Live advertising opens up a world of opportunities
Apr 30 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal
Andrew Mernin finds out how a North East advertising house is using new technology to tap into the next generation of TV commercials.
LAST summer a team of elite skydivers jumped out of an airplane and spelt out the word H O N D A as they plummeted towards the earth.
The feat was a world-first in advertising as it was broadcast as a live TV commercial, however its impact was largely anticlimatic with some ad experts deeming it more PR stunt than major industry milestone.
But, while it may not have shaken the media industry to the core, it did mark the dawn of the era of live advertising – an era which has opened up a world of opportunities for a North East advertising agency.
Using the latest in communications technology, Newcastle-based Drummond Central has earmarked live TV advertising as an emerging industry trend which could shape its future.
In the aftermath of the Honda advert, Julie and Steve Drummond – the husband and wife team which runs the firm – embarked on their own bid to tap into the new media device.
The company landed a deal with global gambling firm bet365 to broadcast live betting odds on adverts during live football games on ITV.
This alerted ITV’s rival Channel 4, who ran bet365 adverts with live odds for its horse racing coverage, including the famous Cheltenham Festival.
And Mrs Drummond believes the business could work with more broadcasters in the future.
“If the TV companies are up for it, then definitely. The merging of TV content and the internet is really interesting.” We knew this technology could be done early last year when eBay tested it on a small basis.
“Then Honda did a live ad for Channel 4. They built it up as this great thing that was happening but the reaction was “so what”. We knew the technology could be done but wanted to do something that was of more benefit to the customer.”
Adverts with Drummond’s live horse-racing feeds featured former EastEnders’ actor Phil Daniels while bet365’s football betting commercials starred comic actor Bert Kwok.
Julie said: “I have got a few more grey hairs after watching the adverts go out live but it’s tremendous for us to be delivering industry firsts.”
Drummond Central was launched five years ago and recently moved to new offices in Newcastle, after an increase in turnover and new client wins created a need for more space.
Customers of its advertising, design and web strategy services include fast-food giant Subway and Newcastle-based software empire Sage.
