Microsoft is lauching a private beta test of its 'AdSense' product. It'll be launched on properties including: MSN Money, MSN Real Estate and Windows Live sites.
More on JenSense blog.
Thursday, August 31
Online video on the ascendancy, says eMarketer
Online video, while only constituting 2.3% of the $16.7 billion spent advertising online, is expected to grow faster than any other form of Internet advertising, according to a report released Wednesday by eMarketer.
Wednesday, August 30
Internet advertising stymied by lack of experienced staff
This morning, the Financial Times reports:
"The difficulty of hiring people who know how to create, sell and measure internet advertising is limiting the pace at which marketers can shift money from traditional media to hot web properties such as MySpace, YouTube and other video properties (...)"
"The difficulty of hiring people who know how to create, sell and measure internet advertising is limiting the pace at which marketers can shift money from traditional media to hot web properties such as MySpace, YouTube and other video properties (...)"
Stage6 from DivX.
DivX, the coding and compression technology company, just launched a YouTube-style online video sharing community, Stage6.
Stage 6 offers high-res videos and the real benefits and differentiator is that a DivX file can be burned onto a DVD. The content is licensed (CollegeHumor, The Cooking Channel, etc) and I think the business model will be pay-to-download. And justlike Revver, users can upload content and become paid publishers.
DivX IPO is on the rise. Will Stage6 seduce the investors' community?
Stage 6 offers high-res videos and the real benefits and differentiator is that a DivX file can be burned onto a DVD. The content is licensed (CollegeHumor, The Cooking Channel, etc) and I think the business model will be pay-to-download. And justlike Revver, users can upload content and become paid publishers.
DivX IPO is on the rise. Will Stage6 seduce the investors' community?
Eric Schmidt on Apple's board
Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, has been elected to Apple's board. He'll join Steve Jobs, Al Gore, Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson and JCrew CEO Mickey Drexler there.
SpiralFrog / UMG - Update.
TechCrunch is providing details on the UMG/SpiralFrog deal, and video seems to be definitely part of the deal.
"Spiral Frog will offer a desktop downloader for Windows Media Files (no iPods!) that can be listened to on one PC and two portable devices. - you must log in to the Spiral Frog service at least once per month, and see their ads, or your files will stop playing! The details aren't fully set in stone, but it will be something like that. There will be links to third party sites of the record labels; choosing if you&'d like to buy your freedom to at least skip the ads.
Spiral Frog will also offer far more than just music, but also video and other digital content. The selling point here is that users will be able to access media legally, without the malware, bad network connections and pirate's shame that comes from other online media sources."
"Spiral Frog will offer a desktop downloader for Windows Media Files (no iPods!) that can be listened to on one PC and two portable devices. - you must log in to the Spiral Frog service at least once per month, and see their ads, or your files will stop playing! The details aren't fully set in stone, but it will be something like that. There will be links to third party sites of the record labels; choosing if you&'d like to buy your freedom to at least skip the ads.
Spiral Frog will also offer far more than just music, but also video and other digital content. The selling point here is that users will be able to access media legally, without the malware, bad network connections and pirate's shame that comes from other online media sources."
Tuesday, August 29
iWon redesigned.
Congrats for the new home page! A great step to renew and redesign a property which has been in our space for ever.
www.iwon.com
www.iwon.com
SpiralFrog & UMG
SpiralFrog (www.spiralfrog.com) a new music download destination, has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, to make UMG's extensive catalog available for legal downloading in the US and Canada via SpiralFrog's advertising-supported service. SpiralFrog will offer users of its no-cost web-based service the ability to legally download music by many of the world's most popular and award-winning artists. This doesn't seem related to PreRoll Video, but I'm sure SpiralFrog will offer video content. Will they monetize it? Certainly!
Lycos Signs blinkx for Video Search
Lycos announced today they signed an revenue-share agreement with Blinkx. Blinkx has been around for a while, and has aggregated 5 million hours of TV, music video, vlog, and documentary video content. They use speech and pattern-recognition technology to catalog online video files, which is supposed to provide better search results than relying on keywords or video metatags.
Times Co. Buys Film, TV Database
MediaPost reports:
"Bolstering its standing as an online entertainment hub, The New York Times Co. on Monday announced its acquisition of film and television database Baseline StudioSystems for $35 million. Through the deal, the Times Co. aims to increase the drawing power of the movie and TV sections of its Web site by offering broader and deeper content. It also gains a subscription-based information service used by Hollywood studios and production companies."
