One of the biggest drains on advertising effectiveness is ad clutter. That is why the results of the latest Mindshare Clutter Watch study in the United States have been greeted as good news by media agencies and watchers alike. While a long way from the reduction in TV ads anticipated by a Wall Street Journal article earlier in the year, the study seems to suggest that clutter is finally leveling off. Or does it? Maybe the ads are just going elsewhere.
When, on average, 25 percent of every hour of prime time TV goes to non-program content, the news from the Mindshare study is not really all that good, particularly when branded entertainment messaging is increasing. The Mindshare report references a 2006 study from TNS Media Intelligence which reported that 35 percent of every prime-time hour contains some type of branded message.
Of course, ad clutter is a problem everywhere, not just in the United States. Last October I wrote about the erosion of the power of TV Advertising in South Africa. Nor is TV the only medium facing the problem. Only this week, one of my colleagues drew my attention to the fact that billboards have started to appear in Second Life.
While many of them are for Second Life entities like Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong - I love the fact that elements of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash are coming to life in Second Life – some are for well-known terrestrial companies. This article in CNNMoney.com describes the recent entry of realtor Coldwell Banker to the virtual world. (Note: in the picture above, the Coldwell Banker ad is the one with the keys on the watery blue background.)
While I am not sure the Second Life inhabitants will appreciate the ad clutter any more than TV viewers do, at least the realtor’s presence in Second Life makes some sense. By selling and renting real estate, Coldwell Banker is offering a service that helps people make the most of their time in Second Life. Charlie Young, the company’s senior vice president for marketing explained that Coldwell Banker is trying to reach “what we call the ‘new consumer,’” in a way that provides “real value.”
Contrast Coldwell Banker’s approach with the entry of Brazil’s TAM airline to the virtual world. Apparently they are going to offer virtual TAM flights to Second Life islands called Milan, Paris, New York and England. Given that Second Life avatars can fly wherever they want anyway, the obvious question is, why would one want do this?
Acknowledging this issue, a TAM spokesman said, “Of course, avatars can fly there on their own, or we can take them there, free of charge, for which they get frequent flier points and gifts like a virtual aircraft or clothes.”
A more cynical agency planner I talked to suggested that maybe TAM were seeking to add a realistic degree of hassle to the online world.
If so, I suspect residents can look forward to a lot more hassle in future as marketers seek to use old school advertising tactics in the virtual world, ignoring the true potential of the environment for engaging with customers. I guess it is only a matter of time before 3-D ads like the ones envisaged by Stephenson make their appearance. Bang goes the neighborhood, folks!
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May 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
As a secondlifer, I can’t wait until we have slow-moving lines for security checks prior to teleporting somewhere!
Ads in Second Life for Real Life things are a little annoying, but I can’t say I have paid much attention to any of them. I wonder if anyone else has.
I know I do pay attention to ads for SL stuff (I refuse to go into details). I do actually follow through on the ad and purchase the ocassional item. I do this much more in SL than in RL, I can’t remember when the last time was that I got up from my RL-couch to run to the store to buy a jar of mayonaisse.
So, it least for me, SL ads work for SL products, not for RL things. I don’t think you’ll see me queueing for TAM anytime soon, but who knows!
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Your screen shot suggests that poster advertising on Second Life has not yet reached the levels of sophistication we see in the real world. It will be interesting to see whether the creative tools used by marketers to break through advertising clutter in the real world are adopted by the communications gurus in Second Life… Somehow, I suspect it will not be long before we see Second Life taking the lead.
May 3rd, 2007 at 7:49 am
Hi Manuel, it makes sense to me that you would pay more attention to ads for SL products than RL products. Our latest learning on how we think and process information suggests that the fact that it is more relevant to what you are doing at the time will ensure it gets more attention. Context does matter.
Ben, I suspect you are right that the ads in SL will rapidly become more sophisticated. The 3D ad I referred to in Snow Crash was an immersive experience, with images and sound surrounding the person’s avatar. I don’t know what the current technological capabilities of SL are but it seems a logical, if not desirable, next step.
Thanks both, Nigel
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:09 am
… and of course, Second Life brings the potential to serve targeted advertising, in below example based on what people nearby are talking about. Similarly, a billboard could read an avatar’s profile information and display adverts matching the avatar’s interests.
http://blog.msurveys.com/2007/04/contextual-ad-billboards-in-second-life.html
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 am
Thanks for this Mario, yes, the potential for targeting is way better. The post suggests AdSense is “hit or miss” and that targeting on the basis of chat would be too. Well maybe, but I will take ads with the some relevance over completely irrelevant any day!