Extending the Story

I agree with you completely Gary. Just one question, I will admit that I watch TV with a laptop and the iphone, but I do not see myself adding an ipad into that mix. My laptop does everything the ipad can do.

Fear, lack of understanding and "silos" within organizations prevent them from doing this type of call to action in their TV and mainstream advertising campaigns. Some are intimidated by the social media space and are waiting to enter when they have more data, more ROI and more buy-in from the higher ups. Some don't understand (or choose to ignore it) until someone above them in the company orders them to do so, and sadly, the "silos" that hold companies back are a result of departmental infighting. The marketing/advertising department that creates the ads doesn't want to plug the social media department's work. In these companies, the social media department might stand alone as an "experimental" or "grassroots" channel of the communications department, and other departments don't want to let them steal the thunder. All these reasons pretty much boil down to "They just don't get it."

It's all a matter of making social media MATTER within an organization, top-down and bottom-up. If CEOs and founders truly adopt social media, that's when it works the best. That allows for the nimble, crowdsourcing, responsive social media implementations that really change things.

Gary you are indeed a visionary. I think soon they will. But technology issues are a hinderance at this time or there maybe a seperate gap of TV and the web in terms of self made movies and professional quality movies. Check out the mobile advertisement... people are beginning to advertise and emerge on mobile...by EyeBlaster.com
Hey I also want to jump on the band wagon! : )

Well Gary, you are indeed a visionary. I think your idea about people taking ads or personal appearances to the web is happening, slow but it is there. See Mobile advertising. I think it is slow because of technical issues which eventually be solved.
The advertisers do distinguish the difference in quality and presentations from TV and the Web. And I guess it is not quite there yet... but it is coming real soon.
Technology is great and my TV is becoming obsolete too. I love to talk with you more about this.

Well said Gary! Why shout from the soapbox (paying sick money to boot) and not getting anything other than "hopeful brand recognition". Put out a commercial that says anyone who tweets the word "StarbucksRules" gets a DM with a coupon code for a free latte.

Seriously that way you know who they are, send them the DM have them fill out the little Name, Email, Age Range, Male/Female, How often do you Starbuck? AND VOILA golden ticket. Find your passionate tribalfolk, and reward them, they will tweet to end for you. (And Facebook your good name!)

LOVE IT!

I believe it is because we are in the middle of a paradigm shift, where old marketing and TV guru's have not quite got the idea of the connectivity, interaction, and power the web has to offer with its users. There is a huge opportunity like you say with respect to collecting data and leveraging it, and now is definitely the time to take advantage of this opportunity. I am currently educating myself in video marketing to help further help businesses online, but that is just on the web. The media giants need to embrace this change soon... Thanks for your incite Gary!

I think advertisers are afraid of the new technology that it will put them out a job and actually have to work for a living.

If it were up to the "creative people" in the world who get it, we wouldn't be having this conversation. As it happens, the bottom line go/no go decision lies with the "dinosaurs" HunterHart talks about.

It's not wrong for people to be skeptical of new technology. For your suggestion to work, there need to be case studies and white papers that can back the theory up. The old fogies don't want to waste millions of dollars on a "good idea" or a "potential goldrush." At the end of the day the need numbers to show their (equally fogie) stockholders that they are innovating for good, solid, quantifiable reasons. And a million Facebook fans does not a million dollars make... necessarily.

Love it. Every billboard, ad & sign too. Engage with all media: mobile, email & sites.
Capture cell phone #'s with email addresses by offering value. Ex. Txt "brand" followed by "email address" to get free "stuff" & exclusive offers.

First off I must say I hate pre-roll on anything under 5min long. It is a pet peeve of mine. But your general point is absolutely right on. We are in a transformative period in how people digest their media and get their information. companies need to respond appropriately to that.

Here are some of the road blocks I have run into as a creative working at a mid size digital/online agency.

