BROADBAND PROMOTIONS ....back in 2001???? Yes, it's true Joyce Schwarz, emerging entertainment analyst and author of several books on new media was actually moderating a panel five years on just that subject at CES....it's always good to look back to see where we are today, before we look forward (so this is the first in a continuing series of articles that suddenly popped up online from the past courtesy of www.zoominfo.com.
BROADBAND PROMOTIONS -- Trends Joyce Schwarz and her panel talked about more than 5 years ago at CES (Consumer Electronics Show).
This article was originally published on a trade publication that went out of business called digitrends -- the site does not exist. Luckily, I've kept caches of the articles but since they're not in HTML -- it's great to have online links to them too now. Thanks to Zoominfo.com.
Promotions Panel at CES Reveals Trends
by Joyce A. Schwarz
Contributing Writer
(posted 01/12/2001)
As we head toward SuperBowl Sunday, the word “promotion” takes on a new meaning this year. Last year if you were a dot-com who had bucks, you threw caution to the wind and blew a bundle on a flashy, funky spot on the bowl broadcast.
3 out of 10 dot-coms will not survive the next three months.
This year, we’re faced with news that three out of 10 dot-coms will not survive the next three months. And 80 percent of the people that you get to your Web site will NEVER return again.
So what’s a promoter to do? Maybe listen to the experts this time?
A panel of top promo/marketing gurus gathered at CES on Monday to show audiences how to bridge the gap and delve into the world of “Broadband Promotions: building traffic and brand” online and off.
Links, banners, affiliates, direct response, bulletin boards, chat and more..
A recent survey by SmartAge Corp. showed that the top promotions for 2001 will fall into these categories: 28 percent links, 29 percent banners, 25 percent affiliate networks, 23 percent direct mail, 19 percent bulletin boards, 11 percent community chat and 8 percent interstitials.
BEYOND THE BANNER: THE DANCING BABY
But the panelists at this show were obviously plunging well beyond the banner. The panelists were hot about the use of word of mouth and the power of PR to enhance promotions and digitally enhanced “word of mouse”. A couple of panelists pointed to online promos such as 'the dancing baby" as examples of online referral power.
It’s said that word of mouth is 67 times as effective as advertising and my guess is that you can extrapolate that figure out maybe a thousand times or maybe even a million times with the right promotion in which you’re reaching the key decision makers and consumers who want to be entertained. Val Landi, CEO Redband Broadcasting, Redband.com, is challenging the silence in the online market space with a new audio vignette network and audio newsletters and unique programming like programming for the Forbes.com Web site Of course good, old-fashioned celebrity promotion is still alive and well as Landi’s firm entices users to his “Music Backstage” programming with a ‘win Charlie Watson’s drumsticks’ contest. Landi seeks out promotions that are unique to the content and preserve the integrity, lifestyle and intellectual interest of the shows in ingenious and intelligent ways. Of the people, by the people... Of the people, by the people has always been a popular promotional tact and Justine Lassoff, VP Marketing, First Look.com attracted lots of audience reaction with a fun video showing a winning “fan’s beer belly dance” to promote an Electronic Arts game. Lassoff underscored the importance of setting goals for promotions, integrating the marketing of the promos and evaluating the stats that evolve from the programs. Mark Smelzer, VP Entertainment, L90 showed how his firm is moving beyond just ad serving into promotions that track and measure response. He previewed L90’s microsite for UPN’s new “Gary & Mike Show” launching Fridays at 8 pm and described it as somewhere between a Web site and a banner. The one-month promotion for the new ‘claymation’ TV show features a win-a-trip-to-Vegas contest promoted by flash intro, HTML e-mail and links to the UPN site along with links to the Gary and Mike site. The user gets to spin a totally off-the-wall slot machine featuring the character’s claymation heads of Gary and Mike instead of cherries and coins!
CROSSING OVER INTO POPULAR CULTURE
The hit of the panel was none other than “Mr. Moviefone” or rather one of his key promotional gurus, Alex Weil, founder and president Charlex, Inc.
Weil showed how “Moviefone” and Moviefone.com have crossed over into our popular culture and been included in segments on “Seinfeld” and “The Simpsons.” Charlex did the redesign on the Moviefone Web site and is taking design to a new level where function becomes form by integrating many of the advertising elements including some of the popular ad phrases into editorial format.
TRENDS -- ENHANCED TV TIE-INS
Trends I noted as panel moderator include: enhanced TV tie-ins with Web/phone and offline elements, instant messaging/chat content promos, virtual characters as “live” promo spokespersons, broadband radio that finally makes sites talk and the emerging of mobile promotions that even include bar codes with video programming on devices.
In fact, it may be the devices themselves that drive the promotional innovation such as the Movie Wallet that allows you to download a movie from a kiosk and plug it into your nearest monitor or Windows CE device.
After all, we have to get ready to cash into that $3.5 billion in broadband access revenues projected for 2003 when if you know the name of the movie you’d like to see, you’ll truly be able to click here and play it NOW.
First posted on digitrends trade journal back in 2001....reprinted here as a professional courtesy via new link from zoominfo.com.
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