Experience Manifesto

DVR Usage to Blame for Idiotic, Invasive Intrusions -- Adrants

I wrote about this last July (see Experience Manifesto: Note To FX Network) and it's getting worse & worse. It's particularly bad on the cable nets, but I'm sure it'll eventually move over to major networks as well. As I said in my comment at Adrants, we like to talk about the consumer being in control, but the reality is we can't wait to take that control away. Going to fast forward through our commercials? Well, we'll just put the commercial over your show. That way you can't miss it at all! Yea, that's consumer in control thinking. Remember this folks, a people in captivity will always revolt. That revolution is coming folks. It's coming.

We did it to ourselves. Yes we did. With help from our much-loved DVRs. We started a war. A war between those who want to skip commercial and those who want people to see them no matter what technology exists to skip them. The latest in an increasing list of tactics comes from TBS which is running promotions during programming which involves pausing the show while an ad runs on the lower third of the screen. Right now, it's just station promos but, seriously, how long before we see paid advertising in this space? We did it to ourselves.

Some have pointed out the intrusive promotions are simply mirroring what's being promoted; the Bill Engvall show in a TV remote is a prominent plot element. Still. There's no doubt, after seeing this, every marketer will scream, "I want one!"

Link: DVR Usage to Blame for Idiotic, Invasive Intrusions -- Adrants.

At Least Learn to Lie Better!

So, this morning, I get this comment on a post back from September of 2005:

Has anyone out there heard about XXXXXXXXXX (I'm deliberately blocking out their name, cause I really don't want to help them at all!). It seems like a way better service then wasting money on PPC. Apparently they are using refering websites ( forums, blogs, wiki, etc. ) and have a viral word of mouth distributed approach to it. My friend told me he got around 100 visits from single post which cost him $0.40c. I am going to give them a try today . In case you are intrested here is it.

Now, when you have a Typepad account and you get notification of a comment, it gives you information about who left the comment. At least if they're being honest! So, I would tell that the comment was left by the people from the company they were promoting by pretend! I mean, come on folks, put a little effort into it! So, I reported the comment as spam and sent them this note:

In case you were unaware of this, when you post comments on blogs, they usually send a report to the person who runs the blog with your contact info and IP address, all of which pointed me back to your company. I just wanted to let you know that you would go much further with bloggers if you were actually honest & upfront. Pretending that you’ve got some new thing to promote because your “friend” used the service when you’re actually with the company just doesn’t work. Had you commented that you’re company created something new and that I might be interested in learning more about it, I would have left the comment up. But you didn’t and I didn’t. It’s 2008, stop with with spam already!

Not expecting a reply, but if I do get one, I'll pass it along!

Michael Russnow: Do We Really Need Those Intrusive Network Logos on our Screens: Do They Really Help That Much? - Media on The Huffington Post

We've complained about this too (see Note To FX Network) and glad to see I'm not the only one. And, if this wasn't bad enough, I think it was during the recent CSI Miami they kept putting info on the screen about the actors accompanied by the sound of gun fire. If I wanted to know what job they had before CSI, I'll look them up on IMDB. Can you just let me watch TV!

I wonder if you're as annoyed as I am with the ever-increasing proliferation of ads on your home screens? No, I'm not talking about the commercials, which appear on web sites you arrive at while surfing the Internet. I'm referring to the constant reminders about which network or station you're watching on televisions in your living room and other sets in your house.

At first they were tiny, almost subliminal, as if without such a display you might not recall the transmitters of your favorite shows. Or perhaps it was an attempt to build subconscious loyalty so that if you liked the show you were watching maybe you'd get a pang of guilt if you switched to an alternate channel later in the evening.

After awhile it was decided to increase their size, making them almost impossible to ignore, providing not only an unwanted distraction, but in some instances preventing the viewer from seeing some aspect of the program which was on the TV screen and now blocked. Something perhaps the production staff had carefully planned to appear in the lower left or right while framing their shot, whether it was the name of someone's identification tag or a prop that was now almost impossible to identify.

And to add insult to injury the networks decided that it wasn't just enough to force you to focus attention on the name of the company bringing you the show, but it was evidently necessary to promo upcoming programs or specials as if the constant trailers displayed in between act breaks and scheduled throughout the day were not quite sufficient.

