Broadband has transformed television delivery and viewing habits forever. Keeping your audience's mindshare is a challenge like never before. It's a new playing field—where the viewer has absolute control, and:

Interactivity is key. The new PVR (Personal Video Recorder), Web, mobile, and IPTV media platforms are two-way. The audience wants to surf TV channels and the Internet at the same time. When the airlines announce a special fare, viewers want to book it now—without leaving the couch. Marketing tip: Time to boost your response options.

Appointment-based viewing is dead. The future is about on-demand viewing. Keep in mind that an ad scripted for a 10:00am slot may not play as well at 8:00pm on Saturday night. Marketing tip: On-demand ads require an expanded creative perspective.

The customer is king. Viewers now believe they own the medium because they can click-to-watch or download their favorite programming at will. "Admittedly, it's the same broadcast on my hard drive." says Guide to TiVO author Leo Laporte. "But instead of watching a broadcast from NBC, I feel like it is now mine because I can move it around." Marketing tip: Better make that ad watch-worthy.

Digital formats, the Web, and PVR's are driving a whole new range of customer habits and behaviors. It's time to reach out to your audience with these new principles in mind.

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