An other company looking for more premium video content, an other preroll video opportunity! More to come I'm sure, I'll keep you posted.
Mediaplex supports InBanner Video
A press release by ValueClick:
"ValueClick, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:VCLK) technology division, Mediaplex,and EyeWonder, Inc., a leader in online video and rich media advertising solutions, today announced they have entered into an agreement to provide advertisers and agencies with the best combination of integrated ad serving, rich media, and video ad technology and services. This agreement gives Mediaplex clients direct access to EyeWonder's full suite of advanced rich media and video ad , including expandable and floating advertising for rich media and video, in addition to unsurpassed service excellence."
"ValueClick, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:VCLK) technology division, Mediaplex,and EyeWonder, Inc., a leader in online video and rich media advertising solutions, today announced they have entered into an agreement to provide advertisers and agencies with the best combination of integrated ad serving, rich media, and video ad technology and services. This agreement gives Mediaplex clients direct access to EyeWonder's full suite of advanced rich media and video ad , including expandable and floating advertising for rich media and video, in addition to unsurpassed service excellence."
Monday, August 28
Online Video Advertising: A Primer for Publishers
Here's the latest MediaPost Video Insider:
"ONCE UPON A TIME, WAY back when, in an innocent time before snakes on planes, video was a novelty for Web publishers. Seen as a marketing tool to drive awareness for offline properties or products, online video was rarely part of a commerce or advertising solution (read: cost center.)
Enter 2006. No longer is online video a loss leader for Web publishers. It's increasingly a prime revenue source and major opportunity. With opportunity, of course, comes complexity. How do you make an online video effort not only engaging and attractive for end users, but also profitable and successful from a business standpoint?
Step 1: Start with good content. The first ingredient is good content. Without it there isn't much draw and certainly very little revenue. For sites like YouTube, content is entirely composed of user submissions. (I won't touch the whole copyright debate here.)
On the opposite end of the spectrum are content producers. In some cases they are making the content available for syndication but increasingly, are also looking to go directly to consumers with their own Web sites. In between you have the aggregators who get their content from a mix of user-generated and professionally produced sources.
Step 2: Determine your business model. The irony of online video for publishers is that the more successful they are at getting eyeballs, the more expensive it becomes. There are myriad examples of great content that cost someone a lot of money. Jib-Jab's first video cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in streaming costs and bursting fees and, unfortunately, had no business model to recoup those losses.
How are you going to monetize your online video? Do you sell access to the video, or do you sell access to the consumers of the video? If your choice is to sell access to the video, then you have to start looking at DRM solutions, payment processing, fulfillment and customer support. Increasingly, though, publishers are going for the latter business model: allowing access to their consumers via video advertising, sponsorships, companion banners, etc.
Step 3: Ad sales: remember that every stream served with no ad is a lost opportunity for revenue. Assuming that you've chosen advertising as your revenue model, you need to identify where those ad dollars are going to come from. You have a few choices here. The most obvious is to sell the inventory yourself. If you are a large publisher and have the in-house staff to support it, you will probably do very well with this method. But be careful--many large publishers are finding that the months it takes to get a video ad sales team up to speed can be very costly.
If you don't fall into that category, don't despair. There are other options, from working with rep firms to video ad networks. In the banner world, the majority of successful publishers take a mixed approach, with internal ad sales representing the majority of their inventory, but one or more ad networks moving unsold inventory. We see this as the most successful model for online video ad inventory as well.
Step 4: Decide on distribution How are you going to distribute your content? There are basically three choices--and your decision should be guided by your projected volume and uptime requirements:
1. Build out or leverage your own hosting infrastructure for delivery. At lower volumes, this is your most cost-effective solution.
2. Engage a CDN (content delivery network)--at higher volumes, economies of scale kick in and CDNs can handle a lot more technical complexities, including load balancing. Once you're at a point that downtime is costly, this makes a lot more sense.
3. There are full-service shops who will handle the distribution for you, as well as everything else, at a cost.
Step 5: Decide on presentation and delivery The first decision is which video format to use (WM, Flash, QT or Real). The criteria are: target audience, desired reach, quality concerns, security needs and whether you need live or on-demand. More and more publishers are using Flash. It seems to offer the best combination of these factors with the largest user base.
Finally, what technologies will you use for ad insertion? There are many criteria to look for. I'll list a few, but I don't have the room to go into detail. I promise a future column on this topic if you're interested.
1. Do you just want pre-roll and post-roll, or do you think you might need mid-roll as well--the ability to create custom combinations?
