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In an earlier post, I spoke about the new craze – content; and how it’s become more widespread than ever before. I offered the idea that in order to stay atop this mountain of content at a time when media usage is increasing across all platforms, one must integrate all message communications and apply weightings to the different platforms used depending on the demographic.

Today’s post takes that notion one step further toward integration – specifically, integrating DRTV and Interactive to the 50+ market.

Integrating DRTV and Interactive is more than simply creating a spot, a landing page and buying media. It’s about using online channels to extend the reach of your TV spots in a way that recognizes that TV “viewing” today includes far more than your offline screen. Understanding today’s environment and online opportunities provides an excellent way to extend your investment in a manner that’s trackable, measurable, and cost-effective.

Integrating offline and online properties requires the use of both front-end and backend components that 1) surround the consumer in a 360° approach, 2) make it all work together seamlessly and, 3) meet consumer expectations.

At minimum, there are three technically sound types of placements for gaining more mileage from your TV initiative online.

1. Natural placements – those that coincide with offline placements such as a TV or radio station’s website.
2. Relevant placements – where a product or service is matched to relevant content/areas such as Google applications.
3. Tertiary placements – no-cost opportunities such as your company website and perhaps YouTube.

According to The Nielsen Company, the 50+ market spends a considerable amount of time watching TV, and more than any other demographic. However, their time spent online isn’t trivial. They use the internet almost as much as adults half their age and more than those aged 18-24. Therefore, your media budgets should be weighted to accurately reflect these usage trends.

As reported by MediaPost, a recent study performed by The Nielsen Company illustrated the power of integrating offline (TV) and online components to increase ad effectiveness. In this study of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, exposure on TV and online was more than twice as likely to prompt patients to ask their physician about a drug than on TV or the internet alone.

Consumers who had seen both a TV and online ad were 100% more likely to ask their doctor about it. Those exposed to the ads in the last seven days were 157% more likely, and when consumers were exposed to the ad both online and on TV in the previous 24 hours, they were four times more likely to ask their doctor about the drug.

The 50+ market is everywhere, ingesting many media forms each day as part of their daily routine rather than replacing them. The more you can integrate a relevant message across platforms, the better your chances are of succeeding, but you have to meet their expectations, too.

What expectations you ask? This market is a “been there, done that” group. They know what they like, and more importantly, what they don’t. In my next post, I’ll review the necessary steps of meeting their expectations and how to respect your elders as part of the process.