A piece in the CSMonitor talks about ”desperation marketing” arising from the decline in effectiveness for traditional ads:
In a recent episode of CBS’s “CSI: New York,” a cellphone rings with the song “Talk” by Coldplay, which the characters discuss. At the next commercial break, the audience is invited to download the ringtone for $2.49. Over on NBC’s “Las Vegas,” sports fans en route to the Winter Olympics join the story line. The episode, which aired just prior to the Turin Games, then follows the group to Italy.
In the MonitorWelcome to life after the 30-second TV spot. These examples are a tiny glimpse of what one media pundit calls “desperation marketing” - advertisers going beyond simple product placement to capture the hearts and wallets of increasingly ad-wary consumers who are spending more time online and on cellphones and less watching TV.
Unfortunately the piece ends up rambling about the usual suspects: cellphones and video games for younger audiences who demand “interactivity.” There is one interesting note however:
Dollars spent on TV advertising have been declining since 2004, when revenue hit $9 billion. “We’ve witnessed the peaking of TV,” says Mr. Jaffe. “We’re incrementally dissipating that spending on TV as the number of viable alternatives and substitutions continue to proliferate.”
Welcome friends, to the death-of-TV. Long live TV.