2. Will you use multiple ad sales sources?
3. Are you working with an ad network that supplies ads dynamically?
4. What are your distribution requirements? Will it work with your CDN?
5. What are your ad-logic server requirements?
6. Can you skin and customize your player?
7. What are your requirements for companion banners?
8. Does it integrate with your CMS and workflow processes?
As I said before, with opportunity comes complexity. But I hope I've given you some tools to help you know what decisions you need to make and how to begin or improve your existing solution. In the end, you'll find that making money from online video advertising isn't a fantasy.
Jesse Chenard is Chief Technology Officer at Tremor Network. Jesse authored the Ad-inStream patent and was previously a senior sales engineer at Speedera Networks."
"ONCE UPON A TIME, WAY back when, in an innocent time before snakes on planes, video was a novelty for Web publishers. Seen as a marketing tool to drive awareness for offline properties or products, online video was rarely part of a commerce or advertising solution (read: cost center.)
Enter 2006. No longer is online video a loss leader for Web publishers. It's increasingly a prime revenue source and major opportunity. With opportunity, of course, comes complexity. How do you make an online video effort not only engaging and attractive for end users, but also profitable and successful from a business standpoint?
Step 1: Start with good content. The first ingredient is good content. Without it there isn't much draw and certainly very little revenue. For sites like YouTube, content is entirely composed of user submissions. (I won't touch the whole copyright debate here.)
On the opposite end of the spectrum are content producers. In some cases they are making the content available for syndication but increasingly, are also looking to go directly to consumers with their own Web sites. In between you have the aggregators who get their content from a mix of user-generated and professionally produced sources.
Step 2: Determine your business model. The irony of online video for publishers is that the more successful they are at getting eyeballs, the more expensive it becomes. There are myriad examples of great content that cost someone a lot of money. Jib-Jab's first video cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in streaming costs and bursting fees and, unfortunately, had no business model to recoup those losses.
How are you going to monetize your online video? Do you sell access to the video, or do you sell access to the consumers of the video? If your choice is to sell access to the video, then you have to start looking at DRM solutions, payment processing, fulfillment and customer support. Increasingly, though, publishers are going for the latter business model: allowing access to their consumers via video advertising, sponsorships, companion banners, etc.
Step 3: Ad sales: remember that every stream served with no ad is a lost opportunity for revenue. Assuming that you've chosen advertising as your revenue model, you need to identify where those ad dollars are going to come from. You have a few choices here. The most obvious is to sell the inventory yourself. If you are a large publisher and have the in-house staff to support it, you will probably do very well with this method. But be careful--many large publishers are finding that the months it takes to get a video ad sales team up to speed can be very costly.
If you don't fall into that category, don't despair. There are other options, from working with rep firms to video ad networks. In the banner world, the majority of successful publishers take a mixed approach, with internal ad sales representing the majority of their inventory, but one or more ad networks moving unsold inventory. We see this as the most successful model for online video ad inventory as well.
Step 4: Decide on distribution How are you going to distribute your content? There are basically three choices--and your decision should be guided by your projected volume and uptime requirements:
1. Build out or leverage your own hosting infrastructure for delivery. At lower volumes, this is your most cost-effective solution.
2. Engage a CDN (content delivery network)--at higher volumes, economies of scale kick in and CDNs can handle a lot more technical complexities, including load balancing. Once you're at a point that downtime is costly, this makes a lot more sense.
3. There are full-service shops who will handle the distribution for you, as well as everything else, at a cost.
Step 5: Decide on presentation and delivery The first decision is which video format to use (WM, Flash, QT or Real). The criteria are: target audience, desired reach, quality concerns, security needs and whether you need live or on-demand. More and more publishers are using Flash. It seems to offer the best combination of these factors with the largest user base.
Finally, what technologies will you use for ad insertion? There are many criteria to look for. I'll list a few, but I don't have the room to go into detail. I promise a future column on this topic if you're interested.
1. Do you just want pre-roll and post-roll, or do you think you might need mid-roll as well--the ability to create custom combinations?
2. Will you use multiple ad sales sources?
3. Are you working with an ad network that supplies ads dynamically?
4. What are your distribution requirements? Will it work with your CDN?
5. What are your ad-logic server requirements?
6. Can you skin and customize your player?
7. What are your requirements for companion banners?
8. Does it integrate with your CMS and workflow processes?
As I said before, with opportunity comes complexity. But I hope I've given you some tools to help you know what decisions you need to make and how to begin or improve your existing solution. In the end, you'll find that making money from online video advertising isn't a fantasy.
