Feb 20, 2012

Dec 29, 2011

This post was written by Alphabird Chief Revenue Officer Alex Rowland and Director of Sales Nic de Castro.

As we near the end of 2011, it’s only natural to make predictions in anticipation of the new year and what might be in store in the world of online video. During the past year, we saw unprecedented growth in advertisers creating content-driven video in ways that elegantly put their brands to the top of their audience’s mind in a nontraditional advertising format. We think 2011 was a mere glimpse of what online video advertising will become during the next few years.

These 12 trends are our predictions for what lies in store for online video for content producers and consumers, as well as for brands and publishers.

1. The merger of Web and TV talent: We see YouTube producers taking on even greater impact and influence. While the emergence of Internet fame on television will come in fits and starts — remember “$#* My Dad Says”? — TV stars will be looking to use their name and reputation to move across the digital transom and gain more significance in social video, while YouTube and Twitter celebrities start to make more waves on TV.
2. User-selected ads: Look for more choices in video advertising emerging across ad networks and direct-sold pre-roll inventory. While efforts around user-selected advertising have largely been relegated to Hulu Ad Selector, as inventory becomes commoditized and brands focus on user initiation as a metric of engagement, this type of advertising is going to grow.
3. Branded-content production: This is a trend that has been going on for some time, but we will continue to see more marketers get into original-content production. Where once only automotive and large consumer-packaged goods providers dared play, we will see education, finance, credit, insurance, telecom and several others creating branded integration that not only makes the industry more robust but also introduces challenges and standards for successful campaigns.
4. Pre-roll and broadcast interstitial inventories merge: For agencies, the distinction between online video content and television content will become less pronounced. With Nielsen’s announcement of measurement service Extended Screen, which creates a single C3 rating across TV and online channels, expect budgets to start flowing much more freely towards pre-roll. Unfortunately, it also means ad loads are going to increase dramatically — the other requirement of the merged measurement standard.
5. Dramatically increased ad load: With video-ad viewership growing faster than video viewership — 128% versus 97% year-over-year, according to FreeWheel — and budgets increasing at a similar rate from a larger base, we’ll see an increased ad load on sites such as Hulu, CBS, NBC and other television-centric online properties. However, even YouTube will begin to see significantly increased ad loads as it shifts focus more toward prosumer content channels (see below).
6. Publishers are going to finally focus on video: Even today, most traditional online publishers are still focused on expanding display inventory over video inventory. As pre-roll demand grows and sales commission for direct-sold video inventory increases in lockstep, expect to see much more video on publisher sites, even if it starts in display.
7. Pre-roll prices will continue to stratify but will level out: For media buyers, pre-roll pricing will continue to see downward pressure on the network side, as networks fight harder to gain access to premium avails. Large publishers are going to increasingly look to acquire inventory through direct sales, cutting off some critical audiences. However, prices have generally found their stasis point as network transparency has increased. Upward pricing pressure for premium direct-sold inventory will be mitigated by a dramatic increase in video availability, as publishers become more effective at building a video audience — even given the explosion of demand on the agency side.
8. YouTube pre-roll explosion: There will be a dramatic increase in pre-roll ad load on YouTube. Gone are the days in which YouTube was viewed as a risky environment for brands. Advertisers are going to continue to flee to high-quality, well-lit environments, and YouTube fits the bill. Google goes to great lengths to ensure authentic user engagement. It is building relationships with premium channels, and it has the brand relationships to move mountains of budget quickly; Premium content is a relative term; the audience is what’s important.
9. Crowdsourced video production is set to grow: Crowdsourced production of video, in terms of creation and dissemination as well as consumption and sharing, will be a big deal in 2012. As brands look for better engagement for their videos, they will increasingly rely on influencers to sell their story. With social platforms, ham-handed efforts at viral marketing can backfire quickly. Expect brands to bring authenticity to the table by loosening control over the creative process.
10. CPV pricing grows in importance: Cost-per-view campaigns will expand beyond viral videos to include several unique types of video assets, product reviews and even — taking a page from Research In Motion founder Mike Lazaridis’ recent playbook — CEO mea culpas; really, any sort of video content that’s designed to build public awareness. There is no reason engagement-based pricing models should be limited to a specific niche. Expect YouTube to continue to lead the way, with the Interactive Advertising Bureau certifying those efforts with CPV standards by year-end.
11. Demo-targeting comes to CPV campaigns: Demo targeting is going to get only more standardized in click- and engagement-based campaign buys, as brands move beyond vanity view counts on YouTube. Expect marketers to insist more on accurate demo targeting through analytical research and best-practice delivery methods. Brands know which demos their buyers fall into; they want to have a high degree of confidence that this is the actual demo being hit.
12. Mobile video advertising still disappoints: Even given the growth in smart devices that are fully video enabled, video-advertising growth of the mobile Web will continue to disappoint. HTML5 as a standard for Web video still has some growing to do, and until carriers’ networks are sufficiently upgraded to provide a reliable high-capacity connection to most metropolitan areas, the experience of watching streamed video on your smartphone will continue to be rivaled only by rabbit-ear reception.

