Future advertising will likely be content-based, says Turner’s Cox

TV advertising will increasingly be based around content in its own right rather than take the form of the traditional 30-second spot, according to Simon Cox, vice-president and head, Turner Media Innovations, EMEA.

Speaking at the Future TV Advertising conference in London yesterday, Cox said that advertising in the future could increasingly take the form of games, competitions or other forms of content designed to drive viewers to a retail experience. This ad-based material had to enhance content that was already available on the channel, he said.

“Average advertising will not work in the future,” said Cox. “It needs to be wrapped around content.” While kids were obvious early adopters, these types of new types of application were also relevant for other segments of the audience, he said. Cox said Turner had done work with L’Oreal on a kids shampoo product and had built a campaign where kids got involved in competitions that made the brand relevant for them. “It is possible with other things but you need a great brief from the advertiser. Otherwise it is very difficult,” he said.

TV is increasingly used for a driver to take viewers into the digital space where Turner can create a one-to-one relationship with them, said Cox. Turner is currently using microsites within its website but will move to apps later, he said.

Cox cited the example of a campaign run by Turner for Lego, which is a toy partner for the Star Wars show. Turner created short pieces of ad-funded content to drive kids online to play games and engage with the brand more deeply.

“Advertisers will eventually pay for the overall package. It’s about having one conversation [with clients],” he said.
Cox said Turner was already doing work to understand how effective various forms of marketing were in terms of raising awareness.

Cox said Thinkbox research showed that mulstiscreen viewers stayed in the room for 81% of ad breaks compared with 72% for non-multiscreen viewers. They were also more likely to feel positively about ads, he said.