Power Video

Apple Ad: From YouTube to Your Tube

Apple certainly understands the power of online video. The company tapped Nick Haley, an 18-year-old British college student, to help create a commercial for the iPod Touch. The ad, developed by TBWA/Chiat/Day, is based on a spot Haley created himself and posted on YouTube.

This is possible only because of online video’s ability to put creative power in the hands of anyone who craves it. It’s no longer a top-down media world. Web video will only continue to break down barriers.

Video Ads for Everyone

A sure sign that online video advertising is becoming big business: there’s stock footage available. A company called AdItAll offers a library of video clips that marketers can use in their ads. Marketers can use prepackaged clips for specific industries, or mix and match clips to create their own “original” pieces. Additionally, AdItAll can place the ads through Google’s AdSense network. ClickZ has the rundown.

Sure, it might sound a little cheesy, but online video—and the Internet in general—is all about democratization, giving the little guys a chance to compete with the big boys. So anything that makes online video advertising more accessible to small marketers is a good thing.

Fliqz Teams With MLS

Major League Soccer is holding a contest called Big Shot in which amateur players ages 8-18 submit video clips of their mad soccer skills. We’re thrilled that MLB Advanced Media, which runs MLSnet.com, has chosen our technology to power the video clips on the site.

Some cool prizes are available. Even if you don’t win, the whole world will get a chance to see just how fantastic your kid is. The contest ends October 26. So get those clips in now.

Mill Valley Film Festival Chooses Fliqz

We love film. We love independent film. So we’re truly happy to announce that the Mill Valley Film Festival is using our technology to show select clips on its site. It’s the first time the festival, which runs through October 14, has posted clips online, allowing site visitors to see the work of independent filmmakers. Additionally, the Film Arts Foundation is showing a series of one-minute films powered by Fliqz.

Given our strong ties to the film industry, we’re especially proud of both of these partnerships.  

Ad Execs See Value in Online Video. No, Really

Once and future Internet sage Henry Blodget provides details on a research report from Off The Record, which finds that large advertisers are taking online video advertising seriously. Among the key points the research firm found was that ad agency executives expect online ads to be “the fastest growing category for the foreseeable future.”

Putting aside the what-took-you-so-long aspect, this is certainly good news going forward.

Another Call for Video SEO

It’s the week of search engine marketing. Fresh on the heels of our previous two posts comes this one from Search Engine Watch, in which Grant Crowell argues the importance of search engine optimization in online video ads. Specifically, it’s about how the major Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) have been testing video ads for local business clients. But without SEO, Crowell points out, it’s a wasted opportunity for both marketers and the IYPs themselves. Great stuff.

Searching for Video SEO

In yesterday’s post, we argued that SEM techniques will carry the day when it comes to online video ads. But the reason sponsored search has been so successful in text ads is because, well, it’s easier to search for textual content than video content.

That’s why it was interesting to see that video search engine Blinkx reported strong first-half financial results. The company has been taking the lead in terms of developing its own video search technology, which includes speech-to-text indexing and visual analysis. But by rolling out its own ad network called AdHoc, Blinkx is betting that sponsored search can work for video as well as text.

This means changes in how content creators distribute video (including tags and metadata, for example) and in the ad buying process. More important, it means ad networks themselves must adapt to this changing landscape. Delivering ads based on basic demographic information isn’t good enough for marketers who are conscious of every ad dollar they spend.

When users search for a particular video, advertisers should be able to find their target audience.

Online Video Advertising: Learning from SEM

Now that everyone has realized that online video is here to stay, the focus is on selling advertising. EMarketer projects U.S. spending on online video advertising will reach $4.3 billion in 2011—a ten-fold jump from the $410 million spent on online video ads in 2006.

The money is coming in as the major media players jump into the fray. Witness Time Warner’s investment in ScanScout. But the big question is: What’s the best approach for ad buying in this new frontier?

On this Video Insider post, Michael Shehan suggests that ad buyers looking to move into the online video space take a page from sponsored search. Noting that interactive marketers can create, test, and evaluate a campaign in as little as a week, online video offers marketers the same ability to adjust spending and optimize campaigns on the fly based on real-time performance data.

We agree. Too much time has been spent lately on whether overlays are better than pre-roll. That’s still old-media thinking. The real issue is how to find that audience and spend those ad dollars wisely. To that end, nothing has proven more efficient sponsored search. And as video search technology matures, SEM techniques will become even more critical.

Online video is all about moving beyond traditional modes of broadcasting. It’s time to move beyond the traditional modes of ad buying.

Friendster Fan Profiles

Fliqz and Friendster have been working together on some fun projects lately, the most recent being a video promotion of the recently announced Friendster Fan Profiles. This is an exciting announcement for Friendster and for Fliqz as we're happy to be working with them. Prop up the feet, grab some corn and enjoy the video: