| Big Brother Could Bring Big Bucks | |
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Big Brother continues to produce lackluster ratings for CBS. Despite spicier contestants and more controversy within the house, the show's still not pulling in breakout numbers like its sister reality show, Survivor. Big Brother's viewers are die-hard fans, though.
Is Big Brother 3 a possibility?
The show's advertising potential is limitless. Think along the lines of Survivor. The key is to advertise certain products on Big Brother without turning the show into an hour-long commercial.
There are several ways to achieve advertising success without having viewers tune out the message and turn off the show.
The first Big Brother featured marked out two-liters of soda. Same for chips.
This is the perfect opportunity for Pepsi or Coca-Cola to become the official soft drink of Big Brother. With 38 cameras in the house, the company's logo would be more prominent and receive more air time than a :30 commercial.
Speaking of groceries, Apple or Hewlett-Packard could get in on the game, so-to-speak. One computer in the household linked only to an online grocer such as netgrocer.com could yield higher brand awareness for the companies involved.
Advertisers could also take advantage of newly evicted contestants. France's Loft Story, a take-off of Big Brother, has caused several companies to launch new ad campaigns. The show is one of France's most popular programs and a whole host of companies are cashing in on the possibilities.
Pepsi France produced a full-page ad featuring the first contestant, David, who departed the show voluntarily. The ad features the man lying on the floor surrounded by a six-pack of empty Pepsi cans. The text reads, "Here's why I left the loft."
Mutuelles du Mans Assurances, an insurance company, often focuses its ads on real people working through real insurance problems. This time, the ad features four former loft mates discussing apartment insurance.
Nissan created a radio ad featuring a fake conversation between two former Loft Story contestants.
Cegetel, a Telecom company, is promoting new rates with the slogan, "You'd have to be locked up in a loft to miss this."
For Big Brother, bigger changes awaited the new houseguests when they arrived. New furniture actually came from posh Los Angeles boutiques. Previously, furniture was supplied by IKEA.
In the future, a furniture company could become a sponsor. Just like you see on Survivor or even Big Brother's current deal with AOL.
Target's already a sponsor of Survivor but the company could crossover into Big Brother territory. Bedspreads with the Target logo could be supplied.
Better yet, one of Target's direct competitors could get in on the reality craze. Kmart recently brought the BlueLight Special back. The company could receive major mileage with an opportunity like this.
Contestants could compete for specific luxury items. The name of the supplier could be mentioned and packaging could contain the company's logo.
Considering CBS is charging for live video streams, companies could receive an unlimited amount of exposure. That 24-7 air time is something even Survivor can't offer.
While new advertisers won't bring up the ratings, the show can still raise additional revenue for CBS. And companies can even gain new customers.