SubscribeOnline Video: Can it save advertising?
May 21, 2008 · Print This Article
We are currently in negotiations with a very large global company, inside of which are a very few brave souls trying to bring new media and new thinking into a well-established, well-rated company that moves at a molasses pace like most corporate behemoths. The product in play is online video. My ears and eyes are tuned in to conversations happening about how video "works." So today's post has three points made by others, including two from MediaPost. I hope this client reads our blog!
1: Online video is cheaper and longer lasting than traditional advertising methods
From Bradley Inman, Maximizing Online Video In An Economic Downturn
As the word “recession” proliferates across the media, companies inevitably look to cut spending to stay competitive. However, in their hurry to get financially lean and mean, brands must not forget the importance of having a strong and dynamic online presence beyond a few pay-per-click text ads. One of the best (and cheapest) ways to meaningfully engage with potential and current customers is through online video. With the ubiquitous nature of Internet video, the ad industry has been slowly moving to the Web to meet the demand of a rising audience. According to recent research from comScore, 75% of Internet users watched online video in November 2007.
Knowing where and how to place the video, and capturing that sweet spot of attention? Still priceless.
2 Online video requires authenticity, production quality, and social media savvy to be succesful for business
From Gregory Wilson, In The Digital Age, Failure Will No Longer Be Lucrative
In the non-digital age, we knew that half of all the advertising that ran didn’t work...However, marketing on the Internet calls for a new approach to video - the development of very customized, engaging content that is authentic and relevant to the topics that the user has been searching for. No scripts or actors or clunky amateur videos, but real people telling stories about subjects they are passionate about.
Easier said than done department: finding the right mix of professionalism, authenticity, tech-savvy-ness, and concept execution is the biggest challenge for large companies right now, after they fight all the internal battles against "we've never done that" thinking. Once done though, your videos can play forever and ever for no additional fee, and at least for now, you get double ROI if you count the PR buzz you get from hitting a new media home run.
3 The tech gets better and better; you can now measure online advertising unlike anything ever before in traditional media
(Please refer back to point #1)
One of our favorite new companies now is Ooyala, who is offering what they term "user-initiated advertising." Started by some ex-Googlers, it is a video hosting service that tracks percent of views along with built-in chapter markers and clickable embeds. These features give the content owner best available data tracking and the user maximum control over the viewing experience.
This are just three quick points being made. I'd love to hear what other points you would contribute to the discussion. It takes a village to help companies brave new territory, so your assistance is welcome in more ways than you can imagine.
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That third point, to me, is the most compelling one. The user data available for online video is already impressive, and is only going to continue to get richer and more informative.
I agree. The first two items, while informed and compelling, are opinions. The third item is the unstoppable march of technology. So much so, that there is push back in other areas that people can know too much about our viewing habits, and perhaps it is time to draw the line?!
maybe, but still early days ... i just watched my first youtube video in 2008 .... why? i live in india, and broadband, how shall i say this politely, is not very broad. just moved to bangalore, and it is a little better in many areas of the city.
and i even wonder about the west, can the pipes get fatter at the same rate as the increase in downloading, uploading, hd? isp's are already limiting "heavy" users. so, an infrastructure question.
and my time, i can read faster than you can talk.
production values. sure, seeing people on their web cams leave comments, the seesmic thing, is tolearble, unless it is really loving and personal, businesses better have better production values, but then, it slips into being marketed to, and i hate that. so the personal/effective mix is a tough one
and yeah, measuring results, not only clicks or connects, but, mind changes, not yet easy to do, and probably will never be, in the sense that you either need an implant or facial recognition to really know whether you have turned me off, or on. and i will tell you, it is off far far far far more than it is on. just between you and me.
so i clicked over here to find out who the heck you are because i saw a comment you made on the current marketing dialogue going on with the silicon valley bloggers ... and the ability to do that is the beginning of the future of this immediate medium. as you well know. but coca cola doesn't have a chance, it will be the smart water guys who get it.
and another experience i will share with you in my garrulous flow... the first time i walked into a whole foods store was last year in california ... eight years straight in india, so i missed the growth.
guess what my first impression was .... assaulted by the vibe of marketing decisions and packaging focus group meetings, totally missed the food. frightening, actually. though i adjusted, and was soon heading there daily for my kambucha fix. now that is a smart company, the drinks guys. neofoods? i forget the name. but if you shop at whole foods, you know it.
oh, why coke will never get this... they are out for themselves, and not for me ... in this open age, we feel intention
@gregory - thanks for your thoughts; i used to make my own kambucha tea way back when...
I think we are getting increasingly savvy as consumers in being able to detect intention. The democritization of information and connections that is a direct result of the internet, means we can see through the veil.
I think it is really hard for a really large company to have a meaningful conversation with a consumer, in part because there are so many people and departments "in charge of the brand" and many of them are not even inside the company! They are outsourced to the folks at the agency. One department wants to talk one way or one message, while three others veto it.
Combine that with the transiency of many people's jobs, and you have less and less loyalty inside a company -- that also translates to less and less with the customers.
What used to be thought of as a one to many conversation - the brand to the marketplace - has become a many to many conversation, and it includes all sorts of people on the sidelines.
thanks for the reply ... do you have any idea (of course you do) about the implications of the changes you describe?
the short reply from me on that is that the definition of "value" is changing, and moving into an area where metrics are less valuable than philosophy or intention.
edge economy principles, open beats closed, good beats evil, are newer realities that we all get to live with. it might be hard for any company, or person, or institution, or country still using old thinking.
maybe those who talked about 2012 in 1980 were onto something afterall!