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Profile: George Ehinger

Nov 4, 2002  •  Post A Comment

Title: VP, advertising and strategic relationships, TechTV
Recent interesting deals: “We pride ourselves in doing customized programs for our advertisers. This year we did two that were outstanding. The advertisers were Best Buy and Microsoft. In both cases we used our video production capability to create 30-minute sponsored shows on TechTV. Since the product offerings of these two advertisers are of great interest to our viewers, we were able to produce entertaining, informative content featuring these brands. The best part was viewers really responded favorably. The Microsoft show, for example, generated a quantity of unique visitors to a supporting Web site that was nearly triple our expectations.”
The next big thing: “As a result of the changing dynamics of distribution, special-interest television will continue to explode, just like special-interest publishing did in the ’70s and ’80s. The special-interest networks will be more flexible and creative in finding ways for advertisers to leverage the affinity that viewers have to their content. This will give rise to creative executions well beyond the traditional 30-second spot. The :30 isn’t dead, but TV advertisers will have a lot more options in the future.”
Is there anything you wish you had sold less of: “I guess all emerging networks have a love-hate relationship with direct response. We took a lot less of it this year as our success with big brands increased, but our viewers were still exposed to a few more pitches for hair replacement and psychic advice than I’d like.”
Is there anything you wish you had sold more of: “I wouldn’t have survived 15 years in media sales if I didn’t have something I wanted to sell more of. There’s a handful of brands that I think should be on our air but haven’t yet seen the light. I won’t name names. They know who they are.”
If you weren’t in media selling: “I love this job. But truth be told, I’d rather be playing golf.”