Business advice

Free advice on advertising in the world of Tivo

Ok if you are from a huge ad agency this will seem obvious but remember to watch your ads on a Tivo before you put them on TV. On fast forward with no sound really good ads can look like crap, and make people think the product is something it’s not or that the product is uninteresting. If you design the commercial so the soundless, fast forwarded version conveys your message too or better has a different meaning that, perhaps might not be allowed by the station, you can reel in the Tivo people. Plus, quick flashes of something tend to stick your mind and pop again later. So, what might be a 4 second long product shot of Oreo’s is reduced to a single frame that is planted in the mind that is processed later as a craving for Oreo’s when the person catches a glimpse of Oreo's in the store. As far as I know subliminal advertising is illegal, but this can get you pretty close. Failing the ability to convey a 30 second message in 3 seconds, you can always put in something that in the full story makes prefect sense, but soundless and fast forwarded will give the viewer reason to rewind and watch the whole commercial. Despite claims to the alternative Tivo is the advertiser’s best friend. Plus, late night TV is now available at any hour, advertisers can put spots during popular “cult” shows that get recorded at 3 am for a fraction of the cost.

Free advice to inventors

Do not invent what people know they need, invent something that only once you tell them about they will want it. If you try and met a current demand you run a strong risk of getting scooped, I call this being two steps ahead. A new inventor needs to be five steps ahead of the competition, since it will take the time equivalent to 3 steps to get up to speed, and then you will be in a good position to compete or will have enough proof of principle to sell your idea. Example of two steps ahead: a knife rack that clamps the knife blade and acts like a sharpening steel as the blade is with-drawn. Five steps: a home clothes drier/dry cleaner that uses liquid CO2 or an internally recycled low vapor pressure solvent to extract the water and then once the water is removed “dries” the cloths under a mild vacuum. Actually this is in my opinion the difference between sales (2 steps) and marketing (5 steps).