The 2007 Rose Bowl Matchup: Citi vs. ESPN

Posted on January 2nd, 2007 by Justin Seibert in Online Advertising, Online Marketing, SEM
TAGS: rose bowl

First off, I accept your thanks for not posting a New Years Resolutions entry or 2006 Recap to this Direct Online Marketing blog. Just proof that you can have a blog and not do one of those in the first couple days of January.

Second, I ran across this really great blog post about television advertising during the Rose Bowl. Mike Harding went through an entire game (purported kick-off time through final whistle) tracking each blatant advertising spot and plug. As noted by several commenters, I would have rather passed sharpened #2’s back and forth between my ears than go through that. But much like Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio research, we are all better because of Mr. Harding’s efforts.

So what did he find? 34% of the 232 minutes he tracked were solely dedicated to advertisements and virtually the rest of the time featured other sorts of plugs and advertising.

It’s well-documented that my bedtime’s earlier than that of most toddlers, so you know I didn’t see the whole game. But had I, do you really think I would have been swayed to buy products and services from Citi, Ford, Sprint, Home Depot, AFLAC, All-State, or the other 44 advertisers? Doubtful.

Don’t get me wrong – tv advertising has its usefulness in branding, product awareness, and some other instances. I’ve occasionally even seen television commercials used as direct marketing ads (which I think you will see happen more often as online advertising opportunities make advertisers thirstier for more accountability in all forms of advertising).

But, even though how many millions of people saw these ads, most probably don’t remember anything about the majority of them because, get ready for it, they had NO INTEREST.

Just ask your sales rep if they’d rather talk to an interested lead than cold call. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) stands out against these Rose Bowl ads because people are actively looking for the products and services of the advertisers that they see. As Yakov Smirnoff – doing 5 shows a week in Branson, MO beginning in April – would say were he an internet marketer, “What a concept! Heh, heh, heh.”

Third and finally, even though I found this living room study extremely interesting, I had nothing to do with it, so it cannot be blamed upon any of my misgivings about today’s Worldwide Leader.

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