INNOBLOG

"Spot Runner" definitely looks interesting.

While I haven't exactly torn apart Spot Runner's Business Model, on the surface it looks to be quite interesting.

My gut feeling is that this disruption may hold some potential in the short to mid-range, yet in the long-run the underlying advertising model is doomed.

Media is fragmenting on virtually all fronts. Tivo / DVR Technology is absolutely decimating the traditional advertising model. With commercial-skipping, the in-your-face advertising model is sliding down a slippery slide to oblivion.

Product placement, both real and computer generated, is the new battlefield for consumer minds. Sporting events, and Point-of-Purchase (i.e. interactive, computer generated ads on the floor / wall) pose many more opportunities for reaching and influencing the consumer.


Overall, a definite "potential" disruption to the traditional "Advertising" model, yet in the long-run, in-your-face advertising is a dinosaur.

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Michael Davis, Editor - Byvation, Unleashing the Power of Innovation

I have dissected their business model by reading the fine print on their web site and comparing it to a semi-automated discount ad agency called Cheap-TV-Spots.com. I found that Spotrunner is only disruptive as far as the cosmetics of its technology (the user interface), but it is not disruptive qualitatively, nor is there any real savings or value for the potential target low-budget client. In fact, the automated Spotrunner airings cost more than the semi-automated Cheap-TV-Spots.com system. It appears that Spotrunner offers an upgraded ad comparable to Cheap-TV-Spots standard custom ad, but at a price nearly 5 times the Cheap TV Spots rate. Spotrunner does not appear to allow national airings (because of licensing restrictions), and it does not allow a web version of the commercial to be freely distributed by the client. Cheap TV Spots, by contrast, provides both local and national airings, and allows the client to freely distribute a web version via e-mail, social video networks, and other web postings. The most disturbing thing about Spotrunner is that the client is forced to keep purchasing their more expensive air time or Spotrunner will re-sell their ad to the client's competitor in the same market. So much for branding. Again, by comparison, the Cheap TV Spots system delivers local and national service with maximum flexibility at a cost (including air time) which is less than the hobbled Spotrunner system. Cheap TV Spots also does not insist on long term contracts for air time. The Spotrunner advantage is that it appears easier than talking to a live person (if you want to talk to a live person, it will cost extra). I suppose this could work for a client afraid to interact. But, a client afraid to interact with a live person is destined to fail in business, and there goes the golden goose. Maybe this is why there's been talk in Silicon Valley about CheapTVSpots.com acquiring Spotrunner. Cheap TV Spots actually has the better system, but to the uninitiated, Spotrunner looks like it has the slicker system. A CheapTVSpots.com / Spotrunner hybrid model is truly disruptive and the real acquisition for Google, Yahoo, or even social networks like YouTube, VEOH or MySpace. Ask.com could be another beneficiary. AOL seems a little too slow to take advantage of these things, although they are getting a bit more into TV. Not that this hybrid will shake Madison Avenue to its foundations, but it will cause more than a few local cable and local broadcast producers to shutter their doors.

My last point is that before there was TiVo, there was the VCR. Before there was TV there was film. Before film there was the stage. We still have the stage. We still have film. And TV's not going to disappear anytime soon. The web does not replace these other media, but compliments them. All work together to enhance experience and commerce.