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View all stories from Jan 31, 2008
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In the Trenches: Media tales about the US writers' strike, economic downturn

by Terry Poulton

The final pundit in MiC's current series is Bill Wittur, managing director of London, ON-based Bottree Media Consulting. He believes the current climate has the potential to be "a perfect storm for a radical change in budgets. . . and the catalyst for a massive degree of change that will radically alter the media landscape in Canada and elsewhere."

How is the strike affecting your activities?

"We're very busy. There's an enormous amount of spillover being felt in the Internet industry right now, and the strike is doing to TV what Napster did to music. Consumers are substituting TV for other forms of entertainment, including the rental of more videos, visiting the Internet and, to some extent, activities that don't include any form of media at all.

"We're in a good place right now, because in a lot of cases, the web allows for short-term planning and buying opportunities. But the strike is creating a bit of a cyclone effect: more consumers and viewers are going online, generating vast volumes of ad inventory, be it with search, ad networks or other components of the digital realm. In some cases, the supply of digital media is increasing beyond measurement."

Are you revising plans now?

"Because we deal exclusively with digital communications, we are experiencing - in a very positive way - the shift from traditional budgets to new media. We are receiving numerous requests to expand recommendations into new categories, including search, social and other forms of user-generated content.

"The key trend is that the buying opportunities have increased by a hundredfold. In the past, a few large companies held the key to large audiences, because they were at the centre of content creation and distribution. Today, there are dozens of ad networks offering any level of psychographic targeting and delivery capabilities."

Are you shifting investments?

"With the web, we're constantly dealing with new categories of spend, so, yes, we're seeing big shifts all over the place. Right now, the focus seems to be on search, but even that will change as new tools arise that allow planners/buyers to effectively place ads in context with social networks and user-generated content.

"The key to adoption will be the minimization of the 'tick-off' factor. Too much too soon and you'll have a revolt, similar to what we saw when Facebook implemented the Beacon program, making many consumers wonder if they could de-Facebook themselves.

"In many cases, we continue to play the role of educator, mainly because even when new formats come along, clients have yet to maximize the benefit of advertising using the array of networks that allow exceptional vertical targeting or newsletters or online video. It's a bit of a smorgasbord."

What will happen if there are very few pilots coming out of Hollywood?

"A lot of last-minute TV buys will result in drastic hikes in cost-per-viewer for advertisers, because you'll have a lot of buyers chasing a limited range of quality shows. If the number of new pilots in the fall is limited, I think it's safe to say that the idea of watching American Gladiators or other 'unscripted' shows will permanently alienate entire audience groups."

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