The votes are in for everyone’s favorite Super Bowl commercial, and although most people favored the Budweiser Clydesdale as America’s favorite underdog, everyone seems to agree that most commercials relied solely on the “wow” factor to get everyone’s attention.
Last week I discussed ABC’s successful attempt to direct viewers to the web; now, you would think that after spending millions of dollars for ad space during the Super Bowl more than 6% would have also attempted to direct viewers online. They also did not connect the ad to their brand pages on social networks like Facebook. Most advertisers instead invested in search advertising.
My choice for the best Super Bowl commercial was not only funny, but it made a very important point: even the smallest flaw can derail what you are trying to accomplish, big or small. This is something Chitika believes in when publishers are deciding how to monetize the traffic to their pages. Chitika gives you full customization control so nothing gets in the way of earning your potential revenue; if you are not in charge of the ad products on your pages, you may be missing out on a chance to cater to your audience.
Were any of this year’s Super Bowl commercials able to catch your attention in more than one way?
According to Internet Marketing News Watch, the, “US Internet advertising revenue will grow from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $31.3 billion in 2011,” which reflects an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5%.
The power of branding on the internet is well reflected by the Apple brand. While Apple stayed out of this year’s Super Bowl ad line-up; the brand’s popularity among online consumers did not waiver.
Out of Chitika’s top-50 products ranked in the past week, Apple’s brand represents 20%; and thereby represents an impressive 31% of relative total clicks generated by the top-50.
Despite an impressive audience reach and it’s illusive advertising industry prestige, televised Super Bowl commercials remain risky ventures. Following last year’s Super Bowl, Garmin received negative publicity after being named the worst among scores of Super Bowl ads broadcast.
Read more Chitika | Pulse
If you were you among the millions tuned into last night’s long-awaited return of ABC’s hit drama, Lost, then during the show you saw a commercial from Oceanic Airlines alerting you to “stay tuned” for special information.
As a huge ‘Lost’ fan myself, I knew this was something worth waiting for. However, the show was over and the commercial for Oceanic Airlines didn’t actually air until 45 minutes after the season premiere ended, during another show! And I am 100% sure that many true ‘Lost’ fans would know that as well. ;)
So finally what it turned out to be was a short promo (fake obviously) promoting that Oceanic Airlines “will take you to places you’ve never imagined.” Then flashed a website: FlyOceanicair.com. This whole thing was a brilliant idea because people who are fans of ‘Lost’ are known to obsess about any missing clues they can find. So what this did was cause a lot of people to go to the website right away; I know this because I tried to, but couldn’t access the website for about 15 minutes because it was so busy.
This was a perfect example of a successful PC and TV Convergence. This method is also used during highly-viewed events like the Super Bowl. During the 2007 Super Bowl, advertisers used the last 15 minutes of the game (prime time) to get viewers attention by directing them to websites, and they were successful.
According to Bizreport.com, “During the game results showed that web traffic averaged around 160,000 visitors per minute, as opposed to an average of 80,000 in the previous two to three weeks. During the last fifteen minutes of the game the visitors per minute rate was at its highest at 282,546, the majority of which were from the U.S.!”
This is useful information for publishers who not only should be keeping up with whats hot online, but on TV. What makes it even more important is with TV, you need to keep in mind the time-sensitivity factor. Plan head and keep up to date with what is going on around you.
Come back next week and vote for your favorite Super Bowl commercial!
In about 4 years you just might be protecting your cell phone the same you would your bank or credit cards. One-third of Japan is already making contactless payments using their cell phones and by 2012 between 8-30 million customers in North America will be too, projects a report by technology research firm In-Stat.
This immediately suggests a security issue to me. How many of you have lost or badly damaged your cell phone? For me, it’s been more than one in the past 6 years. By 2012 cell phones will either be the size of credit cards, or bigger and bulkier. If contactless payments are the future of cell phones, which do you think will be better - smaller phones (easy to hide) or larger (harder to steal or lose)?
Posted By: Karla Escolas, CRM/Marketing | “The Buzz Girl”, Chitika, Inc.
The Hollywood writers’ strike is not only causing an increase in reality TV programming, the strike is also causing a once loyal primetime TV audience to go online.
According to surveyed research from MindShare, the writers’ strike, which is believed to continue for another three weeks or a month, has significantly impacted and changed TV viewing habits. MindShare reports that going online topped the list as the respondents’ preferred alternative to watching their favorite TV shows.
NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker warns, “a strike could be a ‘watershed event’ that drives more people away from primetime.” Online media content bears no time restraint, with streamed TV episodes and video’s available on sites such as uTube.
Read Write Web’s Josh Catone further explains how, “the strike could hasten a paradigm shift in the media landscape that sees content shift from television to web distribution,” adding that, “as the writer strike drags on, and original primetime TV content dries up, advertisers may begin to jump ship for other mediums.”
It’s true, more and more viewers are turning to the web for entertainment and information, and major brands are following closely. A shift in allocating advertising dollars from TV to the web could impact TV programming content and quality long after the writers’ strike is over.
Catone offers the example of Chrysler, the third-largest automaker in the US, has pulled ad money from primetime television and redirected funds towards running ads on sports and internet platforms.
Could the Web become the cable of the future? What do you think?
-By Tessa Rudd, Account Executive - Advertising Media Division
Are computers slowly replacing everyday tasks with easier (read: lazier) services? Instead of heading to the grocery store on the weekends, now you can enter your grocery list online and have it delivered right to your home. I guess you could say this saves time, but the big picture just tells me, “you’re lazy and we can help you.”
Companies facing competition to offer services online can either start offering the online services themselves or come up with new marketing ideas to keep people coming into their store. Blockbuster actually did both while deciding to move with the trend and offer their own mail-in DVD service to compete with the popular Netflix service, while others like Hollywood Video did not.
So what is the latest trend people are enjoying via computer? Catching up on our favorite television shows. With the increased use of computers it only makes sense. Does this get people off their couch? Yes, but then probably just re-locates where they sit to a more uncomfortable computer chair. Upgrade? And, not to mention, a smaller screen. Yikes.
The days of internet video are evolving from minutes of entertainment on YouTube to hours spent watching TV shows. This is now forcing popular cable channels like HBO to start making their way into online video to keep up with the demand. I am curious as to how many people enjoy watching TV shows online and what, if any, advantages there are to doing so?
Zune isn’t the only Microsoft success rivaling the recently ubiquitous popularity of Apple.
Forbes most famous college drop out Bill Gates found himself in an importunate situation as he headed off this year’s CES International, held in Las Vegas, January 5th-10th.
As CES’s premier keynote speaker, Gates was not only the chosen celebrity face to head-off the year’s, and world’s, premier technology conference, but also the voice and authority of microsoft’s ‘apple resistance’: Those in the Vegas crowds to media desks afar, knew Gates faced the challenge of stealing the tech-world’s stoplight back from Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs, after Job’s ground-breaking iPhone announcement at last year’s Macworld Conference & Expo.
With months still to go until Apple’s ‘08 Q3 general release of a new, more affordable version of iPhone to US consumer markets, headline’s continue to hone-in on last year’s iPhone “>release and how it, “overshadowed everything at CES [last year] and has been as big a hit as everyone thought it would be.”
Directing attention away from consumer buzz and press coverage following a CES International show is a difficult feat at best. Macworld ’07’s success in overshadowing last year’s microsoft-centric CES releases not only meant good news for the Apple brand itself, but the brand’s momentum at the start of Q1 2007 also fueled predictions for a strong year of iPhone sales ahead. Will this be the case for Apple ‘08?
Jobs not done…
Adding to the Gate’s pressure is the fact that Steve Jobs lined up to speak again at this years Macworld, held January 14-18 in San Fransisco, and as IDG news reports, “rumors say Apple could reveal anything from its own ultramobile PC to an online movie rental service.”
But let’s step back for a minute; as mentioned, the most pressing and obvious factor in the team “apple” vs. team “the rest of the consumer electronic industry”, (noting microsoft as the opposing industry ‘gorilla’) debate is that iPhone continues to be as big a hit as it was last year. Therefore, I argue that the tech-industry will remain at the current pro-Apple standstill: Any new, and perceivably groundbreaking announcements at next week’s Macworld will be like putting frosting on cheesecake.
How did Gates fair?
Going back to my original point… Anticipation leading up to this year’s CES included ample speculation and rumors that Gates would announce various wish-list products, including a new Xbox 360 SKU that potentially contains HD-DVD playback and a 320GB hard drive.
Addressing his audience at CES last Sunday, January 5th, Gates first and foremost chose to divert attention away from gaming hardware and software, an area where microsoft has been gaining increased consumer attention in the past months. He instead tried to be funny, and almost venerable to the masses, offering-up some economic rhetoric regarding a changing consumer electronics industry and the impact high definition has had on technology.
