Tech. revolution in Advertising shifts the power base.

We have all heard about “clickable video.” You know, where you “click” your mouse on a shirt or dress that some character is wearing in your favorite SOAP and, - voila! you can buy it right off their back.

If we haven’t actually seen it, we have certainly heard about it.

The truth is that this concept has been out there since the ‘90’s, when Barry Diller was experimenting with Interactive TV, but it is only recently that the concept has been chiseled into a workable and very exciting reality.

I am currently working with a company that finds itself at the forefront of this new Ad. Rev. business. I offer you a link to an episode of our online Lifestyle/ Shopping show we called “2 Chix Who Love Stuff.” As you watch the show, click on every and any thing you see: clothes, people, things….when you click again on the thumbnail that appears to the side, you will be taken where you can : shop, get more info or be exposed to any site the content owner chooses. But here’s the beauty of it….you CHOOSE when to be advertised to.

http://www.2chixtv.com/index.php?movieName=2chix_v2



Cool, right? BUT where and how does this change the Ad. Market and where and how does this benefit actors?

The old Ad Rev. model worked like this: content owners made popular product in order to draw eyeballs to the publishing site. This site could be a TV Network like NBC or a website, like Hulu. The publisher would then sell Ad. Space on his site AROUND that content. It might be in the form of 30 second commercial spots in the act break of “Friends” for $200,000 or as a banner Ad. on hulu for so many cents per “click”, that either exposed the viewer to the Ad. or delivered a viewer to the Advertiser’s site. According to the popularity of the content and the number of eyeballs it drew to the publishing site ( NBC or hulu,) the publisher would pay the content owner a licensing fee.

With me so far?

The point is that the publisher, who controls the outlet for the content to be seen, the DISTRIBUTION, controls the Ad. Rev. (the $$$$,) and therefore the game.



Now, this is where the whole building is coming down . The all-important Ad. Rev. is drying up. On TV everyone is TiVo’ing and avoiding exposure to Ads. and on the internet, no one wants banner or pre-roll Ads. getting in the way of the entertainment. There is also less control on the means of distribution because anyone can upload content onto any .com they want. All this translates into less Ad. Rev. for the publisher. Understandably, he wants to cut down on his costs by not paying pesky things like residuals or scale fees to actors.

Understand this one vital point. The Ad. Rev. (the $$$$,) comes to the publisher from selling Ad. space AROUND the content, on the picture frame, as it were.

BUT….what you saw in the demo. above was the Ad. Rev. being sold INSIDE the content and therefore CONTROLLED by the content owner and NOT by the publisher.

The content owner, who has now sold thousands of pixels of his video to sponsors and advertisers and merchants for “cents per click,” or commission on product sales, reaps all that income directly from the sponsors etc. The advertising value of his content is now inherent in the content itself and will follow wherever that content is published. He can now tell the bigger publishing sites that he will not only deliver eyeballs, but might also be willing to share some of his revenue IF they can guarantee wide distribution on the site. Heck, he might just run the content on his OWN site and keep ALL the revenue.

So where does this help actors again???

Well, who are these “content owners” in the Land Rush days of the Internet if not the creatives? With distribution suddenly available on every .com, actors, writers and directors are pounding out “content” as fast as they speak, write or yell:

” Action!”

As this new technology puts Ad. Rev. and financial control firmly in the hands of the content makers, we really don’t need studios, networks, Disney or GE. Don’t you think Coca Cola or Nissan would rather talk turkey with George, Tom, Meryl or Angelina than some dull-suited exec? With distribution and revenue in our hands, we can rebuild that simple triangular relationship between storyteller, audience and commerce that started in the Cave.

CHARLES SHAUGHNESSY.