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SpaceBUG

For TV stations

Increasingly in TV it all comes down to revenue.  Whether it comes from ratings sold to advertisers or from newer sources such as telephone revenues, it all goes to the bottom line and becomes a target to beat in next year’s business plan.

To be successful these days, making great shows is not enough – the TV schedules are full of quality shows with high production values.  In today’s multi-channel and multi-media homes, viewers may not even know that your great show exists, let alone watch it.  Raising awareness and getting viewers to tune in and ‘sample’ your shows is becoming more of a challenge every season.

Competition is fierce between stations for ‘the next big thing’ which will capture the public’s attention, and the revenue that goes with it.  Whether it is a TV show, a format, or a premium phone line project, everybody is motivated to get it.

And rarely does something bigger than ‘the next big thing’ come along; something which offers a station the chance to shatter the schedule gridlock, increase revenue, and gain a lasting strategic advantage over the competition.

So you can understand why we are proud to present an innovation which does just that.
SpaceBUG
SpaceBUG is many things...
  • A revolutionary marketing format bringing interactive marketing to a new level
  • An ingenious electronic device that communicates via the TV signal; codes that keep the SpaceBUG ‘alive’ and invite viewers to enter prize draws are transmitted during normal broadcasting.
  • Small, attractive and robust, it can be distributed as a giveaway, packaged with your product.
  • SpaceBUG is our generic term for the format – its name and design can (and should) be altered to fit your brand’s identity.
 

How SpaceBUG works...

SpaceBUG is an electronic device just a little larger than a bottle cap.  It is small, attractive and robust, and can be distributed by you or by a brand partner as a giveaway.  By involving a brand partner you will gain promotional presence in stores and on packaging, and reach viewers that you may not otherwise reach.  You will of course also be building your relationship with that client.

Incidentally, the name SpaceBUG is our generic name for the device.  Its name and design can (and should) be altered to suit your needs.

At home, consumers peel off the back of the BUG to activate it, and then attach it to the corner their TV screen.  The BUG works on any TV and no extra equipment or software is needed.

Once activated, the BUG needs 'food' to stay alive from day to day.  This food comes in the form of discreet TV signals which can only be sent by your TV station(s).  These signals are sent during the course of your normal programming, at whatever time and frequency suits you.

Viewers are motivated to keep their BUG 'alive' so that they will be able to receive a 'call in' signal which will be transmitted once every day, inviting them to enter a daily draw.  On receiving this signal the viewer must make a call or send an SMS to the given numbers, within a certain timeframe (eg. 10 minutes) to be included in the draw.  On the same day, in prime time, a live on-air draw will be made to select that day's winner from all those who responded to the 'call in' signal.  The winner will be called, live on-air, and told the good news – that they have just won a pile of cash.

As long as the BUG stays alive (through being fed by watching your TV station), viewers are eligible to receive the daily invitations to enter the prize draw.  At the end of the promotional period there will be one last mega-draw with a jackpot cash prize, so there is a strong motivation for viewers to keep their BUG alive by tuning in to your station. 

Of course if their BUG does die through lack of 'food', then they can always get a new one in the same way that they acquired their first.

The game format is designed to be habit forming, and uses people's natural acquisitiveness, desire to win, and spirit of fun and play, to create and reinforce certain patterns of consumption and viewing which benefit your TV station.

Communication with the consumer is truly individual, as 'food' signals and 'call in' signals need not be sent to all bugs at the same time – we can target clusters or even single individual BUGS to receive 'food', or 'call in' signals, at whatever time we want.

Obviously the TV shows where these signals are transmitted will increase their ratings.  You can identify specific shows during which signals are sent; this could be a new show that you want to get off to a good start, or one that you have invested a lot in, but which is not performing as well as expected.  Alternatively, you could dripfeed 'food' throughout a specific daypart.  If you have a show which is already sponsored by a suitable brand, then including them as the brand partner in the SpaceBUG campaign and planning your signal transmissions around that show will bring additional value for the your advertising client, multiplying their benefits of working with you.

The scenario above is given as an illustration of the basic functioning of the SpaceBUG promotion concept.  In reality there are many variations on this scenario, which can be developed to suit your promotional and scheduling priorities.  If you would like to explore how the SpaceBUG can create value for your TV station, please fill in the short contact form below.

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