He also formally announced his closing tenure as Microsoft boss, leaving more time to focus on his family, numerous charities, and clearly so he can finally beat Halo 3.
Finally, to directly address forbearing buzz that Apple out shined last year’s CES, for which Gate’s was also the top keynote speaker, Gates pulled out the big guns. He categorized Microsoft’s Zune as being, “the clear alternative to iPod”, and pointed out that Windows Mobile is outselling Blackberry and iPhone OS.
Gates added more substance to his keynote by announcing a slew of new Microsoft products and partnerships. Apparently Windows Live now has 420 million users and Windows Mobile is currently the handheld platform of 20 million people.
Gates described new social networking programs for Windows (that closely resembles MySpace), updates for both the Zune and Windows Mobile.
Microsoft will be heading all internet video coverage for this year’s Beijing Olympics and has waged a strong partnership with Ford, launching the technology for products “Ford Sync” and “911 Assist”.
To address all the speculation surrounding famed Xbox, less than an hour into his speech Gate’s fetched Microsoft President of entertainment devices Robbie Bach.
Bach laid all rumors that Xbox 360 will soon take over the world, if Arnold Schwarzenegger is unable to wipe out the resistance before Judgment Day, to rest. Bach ensured that, “Windows is far and away the largest gaming plaform in the world, and continues to grow,” and that they had passed a 10 million member milestone for Xbox Live.
To further promote the Microsoft partnerships Bach announced that, “ABC and Disney will be bringing their TV shows to Xbox Live this month, [including] top rated shows like Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and others,” adding that MGM will also eventually be supporting the gaming service.
All apples aside, Microsoft definitely appears to be heading in an expedient direction and Gates is strategically putting Microsoft’s gaming initiatives on the Bach-burner, leaving room for other, and perhaps more impacting, areas of focus for the corporation in coming years. In my opinion, all the industry’s microsoft vs. apple buzz will keep buzzing, and while it remains interesting to follow, the bottom-line is that Microsoft is starting seem like it really doesn’t care.
Team Microsoft’s enthusiastic display of new products and video documentaries at this year’s CES were compelling–definitely my favorite keynote at this year’s show–although it was at times hard to see up to the stage with the bright glares coming from the audiences’ iPhones.
-By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division
I just sat in on a presentation for a new navigation device.
Similar to the portable function of the tomtom one and garmin nuvi, gps manufacturer Routon, has launched a portable (indoor and outdoor use) gps device. The Routon devices however offer added features in supporting mp3 (WMA, MP3, WAV format), movie (WMV, AVI, DAT, MPG format, games, and a FM transmitter.
With u-tube and video pod-casting emerging as a popular trend it was of no suprise to me to find many exhibitors promoting new web cam and digital video technology.
Company Lianyida displayed new wireless video camera technology with 100-500m transmission ranges: including various functions such as night vision, and transparency broadcasting function. The cameras include a 2.5″ LCD color screen image receiver that looks very similar to last years video iPod.
Can you say nanny-cam?
I am noticing a wide variety of iPod, iPhone, and non mac mp3 player accessories at this year’s show; including advanced sound technology usb docks, plastic cases that clip onto the devices and plug directly into a usb dock, and even solar panel backpacks to charge up any wireless device! (But not in today’s rainy Nevada weather).
While walking through an innovations plus exhibit hall at CES i was stunned to hear a dog barking at me. I turned to see an adorable computerized grey robot dog (this one’s for you mike) wagging his tail and walking back and forth quite proudly.
His name is "Wrex the Dawg" and, as his owner Benny (representative from WowWee) explained "Wrex has tons and tons of personality". Three "moods" to be exact; happy, angry, and crazy. Wrex can be programmed to pick his mood at random or his owner can program him using Wrex’s remote control.
Operating on 14-motors, Wrex walks, talks, raises his paw, exhibits full facial animation, and spins his slot machine eyes; overall Wrex is highly interactive. Wrex is designed to look like a junk-yard dog, and with this, his act includes breaking down at times, leaving the owner responsible for reprogram him.
Wrex will be let loose on US markets come early summer. Keep your eyes peeled for Wrex the Dawg on the streets, in parks, in the arms of young hollywood socialites. Or check him and an innovative variety of robot friends out at WowWee.
Just chatted with two representatives from iShoes and watched one of them zoom around the exhibit hall on a pair; the innovative shoes resemble a mini go-cart on each foot and are controlled by a handheld device. Think remote controlled cars for the feet.
Is this another "go green" answer to global warming or a faster way for techies to grab a snack between xbox 360 games?
