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Behavorial Targeting: Are We Really Ok With Advertisers And Marketers Taking Our Personal Information?

iTVX Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:16:19 +0000

Behavioral Targeting, is it a good thing or a bad thing? I recently read an article that stated “Consumers are more conscious of behavioral targeting than ever before, two out of three consumers are aware that their browsing information may be collected by a third party for advertising purposes” (Marketwire, 2009). I guess I would be the odd man out in that third person in that survey. I consider myself a heavy internet surfer, one who looks at all sorts of products, ads, articles and the like, and have never once been made clearly aware that my browsing information was being collected and given to advertisers so they can cater their ads to my browsing habits.

Being that I like to keep my personal information secured, I’m very conscious of spyware and other forms of malware, and scan and clean my workstation out quite frequently. I can’t see any reason as to why other internet surfers wouldn’t want to do the same. What happened to the glory days of web surfing where you would fire up your workstation wait for your dial-up connection to process the request and then slowly be directed to your website destination. Once the broadband era began we had the whole pop-up fiasco, then spyware and malware and the more rapid spread of viruses. Do you remember that? I sure do. Most of the time I went to a website and was prompted with this annoying advertisement, legit or not it was still irritating.

I’m the type of internet surfer that likes to find the information I’m seeking without all the bells and whistles. I don’t want to be shown ads for Adidas when I’m looking for Nikes. There’s a reason why I typed Nike into the search engine and not Adidas. Now I’m not sure how far this behavioral targeting aka, let me steal your personal browsing habits from you so I can annoy you a little more while you browse the web project is going to go but, I’m pretty sure that the longer web surfers let this go on the worse it’s going to get. It’s the classic foot in the door technique. If we let marketers and advertising agencies into our browsing history, which by the way is personal since it resides on our home computers, what’s next? Talk about big brother, not only are social networking sites collecting our personal information, who we associate with and so on, now were going to let these agencies in and collect information about our web surfing habits? Thanks but no thanks. I’m content with keeping my pop-up blockers enabled, my firewall active and avoiding as many advertisements as I can.

As reported by TNS the survey results concluded that ”72 percent of those surveyed said they found online advertising intrusive and annoying when the products and services being advertised were not relevant to their wants and needs. Even though consumers want customization in their online experiences, they also fear an invasion of privacy” (Marketwire, 2009). So let me get this straight, users want specific advertisements delivered to them however, they are concerned about their privacy. How do these surveyed users propose this be done? What I would like to know first and foremost, is what type of personal information is being collected from my computer. Is it more than just the cookies, cache, and history? How long is it being stored for, where is it being stored, is my IP address and my ISP information being logged as well?

I understand that this is a new development in digital advertising and everything is turning into a digital world but, there has to come a point where users draw the line. Advertisers and marketers are collecting our personal information from our computers where we store loads of other personal information. What if something is overlooked, can a backdoor be exploited, opening up our information to hackers, technological terrorists who have nothing better to do then wreak havoc on the lives of others by exposing their personal information. What about identity theft, is it possible that our passwords and information stored in forms and cookies could be captured? Look at all the banks that have had problems over the past decade with security flaws and customers personal information being compromised. This is just another thing that opens us innocent internet users up to potential danger.

Why should we, the users who pay for internet access be, bound by such practices? After all we pay a fee each month to access the internet from our homes, shouldn’t we be able to browse the internet free of advertisements that have been strategically placed in our line of sight? Is the internet going to turn into a digital playground for advertisements, where you’ll have to entertain an array of advertisements before we can actually access what were looking for?

Another thing to consider is the effect that such targeted and strategically placed ads will have on viewer awareness and product/brand recall. I would assume that there’s going to be a great amount of demographic information and data collection that goes into this type of advertisement targeting so, how does this affect the grand scheme of things? It would seem that an ad, which would normally reach 20 million web surfers a day, under this new effort, might only reach 10 million because the ads are catered specifically to people who view information about such products and brands. With that being said, I would assume it’s safe to say that both awareness and recall levels might take a slight if not significant hit. Perhaps the advertisers and brand marketers are taking a more optimistic approach in that those 10 million viewers, in which the ad was specifically targeted too, go out and make a purchase therefore the awareness and recall levels remain at what’s expected. Only time will tell if this new strategy is worth its weight in gold.

