[Infowarrior] - Fwd: referral: blocking ads increases just drives them deeper in

[Richard Forno]

--
It's better to burn out than fade away.

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: dan
> 
> [antibiotic-driven disease resistance in another form]
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/business/media/ads-evolve-into-new-forms-as-media-landscape-shifts.html
> 
> Ads Evolve Into New Forms as Media Landscape Shifts
> 
>   By SYDNEY EMBERMAY 8, 2016
> 
>   Peter Naylor, head of advertising sales at Hulu, stood on a stage
>   before a roomful of advertising executives who were there to see
>   what the popular streaming service had in store for the year.
>   After trumpeting Hulu's new interactive ads, Mr. Naylor made
>   another pitch.  "We offer you the opportunity to become part of
>   the creative process with us," he said.
> 
>   Meaning what, exactly?
> 
>   "Goose Island IPA has signed on to sponsor our hit series `Casual'
>   and integrate into the show," Mr. Naylor said. And in the current
>   season of "The Mindy Project," he added, "not only does Mindy
>   fall in love with her new Microsoft Surface Book, but she also
>   gets to escape the city in her newly designed Lexus RX."
> 
>   This kind of advertising through product placement is certainly
>   not new. But Mr. Naylor's announcement -- made during last week's
>   Digital Content NewFronts, an annual sales event where companies
>   like Hulu compete for digital advertising dollars -- underscored
>   a broader question running through the advertising industry:
>   What exactly constitutes an ad these days?
> 
>   For decades, 30-second television commercials were the gold
>   standard, and as online video proliferated, many digital ads
>   were essentially repurposed from TV. But in the last several
>   years, advertisers have become more sophisticated, creating
>   digital ads that were divorced from traditional campaigns and
>   were better suited to the many platforms that have become
>   available, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat.
>   Now, online ads interrupt nearly everything.
> 
>   This explosion of online ads, however, has led to the rising use
>   of ad blockers and turned "advertising" into something of a dirty
>   word. So advertisers and publishers are now looking for ways to
>   make online ads less like ads. Many in the industry are even
>   changing the way they talk about ads.
> 
>   During the NewFronts, Hulu and many other companies, often using
>   a rhetorical sleight of hand, put forth the idea that ads are
>   the products of symbiotic relationships, rather than frustrating
>   invaders.  Jennifer L. Wong, president of digital for Time Inc.,
>   told advertisers the company was "helping brands develop original
>   content" and added, "Working with us is easy." Lisa Valentino,
>   head of ad sales for Cond Nast, urged the audience to "take a
>   look at the results when Cond Nast tells your story." Ze Frank,
>   president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, said the company worked
>   "with brands and agencies to develop original content."
> 
>   Many companies ran flashy videos that showcased examples of these
>   partnerships, much like ad agencies pitching clients. BuzzFeed,
>   for instance, promoted its Tasty channel as a successful example
>   of how it could work with brands like Oster, which makes grills
>   and other appliances.
> 
>   Publishers are "no longer content to be the place where ads go,"
>   said Ben Winkler, chief investment officer for the agency OMD
>   United States.  "What we're hearing at this NewFronts more than
>   ever is this can be a two-way exchange."
> 
>   The rhetorical gymnastics, however, also signal a deeper trend
>   in the ad business. As companies seek to remove clutter from
>   their sites while also bolstering their ad revenue, many are
>   turning to so-called branded content, a widely used but vague
>   industry term that generally means ads that look more like things
>   people actually want to read or watch.
> 
>   Many publishers, including Vice and The New York Times, have
>   formed what are essentially internal agencies that create ads
>   for brands. And many already boast of success, or at least the
>   promise of it.
> 
>   "We believe branded content and native solutions is a large-scale
>   opportunity for Time Inc.," Joseph A. Ripp, chief executive of
>   Time Inc., said on an earnings call last week. "We are increasingly
>   hearing from C.M.O.s that they want to speak to their customers
>   in the same way that Time Inc. talks to its audiences," he added
>   in a reference to chief marketing officers.
> 
>   Branded content is not the only technique advertisers are trying.
>   They are also creating emojis, posting on Twitter, creating
>   Instagram videos and dabbling in virtual reality platforms. On
>   the traditional advertising side, some networks are showing fewer
>   commercials and offering advertisers the opportunity to sponsor
>   programming.
> 
>   NBC, for example, announced last month that it was planning to
>   cut about 30 percent of the ads from episodes of "Saturday Night
>   Live" next season and allow advertisers to create original
>   segments. Turner, which is part of Time Warner, and Viacom, which
>   owns MTV and Comedy Central, have also said they plan to reduce
>   the amount of commercials on their cable networks.
> 
>   Underpinning all of this rethinking are big changes in how people
>   are consuming media -- and in how advertisers are allocating
>   their money.  Consumption habits have become increasingly
>   fragmented, with more people watching programming, including
>   television shows and live sports, on different online platforms.
>   As a result, traditional television, with its 30-second commercials,
>   is losing its commanding share of advertising dollars. Digital
>   media is expected to pass TV as the biggest advertising category
>   in the United States this year, with roughly $68 billion in ad
>   sales compared with $66 billion for TV, according to the Interpublic
>   Group's Magna Global.
> 
>   With online ad spending growing, finding ways to stand out among
>   the onslaught of other online ads has become more important for
>   advertisers. And therein lies a possible conundrum: Advertisers
>   want their ads to look less like ads even as they are fighting
>   harder for attention.
> 
>   As Caty Burgess, senior vice president for media strategies at
>   the CW television network, said, "Is the question, `What is an
>   ad?' or `What isn't an ad?'"
> 
>