Author Archive
Interruptive Marketing vs Invited Media
Posted by mark in Industry News on May 14th, 2009
Last Saturday my son called and asked if I wanted to go to one of the beach parks in Boca Raton for a couple hours. It was a beautiful day so I said “sure, sounds like a great way to relax and get caught up on some reading”. Upon arrival at the park we made our way down one of the nature trails until we found the perfect spot. It was located near a grove of palm trees that provided some shade and was elevated about 15 feet above the beach. There were only a few people at the beach so it was nice and quite and the view awesome. Waves broke into a white foam on the sand that contrasted with the brilliant turquoise ocean, birds were singing, the smell of the sea…PERFECT!
Then I hear an airplane, it gets louder and louder until it pops into sight towing a banner for McDonalds that reads “You Deserve a Break Today”.
Are you kidding me! I was enjoying a quiet break in paradise and McDonalds interrupts it with an old, polluting, smoking, noisy plane and sticks their message in the pristine blue sky and tell me I deserve a break!
It made me think about how old school, disruptive marketing tactics are dying because the internet has disinter-mediated itself into the equation. TV, outdoor, and radio advertising is down, newspapers are going bankrupt and people now do not have to buy into the old media of the past. Consumers are in charge now, effective marketing is invited marketing. That is why I am so big on Search Marketing. A customer searches for what they want and you deliver a relevant solution with a good Pay Per Click campaign or SEO strategy right at the time the customer is looking.
By the way McDonalds, I’ll pass on your offer and plan enjoy my breaks at the beach…
Google “Tunes Out” Its Radio Programs
Posted by mark in Industry News on February 14th, 2009
Google announced Thursday, Feb 12th 2009 that it is discontinuing its Google Audio Ads and Google Radio Automation programs, which were launched in 2006 in an effort to help broadcast radio stations sell more advertising.
Earlier this year, Google dropped a similar program to help newspapers sell print advertising. Susan Wojcicki, Google’s VP-product management, said in a blog discussing the shutdown of Google Audio Ads: “… we have decided to exit the broadcast radio business and focus our efforts in online streaming audio. We will phase out the existing Google Audio Ads and AdSense for Audio products and plan to sell the Google Radio Automation business, the software that automates broadcast radio programming. Advertisers will continue to be able to use Google Audio Ads until May 31, and broadcasters will be able to publish inventory to Google until that date as well.”
Looks like the internet continues to disrupt traditional media, (radio this time). I think Google recognizes that more consumers are migrating to streaming audio and podcasts because of the huge choice of internet radio stations and the advantage of asynchronous listening.
In my humble opinion radio broadcast is the next traditional media to have its audience disinter-mediated by the internet. It’s already happened to the newspaper industry.
Radio Broadcasters…are you listening…
Mark Hughes