Is advertising using sites like youtube beneficial or problematic?

A trend among advertisers is to make more use of consumer generated commercials to be placed on YouTube and similar sites. Is this idea beneficial or problematic to the firm? 

There are several advantages and disadvantages of employing the strategy of generating commercials online.  YouTube, Hulu, and social media sites are filled with commercials that are often very annoying and frustrating because there is not an option to skip or dismiss pop-up adds. In my personal opinion, I believe that advertising through the Internet is an effective way to reach consumers, but might negatively effect the audience’s perception of the company do to consumers equating the ads with irritations.

But before we make our final decisions about advertising through interactive media sites, lets think about the advantages.

Starting off with the 1^st advantage, advertising through Internet mediums allows companies to target any specific group of individuals, and allows for individuals to freely peruse the searches of the company’s products if desired. Also, the Internet gives customers the ability to solve their owns needs by allowing personalized searches conducted by the customer.

Another advantage is each message a customer might find online is specifically tailored to them. The internet allows companies to track, and collect data on consumers search history, which means firms can use this data in order to advertise there products that meet ones specific needs.  Also, this allows companies to interact with buyers in different ways other than face-to-face contact. After consumers are done visiting a web page, they also have the option to complete surveys about their experiences of shopping online, or any relative data. With this, companies can store essential data about their individual customers likes and dislikes. Lastly, the Internet allows companies to gain mass exposure by using popular sites such as YouTube to promote their products to millions worldwide.  By being creative, and clever, businesses can draw in millions of customers through these sites. The Internet complements the IMC’s values by serving as a virtual link to integrative processing as well. It also is responsible for enhancing and complementing other forms of media as well, yet makes company’s products more appealing to the customer (Blech & Blech, 512).

Moving forward with the disadvantages of the advertising using popular sites as a median is as follows. First of all, the act of reliability of the research numbers generated might not be credible. This means all the data collected from consumers might not be reliable to base all business decisions on. It is hard to reduce this problem due to the fact that it is hard to tell who is a reliable source and who is not.

Another problem is clutter. There are thousands of ads, and it can be difficult for consumers to notice specific ads over other ads if they have been exposed to more than more in a specific time period.

Another downside of marketing using different sites is many consumers do not appreciate the lack of privacy that the Internet gives you. Online ads are as tailored to the consumer, which is a positive, but also negative if the consumer feels like his/her privacy is in question. Lastly, these messages can be viewed as spam from the consumers and have an outward negative effect. 

Companies who use online ads to generate business include

            -GMC

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTHBeB1iBPk

            -Target

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVgo9WEUEc

            -Olay

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9b-PFZRbkE

Although I find the pop-up ads annoying, I believe it is the best way to target consumers. The advantages of having ads that are directly marketed and streamed to customers in their target market is a great way to boost revenue, and interest in the firm. The advantages of using site like Hulu, and YouTube to advertise out weighs the disadvantages. All in all, this type of advertising reaches millions world wide, and specifically appeals to individual customers wants and needs.





References:
Belch, GE. and Belch, MA.  Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, 9th Edition.  McGraw-Hill Companies.  2012.

Sweepstakes and Giveaways: Are Companies Actually the Big Winners?

As you know, our society depends on the Internet in order to function and manage our everyday lives. The Internet allows us the freedom to discover, organize, and connect with one another on a global basis.

Many companies now opt to use the Internet to promote contests and sweepstakes online because they know how often we use this specific form of technology to aid our everyday tasks. Through smart phones, laptops, and tablets, companies are able to reach the masses when advertise to consumers in a cheap and efficient manor. Using the Internet as a medium to connect with customers might be the most effective way to reach targeted markets, and allow them to advertise to globally in order to get others more interested in the company’s products. Browsing the Internet can be used as a way to shed some "down time" for consumers, but can also be the greatest medium for companies to promote their products. 

Although there are several ways to promote products online, there seems to be an influx in advertising using sweepstakes and contest in recently.

Why?

In my own opinion, I believe running contests and sweepstakes online is a way to get the consumer more involved with the company. This way of advertising captivates audience’s attention with the hopes of winning prizes, in order to subliminally coerce the consumer into becoming more familiar with the company. The advertisers initiate contests to attract consumers directing them to the company’s website for a chance to receive benefits ad win prizes. Although there is usually only one winner, the company as a whole wins big because they are using the contest and sweepstakes to draw in consumers, increase their website traffic, and encourage people to view their only products. 

After a consumer enters a contest they are able to use their giveaway list to build-up an email database. Creating an email list based off of the people who have entered the contest and sweepstakes allows the company to keep in contact with you, gaining the ability to appeal to your needs and wants, and in time “talk you into buying their products.” Sweepstakes and contest are ways to build their market-base, by you as the consumer entering their contest and providing your email address. These sweepstakes can also provide the company with valuable market research. Every time a consumer fills out a sweepstakes questioner their answers are recorded and studied in order for the company to analyze how consumers think and feel. These questions give firms the data to be able to personalize emails, and attended to consumers needs more effectively with the information you have provided. 

Some examples of Sweepstakes:

1) The 2013 Pepsi Billion Dollar Sweepstakes

(This contest resonates in my mind because I believe it was one of the biggest contest in history, and who wouldn’t want to enter in a chance to win a billion dollars?)