How do you, the innocent web surfer feel about your personal files being captured and handed off to marketing and ad agencies? Is this similar to stores, hotels, credit agencies and other business selling your contact information to telemarketers? Write to us at feedback@itvx.com or post a comment and let us know how you feel.

By: Gary Trandiak

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Pay More To Watch TV Shows Online?

iTVX Staff — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:40:13 +0000

Over the past few day’s there’s been a great deal of discussion about cable providers switching subscription models, blocking shows on the internet, and only allowing subscribers that are enrolled in certain package plans online viewing access. Ideas about a la carte pricing, on demand pricing and the like have all been part of the ongoing discussions.

DirecTV has stated that “it’s open to giving subscribers exclusive online access to television shows such as HBO’s ‘Entourage’ that are normally not available for free over the internet” (Yao, 2009). Other cable providers for the most part agree with DirecTV’s stance however, some cable providers don’t see it that way and feel that there should be some sort of new fee associated with online episode viewing.

The overall fear that the cable providers share is that more and more people are going to direct their attention to online viewing rather than TV viewing, resulting in a significant drop in viewers. Now I can only speak for myself but I’d much rather watch a TV show on a television rather than my 17” monitor screen. Often we tend to jump the gun or overlook the things that are right in front of us. Perhaps the growth in online viewing can be attributed to college kids, high school kids, or even those individuals who can’t afford a “mega jumbo platinum I’ll give you 900 channels but only 5 of them will have something you’ll want to watch cable plans”.

Let’s not forget here that these networks and shows get funding by product placements and all different types of branded entertainment integrations. If you can get the message across a TV screen and Computer screen at the same time why not, either way you look at it you’re hitting a larger audience. If you start limiting who can see and who can’t you might just cut your earnings short or your recall and product awareness could drop significantly and suffer all because you limited who could see what. I think the networks are taking a big chance by potentially adopting a model that lives by the sword, and states that as long as you can prove you’re a paying customer than you can view TV shows online.

Personally, I can’t seem to find that much to watch on TV each week. Sure I have a few regular shows that I make time to either DVR or sit down and watch like Grey’s Anatomy, Sports Center, Heroes, The Office, and Man VS. Food. Very rarely do I jump online to watch a show on my little itty bitty 17” monitor to watch a whole episode of a TV show. Occasionally I might be guilty but that’s only when my DVR is full and I forget to empty it or I’m checking a show out for the first time.

What do you think? Are the cable companies getting out of control or do you think this is a move in the right direction? Can you see yourself paying extra just to be able to access TV shows online? Let us know what you think by sending an e-mail to feedback@itvx.com

By: Gary Trandiak

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Steven King Plugs Kindle 2 In New E-Book

iTVX Staff — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:58:42 +0000

To make a long story short, famous author Steven King launched a new book specifically for e-readers. The goal was to release a new novel around the same time as the new Amazon Kindle 2 launched, so the two could go hand-in-hand with one another.

Titled “UR” the story is centered around an English professor whose pink Kindle “allows him to access new books by famous dead authors as well as newspapers that tell of a future event that he is compelled to try to forestall” (Harkavy, 2009). I’m not sure why King chose pink for the color of the Kindle, perhaps it has something to do with Breast Cancer awareness or support. If that’s the case then Kudos to King for trying to raise awareness of the topic.

I haven’t read a Steven King book since my high school years so I’m not all too familiar with his collection of books from the past decade or so. I do remember reading Salem’s Lot from start to finish and thoroughly enjoying it. I don’t recall much, if any product placement in the story. That being the case I can’t really speak about King and his product placement endeavors in his novels however, I will mention that there seems to be quite a bit of racket going on over the web about the slow digression of his stories; weak storylines and product placement entries.

Perhaps this is just a recent happening or it’s been going on for quite a while, whatever the case may be King certainly has a strong fan base, and his books continuously sell. That being said, for those of you out there who do not own a Kindle “UR” will eventually make it to print. That just sounded like a plug didn’t it?

Write us; tell us what you think about King his new novel “UR” and his usage of product placement in his stories.

