Okay, so we’re not in the business of giving away valuable ideas or anything here (unless there’s a new client pitch involved; then let’s face it, anything goes these days) but I had to point out a totally overlooked opportunity I keep seeing for the increasingly media-and-culture-ubiquitous iPad.

Namely: as an integrated prop and information tool for the countless hours of talking heads scrambling for content on TV daily.

The reasoning is simple: iPad has already made great hay of product placement in prime-time TV shows, often at no cost to them simply due to its hipness factor and what that confers to a program’s brand—or more likely the producer and staff of the show’s desire to get a few freebies. Regardless, it’s an established and successful buzz tactic already in place.

At the same time, you have the denizens of 24 hour cable news, late night talk shows and others of their ilk literally scrambling for content to fill the hours and channels. To this end we’ve seen everything from comically overwrought election coverage technology (remember the touch screens and holograms?) to good old fashioned new clippings and oddities held up on boards by even the biggest name talk show hosts. Heck, I’ve seen local morning news anchors literally reading the newspaper on-air.

So with all of that out there why not get iPads in all of their hands, stat? It would offer far greater reach and frequency muscle than sit-coms and movies with about the same halo effect and brand-alignment, if done properly. To say nothing of the ability to subtly position this strange new device as the sort of accessible, everyman necessity it’s designers intended it be. Show even the most behind-the-curve Luddite out there David Letterman reading Top 10 Lists off an iPad enough and the thing will become as commonplace as microwaves and DVRs to them.

It’s a true win-win I have to believe they’re already figuring out. But, if not, they can now send me a check when they finally do c/o MSI, 200 East Randolph Drive, Chicago.

Or, absent that, just a free iPad would be fine.  

Tags: Bill Rodi, iPad, msi, Product Placement

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 7:46 pm and is filed under Product Placement, Strategic Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.