Every year advertisers spend billions on television commercials. And every year advertisers lose millions of dollars on commercials tailored to large audiences. Why? Ads that don’t have optimal relevance on the majority of its receivers are wasteful ads.
Running a commercial on a major network is expensive and ineffective at reaching target audiences. The average price tag for a 30-second spot during the 2011 Super Bowl was approximately $3 million! Out of all the ads previewed during the Super Bowl, how many of those commercials were really of interest to its audience? This example may be extreme, so I’ll approach my argument from first hand experience. As a man, I am exposed to several cosmetics commercials each month. Each time an ad for Covergirl comes up, I immediately change the channel. Clearly, this is not effective advertising. Think about all of those marketing dollars Covergirl has wasted on the male audience?
A survey by the US Department of Labor states that Americans spend about 3 hours a day in front of the television. We also spend approximately 52 minutes of that time watching television commercials. So how do marketers capitalize on those 52 minutes and make better use of their advertising dollars? The answer to that question may lie in Google.
Last year, Google unveiled Google TV, an internet-connected television platform. The platform integrates Google’s Android operating system with Google Chrome to create “a new experience for television.” Google’s new technology brings unlimited benefits for the future of marketing. For one, television would inherit the dynamic functionality and technology of the Internet – making consumer activities completely TRACKABLE!
What this means is that for the first time in history, advertisers may be able to hone in on viewers who demonstrate a potential level of interest in their products and services. With this type of technology, advertisers may implement behavioral targeting and save tons of money by simply filtering out unnecessary audiences. It would enable advertisers to track the performance of their television commercials and match the pace of their target audience’s purchase decision cycles (brand awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent).
Undoubtedly, a new trackable television platform would also create consumer privacy issues. The biggest concern would be that marketers are not disclosing the nature of their targeting methods. However, resolving the consumer privacy issue is rather simple. I believe that as long as advertisers are fully transparent with their behavioral targeting methods and consumers are given the option to block behavioral monitoring, a balance would prevail. Both advertiser and receiver would have control. A mutually agreed relationship would encourage consumers to eventually become more appreciative of behavioral targeting and opt-in to enhance their viewing experience.
Personally, I would enjoy ads catered to my own interests rather than watching a bunch of cosmetics commercials.