While there may be some crossover, each medium is different and even if you’re always reaching the “same” audience, the truth is you’re most likely reaching very different segments of that audience– people who choose to receive their information in very different ways.

Some advertisers use their regular TV spots as the commercials in the ABC.com episode player. There’s a pause button on the ads (while the 30 seconds of show break continues to advance). Who watches these ads? No one. The smart advertisers, like NesQuik, put interactive ads in place–during one break you play a branded ConnectFour against the NesQuick bunny. This obviously takes longer than 30 seconds, and I’m willing to bet most people will finish the game before clicking to continue their show. The more time spent with your brand = the more the customer will remember.

On Hulu, the ad spots are also 30 seconds but you can’t pause them; and you don’t have to click to return to your movie (it happens automatically because the ads are in the same player). I watched several hours of Hulu shows and movies over the weekend. The only ad I remember? The one for FedEx, which is only 10 seconds long and shows a fast-forwarded version of their commercial while a voiceover says “Go ahead and get back to your movie; we know your time is valuable.” The FedEx logo is clearly visible on a package during most of the fast-forwarded part, and the logo appears by itself for about 2 seconds at the end. Then the show resumes, 20 seconds faster than it does on others’ ads. Excellent use of the medium. (If you’re really reaching your audience, they will remember you because of how little time they spent with your brand!)

TV advertising, especially if your audience is very broad (which it should be if you’re paying for TV ads), should take the network and the air time into account for commercials. It’s very doubtful you will have an effective campaign by showing the same ad on Spike and Lifetime, or on NBC at 12noon and 2am.

Think about the purpose of your advertising. Is advertising just ‘throwaway’ money? Then by all means create one commercial and paste it everywhere. If, however, you wish to see the highest ROI for each marketing dollar, you should invest a little more upfront in order to see real effectiveness.