The death of the DVR and the rise of Streaming...

Just a few years back, advertisers had to deal with the fact that TV advertising became a new challenge thanks to a wonderful piece of technology..... the DVR. No longer do consumers have to sit through the 30-60 second banter of a promotional hail mary in hopes of winning their ever valuable dollar. Advertising agencies and in-house marketing departments have spent countless hours in the conference room and in brainstorming sessions determining the next big pitch that will give them the upper hand over their competition.

Then came the DVR. Time thrifty viewers can catch their latest new episodes without having to sit through the commercials, completely wasting the high dollar investment put forth by the corporations, not to mention the loss of man hours associated with the development of the "new ad campaign." During a typical DVR commercial break, a 30 second commercial zips by at approx. 2 seconds. Leaving the marketer little time to impress their potential customers. What does this cause as a result?? More organizations taking their advertising dollars "off air" and to other mediums.

The DVR has seem to win the war of viewers attention. But the DVR has been dealt a significant blow.... online streaming of shows. Services similar to Hulu, and Fancast offer viewers access to first run shows from anywhere in the world. What does this mean for marketers?? A continued evolution of marketing strategies to incorporate advertising dollars to where your customers are located. Advertisers are trading in their 30 to 60 second advertisements for 5 to 15 second clips that focus on one thing.... brand recognition. Consumers favorite shows are interrupted only by 4-5 breaks in which marketers have the opportunity to hone in on their undeivided attention. This time is vital, viewers rarely want to move away from the computer screen as they are afraid to miss the upcoming moments of their favorite TV show. The brands who are currently advertising on this medium, have a very short period of time to reinforce their message to viewers. Successful advertisers showcase their products by showcasing large logos, quick product introductions and colorful, eye catching showcases.

This new form of marketing adapts perfectly into the emergence of social media in the fact that your quick showcase of product information can be coupled by directing viewers to your social media sites for further information and the most successful campaigns require user interaction in order to fulfill a question asked during the short segment. Users can then 'click' the advertisement and automatically be directed to your social media site or company webpage and then directed to a specific site in order to fulfill the inquiry begun during your short segment. This new page is opened up as a separate tab in their internet browser and can either be viewed immediately or viewed upon the completion of their favorite show. Now that they are on your site, you can drive sales of other products as well as the advertised product or service. this is a sharp contrast from the interaction that is required for consumers to go to your company website or social media website when they view your advertisement on TV. Making it easy for your consumer to get to your website, product or social media site will maximize the effectiveness of your advertising campaign and therefore drive traffic.

Coupling advertisements across various mediums to drive traffic to your website must be the number one concern for any marketing department or ad agency and the marketers who continue to embrace new technology and make it easier for their customers to find their products, will be the ones who reap the benefits of their untiring effort.