The contests worked by Pepsi printing out 1 billion special clues only

Redeemable on Pepsi’s website, and also guaranteeing that one million players would be instant winners of random cash prizes, and also out of all the players 100 would be selected to participate in a live game show challenge broadcasted on their website. This contest had drawn millions of consumers in, increased its online traffic, and also allowed them to gain market research.

http://www.sweepsadvantage.com/Pepsi-Sweepstakes.html

 2) Ellen DeGeneres 12 Days of Giveaways

Just as the title entails, Ellen DeGeneres runs 12 Days of giveaways in order to get her audience more captivated, and interested in her show and also increase her website traffic.

http://www.ellentv.com/tags/12DaysOfGiveaways/

3) Hyundai Elantra Car Giveaway

This contest entails Hyundai giving away a chance to win a car, out of the three new cars they have developed. Hyundai is generating a lot of buzz for this giveaway, and gaining the interest of many potential buyers.  

http://www.amctv.com/sweeps/surviveanddrive

In all, sweepstakes and contest and giveaways can strengthen the companies relationships with consumers. These contest are only helpful if consumers interact and participate in these contest. By running these contests, a company will be able to attract more consumers, create an email database to contact their consumers directly, and also provide the company with market research which is helpful to create a stronger and more appealing business. 

Reference:
Belch, GE. and Belch, MA.  Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, 9th Edition.  McGraw-Hill Companies.  2012.

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using TV as an advertising medium, and how do these factors affect the use of major national advertisers and smaller local companies?

In the past, advertisers viewed television as the ideal medium for promotional purposes. But due to recent technological advancements, the importance of advertising through television has now changed. Now-a-days, people are not limited to only watching TV, they are thought to spend a great amount of time surfing the web, playing on their Ipads, Iphones, and tablets, and more recently people have the ability to fast-forward advertisements when they are watching their favorite programs!!!!  It’s so easy to just skip all the advertisements during a show.  Although TV might be the easiest and most common way to reach the masses, is it still the best way to advertise?  There are several pros and cons when advertising through this medium… but the question is do the pros outweigh the cons?

Advantages:

There are several benefits when using TV as an advertising medium.

Creativity:

Using television commercials gives advertisers the ability to combine visual images, sounds, motion, and color, allowing the advertiser to be as creative, imaginative as they wish, and they can now appeal to more consumers world wide. Advertisers are also given the opportunity to attract customers by appealing to a consumer’s sense of sight and sound. Commercials that directly appeal to these senses can change the viewer’s mood through humor or ethos, even their overall perception of the advertised brand, as well. Emotional appeal is a key advantage of advertising through television over the less attractive appeals of other mediums.  Today, advertisements can also be shown using HD Resolutions, allowing audiences to view the ad crystal clear, vividly detailed, and very lifelike images across their flat screen tv’s.

Coverage & Cost:

Television has the ability to reach the masses. Ask yourself this question… How many people you know that do not watch TV? (Shows like Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Games of Thrones make it hard for me to ignore my television.) With the popularity and coverage of various programs, audiences regardless of age, sex, income, and education level are bound to watch some form of television. TV gives advertisers the benefit of reaching the masses (globally) in a cost efficient manner. For example, companies that take part in distribution their product and services word wide reach millions of viewers. The prices companies had paid last year to advertise on average have cost between $50- AND UP in normal time slots (Wagner, n.p.). PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and AT&T take advantage of using television as their main source advertising globally. For local companies, they have the ability to reach their targeted market easily, and also cost efficiently averaging $25(and up) for standard 30-second spots.

Flexibility & Selectivity

Advertisers also have the ability to select what channels and time of day their ads will run, which allows them to reach their target audience. For example, Toys-R-Us usually runs ads on Cartoon Network, while Pepsi and Coke run ads during huge occasions like the super bowl to reach their largest targeted demographic.

Disadvantages:

Although there are many advantages of advertising using TV as a medium there are limitations, as well.

Cost & Selectivity

It can be inexpensive to reach a large pull of audiences, but some companies are forced to spend millions in order to compete for airtime. Costs are derived from buying airtime, and the cost of producing and creating commercial. On average, in total for a 30-minute nationwide spot on a popular Station, it is nearly $400,000 dollars. Media driven creative strategies that also target specific groups, such as Hispanics and African Americans can also be pricy due to selectiveness in various channels, and fighting for time slots with large companies. Local ads can also be pricy, and are usually not appealing, which is also a waste of time, money, and the effort, if it does not attract audiences.

Advertisers seeking small-targeted audiences to generate a lot of waste coverage, and might not even grab the attention of their audience. Local advertisements might also reach audiences outside their targeted market, in a geographic sense. Case in point, local advertisements in Pittsburgh reach regions in Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia, which are customers who are out of reach, making their commercials, waste coverage, and inefficient to the company. For local ads, newspapers, emails, radio ads, and magazines might be a better and a less expensive medium for adverting to select pools of people.

Clutter & Limited Viewer Attention:

Advertisers seem to forget that they are not buying guaranteed exposure, but in fact a chance to communicate their message to large numbers of consumers. People often use their TiVo  or DVR to zip through ads, eliminating the purpose of ads altogether.  (I avoid commercials like the black plague.)

Also, clutter is another disadvantage advertisers face. Some stations take advantage of advertising their owns shows during commercials breaks and cutting paid ads slot times down to 9-seconds, clutter eliminates audiences attention and also can make the audience even more uninterested in paying attention to ads, and more anxious to get back to the TV show that they were watching to begin with. The CW is one station that comes to mind when thinking about clutter. Every time I tune in, I see ads that promote their own shows rather than other products or company’s  ads.

All in all, I believe the pros outweigh the cons when using TV as a medium for advertising. I also think it is important to diversify advertising outlets through various mediums, especially for smaller ads, and local companies.

Works Cited:
How Much Does Television Advertising Really Cost? | Chron.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/much-television-advertising-really-cost-58718.html
Belch, GE. and Belch, MA.  Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, 9th Edition.  McGraw-Hill Companies.  2012.