In what at first appears to be a dramatic move, Foster's beer has shifted all of its TV advertising to the Web. It will begin the campaign on video site Heavy.com, which caters to mostly young-adult men, according to a report by CNET, commenting on an article in the Wall Street Journal.
The program kicks off on Aug. 16, with the launching of Heavy's "Massive Mating Game" program. The report also states that the brewer will also offer comedy video ads on other sites also.
Gary Stein, director of strategy for Ammo Marketing, commented that this looks like a huge move and shift for a beer that has become known in the U.S. through commercials on TV, it's still pretty much safe strategy that will be used to test the online market.
The popularity of the beer within its niche makes it the perfect candidate to experiment with, according to Stein.
To me, it's not the niche, the company or the strategy that really matters here, it's the fact that companies are beginning testing the online waters that is significant. It's not a matter of "if" companies will move a significant amount of advertising dollars online; but how and when.
This, and other experiments like it, are the beginning of finding out the best way to do it. TV executives and studios need to be nervous about this. Once the testing is over, there will be a huge navigation of advertising spend shifting from television to the Web.
Comment Preview