Marketers Try ‘Talk TV’ Ads to Drive Traffic
What I’ll call “Talk TV” seems to be an emerging and sensibly low-risk medium for major brands to drive Web traffic via sports entertainment on the good ol’ tube.
Office supplies merchandiser Ricoh’s and stocks firm Select Sector SPDR Trust are two notable brands that have been running ads during the “Mike & The Mad Dog” afternoon radio sports talk show. But here’s the catch — the ads are on TV, appearing nationwide via simulcast on the YES Network.
The *completely still* ads render vertically along one-third of the left-hand border of the TV screen, as well as horizontally along the bottom. They are simple promos with their brand emblems, the Website URL and their toll-free number in white-font copy.
They are set against a single-color background. And they come onscreen for durations that usually last a few minutes at least once a day for each company.
Neither brand is going to go on record about whether these ads are creating major traffic upticks. But, here are three reasons they are probably not upset with the results:
1. The “test-mode” ad rates have to be inexpensive, making the test relatively safe.
2. The static nature of the ads gives viewers — especially if they are interfacing with the Web — all the time in the world to punch in the URL.
3. The “Mike & The Mad Dog” audience has a loyal group of TV viewers who are mostly fans of the New York Yankees, which own the YES Network and is a national brand with a huge customer base.
A lot of callers to the show hail from points all over the map. They tune in on satellite TV and digital cable. In short, there is reach for these promos.
But do they sound lucrative? Have you seen something similar? Let me know.
Categories: Branding, Channel Marketing, Consumer Electronics, Ecommerce Eretail, Offline Marketing And Advertising, Online Advertising, Online Marketing Consumer Marketing, Email Marketing, eretail, Online Advertising, Online Marketing
