When Advertising and Entertainment Collide:
Advertainment

Response Marketing

Published in The New Haven Register, January 28, 2007 - Circulation 90,000

Advertainment

We are in an age of “advertainment.” This is a world where the lines between advertising and entertainment are so blurred that it has become increasingly more difficult for consumers to distinguish what is paid advertising and what is purely entertainment. It is no surprise that this is the case these days, as consumers are much more media-savvy and aware of when they are being advertised to via traditional mediums such as television, magazines, newspapers and radio—consequently, the traditional methods of advertising are less effective than they used to be. Couple that with the rise of TiVo, digital cable, satellite television, television streaming to your computer, SlingBox and the like, which give consumers the control to skip the traditional televisions spots completely, and advertisers need to become entertainment content just to be able to market themselves. Some advertisers are conglomerates who own numerous businesses in a multitude of industries (e.g. GE not only markets financial products, appliances, healthcare products, etc, but also owns NBC and Universal). Companies like these are wisely finding ways for those separate entities to supplement each other, creating synergies throughout their web of companies. Often, this leads to seeing a marketing message at several different touch points where their appearance may seem unrelated at first glance.

In the marketing community, we are constantly looking for ways to successfully deliver our message in unique ways that engage consumers and make them WANT to interact with a brand on a consistent basis. Traditional advertising and marketing practices are becoming increasingly less effective when delivered in a traditional format and not utilized as part of an overall strategic effort that includes components designed to provoke interaction with a brand. A very effective method in capturing the interest of the target audience is delivering the communication as a form of entertainment.

Advertising Embedded in Video Games

As each outlet to reach the end user becomes more specialized, the approach to marketing shifts, depending on the audience. One of the fastest growing segments in the advertising industry is the placement of advertising within video games. Using this strategy, marketers know that their message is being delivered to a relevant audience that not only will see their message but will do so for several hours a day, every day of the week while they playing the game. The advertising within the game gives instant credibility to that brand because of the association of what their audience has already deemed “cool.” Marketers are also aware that this group of “gamers” is often extremely knowledgeable about the latest trends in electronics, entertainment and technology and often want to be the first to have the latest product releases before anyone else.

Some marketers are taking this even one step further and creating their own games. One recent example is what Burger King has done as part of their “The King” campaign. After building a great deal of equity in their mascot through innovative and entertaining commercials, they were able to expand his reach to an avenue where they aren’t delivering the message at a fixed time but rather in a manner where the consumer is choosing to interact with “The King.” They’ve created three different video games all with “The King” as the central character. The games are very inexpensive when purchased with one of the value meals making it easy for parents to purchase the game for their kids, especially considering that other games video game consoles are fairly expensive.

The next phase of video game and movie “advertianment” is directly linked to sales of the featured products. There is a company called VideoClix that is launching a new piece of software that makes it possible for consumers to click on the items they see in a game or movie and purchase them on the spot. It is a very non-intrusive way to sell products, as the user has the choice to click or not click on any given item. For advertisers this is a fully measurable marketing and sales vehicle from which a return on investment can be easily calculated.

Viral Marketing

YouTube and other similar sites are the other major avenues that are being utilized, some would say abused, by marketers. Marketers flood these networks with content in hopes that one of their pieces catches on and becomes “viral.” Viral marketing is one of the many tactics that marketers utilize, but the success of a viral marketing campaign is determined by the audience. If the campaign doesn’t catch on because of a lack of creativity, humor, entertainment value or other element that resonates with the audience then it won’t become truly viral. Even if a viral marketing campaign is clearly a marketing message, if it has an element that connects with the audience and touches some sort of emotion, then they often willingly pass that marketing message along to their social network.

Advertisers have seen the success of viral videos and how they have helped propel a brand or product into the national and international limelight. Advertisers have even utilized a reverse technique where their mainstream commercials look like one of these viral videos. The social networking sites and user generated content have gained such momentum in the marketing world that we are about to see user generated commercials premiering in the time slot before this year’s Super Bowl.

