RESPONSE Magazine - December 2017

Supported by innovative technology, Altia’s pumped-up video approach could alter the way people view, consume, and edit video. Historically, cameras have come with one lens and an imager. Getting a very wide field of view required a highly-distorting lens like fisheye lenses or anamorphic lenses.

“We took a completely different ap-
proach and built a system which consists
of an array of cameras, where each cam-
era has a normal, non-distorting field
of view,” Khan explains. “Then, we use
both computer vision and imaging sci-
ence technologies to stitch them in real
time.”
Khan says these techniques support
powerful consumer engagement. For
example, a car manufacturer can use it to
create an experience that draws custom-
ers in by putting them in the driver’s seat
on a test track. “That experience be-
comes a way to associate or affiliate with
that brand,” says Khan. “That’s pretty
powerful in that it helps to tell a story in
a more compelling and enriching way.”

The Wrong Advertising
Approach

As he looks around at how consumer electronics companies are spreading the word about their new and existing innovations, Doug Garnett, founder and CEO at Portland, Ore.-based Atomic Direct, says some — but maybe not nearly enough — are turning to TV to do it. Both Amazon and Google, for example, have substantial presences on TV, which they’re using to promote their brands and their individual products.

“When Amazon has an interesting,
new electronic product that it wants to
succeed,” says Garnett, a member of the

Response Advisory Board, “they put it on
TV and in stores, which is an interesting
irony.”
In other words, companies that have
emerged from the digital evolution are
turning to traditional means of reaching
their customers. Most of the TV advertis-
ing is not performance-based, Garnett
points out, nor is it designed to drive cus-
tomers to retail stores to make purchases.
Instead, most of it is image-based.

“They’re using brand-style ads, and I’m
not very happy with
them,” Garnett says, laughing. “I think
a lot of the Amazon ads in particular are
pretty off target when it comes to what
consumers really care about.”
Garnett blames some of those adver-
tising missteps on the fact that digital
companies tend to use online testing to
determine effectiveness, and to figure out
whether an innovative product has mar-
ket potential.

“This is an error because it’s very difficult to get your message out purely online for a product that’s highly innovative,” says Garnett, noting that some of these companies perceive TV as being too big of an investment to risk early on, and wind up putting a lot of effort into trying to do clever things online (e.g., viral videos) that only work every now and then, or sometimes must by accident. “Then they walk away and say, ‘Well, that’s not working,’ and decide that their product is the problem. In fact, it’s simply that they’ve used the wrong testing and/or advertising approach.”

NIELSEN CABLE NETWORK RANKINGS

Nielsen operates as an information and measurement company worldwide. It offers critical media and marketing information, analytics and industry expertise about what consumers buy and what consumers watch on a global and local basis. TV audience data above is from Nielsen NPM Sample and is based on live+same day viewing during the time period Sept. 25-Oct. 29, 2017. Ranking is based on the projected audience in 000s and the reportable day interval for each cable network. For inquiries on the above, please E-mail: sigma@nielsen.com.