GE launches One Second Theater
In recent weeks the relationship between PVR / DVR users and advertising companies has been coming to light more and more often. Many companies are starting to raise a fuss and claim that PVRs / DVRs in general are hurting them. Some companies like to complain while others try to embrace the new technology.
Take for example a recent attempt by marketers at ABC. They started airing commercials with clues that tied into their hit TV show Lost in an effort to persuade those of us who use time shifting to watch their advertisements.
In a similar fashion GE has launched their ‘One Second Theater’ campaign. The plan behind this campaign is that during some of their ads there will be designated spots where users can pause the commercial to get a glimpse at some of the behind the scenes material. So rather than skipping over the commercial, GE is hoping that you will not only watch it, but pause it. Will this take off? It’s hard to say, but at least they are trying to embrace the technology.
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Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, Advertising, GE
[…] Personally I believe that advertisers will have to start following other’s leads and get creative with advertising. […]
[…] Some advertisers are also accepting the new PVR / DVR phenomenon as it grows. For example, Coke & Sprite have ‘DVR Ready’ commercials, KFC had a ‘TiVo Proof’ commercial which contained a special discount code and GE recently launched their ‘1 second theatre’. I personally applaud these companies for trying to innovate the industry instead of sitting back and complaining about change. […]
[…] Some advertisers (such as GE & Coke) have started to try and crack the market, and I applaud them for trying to break new ground. Broadcasting networks have started using product placements as a way to generate advertising revenue without having to risk people fast forwarding the show. Even that I can live with assuming that it doesn’t get in the way of the show. But still some corporations are complaining. So what’s the point of this rant? Well, Phil Swann was on Fox News recently and he brought up another possible strategy that would get users to hold off on the fast forward button. What’s this new revolutionary strategy? More live events. Plain and simple. Upon reading his blog post about it I thought that it was probably a great strategy. Suppose you could organize a large enough event that nobody would want to miss. Everyone would start watching it as soon as they could and if they start watching it on time, that means no time shifting, and no time shifting means no skipped commercials. Of course we’ll have to see if this takes off, but how many more options do these corporations need before they finally move forward and embrace the technology? […]
[…] Although I am one for networks trying out new angles in order to cope with PVR / DVR use, something about this just feels a bit ‘off’. I am more of a fan of creating advertising that PVR / DVR users would like to watch (think along the lines of PVR / DVR ready commercials). […]