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Comment by bandhunt | Hacker News Reader

Google tv is easy, but bad for a startup. Converting brand new users from TV to the web when they don't know who you are is VERY hard.

I spent about $15K with my last company on google tv ads. It was a sports site and we got on espn etc. I poured over server logs and google analytics and didn't see any value from these ads - no spikes or noticeable conversions whatsoever.

CPM was super cheap so we got a TON of impressions.

We had a pretty decent ad too I think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUfTjtOQ8fM

It ended up being more of a vanity thing of having our ad on TV - total waste of time and money for us.

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I'm curious—how are you connecting your logs/GA to people who saw your tv ad? Are you using a special URL in the ad?

No URL. Just checked the times the ads would air and would look for any spike at all in traffic.

People don't usually rush from their TV to their computer when they see an interesting URL, though, so you really don't know what effects the TV ad had on your site.

If they don't go straight to their comp then they usually won't remember - with a new brand that is. And despite what our habits may be most people don't have a laptop open while watching TV. It was not scientific, but we saw ZERO uptick in sign ups while running millions of TV impressions. I would never run TV ads trying to get traffic for an unknown web startup again.

Very true. TV advertising is more geared towards evoking recall at a later time, since for most products the purchase (or conversion) decision isn't immediate (after all, the viewer is in the middle of watching something). This works well for someone like Pepsi, since they want to be remembered the next time you're at the supermarket, but not so well for something that would demand an immediate response.

People watch TV with laptops in their laps and iphones in their pockets. I don't know if people write down the domain and visit it later. Just a thought. I wonder what the research suggests.

Did you notice an increase in traffic from your appearance on Fox? How significant are these TV interviews? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6We_ox2qF8

I haven't actually used Google TV ads. What kind of targeting options do they have?--geographic, demographic, etc.?

Mostly targeting by time and show (which is demographic by nature). There was some geographic stuff but it was pretty limited. You can create an account and browse without spending any money on it.

Very nice ad!

Who created your ad?

Less Avenged - a design firm in seattle. Great guys! Pretty cheap too. If you want an intro to them email me: burdick.dj@gmail.com

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