During the trip, we heard a commercial for a car dealer, a commercial for a furniture store, a promo for a weekend show, a station bumper (a short ID), a commercial for a fast food chain, and a commercial for something else. We arrived at our destination without having heard a single note of music (save the music beds for the commercials).
After dropping her off, I headed home. I turned off the radio and turned on my iPod. It picked up the "This Week in Media" (TWIM) podcast that I had started listening to the earlier right where I had left off. I listened to six minutes of in-depth conversation about new media business models before arriving home.
And lest you think this is a totally unfair comparison of commercial vs. non-commercial programming, be aware that TWIM also has advertising. That particular episode was sponsored by Audible.com and Gotomypc.com. Both commercials were embedded in the program. Rather than used pre-produced spots, the ad copy was read by the show host and commented on by the panel. In essence, the ads became a continuation of the panel's conversation.
Theoretically, I could have fast-forwarded through the commercials, but since the conversation flowed in and out of them it would have been kind of a pain -- and the panel made the spots interesting enough to listen to anyway.
One media delivered -- the other didn't. My experience was not unique. And neither was my inclination to turn off the radio.
- Ralph
Day 82 of the WJMA Web Watch.
We've got to get together to discuss this stuff!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. What's your schedule look like next week?
ReplyDeleteI won't know more until after my staff meeting tomorrow, but Thursday could be good.
ReplyDelete