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Top 10 Super Bowl Ads Gain A Quick $1 Million In Online Video Exposure
New research is out this morning showing how Super Bowl advertisers benefit from ongoing online video viewership. Kantar Video, an online video analytics provider, estimates that the top 10 Super Bowl ads generated an additional $1 million worth of media exposure in just the first 3 days after the game, with Volkswagen's top-performing "The Force" ad, gaining almost $540K itself. Note "The Force" has already picked up an incredible 27 million YouTube views (see below).
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Kantar Video
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Panache Goes Social With New Ad Format
Online video ad provider Panache launched a clever new format today called the "Social Offer" which responds to the number one request it receives from brands: what can we do in social? Panache's VP of Marketing Jill Druschke brought me up to speed on how the ad format works and what its objectives are.
The Social Offer format takes existing pre-roll creative and integrates it with social features from Twitter, Facebook and others that offer an API. The goal is to drive more engagement and increase CPMs. In a sample ad for Coke (see below), an overlay pops up that prompts the viewer to receive Coke Rewards points by tweeting about the ad. When the viewer clicks and authorizes a connection to Twitter, a pre-populated tweet appears with a hashtag for the campaign. The tweet is completed, the video then continues to roll and the viewer receives a message with the reward code.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Panache
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Merrill Lynch Hits the Mark With In-Banner Video Financial Webcast
On the NYTimes.com home page yesterday I was intrigued by a rich media ad (see below) in the right column that expanded to play a video of a roundtable discussion moderated by Merrill executive Sallie Krawcheck. The ad epitomizes how online video lets brands go beyond the traditional 30-second TV spot to deeply engage their target audiences. Everything about the ad is well executed: high-quality video that can be viewed in full screen mode, professional-looking though low-key set design, chapter headings and durations that can be jumped to, links to Facebook, Twitter, etc. to share and placement on a well-trafficked, upscale-leaning site.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Merrill Lynch
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Super Bowl Advertisers Finally Tapping Into Power of Social Media and Online Video
A great article in today's NY Times shows how numerous Super Bowl advertisers have been building excitement for their ads through social media, and in some cases by already releasing the ads in their entirety. It's the right approach, though a little late in coming. Deep in the pre-VideoNuze archives is "The $10 Million Super Bowl Ad," which I wrote back in 2006, asserting that online video would dramatically enhance the value of these expensive spots. Super Bowl spots have risen in price since, to $2.8-$3.0 million apiece, and in the very long-term I'd maintain they still may get to $10 million as the Super Bowl further separates itself as the last mass broadcast event. But regardless of the price, the key is extracting the most value from them; that's what social media and online video do best.Categories: Advertising, Sports
Topics: Super Bowl
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Exclusive: FreeWheel Launches "RPM" Product To Streamline Video's Back Office
FreeWheel, the video technology company, is launching its second product today, "RPM" - Revenue & Payments Management - to streamline the complex back office financial processes associated with distributing premium-quality online video. Last week FreeWheel's co-CEOs and co-founders Jon Heller and Doug Knopper walked me through RPM and how it relates to the company's flagship Monetization Rights Management ("MRM") product.
