Digital technology has empowered consumers to easily truncate or bypass advertisements in all forms of home entertainment, including TV, video rentals, and music. More than ever before, thanks to technologies and products such as the Internet, TiVo and iPod, they are now in total control of if, when, and how marketing messages reach them.
This sea change in consumer behavior is already jeopardizing efficiency and return on investment in both the entertainment and the advertising industries. Meeting this challenge is the central theme of Madison and Vine: Why the Entertainment and Advertising Industries Must Converge to Survive. Author Scott Donaton is editor of Advertising Age.
Donaton believes the solution lies in a joint effort by the advertising and entertainment industries to explore "alliances that integrate content and commerce that blur the line between traditional entertainment programming and advertising messages." To accomplish this, a shift in advertising strategy from the "push model" to the "pull mode," and "from intrusion to invitation," is imperative.
For almost a century, the author points out, the advertising business was based on push. TV watchers were subjected to whatever commercial intrusions advertisers decided to broadcast. But now that consumers can choose the advertising they want to see, advertisers "have to learn what kinds of advertising content consumers will actually be willing to seek out and receive."
"And that," the author declares, "changes all the rules."
Most of the book—fifteen out of its eighteen chapters—is filled with stories, anecdotes, and conversations that illustrate both the enormous inertia and obstacles that block the way of change, and the experiences and successes of pathfinders. For example, BMW Films is a series of mini-movies created by leading Hollywood directors and distributed over the Internet, "long-form" ads intended to have intrinsic entertainment value of their own. These examples might well provide useful insights for those interested in breaking the impasse between the advertising and entertainment industries. The book winds up with six simple rules that can guide development of the "Madison & Vine space": Reject the status quo; collaborate; demand accountability; stay flexible; let go; and respect the audience.