Watch a video ad in a public bathroom mirror?

In a world of reality TV shows, it seems as though the only private place left for people is the bathroom. While that is the case, people will now have a source of entertainment in public bathrooms in the form of advertisements running in the mirrors.

According to the LA Times, a company called Novo Ad has created the technology to run video advertisements in mirrors (LED screens with an internal hard disk). Here is how it works: a static ad will be posted over the whole mirror. As a person stands in front of it, a video ad will start to play, and after a moment the video will minimize and take up about one-fourth of the mirror’s surface area. Therefore, the patron can utilize the mirror and watch the remaining video content at the same time.

This latest advertising platform has been installed in Tel Aviv in May and is scheduled this month to be installed in a Carrefour mall in Barentin, France. The shopping center intends to run ads for stores within the mall and self-promoting ads. There is not a timeline for this technology to be installed in public restrooms in the United States of America.

While this technology is new, it’s important for advertisers to not jump on board with a platform if it doesn’t make sense for the campaign. A new platform needs to align with the client messaging.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

What else is playing in the movie theaters?

Media vendors are continually creating new products to best serve a target audience to the advertisers. The theater slide company National CineMedia (NCM) has recently branched out to other big screen products in addition to online and mobile ventures.

According to MediaPost, NCM has made a few deals to present movie-goers with more entertainment during the pre-show. The company is working with the comedy website Funny or Die in which advertisers have the option to incorporate their brands into the content. The Funny or Die comedy shorts will now be part of NCM’s “FirstLook” pre-show package and will be available for online and mobile consumption.

Other new pre-show content includes music video and entertainment footage from Vevo and a feature called “A Taste of the Movies.” This cooking segment will feature a celebrity chef preparing meals from well-known movies. All of these new in-cinema additions allow for product integration.

In order for vendors to offer advertisers access to active audiences, media platforms have to keep a constant eye on what consumers are doing.  A lot of that today leads to cross platform initiatives.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Public Broadcast and Political Ads?

The advertising community has been preparing for its arrival, and its here. Political advertising has started to stream onto TV. In fact, there is potential for more political ads to reach avenues of media left untouched.

According to MediaPost, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco made a decision in April that states that the ban of political advertising on both public TV and radio conflicts with the free speech clause in the First Amendment.

The decision was not unanimous; however, the majority of judges deemed political advertising would not undercut the educational focus of programming. For-profit companies will continue to be banned from public stations with commercials; however, the “sponsorship” format will still be in effect.

Some estimates show that political TV advertising could reach a record in 2012 with $3 billion.

Overall, the political season is starting and advertisers must be aware of how it will impact his/her campaign.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

How are newspapers stacking up- digitally?

A Rockwellian view of reading the newspaper may include a cup of coffee, recliner and a smoking pipe on Sunday mornings. In the digital age, people consume news quite differently. The new American norm is driving people to the instant and customizable Internet.

This digression is and has been invoking a transformation for newspapers. It has been providing free news content online for years, but many of the larger publications are flipping to the paywall strategy. The term “metered paywall” refers to websites that will have users pay a fee to read all of the content available on      the page.

Newspapers, like The New York Times, are strategically using the metered paywall to not only increase online revenue, but print subscriptions by offering a lower price than online; in turn, this is also increasing ad revenue.

According to Advertising Age, the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ statistics show that newspapers have successfully used this strategy to counter diminishing paid-print subscribers. The New York Times has proved this strategy profitable by seeing the largest digital gain among the reported papers. Its weekday circulation increased by 73% since before the online pay meter was implemented.

The Wall Street Journal still holds the rank of largest newspaper across both print and digital platforms, while USA Today claims largest newspaper in print alone with a circulation of 1.7 million.

Metered paywalls have been met with some resistance from readers. However, the more it is being adopted by news sources, paywalls are creating revenue streams. One stream is the actual payment for online content, while the other is people returning to traditional sources for news. Either way, it is beneficial to newspapers.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Do you want a piece of $1 trillion?

If you haven’t thought about how your brand is viewed by the Hispanic-American market, you probably should. Otherwise, you may not have seen a share of the $1.1 trillion spent in 2011. According to a report by Nielsen on “The State of the Hispanic Consumer,” the buying power of this group will continue to have a greater impact on consumer trends.

From 2000-2011, the Hispanic population grew more than the rest of the entire United States population combined.

Economic growth is an important factor of this group. The portion of Hispanic households making $50,000 or more is also increasing at a greater rate than the rest of the country. Forty percent of the Hispanic population made $50,000 or more last year.

The age comparison was another noteworthy finding from Nielsen’s study. MediaPost reports that the Hispanic median age is 28 versus the 37 that represents the total of the U.S. With 60% of this market being under 35, it is clear that the Hispanic youth will hold a large chunk of the buying power in many categories.

Non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics absorb media differently. In general, Hispanics consume more new media and less traditional media than non-Hispanic whites. Watching video on the internet or on a mobile device rather than on a television was an identifiable habit of Hispanics. It is important for advertisers to discern that there will be more buying power among the Hispanic youth in the coming years.  Your message will better serve this audience if placed on a non-traditional media like mobile or internet.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...