Marx Creative
Targeted Marketing Solutions

HD or Not HD:
That is the Question

By Bob Marx - Co-President, Marx Creative

Even Hamlet would agree when it comes to deciding which video format to use for all projects digital or broadcast, the answer is simple. HD. It's a waste of money to do otherwise.

You want proof, you want facts. You say your local TV rep says they can’t accept local HD spots, less than 50% of the audience has an HD TV and even less are receiving HD programming.

Here's some ammunition: First of all, remember, statistics lie, or at least they can be misleading. While overall HDTV sets penetration is about 50%, in the higher income groups (with higher disposable income) the figures are significantly higher.

Second, the adoption curve is steep and accelerating. Not since the move to color TV has the industry seen such a quick change over. Even the Great Recession of 2008 - 2009 didn’t slow it down much. In fact, due to drastic price reductions, and technology advancements in manufacturing, cheaper and better models hit the showroom every day and consumers are eating up HDTV.

Third, just because you shoot and finish your project in HD doesn’t mean you need to send it out to all stations in HD. Grab a center-cut version of your masterpiece for your local station and politely request that they join the 21st century, real soon! Or better yet, hit them in the pocket book. Tell them how much less of the buy they’re getting than their HD competitors!

Fourth, the quality of your spot or program is too easily compared to the HD programming or other spots surrounding it. There’s nothing worse than following a gorgeous widescreen, HD national spot with your old fashioned, fuzzy looking, standard definition version, no matter how brilliantly creative it is. And just think how great your spot will look against all those awful looking local spots from creative vendors or agencies who don't get it (at least not yet).

Finally, as far as the production is concerned, the cost difference, if any, is insignificant. The types of cameras or editing systems are rarely the cost drivers of commercial production. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And if you are like most marketing/advertising executives, they want their spots or at least their footage to have the longest shelf life possible. This only means HD.

So there you have it. How to convince your boss, your vendors and your creative team to go HD or go home.