A fresh development in online media is the long overdue "creative enrichment" to the traditional "banner ad." Imagine your surprise when you click on an ad and see the Google satellite image zoom in on the retail location nearest you - then you sit back and watch a seamless transition into a video pitch and product profile. This is where geo-targeting now meets video media convergence. As a culture, we can now "watch" even more than we "read".

For lack of an existing category name, I'll call this hybrid "Geo-Video" marketing, and the big question is whether it can deliver conversion results. As we work harder to capture the attention of consumers, the volume of "noise" has increased, and global agencies often use marketing to entertain, rather than inform customers. Google is testing this Geo-Video approach with GM's Saturn Aura and the approach feels like the right balance of "techno-wow" and relevant info. We'll wait and see if the campaign delivers more test drives and ultimately sells more incremental vehicles. In the meantime, as an Internet marketing firm, we're working on a synergy between mobile phones and the web that may result in Geo-Video moving to a whole new GV-Mobile level.

Source: New York Times 9/22/06

Posted by: Charlie Szoradi - 10/01/06

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