Direct Digital Marketing

If your goal is to establish a direct relationship with consumers and have them voluntarily interact with your brand then the consumer must also be getting something out of the relationship. A great way to engage customers and create an entertainment experience that also delivers a marketing message is the development of a challenge to the consumers. This can be done in many ways, but one example of one of the easiest to execute and most effective is through a website or the development of a microsite, an off-shoot of the parent website. The benefits of this type of initiative are numerous, but one of the most valuable is the ability to capture the profiles of the consumers. This allows for the ability to deliver a relevant and targeted message to a consumer who has willingly entered that relationship with the brand. The consumer is already engaged in the brand and ideally will have a positive, fun interaction with the brand.

...consumers have gone out of their way to let us know how much they enjoy playing and also how much they love our clients' products.

For example, at Response, one of the marketing programs that we have executed for our client is an online football picks challenge. Every week throughout the pro football season, the players of the game are challenged to pick each game with prizes going to the people with the highest scores and people who have successfully completed other accomplishments within the game. As the season progresses, we see the game grow and more people playing who have heard about it through a friend or other advertising. When people register for the game they also have the option to “opt-in” to receive special offers and other communication from the game’s sponsor. A mutually beneficial relationship is now established between the brand and consumer. The brand can now understand more about their target audience and when, how and where they want to receive messages. The consumer has the chance to win some cool prizes all while participating in an entertaining and fun experience. Of course the consumer can “opt-out” of the relationship at any time so it is up to the brand to make sure they don’t inundate their consumers with messages or with irrelevant information. In addition to providing entertainment for their consumers, it opens opportunities to educate them about new products or drive people to the parent website.

This program has been very successful for us and our client because they viewed the relationship with their consumers as not just a marketing vehicle but as a forum to receive feedback. The program has been improved each year because consumers’ input on the game has been taken into consideration as the game for the next year is developed. In addition to consumer feedback about potential improvements, consumers have gone out of their way to let us know how much they enjoy playing and also how much they love our clients’ products.

Remember The Objective

When attempting to create an entertaining marketing message, what should not be overlooked is the brand’s objective or what is trying to be achieved. If the goal is to simply further the brand and expand the reach of its identity then there is much more leeway in the initiatives that will be effective. As the goals change, the marketing or advertising effort must adapt to achieve those objectives. What works to establish brand recognition may not work to increase sales of products or to establish a relationship with customers or vice versa. The approach to the overall marketing effort should work with each individual element and carry a consistent message throughout each effort. It can almost be compared to the culinary arts where the main component of the dish as the overall marketing message and each ingredient working together to complement one another and bring out the flavors that result in the final creation. There are going to be certain ingredients whose flavors don’t mesh well and detract from the main component. A major misstep that brands often take is to create conflicting, inconsistent messages and bombarding the consumer with a multitude of disjointed and, consequently, ineffective messages. That is similar to covering up an inferior cut of meat with a whole lot of sauce to mask the sub-par taste.

The Future

As our lives continue to become more integrated, as media vehicles continue to become more prolific, and as technology continues to develop at lightening speed, we’ll continue to see new areas where advertising and marketing messages are delivered to us--- and, we predict that it will be delivered in formats that are stealthier than what we are already experiencing today. Whatever else emerges in the near future that will inevitably become part of our lifestyles will open up whole new set of challenges and creative solutions for marketers to reach consumers. Innovation in one industry generates innovation in other industries as businesses adapt to meet new or evolving consumer needs. It is our challenge as marketers to be quick to identify those needs, marry them to the appropriate demographics and psychographics and media and entertainment habits in order to develop unique innovative ways to communicate to consumers. If successful at “advertainment,” a brand can advance their marketing efforts to captivate their audience where, when and how they prefer to be communicated with to create a powerful delivery method that results in an engagement with the brand and ultimately sales of the product.