At a high level, RPM's goal is to help media companies make sure that everyone who's supposed to get paid when online video is monetized actually does get paid - accurately, efficiently and regardless of what business models were used. As Jon explained, the problem today is that the headaches are multiplying for the financial staff in the trenches who are dealing with increasingly complicated online video monetization/distribution that involves multiple stakeholders. The hodgepodge of spreadsheets and various proprietary systems is beginning to impede business getting done. As a former CFO himself, Jon knows first-hand that when the financial team can't accurately track what the product/sales teams are doing without adding a lot of new overhead, things are going to come to a grinding halt.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
Topics: FreeWheel
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Jivox Launches Cross-Platform Video Ad Capability
(Friday update #2) Brands and agencies looking to use the same video ad across various platforms got a boost yesterday from Jivox, a video ad technology provider. As Jivox's CEO Diaz Nesamoney explained to me, brands/agencies can now either submit video to Jivox or they can use the company's tools in order to prepare the ad properly for multi-platform use. When an ad is to be delivered, Jivox detects the user's platform/device and sends a properly formatted and encoded ad in real-time. Importantly, Jivox's analytics provide insight into usage by platform/device, so brands/agencies can detect where the ad is working best. I view this as the first of many efforts by technology providers to simply the ad delivery process as platforms/devices proliferate.Categories: Advertising, Devices
Topics: Jivox
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AdoTube Gets FreeWheel Certification
AdoTube, the online video ad platform, has secured Certified Partner status from FreeWheel, the video monetization technology provider. The companies have been collaborating since March, 2010. The certification means that AdoTube and its ad formats comply with FreeWheel's own criteria as well as IAB standards. Joint customers are able to take advantage of deep integration between the companies.
I last wrote about AdoTube in October, in conjunction with its "Polite Pre-Roll" which cleverly allows users to close out an ad when it begins playing, with period subtle reminders to follow. In research, the unit was found to have a 3.76% vs. 1.61% for standard pre-roll ads. This is an example of the more flexible and viewer-centric approach to video ads that is taking hold. As another example, YouTube recently unveiled its "TrueView" video ads, which offer more viewer control. And Hulu introduced early last year its "Ad Selector" option that allows viewers to choose which ads they want to see. No doubt more initiatives like these to follow.Categories: Advertising
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YouTube Charges $375K Per Day for Home Page Masthead Ads, Plus Other Fun Facts
The February edition of Fast Company magazine, which features a lengthy piece on YouTube, includes a number of interesting data points. One that caught my eye is that YouTube charges $375,000 per day for a home page
"masthead" ad (these are the rich media 970x250 ads that occupy the top third to half of the home page). According to the article, the home page generates an average of 45 million views per day (though it's not clear if that's U.S.-only or global). A companion article notes that the home page gets 18 million visitors in the U.S. only.
The ad running today, for Lexus's new CT 200h hybrid is a typical masthead implementation: graphics rich, with embedded video, and links to a series of original, branded videos (in this case "Darkcasting" vignettes). Last September, in "YouTube Gets Center Stage in Google's New 'Watch This Space' Ad Campaign," I noted that the premier brands that used the masthead unit in the previous month included Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Showtime, NBC, Mattel, EA, T-Mobile, American Express and others. Each has its own creative execution that often extended far beyond what's typically seen in rich media display ads (my favorite example continues to be the Sly Stallone ad for the movie "The Expendables").Categories: Advertising, Aggregators
Topics: Fast Company, YouTube
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Interview with Tremor Media's New CMO, Melinda McLaughlin
Yesterday I had a chance to ask Melinda McLaughlin, the new Chief Marketing Officer at video ad network powerhouse Tremor Media, a few questions on her second day of work. Prior to joining Tremor, Melinda spent 10+ years at cable network group AETN and prior to that was with 2 ad agencies. An edited transcript follows:
VideoNuze: What attracted you to the online video adverting space and to Tremor Media?
Melinda McLaughlin: I spent the last 11 years on the traditional TV side, in many areas of AETN such as consumer insights, sales strategy and corporate strategy, always around monetizing the assets of that global platform. At a certain point, because I'm a closet geek, and am into what the future is going to look like and how media is going to evolve - plus what fundamental truths about how business models work will remain - I sort of hit a point where a company like AETN and competitors are just not on the cutting edge of where this area is going.
And so although it was a terrific job, for good reason companies like AETN aren't going to lead in terms of changing consumer behavior or how advertisers are going to change the way they think. I see Tremor bringing together all of the benefits marketers have been saying they require in order to take the online video advertising space seriously. Tremor, together with ScanScout, is the one that can give advertisers the platform and set of tools to do targeting at scale, with real-time intelligence and content screening. Throwing myself into where the revolution is happening is an exciting next step.
