Honeyshed: Another Mass Media Mistake

Honeyshed.com confuses me.

Brought to you by Publicis, Droga5, and Digitasand (a representation of the biggest advertising conglomerates in the world), Honeyshed is described as "MTV meets QVC".

In my opinion, if we're in the mood for acronyms, WTF comes to mind.

The website is based around using, as Business Week describes, "a mix of live programming and character-driven sketch shows ", to sell products. The bet is that consumers love brands so much, they will -

1) invest their time in watching paid actors fake their interest in the product and
2) eventually buy that product.

I don't think so. Honeyshed is a mix of mass media era ideas shaped into a square peg that is trying to insert itself into the round hole of reality.

The internet provides a medium for detail, for niche, for micro topics. I don't visit the Life network's web page to learn about financial management (even though I have a closet admiration for To Debt do us Part), I go to Google. Google will provide me with access to all the information I need.

Thats where Honeyshed misses the point. Consumers are looking for products, information and entertainment, on their own terms. As internet users, we have plenty of options for online entertainment, and we aren't about to waste our time, our attention spans don't permit it.

Even though it's obvious that I don't like the idea, I had a hard time being confident in my initial reaction.

Video is on it's way to redefining the way we interact on the internet. Even though Honeyshed misses the boat, it is an innovative attempt at using online video to interact with customers. Shangby, a company I wrote about a few weeks back, is another such company(see Home shopping Gone Right).

I like Shangbuy, its a niche market that offers cheaper products, in an innovative environment with a personal touch. Honeyshed offers mediocre entertainment and no value real value proposition to the consumer.

There is an opportunity here, exactly what it is has yet to be defined.