I think the concept of forced advertising is gradually creeping into the Internet, and it shouldn't be tolerated. This concept is the reason many viewers are abandoning television for online entertainment options. To rely on the same strategy that online users despise is to betray advertisers' myopic perception about what their online audience really want.
Traffic online is driven by individual choice. An Internet audience looks for a website with specific information, finds numerous ads on the website, and then chooses the ads to click on; the ads, in the process, are guaranteed subsequent repeated hits by this unique and issue-specific audience. This strategy is based on the concept of freedom and on the idea that the audience is the one that can best be trusted to determine and choose what she wants for herself. The effectiveness of this method of advertising underlies the success of Internet advertising on such sites as Yahoo, Google and the like.
If I am watching TV and an ad comes on, there's no guarantee that I'll sit back and watch it. I might do one of several things; I might watch it, mute it, switch channels for the duration of the commercials, or simply just choose not to watch TV all together. TV advertising, which relies on forcing the audience to watch a commercial, can be a nuisance. Traditional online advertising on the other hand, which gives the audience freedom to click on the ads they want is more effective and less repugnant.
For instance, I love MSNBC.COM and enjoy their political commentaries, but the fact that I have to be forced to wait 15 to 30 seconds to watch a video is a real drag for me. Even more irritating is the way the videos are edited (less than 2 minutes in some cases) so as to make room for more ads. CNN.COM on the other hand, has a better web ad strategy. On their website, a viewer has the option to elect watching an ad before watching a video clip or simply skip the ad and move right on to the clip. That is how Internet advertising should be. If your ad is good enough, people will watch it, no matter what, but when you force them to watch it, you stand the risk of losing your audience.
When a society, whose paramount ideals are free will and free choice, relies on force in driving sales, only one conclusion can be reasonably contemplated - audience backlash. Make no mistakes about it, it happened to television, it could also happen to the Internet.
Traffic online is driven by individual choice. An Internet audience looks for a website with specific information, finds numerous ads on the website, and then chooses the ads to click on; the ads, in the process, are guaranteed subsequent repeated hits by this unique and issue-specific audience. This strategy is based on the concept of freedom and on the idea that the audience is the one that can best be trusted to determine and choose what she wants for herself. The effectiveness of this method of advertising underlies the success of Internet advertising on such sites as Yahoo, Google and the like.
If I am watching TV and an ad comes on, there's no guarantee that I'll sit back and watch it. I might do one of several things; I might watch it, mute it, switch channels for the duration of the commercials, or simply just choose not to watch TV all together. TV advertising, which relies on forcing the audience to watch a commercial, can be a nuisance. Traditional online advertising on the other hand, which gives the audience freedom to click on the ads they want is more effective and less repugnant.
For instance, I love MSNBC.COM and enjoy their political commentaries, but the fact that I have to be forced to wait 15 to 30 seconds to watch a video is a real drag for me. Even more irritating is the way the videos are edited (less than 2 minutes in some cases) so as to make room for more ads. CNN.COM on the other hand, has a better web ad strategy. On their website, a viewer has the option to elect watching an ad before watching a video clip or simply skip the ad and move right on to the clip. That is how Internet advertising should be. If your ad is good enough, people will watch it, no matter what, but when you force them to watch it, you stand the risk of losing your audience.
When a society, whose paramount ideals are free will and free choice, relies on force in driving sales, only one conclusion can be reasonably contemplated - audience backlash. Make no mistakes about it, it happened to television, it could also happen to the Internet.
Hey, I am checking this blog using the phone and this appears to be kind of odd. Thought you'd wish to know. This is a great write-up nevertheless, did not mess that up.
ReplyDelete- David
Thanks David, I've finally fixed the problem by adding the mobile feature to my account, that way the blog gets a better view on mobile devices.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!