WHEN WILL YOU LISTEN? The way the world is engaging with media, entertainment and content HAS CHANGED.The article on AdAge made me sick today. The title was "Oscar Night Ratings Improved, but far from Golden." Apparently the ratings were the 3rd worst in history. I would be pretty happy with the fact the ratings improved over last year. The way we consume media has changed and so must measurement of success and how media companies sell their wares . The #1 rated show from Dec. 2008 wouldn't be in the top 5 of 1980. (An interesting fact is that the number of TV's in 2008 is 33 Million more than in 1980). We all know what is happening and where the eyeballs have gone. How can one of the most respected publications in our industry ignore everything else.
So what other metrics should they be measuring? Well:
1, 600,000+
That is how many views the 13 most popular videos from the Oscars posted to YouTube have received in the last 24 hours. How many people in the "golden days" of the Oscars recorded and shared clips the next day? The top 30 has over 2.5 Million.
16, 800 tweets using the hashtags #oscar or #oscars.
13,000,000+ blog posts (within 28 hours).
In 1983 the Oscars had 10 Million more viewers than last nights show yet a 30 second spot was about $1.5 Million cheaper. Obviously their advertising model is flawed and not sustainable. Who will continue to pay more for declining and fragmented audiences. I have got an idea why don't you find ways to reach involve the larger audience.
Here you go Oscars - send me the cheque via PayPal:
- Allow brands to sponsor the Oscar sponsored vidoes posted to the internet. Have someone on staff posting to Oscars.com, YouTube, Vimeo, etc all speeches, skits, comedic mistakes; whatever the online world will be a buzz about tomorrow the second after it happens. If you don't someone will post them. Win by being first.
- Partner with YouTube to create branded media players for those videos, put logo's on the bottom corner, and links to their sites in the more information section.
- Add in a 10 second billboard at the end of the vidoes.
- Partner with Google to have targeted bigbox banner ads next to all plays of that video on YouTube or any other Google ad-network enabled sites.
- Then have someone interacting with the Twitterverse updating them on posted videos with links driving to oscars.com where additional display advertising is available.
- Follow that up with sponsored search where a parternship with Google (owner of YouTube) ensures that all related search terms for a 72 hour period from the start of the show has Oscars.com video gallery come up as #1, 2 and 3.
- Then enable oscars.com with Facebook connect. Allow people to comment on the videos, engage in the conversation and guess what... thats right. You have a identified a very active group of consumers for the Oscar advertisers to communicate with via, facebook flyers, targeted ads, behavioural targeting through-out the google network.
- What could be next? Maybe employ a handful of celebrities or other attendees to take candid pictures from the event and post to the world via twit pic (I loved MC Hammers pictures from Superbowl), flickr, facebook, Myspace and more. Ensure these pictures are brought to the audience by a brand. Example: Follow DoveRealBeauty on twitter to see pictures of who Dove's favourite celebrities think have Real Beauty. Example #2: Join the Winners Facebook Fashion group to see VIP access to the best dressed the second they get out of the limo. Then maybe have Winners buyers share with the group how they can copy the looks for a low dollar.
- Post the entire show to Oscars.com after it is complete for viewing (without commercials), have page takeovers surrounding the video.
- And finally get your advertisers involved before the big day. Go big with user polls, leak presenters, share expected arrival times on the red carpet of certain stars, share the after party menus, and give us a look at those coveted winner gift bags. I am sure you could find a sponsor for that content.
Now if the Oscars media team brought this package to a brand I have a feeling that they would pay the additional money necessary to make the Oscars the most profitable ever...and in our business that makes them "Golden".
