There’s not a lot of post activity on this blog yet (an understatement) so I was happy to read a new comment in this thread. Especially a comment from an intrigued reader.
I followed Clint’s link to his blog, Why We Worry and read his interesting perspective and solid contrarianism! In particular, Clint blogged about the predicted collapse of the Internet advertising economy by Wharton Professor Eric Clemons that I recently blogged about. Of course I posted a few comments on his as well 
If you like reading my blog, you’ll likely like this one too…questions the status quo on a range of topics.
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See these nice people. They are at the table looking to buy and sell your time and attention - without you.
Every day, nearly 1 Billion dollars is spent by advertisers with media companies to buy you and me. Our time and our attention. To seek our trial and ultimately our loyalty. It’s time for them to include us. We want “Our Seat At The Table” too.
That’s what this blog is all about and there is much more coming very soon!
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We did. Or at least we should have.
I’m scratching my head, looking at the role we all played on Super Sunday. Collectively, you and I were the big money stars of the show. The athletes on each team collectively made a few million dollars for their work. Chump change. Advertisers paid hundreds of millions for all of us. And for just a few hours of work.
Work?
Watching the Super Bowl?
Sure it’s a fun job, but it most definitely is work. Think about this…advertisers spent half a billion dollars trying to get your attention on Super Sunday. Why? Not because they are football fans who were excited for a good game. Not because NBC is a great network that does a bang up job on sports telecasts. Advertisers were buying our time. Our attention. Our word of mouth on Super Bowl Monday and beyond. Maybe even our consideration or our loyalty to their product. They bought all these things from us, so in a way, we were workers yesterday (and every day) in the $300 Billion advertising economy, albeit volunteers. And we did great work, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the advertising economy. Kinda makes you look differently at billboards, TV, web, and all the other ads you see every day, doesn’t it?
What are some of Super Bowl Sunday’s real stats to debate up and down Main Street? Advertisers spent about six bucks to reach each and every one of us on Sunday. It might not have paid for the flat screen TV, but it would have covered the bean dip and antacid. The typical party that ran from pregame to postgame ‘earned’ about two hundred dollars. Sure, well below minimum wage for a group of people ‘working’ for a few hours, but the work wasn’t really too taxing now was it?
Where is the money going? It’s too complicated of a mess of middle men to explain and believe me, they definitely deserve a share, but it’s not going to you and me, that we know. If that money was spent to reach you and your friends at your party, maybe we can figure out a way that we can drop the volunteer tag and get a seat at the advertising table. On super days, and regular days too.
Advertisers are spending over $300 Billion every year to reach us. If we’re so important to the advertising economy, I don’t see any reason why we can’t have a slice of the revenue pie. And these days, every little bit helps. Wouldn’t it be cool if the discussion at the water cooler would include how much money you made over the weekend watching the Super Bowl?
This is an idea I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I’ll be posting regularly. I’d love it if you’d share your thoughts.
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