One of the beauties of the broadband revolution is the incredibly cool ability to become your own media figure. The weblog is the sounding board for the would-be or part time journalist; the podcast is an answer for jockeys who won’t settle for $6 an hour and free CDs; and soon, consumer generated television, through monetized services like iSee TV will provide the catharsis for all Tom Brokaw wannabes.
This is pure deregulation. Anybody with a few hundred dollars worth of equipment, who wishes to move beyond the limits of text and HTML, who is ignored by major media because a few stuffed shirts didn’t like the pitch, can have their shot.
And those in e-commerce looking for an edge, an online media blitz is the answer.
This was the rationale behind the online movement Houston radio station The Buzz 94.5, a Clear Channel station, whose staff was looking for a better way to interact with listeners and a better way to present the messages of their advertisers. They found that edge in iSeeRadio, a division of iSee TV.
iSeeRadio, matching voices with faces, provides the media player through which Morning Show Host Rod Ryan is not only visible, but interactive with chat and online polls. Advertising is visual and constant, with geographically targeted tiles that do not intrude or distract from content. Like Nascar cars are plastered with sponsors as the race continues, the sponsored tiles are there, not everywhere.
“iSeeRadio gives us a great opportunity to delve into a new world and offer our advertisers something that is cutting-edge. We’re really capitalizing on this huge wave of Internet advertising and taking it to that next level-not just audio but a visual medium. The possibilities are endless,” said Stephanie Donovan, Clear Channel’s Director of Non-Traditional Revenue in a testimonial.
And one of the more important models of business here is that content is not limited to those that are already in media. It is open to educators, musicians, and non-media companies wishing to promote their content, monetize it, and broadcast it. Creativity is really the only limit on possibilities.
It really is time to broaden the online approach to advertising. Move now or play catch-up.