Jesse Chenard is Chief Technology Officer at Tremor Network. Jesse authored the Ad-inStream patent and was previously a senior sales engineer at Speedera Networks."
Google and eBay Sign Multi-Year Agreement
Here's an abstract of the PR released by Google this morning:
Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG) and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) today announced a multi-year agreement to benefit both companies' collective communities of users, merchants, and advertisers around the globe. The agreement consists of two primary components involving text-based advertising and "click-to-call" advertising functionality.
Specifically, Google will become the exclusive text-based advertising provider for eBay outside the United States. In addition, eBay and Google plan to integrate and launch "click-to-call" advertising functionality that leverage both Skype and Google Talk globally in each company's respective shopping and search platforms. The companies said the financial terms for certain components of the deal involve revenue sharing, but did not disclose specific details.
Sunday, August 27
Google Office.
Google finally just revealed what we were expecting for a while. A web-based solution for office applications. After separately releasing Gmail, Calendar, Spreadsheet, Writely, Picasa (with powerpoint-like features), and Google Talk, now many of those apps are bundled in one package.
The solution Google just released includes Gmail, GTalk, Calendar and Page Creator. But this is a first 'free' version. Right now, small businesses, universities, non-profits can create a personalized email and messaging network.
The more developed solution will be released this fall, either free and ad-supported, or paying but ad-free. I expect it to offer a package which will compete with the upcoming Vista. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, all accessible online through a secure channel, with huge sharing capabilities.
Check it here: http://www.google.com/a
The solution Google just released includes Gmail, GTalk, Calendar and Page Creator. But this is a first 'free' version. Right now, small businesses, universities, non-profits can create a personalized email and messaging network.
The more developed solution will be released this fall, either free and ad-supported, or paying but ad-free. I expect it to offer a package which will compete with the upcoming Vista. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, all accessible online through a secure channel, with huge sharing capabilities.
Check it here: http://www.google.com/a
Friday, August 25
Merril Lynch ad spending estimate.
Merrill Lynch just reported that online ad spending will climb to $11.6 billion internationally this year, marking a growth rate of 35%, which is more than their previous estimate (which was 33%). That's good news, folks!
Thursday, August 24
AOL Presses Play on Video Downloads
Adotas reports:
"AOL has partnered with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. to offer its users downloadable movies through AOL Video. With prices ranging from $9.99 to $19.99, customers will be able to download recent DVD releases and archived movies in all film genres, and watch them online, offline, and on other PC’s and portable devices. AOL Video already has more than 45 different video channels and partnerships with 17 other video content providers.
“We’re very excited to add digital movie downloads and additional TV content to the already wide-variety of content that we offer through the AOL Video portal,” said AOL EVP Kevin Conroy in a statement. “We’ll continue to add more and more high quality branded content to the mix.”
AOL also continues to add to its on-demand video channels. Coming soon are TV shows from Fox and Sony Pictures, which will be accessible through AOL’s Interactive Programming Guide. Fox TV content channels will feature both new and old shows from Fox, FX, Speed and Fuel TV as paid downloads, while Sony’s channels, AXN and FunnyBone (which play retro dramas and sitcoms) will feature free ad-supported content."
Yahoo To Preview New TV Shows
A new area of the site, Yahoo TV Fall 2006 Preview, includes detailed information about 34 of the major networks' prime-time television shows, including summaries, cast pictures, and in many cases, clips from the programs.
Media Post reports: " (...) For now, the Yahoo Fall TV section is running house ads, but the company's sales force is talking with marketers about sponsorships(...). The section also contains links to individual Yahoo pages about the TV programs; those pages currently carry ads.".
Wednesday, August 23
U.S. Online Advertising Forecast, 2006 to 2011
The "U.S. Online Advertising Forecast, 2006 to 2011" report from Jupiter Media projects that online ad spending will reach $15.7 billion this year and $25.9 billion by 2011. Which is a 11% CAGR...
IN 2006:
- Search: $6.5 billion, or 41.4% of total online ad spending
- Display Ad: $5.8 billion, or 36.9 % of total online ad spending
- Online Classifieds: $3.4 billion, or 21.7%
- Online Video Ads: $0.4 billion.
- Rich Media Ads: $1.4 billion
In 2011:
- Search: $11.1 billion, or 42.9% of total online ad spending
- Display Ad: $9.2 billion, or 35.5 % of total online ad spending
- Online Classifieds: $5.6 billion, or 21.6%
- Online Video Ads: $1.3 billion.
