World Now, which sells interactive advertising for the ABC Group of 10 local TV stations in New York, Los Angeles and other major markets, recently announced it has assisted the stations in relaunching their sites, which will begin to broadcast more video content. Adam Gordon, World Now’s chief revenue officer, discusses how the redesign improves the experience for users, while providing strong advertising opportunities for companies looking to reach an at-work audience, which hasn’t been able to view high quality TV content before.
iSPOT: You recently announced that you helped the ABC Television Group revamp its websites. What changes were made to the sites?
Gordon: It was a complete redesign. The biggest change is in the middle of the site. It’s all about promoting stories and focusing on news with a strong video element on so many stories.
iSPOT: How will it change they way people use the sites?
Gordon: There a quicker path to get the information they need and a much easier way to see the stories they’re interested in. We’re dealing with an at-work audience that is used to getting their news in the morning and evening from a certain broadcaster or station. During the work day they haven’t had the conduit to digest the information in a tv-esque way. The best way to mirror that experience is with video and since we have such a prominent video focus on the sites, it’s content that relates between the broadcaster and the user.
iSPOT: So the sites are used most at work during the day?
Gordon: Yes, we see tremendous spikes during the work day.
iSPOT: If the sites are used more during the day, do you sell ads by day parts?
Gordon: Absolutely, we slice and dice the audience 85 different ways. The natural focus is during the work day because even if we are not day part targeting, the ad server is going to serve ads when there are the most impressions during the work day. But we do have a fair amount of clients who want to heavy up during certain times. A lot of fast food clients and movie studios want to focus on the latter part of the day. It’s 4 or 5 o’clock and they want to heavy up on food-related info. Travel is a big focus on Thursdays and Fridays.
iSPOT: You said the ads you sell include pre-rolls and new methods. What are the new methods?
Gordon: We’re using some of the new ad units like overlays and bugs, which are brands that appear as floaters in the corner of the screen. Our clients are trying to figure out if it works for them. Being a partner in the space is figuring it with them so right now the new technologies are the overlays and bugs with new stuff coming down the pike in three months.
iSPOT: Can you mention any specific campaigns where these new methods have been tried?
Gordon: I can’t, but I can tell you that from a video standpoint, pharmaceutical, tourism and wireless technology are the biggest advertisers who are using them.
iSPOT: For the most part they’re local advertisers?
Gordon: We are local, regional and national depending on who the client is.
iSPOT: How much of the advertising is local and national?
Gordon: 50 percent is local, 30 percent is regional, 20 percent is national. But when you’re talking to us, you’re not just talking about ABC-owned stations. We offer a national platform that incorporates Raycom, Lynn, New York Times stations, and Grey. The numbers skew more 50-50 national versus local. The focus depends on their DMAs and what station sites they advertise on. ABC is in the top markets so most of our clients are on the ABC sites but the focus of what we sell is the depth of the country.
iSPOT: Do you sell ad packages that mix TV with online?
Gordon: No, we don’t sell TV advertising, we’re an interactive platform. Our TV partners sell convergence deals all day long but they’re local in scope. National deals for pure online dollars is where we’re at, it’s our job to get our fair share of that revenue. It’s a different client base than a TV advertiser. We sell to online agencies and clients who focus on online initiatives. At local standpoints, there’s a tremendous amount of TV and online packages being bought, but those are local. The advertisers work with TV sales reps to make the buys. TV stations sell single market localized campaigns; we sell regional and national campaigns, so when you go on our sites there’s a mix of local and national advertisers like there is when you watch TV. If Joe’s Crab Shack is looking to advertise online and on TV for Shreveport, Louisiana, they would contact KSLA to do the buy. If they were a regional chain across the Southwest, they would come to us for interactive so we could help them get that local feel across a series of local websites.
iSPOT: How is online video advertising growing based on what you’ve done with the ABC stations?
Gordon: It’s growing exponentially. It’s a dynamic growth that’s a function of user demand and what the stations are generating. In the last two years, TV stations have bought equipment that enables them to digitize a lot of on-air programming. It’s like the chicken and egg, which came first? There was demand from users and then the stations started putting more of their broadcast content online and there was more demand and they put more online. Stations see that from servicing viewers they can provide them with content they can’t get when they’re at work. Before you talk about advertising, you think about serving viewers. Stations are putting traditional editorial online to meet the demand and it provides a great way for advertisers to piggyback on the equity and leverage the medium to communicate to an audience that’s hard to reach during the work day.
iSPOT: Haven’t local TV stations been slow to get their content online?
Gordon: Originally, we had to pinch them to do it. Over the last three years either you evolve or you die. TV stations and brands see it as a way to service viewers and advertisers; it works two fold. We don’t have to pitch broadcasters about the need to use interactive and video content any more, they get it.
iSPOT: Are advertisers making the move online as fast as the TV stations?
Gordon: The advertisers are ahead of the TV stations. Some are creating original online ads and others are repurposing TV ads. That’s when the advertising is the most effective, when they find the creative that is specific to the media environment and what it can do is powerful when you use it the right way.
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