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March 03, 2006
The new five-second rule
I’ll keep this short.
Having trouble making your messages brief? What if you had to confine your content to something that could be listened to in one minute? If that’s not difficult enough, what if you only had five seconds to get your message across?
That’s what marketers are up against in new tech media such as podcasts and audio podcasts: The “editorial” or news casts are often as brief as one minute, and the “ads” only last five to 10 seconds.
As Steve Smith wrote in his February 28 Mobile Insider column, “Short will be the new long.”
“Anyone contemplating in-stream mobile TV or radio advertising should go directly to iTunes' podcast library for his or her first lessons,” Mr. Smith wrote, “Remarkably enough, a handful of audio and video podcasters already see what short-form media sponsorships should be. Try the daily audio podcasts from The Onion. Not only are the shows a minute long, but the sponsor, Chili's, is happy with a 5-second end-piece. And it works. Likewise, Mondo Media's very popular Happy Tree Friends animated vodcasts have 10-second pre-rolls for the new album from The Strokes. Before I knew what hit me, I got a quick dose of images and music that convinced me these guys have that Franz Ferdinand vibe I like. Mission accomplished.”
Contrast this with the very long, very verbose content that is still the standard in corporate communication. A 1500-word print article? An eight-minute video? Web content that takes more than three minutes to scan? It all seems so retro.
As Mr. Smith writes, it’s time to embrace the simple, the small and, most of all, the short. “As my iPod, RSS feeds, and other aggregation tools move me toward my own on-demand nirvana, I understand how much impact and entertainment comes in smaller packages. The programmers at mobile video providers and podcasters tell me they themselves are amazed at how popular one-minute media is with users. The formats are helping them think more creatively inside smaller boxes and find that well-modulated jabs of have incredible power.”
Sorry I went on so long, but I’m still getting the hang of this brief new world.
Posted by Alison Davis at March 3, 2006 05:20 PM