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Networks Noodle on Keeping Viewers during Commercial Breaks

During television network development meetings last week in Los Angeles, the networks that acknowledged the need to come up with new solutions that will help retain viewers during commercial breaks received praise from advertisers.

The CW talked about its successful content wraps, which it hopes to improve and to use more often next season, writes Mediaweek. “What I like about [content wraps] is that they bring more value from the viewers’ perspective to the commercial pod,” John Swift, managing director at PHD U.S. is quoted as saying.

NBC also got high marks, particularly for focusing on reaching and measuring consumers across all media and for treating advertisers as partners. “They’ve made tremendous inroads in terms of sitting down with advertisers and getting something done,” said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, executive vp of Starcom Entertainment.

But while ABC, with its plans to experiment with creating an environment where ads breaks and content are seamlessly integrated, scored an “E” for effort from media buyers, they believed that the integration still needs work.

For example, ABC showed 10 video samples of how integration might work, such as having a television screen within the content, with characters of According to Jim watching TV. The television shows an ad, which viewers can see as well. The ad then expands to fill the entire screen and the commercial break begins. “It seemed a little intrusive,” Caraccioli-Davis is quoted as saying, though she adds that she gives ABC credit for thinking how better to program commercial breaks.

Swift agreed that it was a clever first step, but would like to see the program content brought into the commercials.

Wendy’s is one advertiser that has worked to just that, by reflecting a show’s content within an ad. During certain NFL games on Fox, the content in the ads varied depending on what was happening during the game (whether there had just been a score or whether the score was nill, for  example).