Startup Promises Cure For The Skipped Advertising Blues

from the the-magic-bullet dept

We can certainly understand the concern held by advertisers and TV broadcasters over DVRs, and their potential to bypass advertising. Still, the answer isn't to fight against this trend by holding back the technology, which is bound to be a losing battle, but to make the most out of it. One idea that's been thrown out there is inserting advertising when a user is fast-forwarding past the ads. The problem with that, as you might imagine, is that it has the potential to really irritate customers, though if the ads were made relevant and useful, it could be something worth exploring. The other thing that's clear is that content needs to be untethered from the channel itself. Redistributing a TV show using other methods, the web in particular, open up previously unavailable advertising opportunities. A new startup is looking to satisfy these things comprehensively, offering to insert ads while fast forwarding, as well as manage advertising inventory on the web. Creating one solution for managing all these disparate forms of advertising should be appealing to companies that are still trying to figure this stuff out. But the true challenge remains of turning advertising into useful, inviting content in its own right. If all they manage to do is find a way to irritate people in such a way that can't be skipped over, then it's bound to be a loser.
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  1. identicon
    Me, 9 Nov 2006 @ 1:38pm

    You are a douche bag, the reason people fast forward is to get past ads.
    Not irritating consumers is not a factor in advertising, some ads are made deliberately annoying so people remember them. Like DRM, this is just another bad idea that will be force fed to consumers.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Betaflame, 9 Nov 2006 @ 1:43pm

    Re:

    wow, someone is alittle cranky. Do you honestly think irritating customers is a good way to get them to buy a product?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    mmrtnt (profile), 9 Nov 2006 @ 1:45pm

    That's Not Funny!

    Is there any non-humorous television ad that anyone would want to see more than once?

    Is it even possible to make an interesting, compelling ad for a product or service?

    Without a hardware restriction in place to enforce ad-watching and without a dependable mechanism to estimate the number of ads watched, I just don't see ad-support of content providing levels of compensation commensurate with today's.

    In other words, prepare for a future with a lot more YouTube quality entertainment.

    MjM

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    rop, 9 Nov 2006 @ 1:56pm

    Relevant and Useful

    I fast-forward thru ads to get away from them and return to my entertainment. Ads are not relevant or useful -- in fact just the opposite, they are wearing out my 30-sec skip button.

    I understand the need for ads, except of course that I pay (through the nose) for comcast cable and would think that I am already supporting the station.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Sanguine Dream, 9 Nov 2006 @ 2:16pm

    I know!

    Here's the deal. They insert ads while you fast forward. More and more people fast forward through ads these days. How much do you wanna be that if this becomes common place marketing agenies will release new "studies" that show consumers prefer the ads they see when they fast forward. In other words they will try to create the illusion of, "I'm fast forwarding to see these ads." in order to cover the fact of, "I'm fast forwarding to get back to my show."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    tahoe916, 9 Nov 2006 @ 3:05pm

    Man Laws

    Case in point, I will deliberately go back to a Miller Lite Man Law commercial just to laugh my ass off over and over again...tampon commercials on the other hand can burn in a firey hell.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    mmrtnt (profile), 9 Nov 2006 @ 3:15pm

    Re: Man Laws

    True dat!

    I don't want to see even one yeast-infection cure or erectile dysfunction treatment!

    MjM

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    The Mighty Buzzard, 9 Nov 2006 @ 3:28pm

    Irritating ads do get you noticed

    Unfortunately for Head On(apply directly to the forehead!) they also get people to swear an eternal boycott on their product if they're too annoying.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Adam, 9 Nov 2006 @ 3:53pm

    Re: Irritating ads do get you noticed

    Yeah, but for every boycotter (statistically a TINY portion of the total sample) you get at least double the people who are subconsiously reminded of the product.

    those headon ads, while insanity-inspring, are rediculously effective.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Adam, 9 Nov 2006 @ 3:55pm

    typo

    excuse me... "ridiculous".... i can never spell that word correctly.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    110100100, 9 Nov 2006 @ 4:40pm

    Buy my remote!

