying and selling airtime has focused on viewing of the spots and not the shows.
Read more this news quote
image: Sharp focus has been placed this season on viewing patterns of ads, driven largely by the switch to commercial ratings (Adweek)
