Online vs. TV? No, it's online plus TV

By Kari Chisholm:

Over at Roll Call, they're looking ahead to online advertising in the 2012 elections. And while some TV consultants are still nervous about online ads cutting into TV budgets, our friend Michael Bassik makes the right point: It's not online vs. TV - it's online plus TV.

“Many traditional consultants have a fear that the Internet will cannibalize TV budgets,” Global Strategy Group’s Bassik said. “Our research shows it’s an ideal complement to a TV ad campaign.”

Andrew Roos, a Google exec that works with political folks, outlines the symbiotic approach:

This now includes pre-roll and in-stream video — 15- or 30-second ads that run before or during a video a viewer has clicked on, including on YouTube. These were not available to candidates in 2008, Roos said, but in 2010 more than 100 campaigns ran them and even more will likely do so in 2012. Because the appearance is nearly identical to a TV ad, they also allow consulting firms to utilize their in-house creative departments to reach a new and targeted audience. ...

Roos said TV and in-stream ads serve complementary roles, and that the online function offers three powerful additions to a traditional 30-second TV spot: With more people than ever watching video online, it extends the reach of an ad, it can extend the life of an ad, and it allows for a testing mechanism for different versions of an ad to see which one gets a stronger response before deciding what to put on the air.

We've done online ads - including online video - for several years now, and Roos is right: the medium is starting to seriously hit its stride.