Sunday, May 23, 2010

Hulu - Let Consumer's Choose

Hulu (www.hulu.com), an online video service provider, allows users to watch and share full-length TV shows, movies and other video content from over 200 leading content companies. And it’s FREE. It is able to support the free service by generating revenue through advertising sales.

Recognizing that many consumers can’t stand to watch advertisements, especially advertisements have no relevance to them, Hulu recently added a feature that gives users [some] “control over their video ad experience.” The service, coined “Ad Tailor” let’s viewers give Hulu real-time feedback on whether or not an advertisement was relevant. While this new feature doesn’t remove advertisements altogether, it does attempt to tailor future ads to consumer’s interests. Occasionally, instead of an advertisement, Hulu may pop-up a survey. Answer a multi-question survey and Hulu guarantees an extended period of ad-free viewing.

I, for one, see a lot of value in what Hulu is trying to do. It’s a win-win situation. Knowing that I’ll be subjected to a series of advertisements, I’d much rather they be advertisements that are relevant to me. The move not only allows Hulu to continue generating ad revenue, but it also builds consumer loyalty and yields positive press. I appreciate the fact that Hulu recognized consumers’ distaste of advertisements and did something about it.

Relevant Articles
http://www.hulu.com/about
http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/05/hulu-giving-users-control-over-their-video-ad-experience/

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