Howdy to everyone out there in the TDI tribe (yes I am listening to Seth Godin’s book – review to come in another blog post).
NCIS & web marketing
A short while ago I wrote a blog article about how CBS and NCIS benefited from expanded marketing reach when they aired reruns on the USA Network. Today, I read a relevant article on MSN talking about how NCIS is indeed seeing an increase in viewership.
So, the first conclusion we can get from the MSN article is that my blog is now driving millions of people to CBS so they can watch NCIS – yes that is correct, we are sending millions of people to the show!
Okay, well probably not, but this article does reinforce my previous assertion that reach aids in marketing and exposure.
If you read the article, you will find that the MSN reporter is correct in many of his observations: yes, NCIS’ writing is good and yes, the humor makes the show very enjoyable. In fact the whole show is just good entertainment; however, the reporter overlooked how these millions of extra viewers are now finding the show to increase its numbers. As I mentioned above, one reason is reach.
In fact, I know of one person (me of course) that found NCIS through the extra marketing reach USA provided the show. How many others are like me? What do you do to help improve your marketing reach? Could you be doing more?
Photo courtesy of ~Merete
Let me first say that I love NCIS and have been a fan since season one. Sometimes it takes a while for marketing to “reach” a greater audience. Marketing is not a science. What works in one industry may not work in another. The principles of marketing are all valid but they play out differently for different companies even within the same industry sector. By airing re-runs through USA, the show is obviously hitting a demographic that it missed in its prime-time slot. That benefit is awesome for the show but they probably are pleasantly surprised by the effect it is having on the new episodes. You are right though, making the reruns available has increased the “marketing reach”.
You are right about what works for one industry may not work for another. I found an interesting article on the Persecution Blog talking about Christians using balloons to spread the Gospel in N. Korea.http://www.persecutionblog.com/2008/11/balloons…Now, I cannot imagine me using a balloon tactic quite like this for my marketing efforts, but I pray that it is working for them.I also love the point you bring out about how “the principles of marketing…play out differently for different companies.” The beautiful part about web marketing is that there is no one answer. Putting the time in and tweaking the whole formula is the key to finding out what works best for each person.Thanks for the insight and thanks for the comments!