Despite Bud.TV's shortcomings, PermissionTV's founder says it shows real vision and good business sense. Find out why, and what it will take to make the concept work.
Anheuser-Busch sparked a lot of buzz in the advertising world and generated excitement in the creative community when it announced plans to spend $35 million on original programming for Bud.TV, an online video site aimed at the beer-drinking demographic. Six months later, audience generation has been disappointing and there's a danger that this approach could be tainted. So was Bud.TV a bad idea?
Absolutely not.
In fact, it showed real vision and good business sense. It's simple: If advertisers can effectively reach their target audiences for a total cost that is less than they pay for traditional media, like TV for 30-second spots, they can dramatically lower their advertising costs. Equally important, by creating programs they own, advertisers can also turn advertising expense into program equity in the form of programming that will continue to generate consumer impressions for many years.
The concept of advertisers teaming with the creative community to create effective vehicles for reaching their target audiences is clearly one whose time has come, and the shortcomings of Bud.TV version 1.0 should not deter other advertisers from aggressively pursuing this approach.
It's ironic that television started in the '50s with programs directly produced by advertisers seeking to reach target audiences, and decades later, we're reviving that model. Soap operas were one well-known result of that era. You want to sell soap? Get women to watch TV shows brought to you by soap companies. It's all happening again.
This brave new era of unfettered online TV distribution will revive that model, and Budweiser should be complemented for being one of the first brands with the vision to give it a shot.
Why it isn't working
Budweiser's missteps are obvious and even understandable.
It should never have been called Bud.TV. Who wants to go watch a channel that sounds like it's about beer? Clearly, a rather small and narrowly-focused audience. Budweiser made its promotional effort more difficult by naming it something that would have to be explained. If they called it "Girls Gone Wild" their promotional task work might have been much easier.
In this particular case, the Bud.TV name also brought the company the ire of state attorneys general, who decided that a site about beer had to take more steps to prevent underage viewing than normal websites do. This led to a terrible registration system that required viewers to prove their age with their driver's license. Talk about having one hand tied behind your back!
Another problem with Bud.TV is the video itself. The company chose two sizes: too small and too big. The initial viewing window is too small to really enjoy the video, but when you enlarge it, the quality is too low to support full screen exposure. It looks pixilated and blurry. The larger window should be big enough to give the audience a good viewing experience but not at the expense of poor quality.
Also, there was no celebrity appeal. The channel, whatever it ends up being called, should strongly consider adding a few known celebrities or even just one superstar. It has some "names" but no one who has the star power to bring in audience and generate buzz.
How to fix it
Budweiser needs to scrap the name and start over again.
The programming should take center stage. Budweiser should offer multiple programs in a higher quality video format and with a better user interface. With the right collection of programs for the target audience, each one should promote the other shows. One clever hit could recoup Bud's entire investment in programming with low cost CPMs and provide programming that could generate impressions for years to come. The shelf life of the created content should be a factor in choosing which projects to pursue.
There should also be a mix of traditional and non-traditional commercials, capitalizing on the additional capabilities that high quality web video platforms provide. Budweiser should include some of the legendary commercials it has created that will resonate with the audience. In addition, the programs should feature non-traditional, but classy, Budweiser mentions and product placements. And there's no reason why other Anheuser-Busch food and beverage products shouldn't also get promoted.
Budweiser also needs to do a better job promoting the new programming, including using traditional media and PR. Again, this will be a lot easier to do if it's innovative programming rather than Bud.TV.
Budweiser should consider syndicating some content. Syndication of select video to other web video distribution sites such as Yahoo! would generate additional visibility and provide greater opportunity to establish a faithful viewer base. Of course, Budweiser advertising should be hardwired into all syndicated programming, and the majority of programming should still be restricted to the Budweiser-owned site to build traffic.
What next?
As with any great idea, the devil is the in the details. Is MySpace just Geocities done better? Is Facebook a more compelling version of Friendster? The simple answer: Yes.
We are moving closer to the inevitable merger of the traditional TV screen and the internet. The trials and errors of pioneering efforts, such as Bud.TV, provides advertisers a better understanding of how to produce targeted, compelling programming they can offer directly to audiences along with their commercial message. Advertisers need to team up with the people who have built audiences before and creative producers with an understanding of the audience.
Don't give up Budweiser!
Dave Graves is founder and chairman of PermissionTV. Read full bio.