Dove and CW present the Cwingers!

After pod-busting, we have another innovative TV advertising format, the "Cwingers". As the name suggests, this format swings from TV to Internet and will be broadcasted by the popular US network CW, owned jointly by CBS and Time Warner.

April 27, 2009 is the D-day when CW will unleash this new format on its young viewers. Studies suggest that viewers, aged between 18-34 are constantly switching between various media. More often than not we are hooked on the net and our mobile devices while we watch TV. Can't say I disagree as am guilty of all three right now. CW and Dove have decided to share the cost of producing formats which allow them to follow our zig-zag pattern of media consumption.

According to Advertising Age, "Unilever's Dove, which is getting set to release a new product, Go Fresh Burst Body Wash, aimed at women in their 20s, will sponsor video vignettes about four real 20-something women who once lived lives similar to the characters in the popular drama about wealthy Manhattan private-school kids whose adventures often border on the decadent. The first part of a vignette will air during "Gossip Girl," and then viewers will be directed to watch the rest of it online."

We all watch our favorite shows online at our own time and pace with minimum commercials. This cannibalizes the viewership ratings of the actual TV show. Last year, in a desperate bid to make us watch live TV, CW stopped streaming "Gossip Girl" videos on their website for five consecutive episodes and even had a live TV contest. "CW ran "watch and win" contests that allowed viewers to enter to win a "Gossip Girl" party if they found the program's signature "XOXO" in a scene and reported its location within 36 hours of the episode's on-air debut. More than 100,000 viewers logged on to cwtv.com to enter, and more than 50,000 people entered via mobile. - TV Week.

If the above numbers are any indication, Cwinger ads will be a huge hit. Talks are on for other shows like "90210" to follow suit. And of course, if the viewer profile matches, it won't be long before we see cross-promotions. Instead of forcing people like us to watch more of live TV, CW is trying to find a multi-media solution for the multi-tasking generation. Come next Monday, and am ready to zip!

Pod-busting, but of course!

In a desperate attempt to engage viewers, more and more TV networks and advertisers are resorting to creative innovation in US. The last couple of years saw a surge in "pod-busting" which was initially restricted to MTV, VH1 and Comedy Cenral keeping their young gadget-friendly demographic in mind. In 2005, MTV invented the concept of pod-busting which proved to be partly successful though not a radical movement. Slowly bigger networks caught on. Now, what exactly is pod-busting?

According to the International Herald Tribune, "This year, for the 2008-2009 television season, the networks are betting on a panoply of "pod-busters" - unconventional content meant to entice viewers to pay attention during the commercial breaks, which are also called pods.

"It's a form of creative insinuation," said John Ford, president at Discovery Channel U.S., part of Discovery Communications. "It's a little Zen-like: being intrusive without seeming intrusive." On the drawing board is a promotion for "Shark Week" during the series "Deadliest Catch," during which digital sharks will leap from the water.

The clip can be watched at http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/07/01/business/1194817107135/deadliest-catch-on-shark-week.html

The main types of pod-busters can be classified as below:

• Minisodes/bitcoms/ micro-series sponsored by marketers


• Sponsored clips that combine elements of shows and commercials


• Promos of one program shown inside another program, thanks to digital effects


• Content of commercial matched to theme of the program (In fact, the buzz word for matching themes of shows and commercials is TV in Context. While it sounds right strategically, it helps in pushing engagement metrics only when done right.)

Examples of pod-busters to help understand the concept:

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.(TBS) - The cable network started offering "bitcoms" in 2008 — an original comedy sketch involving a brand, followed by its ad.

Sunsilk - The Unilever hair care brand worked with TBS to create Lovebites, a series of two-minute "minisodes" presented by Sunsilk which ended with offers of product samples from the Sunsilk website. This minisodes were aired during "Sex and the City". Yes, similiar content is a major driver in such innovations.

This does not mean that networks are giving up on the conventional 30-sec format which makes up more than 50% of TV advertising. It is cost-effective, it is a standard selling unit and it is very much alive. Marketers are just trying to find better and newer ways to keep the target audience engaged. Not an easy task in these days of TiVos and other DVRs.

If the advent of pod-busters means we will see less of inane logo-driven commercials, testimonials and comparitive ads, then this is definitely the direction of the future. The results are complying. Known for their penchant for pod-busting initiatives, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central have jumped from -15 percent to -5 percent in their commercial ratings deliveries, according to Adweek of Jan 14, 2009. No mean feat in today's distracting environment and a young demographic with an ever-decreasing attention span.

Is India listening?

The architecture of advertising

My brother, who is studying architecture once told me that one cannot design a building without knowing its purpose. Similiarly, you can't create an ad without a strategy.

“Creative without strategy is called 'art.' Creative with strategy is called 'advertising.'” - Jef I. Richards (US advertising professor). The marketing team from the client's side and the account management team from the agency's side usually decide on the perfect strategy and consequently, the brand message. Depending on the creative team and the target audience, the same brand message maybe be treated differently. What happens when the creative rendition of the same brand attribute of a similiar service is radically different in two different countries?

Take the example of Hutch and Verizon Wireless. Both are cellular service providers with the same USP - great connectivity. Both are major players in their respective markets, India and US.

What O&M did with Hutch is legendary. The year was 2003. The basic concept was a boy with a dog which followed him everywhere, kind of like Mary's little lamb. This idea was spread across a series of TVC, print and every other media possible. What followed were awards, accolades and a significant increase in the sales of the dog, a solemn looking pug. The tagline was "wherever you go, our network will follow". The dog was a powerful visual aid symbolising the network and eventually became the Hutch mascot. The TVC was devoid of any unecessary conversation, a lilting background score not only made the campaign entertaining, but also pushed up the brand recall.

Did it work? According to Businessworld, "Hutch saw its subscriber base shooting up by over 70 per cent right after the campaign broke."

McCann-Erickson, armed with a simliar brief for Verizon Wireless created a TVC, with parodies of horror movies and ghoulish looking characters trying to scare a person with tales of a Dead Zone, who calmly responds that he or she has Verizon, and then the slogan appears, "Don't be afraid of Dead Zones". The scare lingers and the message is crystal clear. The brand attribute is understood and brand recall is very high.

Did it work? The ad was released in June 2008 and an October 27, 2008 issue of the New York Times says "Verizon Communications' stock price jumped 10.1 percent Monday on news that profit increased 31 percent for the third quarter, buoyed by surprising gains in the number of new wireless customers. Verizon Wireless added 2.1 million customers in the quarter — to total 70.8 million." Please keep in mind the economic condition of 2008 when you read this.

The premise of the Hutch campaign could in no way be called anything like that of the Verizon campaign. The campaigns proved that similiar strategies can have dissimiliar execution with exceptional results in both cases.

Here I must add that Vodafone acquired Hutch in 2007 in India and Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon and the Vodafone Group. Seems like network supremacy is the motto for this telecom giant.

One from each of the series of Pug Ads and the Dead Zone Ads for you to get an idea