EYE ON ADVERTISING:  The Buzz about Audience Engagement
Branded entertainment and product placement are all the buzz in advertising, and Buzznation has been a key catalyst in deal-making that catapults networks beyond the 30-second spot.  We sat down with Buzznation principal/evp Jeff Greenfield to discuss how cable can keep the ad dollars flowing during these tough times.

The economy is in the dumps, and only 8%-10% of viewers actually watch television ads these days, according to recent studies. Is product placement the answer to television advertising’s woes?
JG: I want it to be the answer, but it’s not necessarily the case. I see a lot of money flowing into the Internet because of the perception it’s being measured better there. The key for my clients is, “If it can’t be measured, I don’t want to do it,” because they’re being held accountable now more than ever before.

So what does this mean for cable networks?
JG: We met with a bunch of cable network presidents six months ago, and they’re all terrified. They’ve been told by their boards they need to increase traffic in ’09, and while TV is great they need to get Internet traffic moving. And they don’t know how to do it. This is a huge turnaround from several years ago when networks were ignoring the Internet. But now all of a sudden, if you’re a network you’ve become an Internet portal.

So saving traditional TV advertising is no longer top of mind?
JG: The Internet is becoming more and more of a play. It’s not just about ratings any more. Nielsen unfortunately is a flawed system, and the game is changing. Look at other industries—the Christian Science Monitor is going completely online.

Which networks seem to have a good handle on their Internet presence from an advertiser’s perspective?
JG: The one that comes to mind is  GSN. They created an online component for every new show, and now they have a valuable Internet property that interacts with television… Why do you think  Anderson Cooper urges viewers to go online and blogs during commercials? He’s actually telling viewers to stop can keep the ad dollars flowing during these watching the commercials and go online, because CNN  knows that if you switch to another network, they're going to lose you.

Otherwise, there's a lot of soul searching going on?
JG:Yes and no. My takeaway from these meetings is, “This is what’s working right now, and I don’t want to do any forward thinking because if I take a risk and it doesn’t work, I may lose my job.” Television people are not Internet people.  You almost need two people to run a network—a president who is a visionary who wants to increase viewership across the board and an Internet guru who can take the company in that direction.

What are advertisers looking for?  
JG: They want engagement. Television is still the best medium in terms of getting out a mass message. But in terms of driving a sale and actually delivering that conversion, the Internet is and will continue to be king. If I were a cable outlet, I would be engaging every independent producer I could, asking them to send what they have that fits with the network’s programming and putting it up on their site. But, again, I don’t see much forward thinking. I see concern about people’s jobs.

What’s your best advice to cable networks?
JG: Very quickly identify who your audience is and what that audience is doing online, and create an Internet presence for them that’s unique and engaging and unlike anything else out there. Then the ad dollars will flow.