- Rich Media Ads: $3.6 billion
Microsoft and Facebook in Web ad deal
Microsoft will become the exclusive provider of banner advertising and sponsored links on the social networking Web site as part of a strategic alliance. The two companies began talks last week and expect the new ads to appear in early fall. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sony buys Web video site Grouper
Sony Corp's entertainment unit said it had agreed to pay $65 million to buy Web video-watching site Grouper.com, marking the growing embrace of the user-generated video craze by big media. I read that no immediate changes are planned for the Grouper.com site (http://www.grouper.com), although over time Sony may develop ad-supported and premium content businesses.
Tuesday, August 22
New Viacom and MTV video ads from AdSense
Posted on JenSense.com, insider infos about the Google / MTV deal:
The pilot will span four weeks; we will provide pilot exit information prior to its completion.
Just a few weeks after the announcement that Viacom & MTV would be partnering on a deal with Google to display videos through the Google AdSense program, the videos have begun displaying on publisher sites.
The ads, similar in appearance to other AdSense video ads, are displaying content from Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, The N, and Nickelodeon channels. The clips are a few minutes in length each. They are implemented through a separate javascript, not the usual AdSense javascript, and will be run by about 200 publishers on a variety of sites. Stats will be available through the publisher account on these streaming ads as well, in the referrals tab, even though it utilizes a different javascript. What is interesting is that this will only be run for four weeks.
Earnings are on a CPM basis, with each "view" occurring every time an ad - which are placed at intervals within the "show" being watched - within the video is viewed. There are two ad sizes being used for these ads, the 336x280 & 300x250 ad units. They must appear above the fold on the site.
For all the nitty gritty on these ads, here is the FAQ sent to publishers participating in this beta.
What is this?
Google is running an experiment with syndicated video supported by ads, to help publishers and video content owners better monetize their properties. Premium video owners provide Google with their content, Google matches the content with ads, and the site owner presents the combined product to their users.
The content to be displayed through these units is premium.
We're running this pilot to open the door to initiate branding concepts within the Google AdSense advertising model, and you've been handpicked to be one of the few exclusive partners to help launch this program. Advertisers ready to move forward are of the highest caliber, and the value-add of supplying this content is tremendous. If successful, these efforts will become more robust, and the end results will greatly enhance the user experience on your site.
What is the video content?
For the initial test, we will be using channels of video content provided by MTV Networks, such as from their Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, The N, and Nickelodeon channels. The video content is mostly short-form clips of up to a few minutes in length.
What are the ads?
For the purposes of this test, the video advertisements are provided by MTV Networks; the interstitial ads will be varying lengths (most 30 seconds or less) and shown between segments of the video content. For future syndicated video, Google will be leveraging its network of advertisers to match content to advertisement for syndicated video content.
How much money will I make?
Revenue is generated on a CPM basis, by the number of views on each ad inside the content. For instance, if someone watches the first three minutes of the content, and sees two interstitial ads, you will be paid for those two views. There is no payment unless a user has seen an ad within the content.
For syndicated video, the revenues will be split three ways, between the content owner, Google, and the site owner. For the purposes of this test, Google is not disclosing the three-way revenue split. Please also understand that CPM values and expected payouts at the end of this pilot cannot be disclosed at this time.
How do I add this to my page?
We will send you all necessary code amendments and modifications, which can simply be dropped-in to the source code of your page.
What is the unit size?
The embedded video player is the standard IAB 336x280 & IAB 300x250 size.
Do I have to put this in a certain place on my page?
You can place this unit above the fold (ATF) anywhere on your site, but keep in mind that you should try and optimize its position for playbacks.
How many impressions will I get?
As this is the first experiment of this type, we are not making projections of impressions or views. This video content, however, is only available to certain sites, so there is an element of exclusivity that your users may find attractive, and may help you get new visitors.
What if I'd like to display this Flash player on the sub domain (subdomain.root.com) of a pilot approved website?
Please respond to this email and let us know if this applies to your site.
Are we guaranteed to make at least as much as our ads would?For the purposes of this test, we are not making revenue guarantees or predictions. This is a new concept in Google advertising history and we have worked hard with our advertisers to secure inventory for this premium channel. Our expectation is that monetization will only improve as this channel, concept, and project becomes more built out, but until then, we're in full beta with this pilot. As such, your patience and collaboration is of extreme value to us.
Will ads be served through AdSense or will I have to implement another type of code?
Ads will be served through special video player code provided for the purposes of this test, though publishers will be paid through their AdSense account.