Categories: Advertising, People
Topics: AETN, Tremor Media
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Online/Mobile Video's Top 10 of 2010
2010 was another spectacular year of growth and innovation in online and mobile video, so it's no easy feat to choose the 10 most significant things that happened during the year. However, I've taken my best shot below, and offered explanations. No doubt I've forgotten a few things, but I think it's a pretty solid list. As much as happened in 2010 though, I expect even more next year, with plenty of surprises.
My top 10 are as follows:
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Broadband ISPs, Broadcasters, Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Deals & Financings, Devices, Mobile Video, Regulation, Satellite, Technology, Telcos
Topics: 4G, Android, Apple, Google TV, iPad, Net Neutrality, Netflix, YouTube
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Online Video Ad Network SpotXchange Raises $12 Million
Online video ad network SpotXchange is announcing this morning that it has raised $12 million from H.I.G Growth Partners, in its first round of institutional capital. Proceeds will be used to further build-out its video ad solution and
also to expand internationally. SpotXchange is ranked as one of the top 5 video ad networks by comScore and recently launched SpotMarket RTB, a real-time auction-based market where buyers can bid on an impression-by-impression basis.
The SpotXchange news further underscores a sizzling year of financings and M&A for video ad networks. This space is attracting strong investor attention because of the growing recognition that huge online video audiences and ever-improving content is inevitably going to draw more ad dollars to the medium. In addition, online video advertising offers clear benefits over traditional TV advertising such as better targeting and interactivity. Just last week eMarketer forecast 30+%/year annual growth in online video ad spending, driving the category up to $6 billion by 2014. Throughout the year I've noted various innovations in online video ad units and I expect this will continue alongside the online video industry's rapid growth next year.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Note: SpotXchange is a VideoNuze sponsor.Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
Topics: SpotXchange
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5 Items of Interest for the Week of Dec. 5th
Once again I'm pleased to offer VideoNuze's end-of-week feature highlighting and discussing 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Broadcasters, Cable TV Operators, Mobile Video, Telcos
Topics: ABC, Disney, eMarketer, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Nielsen, TV Everywhere, Verizon Wireless
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5 Items of Interest for the Week of Nov. 15th
After a short break, VideoNuze's Friday feature of curating 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week, returns today. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!
Time Warner Cable Experiments With Lower Tier Video Package
It's a rare day when a cable operator announces a lower-priced offering, but that's what Time Warner Cable did yesterday, unveiling a test of what it's calling "TV Essentials." The new tier, priced between $30-$40, will most notably exclude ESPN, the most expensive channel in the cable universe, meaning right away TV Essentials isn't targeted to sports fans. I've argued for a while now that pay-TV operators have ceded the low-priced/value-oriented end of the video market to Netflix (and others), which given the ongoing recession is a mistake. It will be interesting to see how the new bargain service fares; 2 things that will limit its appeal though are that no channels will be offered in HD, and that it appears those with broadband Internet and telephone services won't benefit from typical package discounts.
Nielsen study: We're still a nation of couch pumpkins
More evidence this week that despite all the deserved enthusiasm over online and mobile delivery, good old-fashioned TV viewing still rules in terms of hours of consumption. Nielsen said that the average person watched 143 hours of TV per month in Q2, essentially flat vs. a year ago. For homes with DVRs, hours of time watched on them nudged up a bit to about 24 1/2 hours. On a related note, this week comScore released its online video viewing data for October, which showed average viewing of 15.1 hours per person. While online video has made huge progress in the last few years, it still has a ton of room to grow to catch up with TV.
More Videos Ads, More User Acceptance
Speaking of the comparison between online video and TV, this week brought some interesting new data on monetization patterns for premium online video. Online video ad manager FreeWheel released data that showed mid-roll ads are the fastest-growing category of ads (up 693% since Q1), and now represent 8% of its ad volume. Completion rates have increased for pre, mid and post-roll ads this year, but notably mid-rolls have the highest completion rate, at 90%. FreeWheel's conclusion is that monetization of premium online video is starting to look a lot like TV, with ad pods inserted throughout. Going a step further, if viewer acceptance of mid-rolls stays high, then this represents a valuable opportunity for TV networks in particular to combat DVR-based ad-skipping.
