Google is making a lot of people very happy…and some people very sad. In a move that could begin a momentous swing for the way TV ad space is purchased, Google has announced a partnership with EchoStar Communications to launch a new system for purchasing ad space on TV channels on the EchoStar network.
In the new system, TV ad space will be auctioned on a CPM basis using an online interface much like the current AdWords system. Within 24 hours, the advertiser will know if he won the auction, where the ads ran, how many ads ran, how many households saw the ad, and EVEN IF THE HOUSEHOLD WATCHED THE ENTIRE AD OR ONLY PART OF IT. Using this information, advertisers can make adjustments to their campaign until they find the optimum combination of TV channels, times, and ad creative. In the world of TV advertising, that kind of quick feedback is unheard of. It combines the power of on-the-fly pay-per-click campaign tweaking with the massive reach of broadcast TV.
Google claims that there will also be a happy result for the consumer in the form of more relevant advertising, as advertisers adjust their campaigns based on the feedback they receive. To us, the argument from the consumer side is weak because consumers are already flooded with 10 thousand commercials a day – we don’t think it matters to consumers if they view more relevant commercials. In addition, TV commercials are often filtered out or bypassed anyway. Which brings us to another point: is TV advertising dead anyway? Is Google beating a dead horse?
The answer is “no”. Even if Google is entering an industry that is declining, TV advertising in some form or another will always exist. By giving advertisers a strong platform to place ads, and much better, quicker data about the performance of their ads, Google is bringing new fire to an industry that badly needed it. And eventually the world of TV will figure out a way to force-feed ads to consumers who zip through commercials…and Google will be there with its technology, making it easy and efficient to use whatever the next phase of TV advertising looks like.
In addition to the ad purchasing platform, Google will run a marketplace to hook up TV advertisers with TV commercial producers. Similar to Spot Runner (discussed yesterday), it gives any small business the ability to purchase an already-created commercial and personally brand it – drastically cutting ad production costs.
We are excited about the new TV ad platform because it moves the world of advertising closer to one universal system in which advertisers bid on ads to run on-line and off-line, with almost instant feedback to improve their ad campaigns. And you better know Work Media will be on the front-lines, helping advertisers figure this stuff out.
For help creating your own state-of-the-art marketing campaign, contact Work Media at 888-299-4837 or email Info@WorkMedia.net.