Will Google serve the highest paying ad/content or is this a fixed unit?
This is a fixed unit, serving only the MTV preferred channel content selected for your site. There is no auction of content for the purposes of this test.
Can viewers skip ad and content display? Do publishers still get paid if viewers skip ad display?
Yes, viewers can skip both content and ad display. However, users must begin to watch interstitial ads to qualify an ad event/impression.
How often does the video content refresh/change?
Content will likely change every three to seven days.
Will this player/content slow down my site?
No. As with Click-to-Play Video Ads, the video in this ad unit will not start buffering unless the user clicks on the play button. Publishers should not see any effect on site performance.
Do I have to reinsert the code when it changes?
No. By adding the video unit to your page, the content will automatically update without your changing the code on your site.
Can I have more than one unit on my page?
No, you can only have one of these video units per page.
Will the video unit be click-to-play, or initiated upon page view?
The video unit will be click-to-play, meaning initiated by the user, NOT upon page view.
Will there be alternate ad capability with these video units?
No. Since these video units are not standard ad units, you will only have the ability to serve this content through this pilot's unit.
Is there a separate legal agreement or will Google just serve through AdSense with the standard AdSense T&Cs?
AdSense Online Standard Terms and Conditions apply to this pilot.
The pilot will span four weeks; we will provide pilot exit information prior to its completion.
Participatory Video Ad
I love the Participatory Video Ad initiative from YouTube. It lets viewers treat advertising like any other video on YouTube — rating it, sharing it, embedding it or commenting on it. The first such ad was for "Pulse," a horror film distributed by Weinstein Co.'s Dimension Films early in August. Users opted-in to watch the video, and so far it has been seen 1M times!
According to Hitwise, YouTube has absorbed nearly one-third of the US online video audience, doubling the numbers reaped by MySpace and tripling those of Google. Combine this with 100M streams per day and 65,000 daily new uploads...Good job guys!
According to Hitwise, YouTube has absorbed nearly one-third of the US online video audience, doubling the numbers reaped by MySpace and tripling those of Google. Combine this with 100M streams per day and 65,000 daily new uploads...Good job guys!
Viewpoint Introduces Unicast Advergaming
Found on Adotas:
"Online marketing technology firm Viewpoint threw its hat into the gaming arena today by unveiling its Unicast Advergaming product, the latest offering in Viewpoint’s Internet Marketing Technology (IMT) Product Series.
"Online marketing technology firm Viewpoint threw its hat into the gaming arena today by unveiling its Unicast Advergaming product, the latest offering in Viewpoint’s Internet Marketing Technology (IMT) Product Series.
The Unicast Advergaming product allows marketers to connect with and entertain customers through the creation of custom branded online games. Additionally, Viewpoint states that the technology allows branded games to be deployed as either site-side applications, or served as online rich media ad units. (...)
Unicast will offer three levels of advergames at three different price points based on game complexity and interactivity. The list includes Casual Online games, Custom Branded games, and the more complex Site-Side Advergames."
YouTube Experiments with Video Ads
The WSJ reports this morning:
"YouTube throws ad packages at the wall in the hopes that something will stick. The viral video site's latest move is to sell advertiser videos on the home page and special advertiser-created pages. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. records will be the first to roll out the ad pages with a video promotion for Paris Hilton's new music album, released today. In a bizarre twist, the Warner Bros. page also contains advertising real estate, as Time Warner competitor News Corp. will pay to advertise its "Prison Break" TV series on Hilton's page. YouTube and Warner Bros. will share ad revenue. Selling ads on ads: It's a strange world we live in, folks. Earlier in the year, the closely held online video company forged a similar pact with NBC that gives the broadcaster its own page to post promos of new TV shows. To date, YouTube, which is just 18 months old, has carried display and text ads it has sold itself or brokered via third parties. Company execs say they aim to create a system that pioneers new ad formats and could be extended to broker ads for other Web publishers, a la Google. Chad Hurley, the young company's chief executive, says YouTube's strategy "revolves around the idea of having brand advertisers participate and become part of our community." Google is leveraging its giant publisher network by opening up a content distribution system that sees publishers, content providers and Google all sharing pieces of ad revenue."
