We’ve stood behind our promise to deliver high quality inventory, service and solutions since launching the industry’s first, and still unmatched, Quality Guarantee in November 2008. And this week, we’re proving our commitment to making the Web a better place for brands with the introduction of the Standout Brand Guarantee™, our latest guarantee that promises that when your objective is brand lift, we deliver.
Want to hear more? Listen to our VP of Product Marketing, Jared Skolnick, as he describes the Standout Brand Guarantee, how it works and why it’s important…
Jared Skolnick, VP Product Marketing, discusses the Standout Brand Guarantee:
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Internet Killed the Super Bowl Star
Leading up to the Super Bowl, I thought a lot about the high price of its television (TV) spots. Sure, it’s the largest TV event of the year and the one time viewers admit to watching commercials. But, is it really worth the price tag? At $3.5M for 30-seconds this year, plus the cost of production, I imagine it’s a tough sell to CMO’s and CFO’s everywhere.
This year, we saw a fundamental change occur. Every year there’s talk of who will run the funniest, best or most ridiculous ad but this was the first time we saw calculated leaks and polished teaser ads – ads about ads!
Advertisers, like Volkswagen (VW), ran a professionally produced pre-commercial on YouTube to excite viewers about its Super Bowl ad. The teaser was viewed nearly 50% more than the actual commercial (as of today’s stats). Outside of production cost, VW paid $0 to run its teaser. Yes, its pre-ad outperformed its $7M, 60-second Super Bowl spot.
Ok… so I’m not counting the actual views of the commercial during the game but is that when people really watch the commercials? I watched the game with dozens of my Undertone colleagues at an event in Miami. And while we’re all in the ad industry, the Giants, the drinks and the great company overshadowed the commercials. My point: even a group that wants to watch the commercials didn’t. Instead, we shared links on Monday and watched them on YouTube.
After the game Jeff Bercovici wrote about, “How the Internet Ruined This Year's Super Bowl Commercials" on Forbes. I couldn’t agree more and here’s my million dollar bet: In the next five years the value of a Super Bowl TV commercial will decline.
Why? It’s simple: there’s more value on the Internet than TV, especially if advertisers create an engaging experience with the potential to go viral leading up to the game. And better still? Experiences can be created during the game without a TV commercial. Coca-Cola ran TV spots but they also ran the “Polar Bowl” online during the game and it completely outpaced expectations.
In a world of second (and even third) screens that are ‘always on,’ TV commercials are slowly becoming an anachronism. No, they aren’t dead or even dying…Yet. But as advertisers increasingly leverage digital opportunities, the Super Bowl could be the benchmark for the medium.
I bet $3.5M that 2012 marked the tipping point for Super Bowl ads and that the rise in cost will slow, eventually declining within five years. But before you take my bet, let me check with my CFO if I can get the money from petty cash…
This year, we saw a fundamental change occur. Every year there’s talk of who will run the funniest, best or most ridiculous ad but this was the first time we saw calculated leaks and polished teaser ads – ads about ads!
Advertisers, like Volkswagen (VW), ran a professionally produced pre-commercial on YouTube to excite viewers about its Super Bowl ad. The teaser was viewed nearly 50% more than the actual commercial (as of today’s stats). Outside of production cost, VW paid $0 to run its teaser. Yes, its pre-ad outperformed its $7M, 60-second Super Bowl spot.
Ok… so I’m not counting the actual views of the commercial during the game but is that when people really watch the commercials? I watched the game with dozens of my Undertone colleagues at an event in Miami. And while we’re all in the ad industry, the Giants, the drinks and the great company overshadowed the commercials. My point: even a group that wants to watch the commercials didn’t. Instead, we shared links on Monday and watched them on YouTube.
After the game Jeff Bercovici wrote about, “How the Internet Ruined This Year's Super Bowl Commercials" on Forbes. I couldn’t agree more and here’s my million dollar bet: In the next five years the value of a Super Bowl TV commercial will decline.
Why? It’s simple: there’s more value on the Internet than TV, especially if advertisers create an engaging experience with the potential to go viral leading up to the game. And better still? Experiences can be created during the game without a TV commercial. Coca-Cola ran TV spots but they also ran the “Polar Bowl” online during the game and it completely outpaced expectations.
In a world of second (and even third) screens that are ‘always on,’ TV commercials are slowly becoming an anachronism. No, they aren’t dead or even dying…Yet. But as advertisers increasingly leverage digital opportunities, the Super Bowl could be the benchmark for the medium.
I bet $3.5M that 2012 marked the tipping point for Super Bowl ads and that the rise in cost will slow, eventually declining within five years. But before you take my bet, let me check with my CFO if I can get the money from petty cash…
Monday, February 13, 2012
IAB Rising Stars across Guaranteed Brand-Safe Sites? Done.
Bigger and better – it’s an underlying theme that is driving the development of our latest advertising solutions. As our Co-Founder Eric Franchi has referenced in countless industry presentations, bylines, and panel appearances – banner blindness is a real industry challenge. That’s what makes emerging formats like the IAB’s Rising Stars command attention and garner significantly higher levels of engagement including the following (according to the IAB’s October release on initial findings):
1. Consumers exposed to a Billboard ad were 4X more likely to watch videos, search for the brand, or visit the advertiser's site than those who were not
2. Flimstrip increased both exposure time and interaction rates by over 90 percent compared to other rich media ad
3. Sidekick engagement time reached 7X the industry average
4. Pushdown garnered ad engagement more than 3X the norm
5. Portrait engagement rates average 7 percent and frequently reach double digits
Pretty exciting initial findings, don’t you think?
We thought so which is why we moved quick to offer the full suite of Rising Stars as part of our high impact product suite. Large, interactive brand canvases like these are the future of digital advertising and we’re out to prove it. Reach out to learn more.
1. Consumers exposed to a Billboard ad were 4X more likely to watch videos, search for the brand, or visit the advertiser's site than those who were not
2. Flimstrip increased both exposure time and interaction rates by over 90 percent compared to other rich media ad
3. Sidekick engagement time reached 7X the industry average
4. Pushdown garnered ad engagement more than 3X the norm
5. Portrait engagement rates average 7 percent and frequently reach double digits
Pretty exciting initial findings, don’t you think?
We thought so which is why we moved quick to offer the full suite of Rising Stars as part of our high impact product suite. Large, interactive brand canvases like these are the future of digital advertising and we’re out to prove it. Reach out to learn more.
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