Is Your Marketing "Stop Tivo" good?

One of the greatest things about Tivo is the ability to skip through commercials, to avoid being exposed to advertisements that I don't seek out. The ability to watch only what I want when I want has become so ingrained that about half the time I'm watching a live show, I still pick up the remote and try to fast forward through the ads only to be disappointed, and I bet there are other TiVo users who have done the same thing.

However, I have to admit that right now there are two companies that have me so hooked that I will actually stop the Tivo to watch the commercials; Nike and Apple. Anytime there is a new Mac/PC ad, I stop and watch. And lately, I've gotten caught up in the Kobe/LeBron puppets. The Kobe shoe catching fire made me actually laugh out loud.

Tonight as I was watching TV and fast forwarding through the commercials, I started thinking about how this idea could spread beyond just television advertising and into the broader scope of marketing. It's basically about getting your customers to stop and take notice of what you are doing, to stand out above the crowd (Seth Godin refers to this as the Purple Cow).

This idea definitely ties into my previous post about go big or go home. It is the measuring stick of how good your marketing message is. And the nice thing about the "Stop Tivo" good ideal is that it can be adapted for your audience. For me, Apple's Mac/PC ads are "Stop Tivo Good", but this definitely doesn't apply to everyone. Additionally, it is relevant whether you are talking about B2C or B2B, whether you run large advertising campaigns or not.

When developing campaigns, programs, or the like, ask yourself, "If this was on TV would my target audience stop Tivo to take notice?"