"YouTube throws ad packages at the wall in the hopes that something will stick. The viral video site's latest move is to sell advertiser videos on the home page and special advertiser-created pages. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. records will be the first to roll out the ad pages with a video promotion for Paris Hilton's new music album, released today. In a bizarre twist, the Warner Bros. page also contains advertising real estate, as Time Warner competitor News Corp. will pay to advertise its "Prison Break" TV series on Hilton's page. YouTube and Warner Bros. will share ad revenue. Selling ads on ads: It's a strange world we live in, folks. Earlier in the year, the closely held online video company forged a similar pact with NBC that gives the broadcaster its own page to post promos of new TV shows. To date, YouTube, which is just 18 months old, has carried display and text ads it has sold itself or brokered via third parties. Company execs say they aim to create a system that pioneers new ad formats and could be extended to broker ads for other Web publishers, a la Google. Chad Hurley, the young company's chief executive, says YouTube's strategy "revolves around the idea of having brand advertisers participate and become part of our community." Google is leveraging its giant publisher network by opening up a content distribution system that sees publishers, content providers and Google all sharing pieces of ad revenue."
My Top Problems With Online Video
An other few good points found on MediaPost / Online Spin in a post dated from a month ago:
"(...) The “video outta nowhere.” (...) what about the people on handhelds, slow connections or incompatible devices? Forgot about them, did we? Videos outta nowhere are rude
(...) Contextless prerolls. Speaking of videos without warning, could we please provide some context for the people who click to see a video of, say, three guys smashing a network printer to bits with a sledgehammer, and end up seeing an Acme commercial? As much as we’d like to think that people have an expectation of preroll ads before they get to see content, that just ain’t so.
(...)Lack of creativity with the preroll format.(...) no one ever said :30s and :15s were the preroll standard. If you can get your message across in 17 seconds, why not do it? Your online buyers will find a way. And if you can’t cram everything you need to say into a :30, why not try a :43?
(...) Expectations of viral infection. Just because a video exists online doesn’t mean there should be an expectation that the video takes off virally like the next “All Your Base” or Jib Jab political spoof. Ads have to offer something of value before they’re passed back and forth in any volume. It might be humor value, informational value or something else entirely, but by and large viral passalong doesn’t really happen to run-of- the-mill commercials"
"(...) The “video outta nowhere.” (...) what about the people on handhelds, slow connections or incompatible devices? Forgot about them, did we? Videos outta nowhere are rude
(...) Contextless prerolls. Speaking of videos without warning, could we please provide some context for the people who click to see a video of, say, three guys smashing a network printer to bits with a sledgehammer, and end up seeing an Acme commercial? As much as we’d like to think that people have an expectation of preroll ads before they get to see content, that just ain’t so.
(...)Lack of creativity with the preroll format.(...) no one ever said :30s and :15s were the preroll standard. If you can get your message across in 17 seconds, why not do it? Your online buyers will find a way. And if you can’t cram everything you need to say into a :30, why not try a :43?
(...) Expectations of viral infection. Just because a video exists online doesn’t mean there should be an expectation that the video takes off virally like the next “All Your Base” or Jib Jab political spoof. Ads have to offer something of value before they’re passed back and forth in any volume. It might be humor value, informational value or something else entirely, but by and large viral passalong doesn’t really happen to run-of- the-mill commercials"
Monday, August 21
Web Ads Show Just How Sexy These Clothes Make You Feel
The LA Times reported last week:
"(...) A French clothier is testing the limits of the maxim that sex sells with online commercials that use hard-core pornography to hawk $100 T-shirts.
The campaign by Shai clothing depicts French porn stars frolicking on a circular bed, clothed, at least initially, in the brand's latest styles. Shai's effort also foreshadows a trend in interactive marketing: giving viewers the ability to click on moving images in a commercial to buy clothing, movie tickets and other goods on screen. Rolling the mouse pointer over a piece of apparel in the Shai clip stops the video and pulls up a chart with price and size information. The interactive stag film as fashion catalog is an extreme example of advertisers adapting their messages to the Internet, by making spots more compelling with storytelling or radical content and hoping people will forward the clips to friends.
(...) Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, an interactive ad agency with offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, said a colleague forwarded him the link to Shai's ads. The publicity may have helped Shai get noticed, he said, but he doubted that it could serve as a model for others.
(...) More than 2 million visitors from 117 countries have come to the site in the last four months. (...)"
And of course…here is the website… http://www.sexpacking.com/home.php
"(...) A French clothier is testing the limits of the maxim that sex sells with online commercials that use hard-core pornography to hawk $100 T-shirts.