We expect 2012 to be a year in which video continues on its trajectory. Display and search will continue to rule the roost, and budgets are finally reaching parity for individual campaigns. Video is on its way to the top of the heap — it’s only a matter of time.

Viral videos with a hint of marketing

By Tanzina Vega / New York Times News Service

Published: April 03. 2011 4:00AM PST

Can a man with a tiny electronic device hack into the multitude of jumbo screens in Times Square and play videos from his iPhone? Maybe, if you believe a YouTube video that has been watched by more than half a million viewers in four days.

The video was posted on YouTube on a Monday under the user name BITcrash44. By Wednesday, it had generated more than 800,000 views and had been mentioned on websites like Gizmodo, Gothamist, Salon and NBC New York.

The multitudes who have seen the video have become swept up in an intense debate around one question: Is it real? Well, it’s a fake. And the reaction is exactly what James Percelay and Michael Krivicka wanted when they produced the video as part of a promotion for the film “Limitless,” currently out in theaters.

The two men, founders of a viral marketing company called Thinkmodo, are tapping into a growing desire among marketers to attract and keep the attention of online viewers with videos that get shared on social websites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. The strategy for Thinkmodo is to make videos that viewers will think are clever and authentic without overtly pushing or mentioning a product, Percelay said.

“We’re pushing the engagement of an idea which leads you then to the product,” he said. “It just is a whole new mind-set where you don’t have to wrap everything up in a bow and if you don’t, people are going to be a lot more interested in you and what you’re selling and what your message is.”

The video, Percelay said, takes its cue from the premise of “Limitless,” in which a man is able to use all of his brain capacity with the help of a pill called NZT. The video shows a man in an orange jacket standing in Times Square explaining how a makeshift electronic “repeater” and “transmitter” connected to his iPhone can take over any video screen.

First, he tries the device on two small video screens on newspaper kiosks. All the while a cameraman is filming him as he holds the iPhone so viewers can see how the content being projected syncs with the content on the screen. The man then buys a big red balloon to which he attaches the device. When the balloon floats in front of a large video screen playing a trailer for “Limitless” on the corner of Broadway and 47th Street, the iPhone video suddenly begins playing on the screen instead.

“You are getting your message across, but it’s tangential; it’s not a direct frontal assault,” said Peter Adee, the president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Relativity Media, adding that the do-it-yourself look and feel of the video is also an important element. “You don’t have to make it perfect; if anything, that would hurt it. It has to feel organic. It has to feel original.”

Advertisers have been increasingly experimenting with viral videos. One of the most popular campaigns during the last year has been for Old Spice, featuring the actor Isaiah Mustafa.

Wieden & Kennedy Portland, the agency of record for Old Spice, created a series of videos that went viral last summer, in which Mustafa answered consumer questions in real time over the course of several days. The agency used social networking sites to get questions from users and posted the video responses on YouTube and other sites.

“You don’t need a production of 50 people. You can move the world with three,” said Joani Wardwell, the global public relations director for Wieden & Kennedy.

Krivicka, 34, is a freelance video producer and Percelay, 49, has a background in television production, including a former job as a line producer for “Saturday Night Live.” Neither has a traditional advertising background nor the accoutrements that come with a traditional agency.

The company embarked on its first official project in February, with a video featuring a helmet that could shave a person’s head. The video was shot using an iPhone in the bathroom of a nondescript Midtown Manhattan building on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

The product the commercial was intended to sell, a head-shaving device called the HeadBlade that fits on a few fingers, was not overtly mentioned in the spot. But that didn’t stop the video from becoming a viral sensation — it was viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube in less than a week — and from duping viewers and a few television news anchors in the process.

The video garnered more than 500 broadcast mentions in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia and was posted on more than 1,000 websites and blogs, according to Percelay. HeadBlade sales surged 31 percent after the video was released, and the company’s Web traffic increased 49 percent as a result, he said.

Part of the strategy is also to tip off editors of target websites, buy keywords and website addresses and use social media to get the word out without being obvious. “It has to be finessed in a certain way,” Krivicka said. “A true viral should not need a lot of pushing.”

[youtube width="600" height="368"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNeL_eUOY88&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Feb 25, 2011

Feb 24, 2011 -

You’ve seen videos of people doing ridiculous things on the Internet. But you probably haven’t seen too many videos of small businesses sharing their good work. Web video is more or less the domain of the ridiculous — whether that means something cute or something painful. Even top ads and commercials have a touch of the absurd (Old Spice, Dos Equis, I’m looking at you).

