AdGenesis: By Invitation Only- Rich Sirvaitis - MediaBizBloggers

We continue to see the evolution of advertising in many formats shift from an intrusive ad model to an invitation model with the advent of new technologies. If you add to the invitation model guaranteed exposure the result could have profound effects on the impact of advertising. These formats exist today and will only grow in importance as advertisers move more money toward media that allows for one to one consumer connection.

Advertising has always been a model based on the intrusive characteristic of each particular media format. Consumers switched on a set and tuned in to watch a program, not the commercials. The commercials were the messages that interrupted the viewing experience. Consumers may not have liked the interruption but accepted it as the cost of the viewing experience. The advertiser was able to achieve adequate reach and an effective frequency.

With the many time shifting properties available to the television viewing audience more and more of the viewing is done at a time when it is convenient to the consumer and for the majority it is without commercials. This invitation model is changing how many marketers approach media as they try to reach their target consumer and get their message in front of them at a time during their daily lives when they are most apt to view, retain and act on the message. Hence we have seen significant growth in two media sectors – out of home and online video.

Out of home allows messaging in an intrusive but acceptable manner as it is merely something along the path of all our daily activity.

Online video allows for an even greater degree of invitation with new models that have the consumer pick the content and in some cases the messaging as well. Opt in profiling allows for greater relevance. In many cases the messaging is directly related to the particular content that the consumer has chosen making it very relevant to the individual. Relevance in conjunction with invitation increases engagement and the move to act. A key element is making sure that the ad was viewed.

This model of guaranteed viewership by invitation only still needs to fully understood and accepted by most advertisers since its model does not cast a wide net looking for a few key prospects but rather seeks a smaller number of very defined target characteristics which help narrow in on the particular audience sought. It is not about cost per thousand as much as cost per view and its ability to move the needle is enormous simply due to the fact that the viewer invited both the content and the message which results in a much higher degree of acceptance (and action). It is truly capable of changing the model to one of cost per customer contact. In such an invitation model the concept of effective frequency is now a factor of one. The entire focus is on reach as the consumer is paying attention and fully engaged in the message.

The metrics need to change from a cost per thousand model to cost per guaranteed view and advertisers will find that they are in fact paying less per effective exposure -- not more.

All of this makes even more sense in a world of fragmentation. While there may be fewer true mass media available the emerging invitation only models could prove so effective that more money will shift to these models as there is such little waste. After all, isn’t advertising a substitute for the direct sales call – every advertiser out there would love to meet with every prospect face to face – the problem has always been the cost. With a guaranteed invitation only model we are closer to the one to one contact than ever before.

Rick Sirvaitis a 38-year media veteran has run his own media and marketing consultancy, RS Media Marketing LLC for the past five years. He has been a consultant to such clients as the NFL Network, Enversa, Gemstar/TV Guide, and Google TV Ads among others and is retained as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Constellation Growth Capital. Rick can be reached at rick@rsmediamarketing.com

Read all Rick's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at AdGenesis - MediaBizBloggers.

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