Revision3 Advertiser Integration - Part 2 of 2

Wait! Check out part 1 of this 2-part blog post here.

Consider This…

What if match.com sponsored an episode of The Tyra Banks show and all of Tyra’s viewers were single and lonely? And what if Tyra was also single and lonely, used match.com herself, and highly recommended it? And what if Tyra's viewers could instantly browse to match.com from their television? And finally, what if Warner Bros. could measure the viewers who subsequently did go to match.com?

Well, that would be a solid marriage of advertiser, programming, product and viewer.

And that's the unique position Revision3 (an Internet television network) is in, albeit with different sponsors, more targeted programming and a homogenous population of hosts and viewers. For a quick glance at what Revision3 is all about, check out their website or their Wikipedia entry. Their marketing partnerships are called "advertiser integrations"

I'm really impressed; as both a fan of their programs and as a marketing professional.

This is part 2 of 2 about Revision3’s advertiser integration strategy, and how it results in an enhanced brand experience for viewers, with very few “wasted eyeballs” for their marketing partners.

In my previous post, I discussed how television advertising has adapted and improved over the years in response to changing demands and markets. Brand experience placement, and other intersections of advertising in entertainment, actually adds value to the programming and for the viewer. Internet television can take brand experience further.

Internet Television Shortens the Transaction Waiting Period

Television and video is connected to the Web now. Whereas most traditional television ad messages are meant to be recalled at the time and place of transaction, brands that advertise on hulu.com, abc.com and others have an advantage – consumers can connect instantly. There is no wait time. They can interact with the brand right now, within the browser, and the programming itself can underscore the brand message.

Unlike the network sites and hulu.com, Revision3 Internet television is an actual TV network for the Web, with a highly targeted viewer base, broadcast-quality shows and original content. But, we all know that without a profitable advertising model, the fun won't last long. And Revision3's advertiser integrations are the perfect solution.

The Connection between Programming, Hosts and Advertiser

The video below illustrates exactly how well the advertising is integrated into the content, and it hopefully shows how well the show knows its audience. This Revision3 show is called Scam School and is about playing tricks on people to win a drink, or win a couple bucks from somebody at the bar. They created a fun trick called domain smacking, which is when you buy a funny domain and redirect it to another site in order to get some laughs. Watch how seamlessly the host of the show pitches the sponsors' messages. The domain smacking segment starts at 5:57 and is strategically sponsored by Go Daddy, a company that sells cheap domains and offers redirecting for free!



This other Scam School show is sponsored by Neflix...telling us to rent Matchstick Men, which is a movie that is about a con man, much like the host of Scam School, and somebody that the viewers probably want to be like. It’s genius! It starts at 6:07

Revision3 Advertiser Integration - Part 1 of 2

UPDATE: Read part 2 of 2 here.

In this two-part post on advertiser integration as a solution to enhance brand experience without wasting eyeballs, I will discuss what advertiser integration is and then how Revision3 gets it brilliantly right.

Background of Television Advertising

It's been a long road. We've gone from advertising being generally accepted as part of programming to advertising being annoying and then to advertising adding value to programming.

While my parents watched variety and game shows in their day, the producers would pause programming to remind us who made the show possible. Usually, one of the female assistants would hold up a product, like a brand of coffee or laundry detergent, to the camera while an announcer delivers an advertising message.

Truman's wife did something like this in the movie The Truman Show. Also in that era, The Flintstones would cut to a spot for Winston cigarettes, with Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone delivering the ad.

These are examples of including a commercial message within programming, instead of during a break.

When commercial breaks were introduced, advertisers chose programs they figured their target market would tune into. And it works for mass advertising, but there is a lot of "wasted eyeballs," for lack of a better term. So, the need for more targeted media planning arose...just in time for the rise of cable and targeted programming. Beer and power tool ads would run on channels with male-oriented programming, and so on.

Then, as a result of DVRs, advertisers thought of new ways to incorporate commercial messages into programming to avoid wasted eyeballs. The upside was the discovery of more effective ways to connect a brand message with its intended audience. There are a lot of great solutions born from the modern intersection of advertising and entertainment. For example:

• Product placement
• Sponsorship
• Branded entertainment
• Celebrity endorsements
• Viral entertainment
• Content deals
• Consumer-generated media and user-generated content
  
• Etc.
  

I often think about which marketing strategies work and which are most entertaining when I see them in action:

• Joey on Friends drinking a Red Bull in order to stay up late enough to rehearse for an audition delivers the "Red Bull gives you wings" message in a creative way
  
• Mountain Dew sponsoring extreme sports events like the Dew Action Sports Tour
  
• Creating a web adventure like the producers of Lost did to garner loyalty among devoted fans

Advertisers have fewer wasted eyeballs and timely, informative and relevant messages. They are connecting consumers not just to a mass commercial message, but to a brand experience.

"Brand Experience Placement"

If I was a fan of The Tyra Banks Show, and I skipped all the commercials, Warner Bros. Entertainment would not value me highly, since the company wouldn't earn money by selling my eyeballs to their advertisers.

But let's say Tyra had an episode about Internet dating and the producers integrated an advertiser, like match.com into the show. Tyra mentioned success stories. The "guests" shared their experiences. And maybe they even had their "Chief Matchmaking Officer," or whatever, on the show.

Warner Bros.' advertisers are paying for the viewers and rating, so they're happy; Tyra's producers are happy; and if I'm part of the demographic that values seeing how match.com works, then I'm happy, too! It's the convergence of entertainment and marketing in an entertaining way. That's what I call "brand experience placement."

Advertiser Integration

How could the partnership between The Tyra Banks Show and match.com get any better?

• What if everyone who watched Tyra was single and lonely?
• What if Tyra was single and lonely, uses match.com herself, and highly recommends it?
• What if Tyra's viewers could instantly browse to match.com from their television?
• What if Warner Bros. could measure the viewers who subsequently went to match.com?

WELL, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

It would be a solid marriage of advertiser, programming, product and viewer. And that's the position Internet television network Revision3 is in...because they are uniquely positioned to make it happen.

Next in this two-part blog post I'll explain what Revision3 is, discuss how Revision3 uses Advertiser Integration and why I think it's such an effective tool to enhance brand experience.

UPDATE: Read part 2 of 2 here.