Startup Claims To Have Set-Top Hulu Can't Block
It was inevitable that Hulu's decision to block access to its programs would set off a game of whack-a-mole, with various devices springing up to do end-arounds. Sure enough, the $99 Orb TV debuted this week, prominently positioning itself as the device that can bring Hulu (among other content) to your TV. One catch is that Orb streams video from your computer and only does so in standard definition. It addresses the "keyboard in the living room" challenge by also including a smartphone app to control the device. It's not a perfect solution, but it does provide a glimpse into the PR-unfriendly dynamic that Hulu, and the broadcast networks, have created for themselves by blocking access to their content by Google TV and others. No doubt there will be plenty more Orb-like devices to come to market in the months ahead, all positioning themselves as solving the blocking problem.
Comcast's Top Digital Exec Amy Banse to Open New Silicon Valley Equity Fund for Cable Giant and NBC
As Comcast enters the final stages of approval for its NBCU deal, the company this week announced a new NBCU management structure. One item that wasn't formally announced yet, but was reported by AllThingsD earlier this week was that Amy Banse, formerly head of Comcast Interactive Media (now headed by Matt Strauss), will be heading to Silicon Valley to run the combined operations of Comcast's current Comcast Interactive Capital venture arm, and NBCU's current Peacock Equity (a JV with GE). With all the distribution, technology and content assets that will be under the Comcast roof, the fund will be at the top of any online/mobile video startup's list of strategic investors. I've known Amy for a while and have enjoyed having her on industry panels; she'll be a huge asset to Comcast in the Valley venture world.Categories: Advertising, Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Deals & Financings, Devices
Topics: Comcast, comScore, ESPN, FreeWheel, Hulu, NBCU, Nielsen, Orb, Time Warner Cable
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Jivox Launches New Analytics Platform and Interactive Ad Unit
Jivox, an online video ad technology and ad network is announcing a new analytics platform and interactive ad unit this morning that help move online video ad effectiveness beyond traditional ROI metrics like impressions and clicks. The analytics platform, dubbed "BrandGage" lets advertisers measure engagement actions in the ad that measure, in real-time, where the user's purchase intent lies. The new ad unit, Quattro, allows advertisers to include multiple engagement opportunities that tie to the different levels of purchase intent.
Diaz Nesamoney, Jivox's CEO and founder walked me through an example of Quattro yesterday and how engagement is measured in BrandGage. In the mockup below, the user would be prompted to roll over the top of a standard-looking 300x250 rich media ad for the movie Alice in Wonderland and be presented with this panel. A range of interactive widgets is shown, such as watching more video, reading reviews, learning about show times/buying tickets, finding merchandise, downloading assets and sharing with friends. In addition the user can post to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and see a scroll of relevant tweets.
Categories: Advertising
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SpotXchange Rolls Out Real-Time Bidding Application
Video ad network SpotXchange is introducing SpotMarket RTB this morning, an application that offers real-time bidding for online video ad placements.Using SpotMarket RTB, advertisers, agencies, ad networks and demand side platforms can buy ads on an impression-by-impression basis in SpotXchange's auction-based market which includes 700+ publishers.
Targeting can be refined using SpotXchange's own behavioral targeting and retargeting tools and/or any third-party data sources. Using SpotMarket RTB, advertisers are able to increase their campaigns' performance by reducing waste and focusing on those sites with the best conversion results.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
Topics: SpotXchange
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YuMe Launches Two New Mobile Video Ad Formats For iOS Devices
Video ad technology provider and ad network YuMe is rolling out 2 new mobile ad formats today for use with video played on iOS devices. Both run prior to the video content. Ed Haslam and George O'Brien from YuMe showed them both to me while at NewTeeVee Live yesterday. The "Mobile Connect" unit provides a full-screen video ad which has overlaid icons to link to social media sites, or calls to action like coupons or requesting more information. The "Mobile Billboard" unit is a full-screen display or rich media ad that allows the user to click to watch video and be exposed to other calls to action.
