Ah,
I can not recall the last time I clicked on any type of online ad. It strikes me that TV by nature is much more passive, sit back and suck it all in. In contrast to this, the net is much more active and hence susceptible to user discretion, based not just upon personal choice, but neurological physiology. Literally. I see TV advertising and realize that many on Madison Ave. have taken their neuroanatomy and neurology courses. Television has it down and in large measure because of the ‘streaming video' images they can broadcast. Ever notice that aside from situational or story ads most others are just a succession of non-stop imagery and sound? The boys know what they are doing. See the following excerpt from a Neurology text and worth the read:
‘The portion of the midbrain behind the cerebral aqueduct is the tectum or roof, which is a plate of nervous tissue with four rounded elevations, the two Superior and the two Inferior Colliculi. The Colliculi have important intrinsic functions. For example, the two superior Colliculi are important visual centers. Their cells, which are organized into layers, receive fibers from the RETINA (each Colliculi is activated by light from the opposite visual fields) and from areas of the cerebral cortex. They also have a SOMATIC input from ascending paths and an AUDITORY input from the inferior Colliculi and auditory cortex. Many of the cells in the superior Colliculi FIRE ONLY IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT IN THE VISUAL FIELDS. Moreover, it appears that the cells in the deeper layers of the superior Colliculi are organized to integrate information about the location and direction of auditory and visual movement, and thereby to help the eyes in detecting and following moving objects. Finally, the superior Colliculi are important reflex centers. Examples of reflexes are blinking in response to an object that appears suddenly in the visual field and generalized startle reactions. The two inferior Colliculi are important elements of the auditory system. They receive ascending auditory fibers, as well as fibers from somatic pathways and they project to the brainstem, spinal cord, cerebellum, superior Colliculi and medial geiculate body. The inferior colic are important reflex and integrating centers. Examples of reflexes are a turning of the eyes, head, or body, or a general startle reaction, in response to a sudden noise.'
In simple terms, this means that the Exterra car ads we have all seen -except eric who has no TV- are not simply ‘catchy' but literally HOOK INTO OUR NERVOUS SYSTEMS AND ITS DEVELOPEMENTAL REFLEXES. Literally like hypnosis technique to grab our awareness. You may be talking to the Pope, but a pretty lady walks by and your nervous system, by design can not help but notice. You may not turn and stare, but you are tempted to because of our hard wiring. It is influenced by higher centers, but passive TV viewing tends to all gain access to the mind. One day BB may take advantage of this. Currently the dial-ups are not able to. Hence, the following article illustrates what advertisers have found out the hard way… through their wallets. Perhaps BB will soon alter the spending outflow of advertising away from internet. Knowledge is power.
And time for me to start readingf Ms. magazine if YOU are a lady!
From today's New York Times
November 2, 1999
Online Retailers Emptying Their Wallets on Advertising
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Yadda, yadda, yadda…
The obsession with television is a new and unproven strategy among Internet companies. Even a year ago, most Internet companies concentrated their ad dollars online. "Last Christmas, merchants were allocating 70 to 80 percent of their marketing budgets online largely at portals," said Ken Cassar, a digital commerce analyst at Jupiter Communications, a new media consulting firm. "Today, that is flipped, with the majority being spent on traditional media and most in television."
Several factors have led to the transformation of marketing across the industry. There is a general belief that online advertising through banners and portals like Yahoo! and America Online is ineffective.
This past year, Internet companies have enlisted executives from marketing giants like Pepsi and Procter & Gamble, which have a history of using television to increase customer awareness of their branded products. But most important, television in particular is perceived as a king maker based on a few Cinderella stories last year.
In its first year in business, Etoys, a Web-based toy seller, did $2 million in sales. Then the credit-card consortium Visa decided that a good way to support e-commerce in general during the Christmas season was to air an ad for the retailer showing children snuggled in bed as parents clicked away to get their presents. Etoys' revenue jumped to $23 million in the fourth quarter.
Last year there was relatively little "dot com" advertising. Now the ads flow together one after another through the commercial breaks.
Robert Levitan says getting a brand out to consumers is much tougher now than when he co-founded iVillage, a community site established in 1995. Now he is chief executive of Flooz.com, which essentially allows shoppers to buy a gift certificate that can be redeemed at select Internet sites.
The site, which was relaunched this fall, calls its currency flooz and e-mails it to customers. "Earlier on, if you made a big noise and were provocative, that was enough," he said. "Now everyone is provocative and irreverent."
</NYT_LINKS_ONSITE To rise above the din, Levitan is betting roughly half the company's $16 million in funding on marketing in the next 10 weeks. He also gave up a significant share of stock options (he won't say how many) to actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg to engage her as spokeswoman.
Also adding to the uncertainty, many young Internet companies are beginning their TV ads in a big national push without testing them in smaller markets. Send.com, for example, had done only radio commercials before it jumped into the national television market.
In addition, industry consultants suspect that some Internet retailers are shortchanging key operations, like improved Web design that will keep shoppers coming back.
"Several times, companies have called up and said basically: 'We have this ad campaign planned. It is $20 million. We have already shot the commercial and booked the air time. It is running in three weeks. But we have discovered our Web site is no good. What should we do?"' said Jakob Nielsen, a Web designer in Silicon Valley. "The answer is, you are sort of doomed," Nielsen said.
Even if everything runs smoothly -- if customers arrive and they find good service -- some Wall Street analysts are beginning to question whether such big expenditures can be a cost-effective way to attract new customers.
Just last week, Amazon.com indicated that it would spend well over $100 million this holiday season to keep up with the Joneses -- news that meant its cost of acquiring new customers was going up for the near future and sent its stock price plunging.
But if Wall Street is signaling that it is worried about costs, e-tailers are turning a deaf ear. Peter Neupert, chief executive of Drugstore.com, an online pharmacy that has spent heavily on ads, estimates that it cost his site $63 in the third quarter to acquire each new customer. "We expect that number to go up -- not down,"' he said.
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