Tracking is easy with TV. It's been done for nearly sixty years. It's just not quite as geeky as the internet. If TV did not work well do you think Coca Cola or The Snuggie would use it? Think about it. But I agree with you about a couple of things, both Google TV ads and Spot Runner provide limited real value for the entrepreneur on a budget. It's a sexy pitch though - but mostly for fools. Clients bidding against each other via a buggy form interfacing with an industry (TV) that is not automated is a simply a bad idea. A straightforward and more transparent approach is better for price and quality. The more "user-friendly" the form is with these so-called "automated brokers", the more likely it is a sham or will provide questionable value. Sorry, that's how it is. The last man standing is this market will likely be the dotcom Cheap-TV-Spots, the company that started the internet-based TV ad agency model, and the most award-winning discount TV ad agency in the world. Cheap TV Spots produces custom TV, web and mobile ads for a flat rate and has aired them for as low as $30 to $100 per airing to nearly 100 million USA households for that tiny amount, with no long term contracts required. Spot Runner generally "rents" template ads and adds too much to the actual cost of their air time for most entrepreneurs to easily afford (read carefully...Spot Runner says that it adds on fees in its own fine print). The Google's TV ads system is extremely convoluted and appears antagonistic to achieving a realistic schedule for a small business on a budget. Google TV lists their "approved" associated TV producers that in most cases produce very low quality TV ads or likely bait and switch to higher cost ads. One of Google's TV production associates even has an - F - rating at the Better Business Bureau!! I'm pretty sure that another Google producer pumps up his own Google TV rating by having friends sign up to the system to shill for him. I've seen his ads and they are not technically ready for broadcast. That said, all this press is good for Google investors - but bad for entrepreneurs trying to get a crafted message out there at the lowest possible price. Like I said: These "automated brokers" seem sexy. But then so does the last girl or guy in the bar - until you look real close. ;-)
Tracking TV Ads are Easy
Tracking is easy with TV. It's been done for nearly sixty years. It's just not quite as geeky as the internet. If TV did not work well do you think Coca Cola or The Snuggie would use it? Think about it. But I agree with you about a couple of things, both Google TV ads and Spot Runner provide limited real value for the entrepreneur on a budget. It's a sexy pitch though - but mostly for fools. Clients bidding against each other via a buggy form interfacing with an industry (TV) that is not automated is a simply a bad idea. A straightforward and more transparent approach is better for price and quality. The more "user-friendly" the form is with these so-called "automated brokers", the more likely it is a sham or will provide questionable value. Sorry, that's how it is. The last man standing is this market will likely be the dotcom Cheap-TV-Spots, the company that started the internet-based TV ad agency model, and the most award-winning discount TV ad agency in the world. Cheap TV Spots produces custom TV, web and mobile ads for a flat rate and has aired them for as low as $30 to $100 per airing to nearly 100 million USA households for that tiny amount, with no long term contracts required. Spot Runner generally "rents" template ads and adds too much to the actual cost of their air time for most entrepreneurs to easily afford (read carefully...Spot Runner says that it adds on fees in its own fine print). The Google's TV ads system is extremely convoluted and appears antagonistic to achieving a realistic schedule for a small business on a budget. Google TV lists their "approved" associated TV producers that in most cases produce very low quality TV ads or likely bait and switch to higher cost ads. One of Google's TV production associates even has an - F - rating at the Better Business Bureau!! I'm pretty sure that another Google producer pumps up his own Google TV rating by having friends sign up to the system to shill for him. I've seen his ads and they are not technically ready for broadcast. That said, all this press is good for Google investors - but bad for entrepreneurs trying to get a crafted message out there at the lowest possible price. Like I said: These "automated brokers" seem sexy. But then so does the last girl or guy in the bar - until you look real close. ;-)