Facebook pursuing ‘strategy of targeting television advertising budgets’: Expert

Facebook Inc. and Twitter are emerging as power brokers for advertising dollars as they pursue a strategy targeting TV advertising budgets, industry experts say. Colin Donald, director at U.S. television research firm Futurescape Ltd., wrote in an email interview that the company has uncovered a Facebook recruitment ad that seeks an executive who can “convert clients’ national TV budget spends into Facebook marketing relationships” and who can close deals at a “7-figure level.” “Facebook is definitely pursuing a strategy of targeting television advertising budgets,” Donald said. He said that, on its own, Facebook has medium- to long-term advantages in the battle for eyeballs because it can be targeted to individuals' specific interests and behaviours. Facebook is now capable of serving as a platform for the streaming of HD video commercials and enables users to share ads or videos with friends through its “like” or “recommend” icons. “These can all be powerful competitive advantages in tapping TV ad spend,” Donald said. Duncan Stewart, Deloitte Canada's director of research for telecom and media, said in an interview that the power of social media tools, such as those on Facebook and Twitter, lies in branding rather than transactional exchanges—which are also Google’s core strength. “It’s more about establishing and promoting a brand on Facebook than selling hamburgers,” Stewart said. Donald said that the future of television, or advertising for that matter, is “social,” for reasons ranging from media ad integration to viewer interactions. And many viewers are now using social media tools to discuss their favorite shows as Facebook pages and Twitter accounts are being created for programs. Broadcasters are embracing social media because, as people share their viewing preferences on social media platforms, they promote the shows, potentially increasing their ratings or boosting television subscriptions. Donald said the the BBC’s iPlayer incorporated Facebook and Twitter into its recommendation feature, allowing viewers to tell friends what BBC programs they like. “Data from Facebook and Twitter can be incorporated into electronic program guides (EPGs), again to let people share their viewing,” Donald said. “Futurescape believes that this level of integration with the TV industry has made Facebook and Twitter into power brokers for television,” he said. “Facebook and Twitter are being integrated into connected TV sets, so they will be seen alongside programming … The same will be true for tablets.” There is now a close relationship between broadcasters, advertisers, and social media tools, what Stewart defines as a “two-screen experience” that leads to rassembleurs, or social media leaders. Stewart said the two-screen experience takes place when a viewer watches a television program passively while actively commenting to friends through Facebook and Twitter. “It’s the idea of re-assembling the crowd,” Stewart said. “Although there are linear systems that are pulling viewers away from the traditional television experience, there are other systems that are encouraging people to watch it in real time so they can share it with 500 of their closest friends.” Stewart said the rassembleur phenomenon developed with the Superbowl and the Oscars, but is now now seen more regularly in the broadcasting of other TV shows. Paula Gignac, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB), said in an interview that Facebook is emerging quickly and possesses specialized strengths almost equal to Google. “Facebook is developing more and more products that are going towards this transactional model ,” Gignac said. “They have their marketplace, their location-based services now where they can offer deals and opportunities for advertisers to link, in e-commerce as well, so they can get to that transactional moment.” Although experts agree that social media is taking the advertising and now broadcasting worlds by storm, both Donald and Stewart said it has a long way to go before it can overshadow broadcasters or even match Google’s advertising leadership. Donald told The Wire Report that Facebook would have to work hard to break through the long-established relationships that broadcasters and advertisers have cultivated over time with media agencies. Those traditional relationships might not accept the new presence of a seven-year-old social media company, forcing Facebook to seek out other sources of revenue. “Facebook is also looking at other sources, some of which also tie into movies and TV,” Donald said. “It is testing movie rental with Warner Bros. and there is a plan to enable viewers to pay to vote via Facebook in The X Factor. Both use Facebook Credits currency, with Facebook taking a share of transactions.” Stewart suggested that, for the time being, broadcasters will maintain an upper hand because they still control the broadcasting schedule, to a point. But he predicted further evolution of the relationship between broadcasters, advertisers and social media platforms. “It appears that it may in fact be something that allows the broadcasting industry to stay relevant in a digital world,” Stewart said. dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

Facebook pursuing ‘strategy of targeting television advertising budgets’: Expert

News | 05/30/2011 7:39 pm EDT

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