Content is Content. But Can Content Replace Advertising?

From the Wall Street Journal: "...Model.Live tracks three models as they navigate casting calls, catwalks and airports for fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. The first of 12 eight-minute episodes will debut Aug. 19 on-demand on Vogue.tv, a site that runs advertiser-sponsored videos and allows consumers to buy the featured products."

Vogue Models a New Reality Series - WSJ.com

Content like this is beginning to prove that online "shows" can attract a verifiable and sizable audience. The question remains if advertisers should strive to produce this kind of content -- as Holiday Inn Express has recently begun doing -- or just sponsor it. Should it be scripted like LonelyGirl15 and Quarterlife? Unscripted seems to be the more popular format, at least so far.

At least advertisers and content producers have a common goal. They both want to land a big audience. Though it appears the content producers are making most of the investment in R&D.

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IDC - Press Release

The Internet will go from the number 5 medium all the way to the number 2 medium in just 5 years, making it bigger than newspapers, bigger than cable TV, bigger even than broadcast TV, and second only to direct marketing. Video advertising will be the principal disruptor of Internet advertising over the next five years by attracting the most new marketing dollars. Its revenue will grow sevenfold from $0.5 billion in 2007 to $3.8 billion in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.4%. This growth will take place because brand advertisers will shift significant amounts of money into these video commercials, primarily from broadcast television and to a lesser extent from cable television.

IDC - Press Release

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I Stand By the Term: The Convergence is Real

“Convergence” sounds like an idea tossed around in the 1990s that never came to pass. But don’t be fooled. Today, most video consumed online is snackable video—bite-sized entertainment—rather than a complete meal of TV episodes or full-length movies.

brandedcontent.adage.com

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TiVo and YouTube to Deliver Web Video to TV - New York Times

Pick up the remote, turn on the television — and watch YouTube.The user experience envisioned by technology enthusiasts came a step closer to reality on Wednesday when TiVo, the maker of popular digital video recorders, announced a partnership with YouTube that will deliver Web video directly to users’ televisions.

TiVo and YouTube to Deliver Web Video to TV - New York Times

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Hulu Launches: Great Product, Still Screwed - Silicon Alley Insider

The condundrum of making a business out of watching TV online continues to confuse even the most clear-minded of convergence watchers.

Hulu finally launches, adding Warner Bros. and Lionsgate. CEO Jason Kilar says 5 million people have viewed Hulu videos in the past month and that 80% of Hulu's videos are viewed at least once a month.Five million is an impressive number given that Hulu has been in a closed beta test, and as we said over the weekend, the product is great. As we also said over the weekend, however, we still have big doubts about Hulu as a business (see below). Judging from his quote in the NYT, CEO Jason Kilar is still optimistic that he can win over CBS and Disney as content partners, but as Michael Learmonth explained yesterday, this will be easier said than done.

Hulu Launches: Great Product, Still Screwed - Silicon Alley Insider

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MediaPost Publications - Unicast Partners With AdMob To Power Mobile Web Pages - 03/03/2008

Early Adopter Alert!

The Rich Media Mobile technology is a hosted delivery and tracking solution for optimized rich mobile Web page content aiming to help advertisers provide a richer experience for audiences that are both media- and mobile-savvy. The platform provides tools for advertisers and agencies to create, deliver, and measure the effectiveness of rich media mobile ad campaigns.

The campaigns can be tracked with real-time reporting, and the metrics can be tied to the reporting interface for rich media online and in-game ad performance metrics providing a cross-platform solution for the efficient management of mobile marketing campaigns.The Rich Media Mobile technology detects the type of media a user's mobile phone can play, and then offers the advertiser's content in the appropriate format.

Currently, Unicast Rich Media Mobile is compatible with many devices across the major U.S. wireless carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

MediaPost Publications - Unicast Partners With AdMob To Power Mobile Web Pages - 03/03/2008

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TURNHERE: internet video

TurnHere is a full-service Internet video solutions provider. We provide video production and distribution services, produce high quality low-cost Internet videos and develop and execute plans to distribute those videos across the Internet to the right audience.

TURNHERE: internet video

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Study: Web Video Audience Differs Widely by Segment

comScore, has identified four key segments of the online video audience that should help marketers better plan media and target creative. The four groups include:

-On Demanders – this group is 30 percent more likely to a heavy video users. This 18- to 34-year-old skewing group gravitates to DVRs and video on demand, and are 89 percent more likely to pay for content to avoid ads than the typical user.
-Sight & Sounders – this group skews toward the 55 and over demographic, and are mostly unimpressed with video content and video ads. Nearly half have been watching online video for less than a year, and most prefer TV.
-Television Devotees – this female-skewing segment frequently use the Web to catch up on TV – and are fans of the broadcast and cable networks Web offerings. They appear to accept online video ads.
-Content Explorers - they are platform agnostic, and will watch pretty much anything on the Web – from long-form drama to short, user-generated clips. Perhaps surprisingly, this group skews toward 35-54, higher income category.

Study: Web Video Audience Differs Widely by Segment

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Cars.com Viral Video

Cars.com Viral Video

Practically hiding in plain site, the Cars.com campaign that launched during the Super Bowl includes a series of viral videos that tie-in perfectly.

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