“You are watching Captivate tv.” – Sound familiar? Been on an elevator lately? If so then more than likely you are one of the millions of people ambushed by the unique advertising of Captivate TV. Captivate TV is a brand of information service hitting the airwaves on little tv monitors in….the elevator of all places. As a unique form of guerilla marketing Captivate TV hits its target where and when he/she least expects it in a most unexpected form. Yes, while the elevator rider can catch up on sports scores, the weather, crime statistics, world news, popular court cases; he is also exposed to many ads! With Price Waterhouse reporting in Bloomberg on June 16, 2009 that ad revenue for radio and media are on the decline and given the latest statistics on dwindling newspaper ad revenue and dwindling newspaper sales, it is obvious that firms with the money to pay advertising dollars are looking for new and innovative ways to capture the attention of its audience. Why not take a chance on tvs on an elevator? Face it, people aren’t buying as many newspapers but everyone at one time or another has to ride an elevator.

What makes Captivate TV such a perfect advertising tool is that it lives up to its name. The rider is captivated, well mostly because the rider is captive. Where else can you go on an elevator in between floors? Is it too invasive? Of course not – the great component of this form of advertising is that the target (that would be the rider) doesn’t feel coerced. Obviously, people like choice – telemarketers who no longer have a job can confirm that a marketing campaign that pushes too hard can be a fatal mistake. There’s no sound so no one is forced to listen to annoying, intrusive ads. One actually chooses on his or her own free will to look at the monitor. What a psychologically genius innovation! Why? The monitor seems to serve as a source of relief. People are compelled to look at it and to read every word on the screen because the alternative is the uncomfortable awkward silence of an elevator filled with strangers. Captivate TV makes the “straightforward elevator glare” unnecessary.*

What ultimately makes Captivate TV a top-notch marketing tool is its ability to deceptively serve as a portal to vital information while slipping its viewer a mickey in the form of the newest movie trailer or a picture of the greatest cigar to smoke while golfing. It’s true, the elevator is no longer just transportation from one floor to another, it is now a source of everything one needs to know all in a concise neat package without the editorial bias generally attached to a newspaper or radio piece. Ever want to know the time, the weather, the highlights of Beyonce’s latest concert and the down-low on Taking of Pelham 123 or even the day’s stock market recap? Just find an elevator, the weather is on the lower left and the ads show up on the upper right – everything else is in between…bon appetite.

*100 Elevator riders polled at the Wanamaker Building, (Center City Philadelphia) and 100% of those polled habitually relied on the monitors daily

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