Old Media, New Media, Borrowed Media, Blue Media

Broadcast Date: December 11, 2008. (Original January 26th, 2008)

Terry O’Reilly tracks a seismic shift in the marketing world: the fall of Television as the “flagship” ad medium, and the rise of a radical new trend: marketing through ideas.

Instead of using advertising to reach teenage males, Burger King created its own series of Xbox 360 games, featuring its “King” character. After two million sales in just five weeks, Burger King equates the number of “brand impressions” to that of 13 Super Bowl ads.

When General Electric wanted to promote its brand at the Beijing Olympics, the tactic it chose was infrastructure. Instead of expensive Olympic advertising, GE helped build a water filtration plant, through which it hopes its brand will resonate for years.
“Ideas” as the hottest new ad medium, this week on The Age of Persuasion.