Sometimes these promos are animated, providing a further diversion for a few seconds before they fade out of the picture. Oftentimes, they remain for much of the broadcast, as in the case of ABC's continual pumping up the Academy Awards telecast with a large onscreen display alongside its network logo, which is sometimes joined by the number "7" (the local channel in Los Angeles). Last night it was simply maddening to watch October Road, a show that is struggling and is not certain to be back on the network schedule. Why? Because the humongous reminder to watch the Oscars in six days was so evident and frankly caused me to ponder the nominees instead of the plot of a show they presumably wanted me and other viewers to become fixated about so that they would keep it on the air.

Link: Michael Russnow: Do We Really Need Those Intrusive Network Logos on our Screens: Do They Really Help That Much? - Media on The Huffington Post.

adfreak - Bad Taxi Experience

There was actually a strike by some cab drivers last week over this system and here's a good, first-hand review from Adfreak. Sure, it's only one cabbie saying he would never buy Panasonic again, but how many other people will be turned off by the advertising intrusion. Once again, it begs the question. If we keep talking about the consumer being in control, why did we insist on creating things like this that the consumer can't control?

Last night, I came in contact with Taxi TV for the first time, New York’s effort to “modernize” its taxicabs. By “modernize,” I mean allow use of credit cards in cabs by bombarding riders with repetitive commercials to pay for the upgrade. Man, it sucks out loud. During a 15-minute trip, I saw one commercial for a Panasonic laptop a half dozen times and another for some cut-rate brokerage called Zecco.com several more. The menu has “channels” that don’t actually work: Switching from NBC news highlights to “sports” yields yet another Panasonic ad, followed by more of the same news clips. Ads can’t be muted. After my experience, I think I’ll go back to looking out the window. Drivers hate the system because of the GPS tracking, but they also have to put up with the nonstop racket. My driver told me he despises Panasonic after being subjected to the ads hundreds of times a day. He predicts “only tourists” will use Taxi TV after regular riders try it once. “It’s a scam,” he said. “The ad companies and the city are the only ones getting the cheese.”

Link: adfreak.

Advertising Age - Caught in the Clutter Crossfire: Your Brand

I've been traveling this week, so I'm behind in my writing. This was in Ad Age this week and speaks to the clutter problem from both the advertising and consumer POV. In fact, we've added an introduction to our presentations where as I begin the presentation, the a/v team will start to crank up a veritable cacophony of noise, getting louder & louder until it's impossible to hear anything at all. Then we stop it and bring up a slide with:

The incredible noise you just heard

A future of engaging the audience

The final paragraph:

"Anytime there's a new destination for people, like YouTube or mobile phones, the assumption is we've got to find a way to put some ads there," Mr. Barocci said. "That's just going to make things worse because there's no social contract. If mobile-phone companies say, 'We'll reduce your bill if you accept ads,' then that's a contract and that's smart."

We talk about this all the time and see it as a major issue. We wrote about it in Prediction 4: The Advertising Backlash Grows. We talk to people in the industry who are exploring emerging technologies for advertising and most of them are really just looking at how they can throw spots onto whatever they're looking at. Rarely, do we see people truly looking at ways to engage their audience, mostly it's about interrupting or yelling at them.

So take a look at the whole article and let’s see if we can make some changes for the better!

Somewhere between 254 and 5,000 is a number that represents just how many commercial messages an average consumer gets each day. There's no consensus on it, but just about everyone agrees on two things: It's way too high, and the industry's not doing anything to reduce its own overproduction.

That's our clutter problem -- and yours.

Shotgun blasts
Like a fly repeatedly bouncing off a closed window, the ad industry is trying to fix the problem by doing more of the same. That is, by creating more ads. What that absurdly cliched mission statement of "cutting through the clutter" has really yielded is an industry that shotgun blasts commercial messages into sexy new places as quick as it can identify them, whether it's emerging digital platforms or nooks and crannies in an increasingly buyable physical world -- dry-cleaning bags, coffee cups, door hangers and even houses. Yes, clutter is leading to more clutter.

Link: Advertising Age - Caught in the Clutter Crossfire: Your Brand.

Are Marketers Dying on Second Life?

More stats backing up the fact that if you're a) just using new technologies as a tactic instead of making it part of your strategy and b) using new technologies in the same way you've used all of the old tools, then you're not going to do well with them. If you're going to hop into Second Life, you need to so something that enhances their experience, not just delivers your message.

