Integrating TV Advertising With Online Marketing

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Jul 10

Integrating TV advertising with online marketing

Online Marketing, Advertising Add comments

I was talking today about the Whittakers comparative ad against Cadburys with an associate of mine, Murray Jeffrey (aka Mr Wolfe), a prominent TV commercial producer.

We were talking about how traditional media advertising (TV in this case) with it's the diminishing efficacy and relevance could be integrated into the new online marketing model. The interesting observation about the Whittakers Cadbury campaign is that I only viewed it once on TV, but that was enough to prompt me to write a blog post and to visit a number of online networking sites, Twitter and YouTube to see what others were saying about it.

Once online I was absorbed into a plethora of comments, views and posts regarding this controversial TV campaign. This is where the debate is raging, including defensive Twitter comments from Cadbury marketing reps in Australia.

Perhaps one of the ways that traditional media advertising can integrate itself effectively into the online marketing model is to forget the 'reach and frequency' model in lieu of using the medium to introduce consumers to the online information pathway. I don’t know about you, but I seldom ever view the same TV ad more than twice, maybe three times if it’s really cool (Griffin’s Mellowpuffs kids ad). So why would you want to flight the same ad over and over when most targeted consumers will have seen it in the first few days of flighting i.e. the most effective exposure opportunity.

Cut the media budget, run the ad just often enough for your core market to see it a couple of times and use the balance of the media budget to create an online brand building presence. If your product is really that good, the online community will endorse it and “word of mouse” will generate far better results than any traditional media placement. If it’s bad then you will die by the failings of your brand/product promise.

That’s the beauty of online network marketing for new age marketers – it’s measurable, has clarity and it’s immediate.

Tags: cadbury, comparative advertising, twitter, whittakers, word of mouse

6 comments

§ ellen hoenig said on : 07/11/09 @ 00:45

I so agree that more companies and brands should consider how to better integrate traditional off line media with online web and social platforms to max results. I think this is probably also why there has been so much growth in direct response tv and the like. But I like your suggestion to take it a step further and stop the R X F model and go for a few powerful hits on broad based TV with the sole purpose of driving the ensuing conversation and learning off line and via social platforms. This is a change in strategy that will require brands and their agencies to plan for this upfront!
§ Murray Jeffrey - Mr Wolfe said on : 07/11/09 @ 16:53

Oh don’t we just love the underdog! Especially where they are the small local “good guys”, butting heads against a well-resourced multinational incumbent who have managed to disenfranchised their target market. I’m not thinking just chocolate here but energy, telecoms, petrol companies etc. There are loads of examples.

It’s hard to deny traditional media has lost its stranglehold, but Whittaker’s reminds us it can and still does have a valuable part to play in a campaign, especially one that is skilfully designed and planned, and produced cost-effectively.

In Whittaker’s case, prime time TV was ideal to kick things off. This was no fluke, of course. The campaign was crafted by a highly experienced creative team - very wise heads - who I expect had little doubt of the likely return from this comparative piece. Time will tell if they were as well planned as they ought to be, in an overall strategic sense. One way or another, I won’t be surprised if Andrew and Brian Whittaker’s sales head in a northerly direction quick smart.

Perhaps the answer is finding that fine blend of quality ingredients, sourced from the right suppliers, expertly combined with just the right amount of care and energy to produce the perfect result – a smooth chocolaty integrated media campaign. Whip off the attention-grabbing TV ad wrapper to uncover the full deep richness of the online world beneath, with its blogs, tweets, books and tubes delivering that deliciously satisfying flavour.
§ MoonWink said on : 07/13/09 @ 23:43
Hey, do REAL marketing folk actually attach any bottom-line credence to the witless jabberings of the brainwashed hordes who have been gulled into believing that the internet gives them a voice?
§ Paul Foley said on : 07/15/09 @ 15:36

Another example of this, as done by a client of mine, was the Ford Fiesta campaign. Where local music celebs were interviewed in the new Fiesta and people were directed to the Bebo site for more information and a chance to win the car. I know this mix of online/traditional campaign generated a fair bit of online buzz for them.
§ SEO Company said on : 08/27/09 @ 10:33

Great post
§ Wayne Attwell® said on : 08/27/09 @ 11:20
Interestingly, I've had this conversation with several supposedly 'enlightened' marketing clients, and there is still a perception that it 'either or'.

If you don't believe that integrated campaigns are the way of the future then you probably don't have one (as a business that is).