Gotta Go with Your Gut

Last week, David Goetzel of MediaDailyNews wrote an article pertaining to Yahoo web series. In a "gutsy" move, Yahoo will bypass its usual time consuming efforts of analyzing audience feedback, demographical analysis, audience tendencies, etc. and launch "Ready, Set, Dance!"

It will be a reality-competition series, where contestants break out into dance spontaneously when a camera arrives, will have 12 weekly episodes. It is sponsored by State Farm, which will be integrated into the content.

The reality series is a part of a deal with Electus, an outfit run by Ben Silverman, who spearheaded NBC's "The Office" and "The Biggest Loser." Yahoo said that it does not want to move into larger productions of popular web series.  These forms of medium typically have loyal followers, however the popularity is nothing like that of a TV series.

If you ask me, I believe that this is a step in the right direction for Yahoo. It may be a first step in a walk that leads nowhere but it is one that needs to be taken. Popular videos off of YouTube reach million of viewers within weeks, sometimes days. After months of deliberation and research by execs many of these "sequels" get the kibosh thrown down upon them. These deliberations by execs seem irrelevant though because by that time the decision is made, the buzz of the video has already died down.

I love watching "The Office" and "How I Met Your Mother" because they both are 30 minutes in length. The shows fly by and after each episode I am left wanting more. I don't get up, walk into my dining room table, ponder the significance of the episode with associates and wonder if I'm going to watch the next one (. . . though I may go to the dining room for a snack and repeat the jokes with my friends).  Instead, I enjoy what I just saw, wait until next week and repeat the funny lines from the show repeatedly.   

The point I'm trying to make is that every advertiser takes advantage of "market hype." When something is hot, when something is popular, when something is "it," good advertisers use whatever creative vehicle necessary to popularize it. "The Office" and "How I Met Your Mother" are popular shows and they don't end after one episode or take months to create new ones (don't bring up season finales either you smart allecks out there).  This effort keeps advertisers in business and puts food on their tables. Therefore it is only natural for Yahoo to go with its gut because in the end, your gut makes the majority of your most important decisions. 

Come on . . . you can't tell me what you want for lunch and dinner aren't some of the most important decisions of your day!

Here is Goetzel's full article Here is the Goetzel Article