So how does a small business compete with disturbingly low attention spans and a whole Internet of viral videos? Read on for five ways that small businesses can take advantage of Web video without blowing their budgets and let us know your own success stories in the comments below.

1. Request User Submissions

“Going viral” is a frustrating term both for its elusiveness and effectiveness. Viral videos can quickly get your product and brand out to a wide audience, but there is also practically no guaranteed way to “make” a video viral. Save yourself the trouble and get your audience to do the work for you.

Ask your fans or customers to send in videos of themselves using your product. For some, this can be a guaranteed hit. Such is the case with Michael Di Pippo, inventor of Pen Fishing Rods, a telescoping fishing rod that collapses to the size of a large pen. If that didn’t spark your interest, check the above video of someone actually catching a fish with it. Di Pippo bet that the shock value of it actually working would inspire customers to take videos using his product. The result was a motivated user-base and free publicity.

You might not be selling something as unique, but you can still encourage your clients to send in videos of them using whatever you’re selling. It’s a good way of extending the relationship past the point of sale and building a community.

Alternatively, you can try to create a viral sensation like Blendtec’s Will It Blend?series. Rather than testing their blenders on tomatoes and walnuts, they started blending strange products like glowsticks, an iPad and a crowbar. As a result, the videos (and Blendtec’s product) received millions of views and all it took was a little creativity. And a crowbar.

2. Replace Content

Try making a video instead of writing out your business updates. It’s easier for people to click play on a short video than read a 500-word news brief. It helps to have some experience with basic editing and a decent camera, but people will ultimately tune in because your content is interesting or useful. Try offering deals or discount codes through your videos, while also talking about your product or service.

Using video to share business news or deals will help your business feel more personable as customers get accustomed to seeing you speak. This choice isn’t for everyone and every business, but it can help make your updates easier to digest and give your homepage a boost of personality.

3. Teach Them and They Will Come

Product demos are fun, but may not work for every type of business. For example, it could be tough to do a “demo” if you sell quilts or home garden supplies. Instead, think of ways to teach and give back to your customers while also using your product. Selling quilts? Try a “How To” video on how you sew your quilts. Garden supplies? Make a video on how to plant a variety of bulbs and seeds using the products you sell.

If you’re business isn’t based around a physical product, think about doing a webcast or video on how to use your advanced features or set up the service.

4. Make Some Face Time

If you’re a small business, you can make your size work for you with video services, like Skype or even video calling on Gmail. Huge corporations like PepsiCo and Virgin are constantly trying to make their outreach more personal by attaching real people and real names to their customer service and social sites.

To get even more personal, create a business Skype or Gmail address (or any other service that allows you to video chat). Let customers know they can call you for some digital face time if they have any questions about your product or need help troubleshooting it. Doing so will help you build a stronger relationship with your customers and make your business feel more approachable at the same time.

This article was originally posted on: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/4-innovative-ways-to-use-web-video-for-small-business-zachary-sniderman

Feb 23, 2011

This blog was originally posted by Jeremy Allaire on http://www.imediaconnection.com/. Enjoy!

Nearly every day I sit down with a media publisher or digital marketer, and am struck by the consistency of their questions and struggles.

Uniformly, the explosive growth in connected device platforms is the most daunting, exciting and material area of focus for these digital professionals. There are several themes that I often speak to, so I thought I’d write them down to share more broadly.

Runtime wars

The biggest sea change we’re experiencing is the explosive adoption and use of smartphone platforms for accessing content and applications on the internet. Mary Meeker predicts that by 2014, more than half of worldwide internet usage will come from these devices. I think it might be sooner. The biggest issue for content publishers and developers is the rising fragmentation and complexity that has emerged in the runtime wars on these platforms. As I’ve written about before, these runtime wars are less about technology issues and more about the political economy of app development, and the downstream implications for who controls access to users and the monetization opportunities. These are long-running issues, and this will be a decade long battle.  For content and app developers, there are no easy or binary choices today or the foreseeable future.  The result is a dramatic and unsettling level of runtime fragmentation and complexity for digital media content applications.

Every digital organisation must have a strategy for:

The PC web. While HTML5 vs. Flash looms large over the future of the PC web, today, you must embrace both HTML5 and Flash, which remains the most relevant rich media runtime in terms of distribution and capabilities on PCs.

