Leading Off
June 28, 2011 by Andrew Schneider
With the amount of dollars going to digital advertising, it would seem that the medium, in a general sense, is mature. Hulu, and ABC Player handle online streaming video content and advertising well. There seems to be a pretty good ratio, five commercial breaks of varying length and content, something that engages as well as the content.
But as well as Hulu and ABC do, CBS does badly and in my opinion, it’s an object lesson for clients, be careful where you put your ads.
I was watching some science fiction content (that will remain unidentified for this column) and have been forced to watch the same commercials, five times throughout the episodes. One ad did well, treating the commercial breaks as episodes of its own and telling a story about what your Citi Thank You Card points can earn you. But others, like “Bush’s Grillin’ Beans” left me so frustrated I actually plan to go out of my way to avoid the brand. I’ve bought the brand’s beans before (they go well in chili), but I’ll make do with some other brand out of a (perhaps misguided) attempt to revenge myself on them for making me listen to that annoying voice vamp up to the same pitch five times in 40 minutes.
The lesson: don’t just throw the same old broadcast spots around online content – the viewer’s experience is definitely not the same and it can cost a brand. You’d think agencies and clients would have this one figured out by now. Apparently not. On to this issue.
Our cover story deals with an interesting topic – is client involvement in the creative process killing good ideas? The answer is yes, of course, but their involvement doesn’t necessarily mean that the end product isn’t good or that it isn’t creative. Agency pros from all over the country weigh in on this one. It starts on page 14.
Our Extreme Close-Up section focuses on animation this month and we have some cool thoughts on the past and future of the art from people at Calabash, Leviathan and Janimation. It all starts on page 8.
Kevin Jeong checks in with film commissioners and production companies in the Northeastern U.S. for our production report on the region. It’s on page 20.
Our congratulations go out to Bridges on turning 10. We have an anniversary profile on page 22.
This month we also feature our annual supplement “Where the Brands Are”, a run down on which agencies have which brands. It starts on page 24.
And, of course, we proudly feature our regular columnists Dan Patton, Mike McNamara and Jon Slott.
Enjoy, AS