In this new fragmented world, marketers are forced to hunt their target markets all over the media landscape. It is no longer as easy as placing a 30-second spot in a television show on a specific channel (that still has its place).

The advent of fragmented media and a major shift in consumption patterns has resulted in a stronger focus on the audience and the various ways that they interact with content and each other. If you want to sponsor a web-only show, you should be less concerned about the anchor website and more focused on the distribution of the show - where is it going to end up and how many views will it get?

We all know where our target markets are, we are just trying to figure out the best ways to engage them. People are pre-occupied and tend to ignore advertising but there are creative aways to guarantee your brand is seen and your message gets across - but are marketers willing to spend the money to sponsor rather than just advertise?

Prom Queen (the web show) and one initial sponsor, Disney’s High School Musical, is a great example of using massively distributed media to reach a target audience. Prom Queen did not focus on driving traffic to its website, Promqueen.tv, instead the focus was on distributing the show through video sharing and allowing people to watch it where they wanted.

The show airs on MySpace TV and other social networking sites like Imeem, the homes of the target market for the show and the sponsor. Could that be part of the reason High School Musical has done as well as it has?

I would love to learn about other examples where marketers are going where their markets are rather than trying to get their markets to come to pre-determined locations (liked the failed Bud.tv).

Filed under: Marketing Trends, Strategy