    I am currently developing a fast-fast-forward button that will allow the user to fast forward through the advertising displayed during fast-forwarding. Buy my remote!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2006 @ 4:58pm

    Re: Re:

    I think his point is quite valid. The chances are people who fast forward adverts do not want to see inserted adverts during the fast forward, even if they are relevant. But please tell me how you would make ads in this sense remotely relevant?

    The OP was just stating that some adverts such as the crazy frog are purposely annoying so as to be remembered. And you know what? It sadly works.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Mark, 9 Nov 2006 @ 5:54pm

    You are all MORONS

    Sorry but did any of you ever stop to think about why there are ads? BECAUSE THEY PAY FOR THE CONTENT YOU ARE WATCHING.

    Here is a simple equation no ads or skipped ads = higher fees from your service provider.

    While I am no fan of ads and own a DVR I am smart enough to understand that if the world becomes an ad free environemnt we can expect our cable bills to triple as a direct result of the content owners mandating higher fees.

    One more point, comparing YouTube to studio prodced content is pure sillyness. I like YT but you cant compare a short form, amateur website with netowrk programming.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    themusicgod1, 9 Nov 2006 @ 7:27pm

    Fuck Advertisements

    "BECAUSE THEY PAY FOR THE CONTENT YOU ARE WATCHING."
    No, we the consumer pay for that content. Where do you think advertising companies get *their* money from? From us. And by this I mean even people who do not watch the content that you're talking about. Regular consumers pay companies greater prices than would otherwise be warrented so that they can pay advertising companies to try to convince us what we should buy. It is the consumers who lose in the end by paying for this inefficient overhead of in effect deceiving themselves with advertising.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Solo, 9 Nov 2006 @ 8:02pm

    "Regular consumers pay companies greater prices than would otherwise be warrented so that they can pay advertising companies to try to convince us what we should buy."

    Close. But no.

    Companies spend more on ads. If they did not have to pay for the ads, their profit would be higher. The price would not be one bit lower.

    What do they teach in school nowadays?

    In any case, since I have no Tivo, I have to ask, how long does it take to skip 30 secs of video? It seems to me with all the new fangled digital based technology and all, that should be frickin instantanious. I record TV show on a cheap ass computer, and I swear skipping through *any* numbers of minutes takes 0 seconds.

    Finally, I should say "They should have outlawed the VCR right then!"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Alex, 9 Nov 2006 @ 8:41pm

    Re: You are all MORONS

    We are all paying through the fucking nose for this content, where do you get the idea that the advertising companies are? They're not even subsidising it, they're just lining the pockets of the network executives.

    The decent and logical thing to do would be to realise that intrusive advertising has served its purpose and is no longer relative. If that means the cable companies are going to have to find new ways to supplement their income or - god forbid! - reduce it to something of a reasonable amount, well I for one won't cry over their bank balances

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    themusicgod1, 9 Nov 2006 @ 9:45pm

    cost of supply

    Companies spend more on ads. If they did not have to pay for the ads, their profit would be higher. The price would not be one bit lower.

    In any gain of efficiency like this, of course part of the gain is going to be taken up by the company's profit. But part of the gain will also be taken up by the consumer in the form of lower prices. Would you like me to draw you a diagram?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    osadebe awoh, 1 Dec 2006 @ 5:19am

    E-currency fx

    If you really want to trade, is the best way to leave a confortable live. with care and devotion. Its a carreer on its own so if you decide to do it just go through my blog and you see some brokers ready for you tanx.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    stupid, 7 Dec 2006 @ 11:00am

    stupid

    who even watches TV anymore?
    and radio? my god radio is so freakin annoying I quit listening when all 12 of my presets were playing commercials.

    frankly i have better things to do with my time than listen/watch some pop-garbage which is barely entertaining by itself, much less filled with 40% commercials.

    Honsetly I have more fun playing in the dirt with a stick than watching TV or listening to the radio.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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