November 19, 2005
do the math…
Remember the wee blog campaign I worked on for Budget Rent-A-Car a few weeks ago?
From Mediapost:
Scott Deaver, Budget’s chief marketing officer, said the entire contest and promotion – including the $160,000 in prize money–cost less than a single 30-second spot on a highly rated TV show.
Do the math.
[Henry Copeland has some click-through metrics here.]
Further testimony to the fact that I will be sitting at my keyboard working endlessly for almost nothing while the dark powers that be effortlessly amass more and more and more.
Hugh, you’ve got to give us more beef on this.
Reach, ROI, results?
Of course a blog campaign is cheaper than a TV commercial, especially if and when you’re buying prime time. But is it more effective, that’s the real question.
We just recommended and executed TV to an event client of ours, with incredibly positive results. The entire budget was about $60.000, including media. I can’t give you the exact numbers in this forum, but our client is very pleased with the results. Attendance numbers are up, after several years of decline, recall has dramatically improved. Most of all, credibility is up. People are taking the event serious again. Why? Because TV, in the eyes of the consumer, still has cache.
TV viewing figures are on the up again, after several years of decline. Several daily papers in Canada have increased their circulation in the last year, again after years of decline.
Most importantly, recent research indicates that web usage is levelling off and has stopped eating into time spent with other media. This means that while people are still spending time online they balance that time with time spent reading papers, listening to the radio and watching TV. Satellite radio is proving to be extremely popular in the US, and now Canada, and is already pulling listeners away from podcasts and streaming online content. Why? Because it’s a hell of a lot more convenient.
Where the net, and specifically blogs, come into their own is for fact checking. Want to buy a printer or a camera? Check other’s experiences online. Want to check the latest on Sony’s malware CDs? Online will have the honest answer.
But the vast majority of people still relax in front of the TV in the evening, not the PC. And that means that traditional media is not only not dead, it’s rebounding.
This doesn’t mean that online will be losing influence, far from it. But the balance is still in the making.
Just wanted to add: Panasonic is also on the wagon it seems: http://toshpit.blogs.com/ — as it says:
“Tosh Bilowski is a fictional character used to deliver real information from multiple sources at Panasonic in an entertaining way. We hope you find the information helpful and we look forward to hearing from you.”
Hmmm. A fictional character… We’re into the Ad-Log, or ‘Dlog’ era now? Perhaps you could even call it Clog (Commercial (b)Log)… E]
Just saw this on http://www.overheardinnewyork.com
Another Brilliant Brian Kinney Campaign
Ad guy #1: “Up Your Budget”? I don’t get it.
Ad guy #2: It’s for the rental car company.
Ad guy #1: But it makes you think of Up Your Butt. Is that the point? Budget wants people to think about stuffing things in their ass?
Ad guy #2: I don’t know.
Ad guy #1: “Look at me, I’m stuffing things in my ass!” “We try harder, we’re number two. We’re stuffing things in our ass!”…Hertz!
–Madison & 50th
Overheard by: Kevin