To read more about King and “UR” CLICK HERE

- Gary Trandiak

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ManiaTV Takes A Big Hit

iTVX Staff — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:09:21 +0000

These harsh economic times are really hitting industries of all types hard. ManiaTV announced that it was going to shut down operations due to its loss of credit with Comercia Bank. Will this strike the end for ManiaTV the pioneer who once sought to bring TV and web video together in a most harmonious way? It seems like every day there’s something in the news about another company going under or filing for bankruptcy protection.

ManiaTV took a big rick with its branded entertainment ventures trying to incorporate sponsorships and product placements in its original series spoofs. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned and sponsors pulled out, leaving ManiaTV in no position to recoup its initial investments.

Check out the

FULL STORY here.

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Watch TV Everywhere? Viacom Seems To Think It’s A Great Idea

iTVX Staff — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:55:12 +0000

So as you may have heard Viacom is working on a TV Everywhere Proposal that will provide viewers with the ability to watch TV shows at home, on mobile devices, Computers, and well any other device that has the basic capability to stream video content. Well as we’re all aware nothing comes for free, so will this plan affect our cable subscription pricing plans? Can we expect an increase anytime soon? If we are to receive TV content on mobile devices can we expect to get swarmed with product placements to cut costs or little ‘brought to you by” vignettes before the actual show starts? Also, what kind of cell phone plan would we need to support this, how much more is that going to cost us a month?

I’m pretty sure that any cable price hike will include some gold or platinum package so you can view content on devices, but be assured that there’s more money to be made by mobile providers, and ISP’s! Write us at feedback@itvx.com and tell us what you think.

Check out the FULL STORY here.

- Gary Trandiak

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Angels and Demons: Lancia Strikes it Big

iTVX Staff — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:47:39 +0000

As a fan of author Dan Brown, I’m looking forward to the theatrical release of “Angels and Demons” on May 15^th, 2009, since the story is structured around a secret society called the Illuminati, and its quest to destroy Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church all within a 24 hour time period. The story aims to retell the age old story of the struggle and skirmishes between science and religion and what ultimately led to the formation of the Illuminati.

With this being the case, I’m not counting on a significant degree of product placements in this particular film, although I do expect to see a few here and there. One major company that has a major placement in the film is Lancia automobiles. Lancia designed three limited edition versions of their Ypsilon, Musa, and Delta cars all to be featured in “Angels and Demons”. Each of these cars will sport custom painted bodies along with maximum power engines (no Fast and Furious here) and exceptional emission standards. Sounds like a great opportunity to showcase your vehicles since there are several road trips and car voyages in the story in and around Rome.

One thought that comes to mind though is the recall measurement of Lancia’s cars. Being that the automaker is pretty much exclusive to the European market, are the Europeans really going to be the only ones who notice the automakers special edition vehicles? Let’s remember that “Angels and Demons” didn’t do nearly as well in sales as “The Da Vinci Code”. I think that Lancia has a great opportunity here to showcase their vehicles in a movie that should do well globally, and even more so capture a notable recall measurement in the European viewer market however; the recall in the US market may differ slightly. It would be interesting to compare the two recall measurements once the movie is released. Another thing that comes to mind is the degree of awareness viewers will have regarding the Lancia models, will the film showcase the vehicles in such a way that the driving scenes are outrageously crazy or will the placements flow seamlessly like in “The Da Vinci Code” where Sophie gets in her smart car and tells Langdon about the great features it has?

Let’s also hope that the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t get involved and start spreading the word not to see “Angels and Demons” because it talks about made up stories and conspiracies that the church may or not be involved in. Keep in mind that this was an issue when “The Da Vinci Code” came out both in print in on film. Something like this could greatly damage the recall and awareness factors by essentially limiting where the film is viewable and who will see it.

“The Da Vinci Code” was written to be as realistic as possible with the likes of product placements subtly integrated into the story line to make the whole adventure more believable. Brown did an excellent job by finding a way to keep the product integrations believable, while at the same time keep the reader or movie viewer from becoming annoyed. I hope that “Angels and Demons” follows along the same path and focuses on the story like “The Da Vinci Code” did. I’m all for product placements in films as long as they’re done in a non-obtrusive way. Stories and films like “Angels and Demons” have more than just a beginning middle and end, they stir the annals of your brain, and get you thinking, wondering, looking and wanting more. It would be a shame if advertisers and marketers seek to ruin such a wonderful written story.

