One of the best things about my role as interactive strategist is learning about the interesting relationship between offline media and traffic to online sites. Put simply, some offline media drives traffic very effectively, some has no discernible impact at all.
TV, perhaps unsurprisingly, can work magnificently. We have seen first-hand at BCM the impact a TVC with a prominent URL can have on site traffic seconds after it has been on air – testament to how many households have PCs or laptops on the living room these days.
Which is why I was so interested to read about this development today – a new remote control technology being tested in the USA which allows you to save on-screen URLs to a central online repository for later browsing. The article mentions a current conversion rate in the USA (from viewing a URL on TV to browsing it online) of 0.2% – and rightly predicts huge bonuses for advertisers if this kind of technology can even increase that percentage to just 1%.
While this technology seems fantastic in itself, imagine the possibilities – instead of storing the URL, how about visiting the URL straight away via picture-in-picture, or throwing it via wireless to your mobile device?
This is just one more example of the clever ways the world of advertising is bridging online and offline media – like the classic ‘Google Pontiac‘ before it. If you’re interested in finding many more – check Trendwatching’s fantastic OFF=ON feature from a couple of months ago.