The campaign by Shai clothing depicts French porn stars frolicking on a circular bed, clothed, at least initially, in the brand's latest styles. Shai's effort also foreshadows a trend in interactive marketing: giving viewers the ability to click on moving images in a commercial to buy clothing, movie tickets and other goods on screen. Rolling the mouse pointer over a piece of apparel in the Shai clip stops the video and pulls up a chart with price and size information. The interactive stag film as fashion catalog is an extreme example of advertisers adapting their messages to the Internet, by making spots more compelling with storytelling or radical content and hoping people will forward the clips to friends.
(...) Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, an interactive ad agency with offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, said a colleague forwarded him the link to Shai's ads. The publicity may have helped Shai get noticed, he said, but he doubted that it could serve as a model for others.
(...) More than 2 million visitors from 117 countries have come to the site in the last four months. (...)"
And of course…here is the website… http://www.sexpacking.com/home.php
Are We Paying Too Much for Video?
MediaPost's Online Video Insider reports:
"...Regardless of what you might have heard, we're a long way away from TV dollars moving into online video. It won't happen until average CPMs are in-line with TV, as broadband is not even close to today's TV pricing. The average CPM for broadband video is around $30 these days, with highs in the $70s--that's a hefty premium even against prime-time TV CPMs.
Video buyers--TV or broadband--will make sure their clients' video dollars are invested in the most efficient manner possible. Nor will the transfer happen until audiences are aggregated to some degree for video content that's not music-oriented or reality-based. There hasn't been one broadband "hit" yet (let's say a moderately rated TV show, equaling 10-20 million viewings), except for illegal viewings of TV-aired clips and some user-created content.
Furthermore, some of the broadband branded entertainment prices are outrageous at over seven figures, without any guarantees of program viewings or any understanding of potential audience. The "we don't really know" line is very much unwelcome in today's results-driven marketplace. I'd rather create the content myself, post it with a modest budget on my brand's Web site, YouTube, Revver.com, and iFilm, and save my clients money in the process. Speaking of results, video ads deliver strong results for clients. However, those results often fall short of the ROI multiple versus standard banner ads, failing to justify the excessive premium CPM proposed. "
"...Regardless of what you might have heard, we're a long way away from TV dollars moving into online video. It won't happen until average CPMs are in-line with TV, as broadband is not even close to today's TV pricing. The average CPM for broadband video is around $30 these days, with highs in the $70s--that's a hefty premium even against prime-time TV CPMs.
Video buyers--TV or broadband--will make sure their clients' video dollars are invested in the most efficient manner possible. Nor will the transfer happen until audiences are aggregated to some degree for video content that's not music-oriented or reality-based. There hasn't been one broadband "hit" yet (let's say a moderately rated TV show, equaling 10-20 million viewings), except for illegal viewings of TV-aired clips and some user-created content.
Furthermore, some of the broadband branded entertainment prices are outrageous at over seven figures, without any guarantees of program viewings or any understanding of potential audience. The "we don't really know" line is very much unwelcome in today's results-driven marketplace. I'd rather create the content myself, post it with a modest budget on my brand's Web site, YouTube, Revver.com, and iFilm, and save my clients money in the process. Speaking of results, video ads deliver strong results for clients. However, those results often fall short of the ROI multiple versus standard banner ads, failing to justify the excessive premium CPM proposed. "
Interep Launches Network To Showcase Video Ads
Online Media Daily reports that Interep's Interactive Video Network has set up a network of video-sharing sites designed to show off video ads.
"...buys on the Viral Video Network will come with a guaranteed number of video plays, and sites on the network--including Photobucket, GoFish.com, Vmix.com and RedBalcony.com--will feature the viral ads in a high-profile 'editor's pick'-type location.
(...) Interep's video network is currently in talks with advertisers to run a beta test campaign for the viral video network."
"...buys on the Viral Video Network will come with a guaranteed number of video plays, and sites on the network--including Photobucket, GoFish.com, Vmix.com and RedBalcony.com--will feature the viral ads in a high-profile 'editor's pick'-type location.
(...) Interep's video network is currently in talks with advertisers to run a beta test campaign for the viral video network."
My Purpose...
My blog's goal is to capture any information relevant to the PreRoll Video industry. Just because I'm reading these news every day, I want to keep a trace of it and I'm happy to share them with anyone.
Google just replaced Froogle by a Video tab, Revver cashed at least $30k from their Mentos experience, Universal is distributing NBC content on YouTube.
Well, it's time for me to aggregate what I witness.
Sincerely,
Fabien.
Google just replaced Froogle by a Video tab, Revver cashed at least $30k from their Mentos experience, Universal is distributing NBC content on YouTube.
Well, it's time for me to aggregate what I witness.
Sincerely,
Fabien.
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