Media Spam - "Give A Hoot, Don't Pollute"

Stop Buying Media From "Purchasing Agents"

By David Miranda

I was watching the film, "The Family Man" the other night on NBC. Actually, I was watching ads and promos interrupted periodically by "The Family Man". I thought it was just my imagination that after, literally, every ten minutes of the film (edited for television to fit the time slot), I was exposed to roughly six ads and two promos over the course of the film. How do I know that? I decided to keep a log. It went something like this - 10 minutes of the movie-ad-ad-ad-ad-ad-ad-promo-promo-ten minutes of the movie-ad-ad-ad-promo-promo-ad-ad-ad, etc, etc.

What media planner/buyer in their right mind or advertiser in their right mind thinks that this is a smart way to engage a viewer? Sure NBC and the local affiliate got their dough, but only because the people placing the media buy and their accomplices in this stupidity, the advertiser, never thought about the viewer experience and the dilution of the message in the clutter.

This example is a great value proposition for Tivo. Is there any wonder why audiences are eroding. What person in their right mind is going to sit through six to eight ads and promos - every 10 to 12 minutes? How effective could these ads and promos be?

Here is the problem. Media planning and buying pros are negotiating "efficient" buys and networks and their affiliates are slicing the programming pie in more and more pieces to accommodate. The only people winning in this mad, mad world are the media buying people and the media properties themselves. Neither the advertiser nor the audience is well-served.

It's sheer madness and it's not just television - media pollution is everywhere.

Consumers need a "media environmental protection agency" to stop this pollution and we are almost at that point. Think Tivo, do-not-call lists, spam blockers, pop-up ad filters, iPods, etc. All are tools to help consumers "tune out and tune off" the media pollution. Is it any wonder that consumers today are harder to reach than ever before?

The solution lies in advertisers using common sense. They should not be "pied-pipered" by media planners/buyers or media companies into just getting "the most efficient media buy". How about the most effective media buy that showcases effective and compelling creative? Creative that is not shoe-horned in a media slot like sardines.

If your media planner/buyer touts the cheapness of the buy, like a purchasing agent of commodities, over the effectiveness of the buy, do yourself a favor - dump him or her. Find someone who considers the experience of your audience first.

To borrow from a wise old owl - "Give a hoot, don't pollute".