By: Gary Trandiak

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2009 Oscars: Product Placement and Advertising Cut Back; Old World Charm Showcased

iTVX Staff — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:00:37 +0000

If you recall last week, there was some speculation about the Oscars potentially not airing because of some issues with SAG (Screen Actors Guild) not being able to come to an agreement on negotiations about monetary compensation for web video, extra airing et. al. Well, low and behold the Oscars still went on unscathed last night Feb 21, 2009.

Promptly at 8:30 PM EST on ABC the Oscar’s aired with a delightful musical by Hugh Jackman (this year’s Host) introducing the audience to this year’s nominees, with some assistance from the Craig’s List dancers. After the musical Hugh continued with his hosting responsibility, and proceeded to dish out a few one liners to the audience; predominantly celebrities. I’m not sure if he wrote them himself or they were pre-scripted however, I didn’t find them to be that funny and based upon the reaction of those being picked on, it didn’t look like they did either. Maybe Hugh just isn’t that much of a funny man? Ben Stiller on the other hand made an Oscar-worthy performance as Joaquin Phoenix. Kudos to Ben!

One thing that was noticeable this year, as compared to previous years was the lack or absence of product placement in the awards show. Usually there’s a bunch of plugs and some products here or there but, this year was a little different. It was scaled down and more subtle. With this year’s new loosened advertising rules, there were more movie trailers that ran during the broadcasts than actual advertising ads. Advertisers that did show up for the event were the likes of JC Penny, which focused on its new line of designer clothing (goes hand-in-hand with the Oscars considering all the designer names that the celebrities wear), Hyundai showing off its new models and car of the year award, Coca-Cola and even T-Mobile made an appearance with their G1 Android phone.

There were of course your usual plugs for celebrity designers, who wore what and who designed it but, that’s expected when watching an awards show of any type. There’s always someone interested on the Red Carpet of after party. Shameless mentioning’s of Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Rodarte, Chanel and the like are all part of the fanfare. After all what’s a free donation to a celebrity, if all they have to do is mention your name, making an immeasurable amount of teeny boppers, tweens, and adults go crazy for that designer’s product line. Natalie Portman who has her own line of merchandise called Vegan, was spotted not wearing her own brand but the likes Stella McCartney shoes. Although we probably should cut her some slack, since there have been reported problems with the company that was supposed to manufacture the shoe line; supposedly they went out of business!

A name that came up several times during speeches and thank you mentions was Kathleen Kennedy a name synonymous with Steven Spielberg and that 1980’s movie, what’s it called …oh yeah E.T. Though Reese’s Pieces wasn’t mentioned the name couldn’t help ring a bell of one of the biggest product placements in history. After all the sales of Reese’s Pieces went through the roof after the placement, Kid’s went crazy for the candy, and it’s still spoken about today.

All in all, the Oscars made an attempt to remind the rest of the world that even Hollywood is cutting back in this constantly influx economy. There weren’t as many free hand outs given to celebrities, shameless or brazen plugs for companies, brands or products, and even the number of before and after parties were scaled back. Instead the Oscars attempted to provide the audience with an old world elegant feel of the 1940’s or 1950’s. Though the event carried on like an epic novel it was gracefully assembled.

By: Gary Trandiak

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Looking Back - 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend Sponsors

iTVX Staff — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:57:46 +0000

As the 2009 NBA All-Star game came to a close Sunday night I realized that the game itself wasn’t filled with sponsorships galore as in previous years, but rather integrations and treatments that were placed rather strategically, as to not interfere with what everyone was tuning in to watch; the All-Stars.

However, the rest of the All-Star weekend festivities were more outrageous than in 2008. The All-Star game started off with the East establishing a quick lead only to have the West come back and show the fans that it wasn’t just a fun mess around jam session. From the initial tip-off the fans were in for a great game.

Watching the game was more delightful than ever, as the broadcasters weren’t focused on subtly sneaking in that plug for a paid sponsor, but rather determined to call the game play-by-play like the games of yesteryear. While the All-Stars treated the fans with dunks, steals, and fancy ball skills the sponsorship remained for the most part on the sideline not to say they weren’t noticeable but rather tastefully integrated this year.

