Marketing Machines: Ads Abound on Consumer Electronics

(page 2 of 2)

Skiff President Gilbert Fuchsberg says he hopes certain ads will be more effective on an e-reader than on a Web page viewed on a PC. "There's a lot of categories of advertising that work well in print and haven't really found a home online," he says. For example, certain packaged goods might be better marketed to someone sitting in their living room or kitchen rather than in front of a computer. "There's not a lot of people selling frozen peas online," Fuchsberg says. Advertisers may even be able to make Skiff ads interactive, like zooming in to see the details of a car, or include bar codes to be scanned for coupons at the grocery store. "In the same way that advertisers have gotten creative about serving all types of online ads, the larger [e-reader] devices are going to allow some creativity and experimentation," eMarketer's Verna says.

New electronics won't quickly deliver mass audiences. "E-readers are going to be huge at some point, but it's still in the hundreds of thousands" of users, says Chris Colborn, chief experience officer for New York-based digital marketing specialist R/GA. "It's not going to replace (buying space) across a number of TV channels," he adds. Research firm Forrester (FORR) has estimated that more than 6 million people will own e-readers by the end of 2010.

Target Audiences

Still, emerging platforms such as e-readers offer the ability to target specific customer types. Hoping to reach the target audience for a new Showtime (CBS) series, Nurse Jackie, Omnicon (OMC)-owned Ignition Factory last year released a free script of the show's pilot episode on the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle store. Within 48 hours, the script was among the top 20 downloads on the store.

Microsoft (MSFT) began running ads inside Xbox Live three years ago. "We built the entire service with advertising in mind," says Dean Carignan, director of online ad business strategy for Microsoft. Marketers including Sprint Nextel (S), Porsche, and Frito-Lay (PEP) use the service to reach some of the 20 million gamers who use Xbox Live. Redmond (Wash.)-based Microsoft sells ad space on Xbox Live through its large sales staff, often combining promotions on the gaming console with other Microsoft properties. A recent Discovery Channel (DISCA) campaign for Deadliest Catch ran on Xbox Live, the MSN online portal, Hotmail, and MSN's mobile Web site.

Marketers must avoid bombarding would-be customers with ads. "All these platforms are more personal and potentially more intrusive if used poorly by marketers," says Johnny Vulkan, partner at boutique New York ad agency Anomaly. "Brands don't want to be tarred with spoiling a good thing."

Do guys want to see Benicio del Toro turning into a bloodthirsty wolf on all manner of devices? Execs at NBC Universal may soon find out.

Douglas MacMillan is a staff writer for Bloomberg BusinessWeek in New York.

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.