Interactive Ads > Old School Ads

With the advancements in technology and new media, we have to agree that advertising isn’t just “advertising” anymore. Studies have shown that in order to get the word out about a service/product, it has become a multi-faceted project. If a company isn’t addressing social media, TV ads, billboards, Twitter hash marks and Facebook, it’s a near fail! This holds true in the sports market as well, especially American football.

Advertisers have come to grips with the fact that simple TV ads in between touchdowns just won’t cut it anymore. This is why viewers are now encouraged to participate in interaction with the advertiser. From “like us on Facebook” to “enter the contest at www dot something,” we are constantly being asked to do more than just “watch football.”

For example:

1. During the 2011 Superbowl, Danica Kilpatrick and Jillian Michaels encouraged us to “find out more” about Joan Rivers here http://youtu.be/htFlkfjOkNA
2. The great ESPN makes light of the “brotherhood” that is fantasy football-during the football seasonhttp://youtu.be/xzavM9i--vs
3. The "Crash the Super Bowl Contest," started in 2007, is the epitome of interaction. By showing commercials all throughout the season advertising all the great prizes offered, viewers were encouraged to create a Pepsi Max or Doritos commercial. Winners’ commercials were then shown during the Superbowl. Highlights: http://youtu.be/ZJNBIJCioyU

As advertisers have come to note, viewers need to be constantly entertained. With the constant berating of new media with, it has become hard for those pushing their product to catch our attention. You know you’ve been there: Lions score a touchdown, celebration, cut to commercial, take out your iPhone to rub it in your Bears-fan cousin’s face. What are you NOT doing? Watching a commercial about Miller Lite.

So what are the advertisers getting out of these interactive ads? In my opinion, the most targeted demographic available: dudes, mainly ages 25-40. According to http://www.footballdocs.com/advertise.html, the demographic reached during commercials throughout a football game is nearly concrete, meaning we know exactly what types of advertisers to expect. Additionally, advertisers are getting continued exposure to this demographic, beyond the commercial, by throwing even more information at viewers through a website/social media site. An advertisers dream, right? Furthermore, according to www.mashable.com, "Online discussion about Super Bowl commercials increased 9% in the 12-hour period following the game’s start... Most discussion focused on the game itself, followed by ads..." Advertisers, as well as networks, are receiving overall more coverage and exposure just due to more interactivity through social media.

But moreover, what are we, the viewers, getting out of these interactive advertisements? For one, we’re getting the constant entertainment our brains have been rewired to search for. Since the dawn of new technology and endless info at our fingertips, some have come to find their lack of concentration a bit disconcerting. But with advertisements encouraging us to be distracted, we are getting exactly what we need. (Which can be debatable, depending who you’re talking to). Additionally, many of these interactions are connected to info about a product or service, and if the advertiser is somewhat credible, we can find out info to compare rates and service by flipping through webpages (which we were probably going to do anyway, seeing as we were already distracted).

References:
http://www.footballdocs.com/advertise.html


Photo Courtesy
http://moneyinsports.wordpress.com/2011/02/