Ever since TV was invented, marketers have been looking for ways to improve efficiency in media buying. This is not going to change. We are always looking for value, and in competitive markets, such value can usually be found.

Today’s battleground, however, is increasingly about effectiveness. First and foremost, content has to connect and create a buzz, real or online. To maintain its pricing power, pay-TV has to be as up-to-date as current streaming services, with live, real-time or relevant shows and programs.

More sponsors are employing strategists to develop winning blends of multimedia content, wrapped with social media, to attract traffic, start conversations and impart a glow to their brands. We are going to need more quality content to support that, imparted across real-life channels as well as media.

TV and Social Media

People still crave real-world social experiences – movies, concerts, football games, even meeting celebrities. How can the TV industry recreate these experiences, using content that is highly social and immersive, to attract consumers into our brands and franchises?

Recreating these experiences will help drive and maintain premium pricing. Anything that is just broadcast (i.e. one-way information) is worth less, because it offers less engagement and value for consumers. Selling more 30-second airtime will not cut it anymore.

Marketers have to rethink how their brands can perform better with content firmly integrated in their plans. For those who embark down this path, the possibilities for innovation seem endless. 

I would like to see Caltex become part of that experience. Imagine if the only way you could vote on a reality show was by visiting a voting booth at a Caltex service station. Or if fans could access content on their favorite shows by picking up tokens whenever they pump gas, or redeem Caltex loyalty points or credit to watch alternate story lines or scenes, or even chat with TV celebrities online.

Social media is yet another bridge, connecting consumers with content. For brands, social media strategies and TV content strategies need to be completely integrated. This means the TV industry needs to build stronger relationships with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

As brand-owner of Caltex, we could probably leverage that platform integration ourselves, but we may not achieve the massive reach required to be successful.

Pay-TV companies that can deliver integration with their own multimedia platforms, to amplify the viewing experience and bring more value to brand-owners – pre, during and post broadcast – will succeed more often.

Rising media fragmentation and complexity pose a big challenge to pay-TV companies, who have to sustain impact and audience share, while maintaining revenue and profit. Consumers, however, are having a ball. To them, fragmentation offers more choice, in terms of content, location, duration and time of day.

better services, lower costs

Fragmentation will also lead to cheaper media. As a buyer of advertising space, increasing media costs every year is becoming unrealistic. Deflation is coming. Organizations that seek the lion’s share of revenue need to offer better experiences, and not just more expensive ones.

We all have to evolve our models, and work a lot harder. In almost every industry, greater choice pushes down prices while driving advances in technology and quality. This happened in the telecommunications industry, and is likely to happen in pay-TV too.

Innovation is like an accelerating gear stick. Just as it is harder for pay-TV companies to compete, it will be harder for brands to compete too.

In our shrinking global village, more local brands are expanding internationally, crossing borders and creating new categories. Costs of entry are going down while more consumers are experimenting, seeking out better value and quality.

Ultimately, for advertisers like Caltex, the future is about getting closer to audiences on more platforms, but at lower rates. Welcome to the modern world of doing more with less.