Thanks in large part to media hype, marketers continue to rush to the virtual world of Second Life despite increasing evidence they don’t really know what to do when they get there. Last week Coldwell Banker hung out a shingle on the site as “the first national real estate company to sell homes within the community.” The real estate firm is in good company. H&R Block, adidas, IBM, Reebok, American Apparel, Toyota, Leo Burnett and Bartle Bogle Hegarty are among the dozens of firms already there.

So far all this collective marketing savvy hasn’t much impressed the actual Second Lifers. More than 70% of the site’s users say they are disappointed with the marketing that goes on in SL, according to a new survey by Komjuniti, a Hamburg, Germany, research firm. This could be because companies are approaching the site like a traditional marketing channel.

Link: Are Marketers Dying on Second Life?.

Fake bloggers soon to be "named and shamed" - News-Politics-TimesOnline

I came across this story on a couple of blogs tonight and it speaks to two of our predictions for '07, authenticity and the advertising backlash. I personally think its cool for companies to have fake blogs, but they have to be really fake. Like, if I were reading a blog by Snidely Whiplash about his plans for the lovely Nell, I'd be cool with it.

But, I think that there's a real, fine line between creating character or brand blog and creating a flog. Intent is one of the factors that makes it a line crossed. Is it your intent to deceive people? If so, then you’ve crossed the line. But if it weren’t for the fact that so many companies are ready to deceive their customers, then laws like this would not be necessary.

Hotels, restaurants and online shops that post glowing reviews about themselves under false identities could face criminal prosecution under new rules that come into force next year.

Businesses which write fake blog entries or create whole wesbites purporting to be from customers will fall foul of a European directive banning them from “falsely representing oneself as a consumer”.

From December 31, when the change becomes law in the UK, they can be named and shamed by trading standards or taken to court. The Times has learnt that the new regulations also will apply to authors who praise their own books under a fake identity on websites such as Amazon.

Online consumer reviews are playing an ever greater role in shaping shopping habits, with websites such as TripAdvisor for the travel industry being seen as increasingly influential.

However, a string of businessman in the UK and the US have been caught posing as supposedly independent customers in an attempt to boost sales.

Link: Fake bloggers soon to be "named and shamed" -News-Politics-TimesOnline.

Link: Kinetic Ideas: Marketing Blog -- EU Makes Sock-Puppet Blogs Illegal Small Business Marketing Ideas, Marketing Tips.

CMPAA | Stop Pre-Movie Commercials! - Theater ads.

Wow. Now this is taking a stand. You can actually print a sign for your seat that says:

"This patron is avoiding cinema advertising and will return when the feature begins."

This is a great example of the advertising backlash and how the consumer will continue to react to all of the advertising interruptions in their world. Of course, this may have happened on a small, regional basis in the past, the internet allows this to become a global movement. And, as we've seen just recently with the number of ads pulled after the Super Bowl, the people can be heard today!

Given the financial impact that pre-movie ad sales is having on the theatre business, I'm not sure where this will end up, but at least people will be able to express their annoyance at the continue assault of advertising.

An Open Letter to Regal Cinemas and other theater owners:

This is the last straw. You've done a great job conditioning the movie-going public to accept pre-movie billboard ads, your commercial theater radio networks, and nearly every other form of commercialism under the sun. Now, after the lights go down and we're entrenched in our seats, you've decided to expand into pushing TV commercials. It now seems the only difference between a movie screen and a TV screen is size.

We, the captive audience, have had enough.
TV commercials belong on television, not before movies that we pay for.

Movies have traditionally served as an escape from the real world. The movie theater was a portal into different perspectives on the world around us, and sometimes into worlds completely different than our own, be they past, present or future. The motion picture projector no longer serves to promote the business of escapism (as is the case with theatrical trailers), but now is seen as the last resort for advertisers to truly force feed the public video games and SUVs.

CaptiveAudience.org has one primary goal: to urge theater owners to discontinue showing invasive, TV-like commercials before the beginnings of movies. Because many theater chains have a practical monopoly on first-run movies in many areas of the country, we consider these practices to be unfair and intolerable.

CaptiveAudience.org will endeavor to serve as an information center and voice for movie-goers, focused on conveying the clear dissatisfaction audiences have with the movie viewing experience directly to the heads of Regal Entertainment Group and other theater owners engaged in these practices. We hope to show TV-like advertising before movies is well past the line of 'ad-creep', is unprofitable, and will lead to a consumer backlash.

Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

Link: CMPAA | Stop Pre-Movie Commercials! - Theater ads..