Mobile web. This used to mean WAP or crappy light-weight HTML sites that you could view in a BlackBerry. This now means a touch website, with optimised experiences for smartphone and tablet resolutions and UE gestures – all of the usage growth in mobile web is coming from the touch web.  HTML5 appears to be emerging as the only unified platform to address content apps to these platforms.

iOS apps. If you want to partake in the marketing, distribution and revenue-stream momentum of Apple, you need to participate in the Apple iTunes ecosystem. So you need native apps that provide value, and tap into in-app advertising and payments for apps and content.

Android apps. Ditto. The future will make this more not less complicated, both with additional Native App runtime platforms, and more device form-factor proliferation (e.g. iPhone vs. iPad, Connected TV vs. Tablet vs. PC Web).

Device-centric monetisation. Device proliferation also seems to be turning many notions of media and content monetization on its head. From 2000 to 2009, the mantra was always “Information wants to be free”. However, the personal and intimate experience with content apps on mobile and handheld devices seems to be drawing money from people’s pockets at a scale no one really anticipated. Paying for content apps on hand held devices is instant, intimate, and convenient. And it’s surging. The long-cherished “dual revenue stream” for professional media may be coming back into fashion indeed.

Connected TVs are not about watching TV today, mobile and handheld platforms are the center of these disruptions, but the newest emerging front in the device platform explosion is the Connected TV, which is shaping up to be as much about connected applications as it is about over-the-top TV distribution. Connected TVs are really just a new surface for contextual access to information, communications and interactivity.  With hundreds of millions of consumers equipped with smart handheld computers (with navigation and data entry capabilities), it is inevitable that we’ll want to bridge those experiences onto larger screens and into more comfortable settings (e.g. a large flat-screen monitor in a room with large comfortable seating.) Yes, these will be about consuming long-form linear video programming, but I predict they will also be as much about interacting with Facebook, holding a video call, playing an online game, or shopping. And hence, with Google TV, the runtime wars for building connected device applications have reached into the living room, where the stakes are about not the future of TV, but the future of Internet applications, communications and commerce. For Connected TV, it’s the mobile Runtime Wars redux — HTML5 vs Flash, Native Apps vs. TV Web, Apple vs. Google vs. Console or TV platform makers.

The future

The past year saw the emergence of the Platform Wars in the handheld computing space. In 2011, we’ll notice the distinct trend for these to expand into newer territories with the maturation of the connected TV platform market.

I expect the resulting battles to look incredibly similar to those that took place in the Smartphone market, but with several familiar players, notably Google and Apple, now squaring up to new competition from the dominant TV brands. Before the year is out the market will witness heightened interest by publishers and developers in creating TV apps for connected TV platforms, with volumes of products shipping by the end of 2011 in the tens of millions. The largest of the TV CE manufacturers, such as Samsung and LG, will be looking to leverage their volume position in the living room through TV app development and the like, whilst fending off Apple and Google from claiming the consumer experience and app distribution relationships. While video ubiquity is nothing new, another characteristic shaping online video in 2011 will be the continuation of this trend, but at an unprecedented pace. If you are a professional institution, organisation, or business of any size, you will need to have an online video strategy in place within the next 12 months. A new era of Web video production business will emerge, similar to the Web development industry growth in the mid-’90s, and organisations will be defining how to best accomplish their online objectives with video.

Another growing trend — highlighted in our recent joint-research report with TubeMogul — is that Facebook and Twitter are the fastest growing sources of traffic to video on publisher websites. This growth is accelerating, and the role of these sites as primary content discovery and viewing environments will reach a point by the end of 2011 where Facebook and Twitter will be as important as Google search.

While over-the-top TV will also continue to develop during 2011, the expectation of mass ‘cord-cutting’ by cable consumers will fail to materialise. While library VOD subscriptions via services, such as Netflix, Lovefilm, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Amazon VOD in the U.S., profess extensive content libraries, they don’t yet offer a compelling substitute to a cable subscription.

But 2011 will see the first wave of attempts to create richer TV subscription bundles available over the internet. Most major broadcasters and studios, however, won’t participate in a meaningful way, leaving consumers with the persistent feeling that OTT products aren’t offering enough. The absence of a broad offering of live sports, in particular, will be a major factor keeping cords intact with cable providers. At the same time, existing cable subscriptions will start to offer a greater range of content over the Web. But consumers will have to hold out until 2012, when the scale of connected TV adoption is much larger and more enticing for online TV subscription providers.

A final trend of note is that the battle over video delivery standards will continue to heat up. Google’s acquisition of DRM vendor Widevine will fuel the key platform war over how video is consumed, secured and delivered, both on PCs and increasingly on non-PC devices.

Google will get in the mix with Widevine’s technology and my expectation is that they will make it open source and freely distribute the technology, as well as bundle in the Chrome, Chrome OS and Android browsers and operating systems.

Good luck, and try not to become collateral damage.

Jeremy Allaire is CEO for Brightcove