We’ve coined the term Delusional Rapture to explain why so many advertising dollars have been diverted from traditional media to new media. Normally sharp pencilled, bargain hunting media types that have traditionally shopped for the biggest bang for the buck have been transformed into New-Media Kool-Aid sipping true believers.
The audiences are minuscule, the analytics in total disarray, and the impression costs are through the roof. Despite that, frenetic efforts continue to pour an ever growing percentage of declining budgets into new-media’s black-hole in search of the smallest possible audience while paying the highest possible rates.
We reported the latest research here showing that 98% of video viewing is done in front of a television. Yet this week it was announced that several major advertisers were pulling millions of dollars from television to spend it instead on Hulu.
Here’s the explanation:
Smarter targeting, expanded metrics, and the opportunity to test new ad experiences and their effectiveness-these are all critical ingredients for unlocking the full potential of online video and key drivers of this partnership.
So in the middle of a recession and tight budgets, some major advertisers are going to spend less on a medium that reaches nearly the entire country, so it can play with a medium that reaches essentially no one. Perfect for a company like Walmart.
Radio is in the same boat. Advertisers would rather experiment with untested poorly understood new platforms with shoddy (and shady) analytics than buy radio. Radio just isn’t cool enough to get a client to bump-up the budget.
These decisions must be driven by hope and infatuation, because they can’t be explained by the facts. Delusional Rapture. Coming to an agency near you.
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