- Large agencies tend to control the brand and don't always play nice with us small digital agencies.
- Large agencies seem less interested in pushing online solutions and tend to be rooted in traditional more expensive solutions (my guess is due to overhead)
- Strategy online tends to be more complicated with more moving parts, and thus is harder to sell and monazite and sell to clients.
- Most companies are afraid of being transparent. They are afraid of bad press, thus they are VERY resistant to fully utilizing social media (which I believe is, after reading your book, the best way to success online).

These are my thoughts based on my experience. I think the space is changing and it is changing fast. The companies that really thrive will be the ones that embrace the change and ride the wave now.

Oh really? I have to post again? I am amazed by your expertise and chutzpah. Continue on, Gary.

Really? You hit the big time AT the big time and I so admire you for that. Your success is due to the intuitiveness of the marketplace and I congratulate you for it. You are amazing. I respect and admire you. You will go down in history. However, now you need to gather those around you to make it happen even further. I wish you, and your family, all the best the marketplace has to offer.

Call to action and direct response are what's missing in most the ads that run on TV and print. Radio uses call to action a little bit more but it is missing. The internet is harnessing this power and leveraging it collect data and lists for future marketing. Gary, as usual, you and I are right on brother!

Just like you are doing with this call to action to leave you our thoughts and comments. Nice work! (Wink,wink!)

I like the earlier comment about the fact that they have dinosaurs running their marketing campaigns. It's so true.

Seriously, I have a sister that is a senior at (a very reputable university that I also attended) :) where she is a business marketing major. I asked her how much they deal with internet marketing in her classes and she replied HARDLY AT ALL. Freakin unbelievable!

Maybe it has to do with the fact that very few college professors are on the cutting edge so we're spitting out talented youngsters who are already behind the times. Unless someone opens their eyes to the possibilities... like Gary here... or they have the drive to be on the cutting edge within them they probably won't GET IT for awhile... if ever. Great point in your video Gary!

i don't know why companies choose to not take more advantage of the time they pay a lot of money for on tv. i am a multiple unit quiznos franchisee and it drives me F***ing crazy how much the company is missing it. we are the perfect example of a company that is not crushing it.

You are right on the money as usual and I died laughing at the little wink at the end - too funny.

Great video Gary. I would also suggest that companies are missing the boat with their offline and radio ads as well. Radio has the same limitations as TV in selling products, but you could gauge the reach on top of the metrics the stations offer by offering a specific Facebook page with a survey that asks where they heard the commercial along with some interesting content. You could also add the URL to magazine and other print ads because it puts something tangible and actionable on an ad that won’t immediately garner a sale on the john. By adding a link you could also get someone heading to the site if they happen to have a BlackBerry or iPhone handy in their *ahem* office. What could it hurt? A tiny URL or Facebook call out in the corner of the ad won’t hurt anyone, but will add some more bang to your buck and some additional metrics to track.

Have you heard of alternative social ad campaigns such as ARGs? Here's one from that past that was pretty famous: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Bees

One thing is sure, the old commercial television business modal is evolving rapidly and there is no going back.

Inherently, movies and television are passive entertainment experiences and the current broadcast business modal wants audiences to stay focused and tuned in. As I see it, you are suggesting that advertisers take television viewers from passive entertainment mode into active consumer mode, which jeopardizes the network program - especially if it’s carried, live.

If your challenge that “every commercial in America should contain some type of call to action” becomes the norm, then the best commercial avail for an advertiser could actually become the first spot, right after the opening tease or first commercial break. In response the networks may design a tiered rate card within programs or sell programs to individual advertisers complete with product placement throughout plus a “call to action” message at the tail end of the program. Consumers would benefit from less commercial breaks. However, could networks produce meaningful content with fewer advertisers? Only major advertisers would have the resources to fully sponsor and produce programs. Certainly they would influence the creative side and the programming options could change dramatically to meet their business agendas.

Do I think that is where broadcast television is heading? Yes, probably in some form. Internet – We are already there with network on-demand!

Thanks for facilitating such a thought provoking debate.

Totally agree - I'm sure there are a host of reasons for this: people resistant to change and focused on traditions, not recognizing the online value, not observing the trends, no idea about social media, not engaged with their customers, don't really care about getting to know their customers, etc. The good news is that this represents an opportunity for those businesses that really care.