The new mobile video units are available through an SDK with YuMe's ACE for Publishers ad management platform and can be used with YuMe's ad network or other ad networks or direct sales. The ACE platform auto-detects if an iOS device is being used and serves the appropriate ad. Consolidated reporting with online video placements is available for both advertisers and publishers. YuMe's units are further evidence of the mobile video's growth and appeal for both advertisers and publishers.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: YuMe
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Listening To Hulu's Jason Kilar: Motherhood, Apple Pie - And Reality
Listening to Hulu's CEO Jason Kilar today at NewTeeVee Live, it's hard not to admire what he and the Hulu team have accomplished. For the first time,
Jason disclosed 2010 projected revenues of $240 million, up 10-fold from $24 million in '08 and $108 million in '09, which is pretty impressive growth. As always, Jason's message is extremely user-centric and forward-looking. Hearing him speak, you definitely get a sense of the positive, relentless efforts he's led to improve the service.
A key part of Jason's message is that premium video should, and will be available anytime, anyplace and on any device in the future. It's a wonderful "motherhood and apple pie" message that's hard to argue with as a viewer. Unfortunately it's also a message that's bumping up against some hard realities in the TV business that Hulu is going to have to surmount to ultimately succeed. Here are at least a few of them:
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Broadcasters
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Tremor Media Acquires ScanScout, Creating Video Ad Network Giant
More consolidation among video ad networks, as market leader Tremor Media has acquired ScanScout, creating a new dominant player. comScore reported in its Sept. 2010 online video rankings that Tremor on its own was the #2 video ad network with over 525 million video ads served and reach to over 26% of the U.S. population. For its part ScanScout says it reaches 140 million unique viewers per month. Tremor most recently raised a $40 million round in April, bringing its total funding to $82 million, while ScanScout last raised another $8.5 million Oct. '09.
Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
Topics: ScanScout, Tremor Media
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Undertone Acquires Video Syndicator Jambo Media
Undertone, a large display ad network has acquired video syndication and technology provider Jambo Media. Both companies are private and terms were not disclosed. The deal comes on the heels of ad network Specific Media acquiring video manager/network BBE, and AOL acquiring video syndicator 5Min. All three deals - and no doubt others to follow - illustrate the consolidation underway between video advertising and other forms of online advertising plus the interplay between video syndication, branded content and advertising.
Undertone's CEO Mike Cassidy told me that Undertone has been fielding more calls from the agencies and Fortune 500 brands it serves who are interested in online video advertising as well. Mike believes that offering them an integrated approach between display and video so that they can buy, manage and measure their returns across formats will only become more important over time. So a key goal of the acquisition is to meld their publisher networks and and offer high quality reach for both display and video. Since display is more mature than video advertising, Mike also sees opportunities to leverage its underlying technology in areas like targeting.
Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
Topics: Jambo Media, Undertone
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FreeWheel Unveils Version 3.5 of Its Ad Management Platform
Ad manager FreeWheel announced the 3.5 version of its Monetization Rights Management platform this morning, continuing to help drive online and mobile
video monetization for major media companies.
Included in the new features are an Android SDK, which allows great ad control within their Android apps, geo-based ad targeting to mobile devices based on current GPS coordinates, user targeting by mobile operating system, integration with 3rd party mobile ad networks AdMob and iAd and mid-roll/companion ads in HTML5 for iPhones and iPads. If you're interested in learning more about FreeWheel's online and mobile video monetization, come to the VideoSchmooze breakfast on Dec. 1st, where company co-CEO and co-founder Doug Knopper will be on the panel.Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: FreeWheel
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