TV Ads Shrink to Match Low Attention Spans
From Time.com (Business & Tech)(NEW YORK) — And now, a word from our sponsors. A very brief word.
TV commercials are shrinking along with attention spans and advertising budgets. The 15-second ad is increasingly common, gradually supplanting the 30-second spot just as it knocked off the full-minute pitch decades ago.
For viewers, it means more commercials in a more rapid-fire format. For advertisers, shorter commercials are a way to save some money, and research shows they hold on to more eyeballs than the longer format.
"It used to be that the most valuable thing on the planet was time, and now the most valuable thing on the planet is attention," says John Greening, associate professor at Northwestern University's journalism school and a former executive vice president at ad agency DDB Chicago.
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In a 2 paragraph response (a minimum of 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the following questions. In paragraph # 1, from a television viewer's perspective, discuss your views of this popular trend of companies moving towards 15 second advertisements from previously longer 30 second advertisements. What do you think of this trend? Good or bad? For who? Why? Be specific with your thoughts.
In paragraph # 2, discuss what industry (or industries) (i.e automotive, food, technology, fashion, entertainment, etc.) you feel can benefit the most from this new trend. Why do you feel this way? Be specific with your thoughts.
Please sign your name to the bottom of your blog entry.
I believe that the new trend of companies designing commercials that are fifteen seconds instead of thirty seconds is a good move on their part. I believe that, as a television viewer, we all have busy lives and probably don't have that much time to watch television in the first place. So when we do have the time, we'd want to watch things that catch our eye and are worth while. Having a fifteen second segment enables the companies to put as much information as they possibly can to catch the viewers eye, which will keep our attention and possibly make us want to buy their product. This change can be for any person watching television; it probably changes from channel to channel. For example, on a channel such as Cartoon Network, obviously the commercials are going to be geared to children more than adults. For a channel such as National Geographic, the commercials are going to be geared for adults more than children. Nonetheless, despite what channel the viewer is on, changing commercials from thirty seconds to fifteen will enable people to have more of an interest.
ReplyDeleteI feel that technology and other toys will benefit most from this trend. If the commerical is interesting enough, then people will want to go online and research it which could then lead them to buying the product. I believe that these industries will benefit most from this trend because they will apply to the largest audience. In comparison, if it were a car commerical, it would mainly apply to adults. If it were a fashion commercial, it would most likely apply to fashionably-savy people.
Samantha Poe
The usage of short TV advertisements by companies is great because it caters the human capacity of how people have very short attention spans. The usage of this is better than the longer commercial because some people tend to lose interest shortly due to the short attention span. I think this trend is great because it one again follows the human ability and saves move for companies. It's a good marketing technique because of the benefits and once again it's targeted to the potential consumers.
ReplyDeleteAn industry that would benefit from this is the technology and entertainment industries. They can benefit from it because they would focus more around a central idea than build up to it. Also they would save a lot more money in doing so because money is a large cost which companies. I feel this way because these industries seem to have the traditional 30 sec advertisements and people seem to lose focus on them. These industries seem to better themselves by attracting savy people in these industries by getting the attention.
I think shorting up the commercial is a great idea. Now I’ll actually watch the whole commercial instead of changing the station and getting up between commercials. I think this is a great trend. This move should be great for companies and the T.V. shows that run commercials. The televisions stations that run the commercials can keep their viewers since the commercials are quicker and it gets back to the show quicker.
ReplyDeleteI feel that all industries benefit from the trend of shorter commercials. Now they can make their commercials more action pact and show more products and less info. Industries that think suffer from this is house goods and the food industries. Since they are such a boring industry as it is they needed the whole 30 sec to show what they product can do. And I feel the longer a food commercial is on the hungry I get. Now since its shorter it really doesn’t have an effect.
I feel that the trend of companies desinging making 15 sec ads insteand of 30 sec ads is a good idea. People don't have to time to wait 30 sec for a ads if it short and fast to the point people are more likely to watch. It cost them less and poeple are more likely to get the point. It is more likely for someone to buy the product if the ad is straight to the point. If they use this idea in the right way it should help them. They will save more money for ads and make for more money becuase people are going to buy the product when they don't have to watch a long ads.
ReplyDeleteI feel that new products help out the idea of short ads. They will be more intersting becuase they are short and to the point. They just have to put the ads on the right channels. Like if someone want to buy a baseball glove they would have played the ad to baseball fans on ESPN.
Personally, I hate the 30 or 60 second commercials, I think they are way too long. I lose focus half way through the commercial by the time it reaches the end, especially if it does not make any sense to me. It is a good idea for companies to shorten the length of the commercial, because they will in turn spend less money, and the commercial will be more memorable and more effective. Think of it, a company can get about two commercial in a shorter time span, than normal. People might even watch the commercials and not change the TV, because of the long length.
ReplyDeleteFashion can benefit most from shortening the length of the commercial time, because making the commercial shorter, increases the effectiveness of the clothing being sold. Making it shorter will also capture the viewer, making them take an interest in the product.
Me as a television viewer I believe that it is a great idea that they are trying to make 15 seconds commercials instead of 30second. One because it half the cost. Also because as it said in the article viewers get board or uninterested in the commercial if its to long and will change it like me for instance. I watch the shorter commercials in stead of the longer ones. If its to long I will change the channel and loose interest.
ReplyDeleteI feel that companies such as automotive will benefit the most because they will catch the attention of the viewer with just showing the new car that came out or the interest way that way the costumer will be interested in knowing more. As for industries such as fashion and electronics it’s not that important because usually the advertise by sending mail or emails to the costumers.
Rebecca Rodriguez
I think the trends of 30 second commercial to 15 second commercials are great. This trend keeps viewers interested because the advertisers aren’t left dragging on about their product. The commercials become short and sweet and that’s what customers like. This trend is better for everyone because no one wants to sit there and watch commercials all day waiting for their show to come back on.
ReplyDeleteAll of the industries can benefit to this new trend. If each industry made it a competition where they only had 15 seconds for commercials I bet they would all have great commercials with the best info on their product. I feel this way because the short and sweet commercials do the most for buyers. If industries continue to use 30 second commercials then consumers will not be as interested. I’m also pretty sure that the longer the commercial, the more money each commercial cost.
think that is a good and bad, is the a good thing because there’s more time for more commercial, and the company spends less money on advertize, because for putting a commercial of 15 seconds it costs around $20,000 on average last year, according to Nielsen. The bad thing about it is that the company has less time to show their product on TV.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good thing for the fast food restaurants like burger king, mc Donald’s etc, because all they have to do is show a picture of their product, price, and what’s made out of. And they also save money, because the longer the commercial the expensive it is.
I think that advertisers are being smart about their advertising because they are making it easier for people to watch commercials, but in another way they are making it annoying for viewers. Because some viewers dont want to see all these commercials while they watch T.V. To me personaly, its worse because when i watch T.V. i want to watch the show or movie that is playing, not the commercials. In my opinion the advertisers should stick with the one minute ad and not the 15 second ad, because it will eventually confuse the viewer and they will not watch that channel anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think that the food industry will benifit from this because they already have 15 second commercials, so everyone will be equal to them. This will not help the automotive business because they will not have enough time show the details of their car and let everyone know about the good features of the vehicle.
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