Some of the sponsors included Foot Locker™, Nike™, Gatorade™, McDonald’s™, T-Mobile™ and State Farm™ all of which made their appearance(s) at one point or another during the two hour event. I found the Gatorade integration to be noteworthy, as it’s a beverage that has been related to sports in general for several decades, and can now be seen in almost any sport, college or professional. The logo was displayed/flashed throughout the game while classic orange coolers made their appearance almost every time the camera scanned the benches. Gatorade continued The ‘Quest for G’ (Gatorade’s story featuring the likes of Kevin Garnett, Derek Jeter and Jimmy Johnson) with yet another memorable series webisode titled the ‘Hecklers’. See www.missiong.com for series information.

I personally didn’t feel like the Gatorade integrations or advertisements were the type of in-your-face placements that some other sponsors and advertisers were going for. Gatorade also kept its composure by keeping it simple as to not create a distasteful distraction from the real action, allowing the viewers to concentrate on the All-Star game, and not be swamped with advertisements, integrations and placements that had nothing to do with the sport or its athletes.

Kudos to Gatorade for doing what this sports fan considers a job well done! On the flip side the 2009 All-Star weekend had its fair share of nightmare placements and integrations that were for the most part just over done and forced on the fans and viewers. GEICO™ decided that sponsoring the H.O.R.S.E competition wasn’t enough; they had to actually go and rename the game to G.E.I.C.O! The purpose of this was what? Here you have an age old playground game that children and adults play, why go and ruin it? Couldn’t GEICO™ just say hey ‘we’re going to sponsor the event and leave it as is?

Nike™ on the other hand ingeniously integrated their brand into the All-Star events by creating custom designed Huarache sneakers for both the East and West All-Star teams. The East sported blue footwear while the West wore Red. Nike™ also created special sneakers in the color pink, in honor of breast cancer awareness, for the celebrity game. It’s great when sponsors do something for a specific cause!

One of the biggest gripes I have with advertising in sports is when the brand or product is almost forcibly shoved down your throat forcing you to swallow it if you want to continue watching the event. This brings me to my last grievance; T-Mobile™. For the life of me, I can’t seem to understand why T-Mobile™ has to smother their logos and brands all over every event they sponsor or advertise in. They were involved with almost every single festivity that took place during the 2009 All-Star weekend. From the rolling adds, to the T-Mobile™ Half-Time show, and Sophomore Rookie Challenge, even as far as the in game player stats! Enough is enough, the fans get it, and T-Mobile™ has a partnership with the NBA. Maybe it was just my eyes but I didn’t see too many players or fans sporting a G-1 Android…….

In closing, there were several sponsors that I believe did the fan’s a great justice in allowing them to watch the weekend long festivities and not feel overwhelmed with advertising messages to the point where the only option is to switch the channel. For those agencies and sponsors who continue to bombard viewers and fans alike with their brand and products during the game, and even after the game, take a hint from some of the sponsors and brands that have been doing this through the years, it can’t hurt.

By Gary Trandiak

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Sprite Sponsors, They Dunk, You Decide….

iTVX Staff — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:37:11 +0000

Another year, another NBA All-Star Weekend loaded with sponsorship, both new and old. Sprite makes its return for 2009 with a little more twist of lemon and lime. This year fans were given the opportunity to vote online at NBA.com allowing them to help choose the competitors for the 2009 Dunk contest. Hopefully this will help make this year’s contest a little more exciting. In addition Sprite has sponsored a number of short web videos designed to provide previews of what to expect from each contestant during the contest. Videos are available on numerous sites across the web, most notably Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo! Sports.

Look for Sprite to make a big splash on Saturday Feb. 14th during the Slam Dunk contest. Remember, ‘They Dunk, You Decide’ 2009.

By Gary Trandiak

Some information adopted from NBA.com

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Kara DioGuardi Moves Right in as New Idol Judge

iTVX Staff — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:39:45 +0000

By iTVX Staff

Kara DioGuardi made her debut as the fourth permanent judge on American Idol and while she seemed to fit into the mix seamlessly she also quickly set herself apart from the rest of the judges by being the first judge to ever call a contestant a “bi•••”. She also remembered a very important part of the judges job, drink out of the Coke glass on cue. To read more about her debut, click here

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