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A tip of the cap to David Feinleib for mentioning Fliqz as a company that can help businesses measure, track, and analyze the behavior of online video viewers. At Fliqz, we take pride in not just providing the no-hassle way to power your site with video, but with delivering the tools you need to help monetize your offerings and add value to your services. Read our case studies to find out how we’ve helped businesses in several vertical markets achieve their goals.
Paul Allen (no, not that Paul Allen) performed some live-blogging from the AlwaysOn OnMedia NYC conference. The subject of the panel he covered: Monetizing Online Video. It’s an interesting read. Not surprising that the ad-supported model is in favor (over paid and subscription models). It’ll be interesting to see if John Edwards (no, not that John Edwards—this one is the CEO of Move Networks) is right when he predicts progress in creating standardized ad formats.
The industry had better figure it out fast, because according to comScore, more and more people are watching online video, and they’re watching more of it.
This is one of those surveys that should shock no one, but we can hope it serves as an eye-opener for the industry. Burst Media, an online ad network and provider of interactive marketing services, found that half of the respondents to its survey stopped watching online videos once they encountered in-stream ads. That includes pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads. Pretty much everything except overlays. What really stings is this: 33 percent of respondents paid less attention to in-stream video ads than they do to “standard creative units on the same page.” So even if they’re willing to wait for the video to begin, they could care less about the commercial running on the screen.
Turns out that people who make the effort of finding a video online don’t want to sit through a commercial. Shocking, we know. But maybe this will get marketers and online ad networks to realize that the traditional broadcast model doesn’t work for online video. If so, it’ll probably take a while. After all, one of the reasons online video is beginning to take off is the increasing presence of the big-time content providers. They were slow to join the online game, mostly because they couldn’t figure out how to make money. Naturally, they figured old-fashioned TV commercials would do the trick. But both publishers and marketers will have to learn that the old ways of making money through advertising won’t work.
Red Herring has some comments from Burst marketing chief David Cooperstein, who suggests shorter spots that relate to the video content. But that just seems like a temporary fix. And according to Silicon Alley Insider, ad buyers continue to show big love for pre-roll. There’s plenty of opportunity to reach an engaged, targeted audience. But a new medium will require new ways of thinking to reach them.
It’s no surprise that revenue from streaming video and audio rose significantly last year—up 38 percent from 2006, according to AccuStream iMedia Research. Pre-roll ads accounted for $420 million in revenue, $360 million of which were placed against short-form content. But don’t expect that ratio to hold as TV and film studios put more and more long-form content online.
So much of the short-form content online is user-generated, but no one seems to know how to make money from it. Today’s Wall Street Journal includes a story on a new type of user-generated content—professional athletes creating their own online video ads (subscription required), including a Nike ad created by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. We’re not sure that two NBA stars making their own commercials constitutes a trend, but it’s an interesting proposition. Having well-known personalities create their own online ads helps them control their “brands,” while marketers can benefit from the buzz with little financial risk.
Sean Martinson, an educator and technology consultant, runs a blog called Technology for Teachers. He’s posted a quick video for his students using Fliqz. In his post, he makes a note about how much simpler it is to use Fliqz compared with other solutions.
Thanks, Sean. Let’s hope other teachers follow your lead. And keep up the important work you’re doing.
Web Video Report produced this nice survey of online video ad rates. As you’d expect, the more established sites charge higher rates than the less well known entities. The survey also looks at the formats and integration offered.
As David Kaplan points out on PaidContent, the numbers are in line with broadcast TV. But Web video, in theory at least, offers the opportunity to deliver targeted advertising to a more receptive audience.
You’ll be hearing a lot about CPM over the course of the year. As marketers find out just how effective these ads really are, it’ll be interesting to see what they’re willing to pay going forward.
It’s the first full week of the new year and already there’s all sorts of action in the online video space: a content sharing deal with CNBC and the New York Times; Comcast launching a beta of its Fancast film and TV site; MTV Networks expanding its online syndication. So far, 2008 is picking up where 2007 left off—content providers throwing everything up against the wall to see what sticks.
But when all the deals are done the question of how to make money on advertising will remain. That, of course, is the issue of 2008. In a ClickZ column today, Andreas Roell, CEO of interactive ad agency Geary Interactive, opines that user-initiated ads are the ones that attract the most attention and spur viewers to action (read: buy stuff).
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for every
type of marketer. And as Steve Robinson points out on MediaPost’s Online Video
Insider, the mixed
messages about what ad models work and what models don’t is enough to make
a marketer’s head spin. Money quote: “… we need to
remember the basic premise that advertising is communication of valuable
information. And for it to be effective, we need to communicate the message
multiple times in multiple ways.”
There’s no magical quick fix that will solve the online video advertising dilemma. This industry will continue to evolve, and the smart advertisers will be the ones that can adapt quickly to different formats while keeping the substance of their messages clear.
We’ve mentioned Major League Soccer’s Big Shot contest before. Now, all the votes have been tabulated, and the winning video is this one of an eight-year-old wonder setting up a shot with his chest before scoring a goal. A smooth move if there ever was one. Check out the 19 other finalists here.
We’re proud that MLB Advanced Media chose our technology to power the video clips on the site. We’re all about the kids, after all.
