From TV to Online Video

There’s been a big effort to make online video ads successful, everyone from Hulu to VivaKi is trying to figure out which format will work. But does the format really matter? Or is it more about what kind of experience the viewer has when interacting with the ad?

Instead of re-purposing original TV ads, advertisers should be modifying that content to fit the online realm by engaging the viewer. A recent Forrester report states that people find conversational ads to be more effective and recommends that marketers integrate ads that ask for customer feedback to optimize.

Read our CEO Naj’s article, Catering TV Advertising Content to Online Campaigns, which appeared in AdAge’s Digital NEXT last week. He talks about how advertisers can edit TV content for online using different technologies that help online campaigns become successfully interactive with customers.

Tags: AdAge, Advertising, Byline, Technology, TV
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3 Easy Steps to Personalization

How does an advertiser connect with the ad-weary customer, who sees dozens of online ads per day?

Most online ads target a broader consumer segment with a single message, but there are new technologies available that enable advertisers to deliver content that relates more directly to individual consumers based on their profile data or the type of content that interests them. Through personalization, online video can actually be relevant. A recent survey by ChoiceStream concluded that 41 percent of consumers would pay more attention to advertising if it were personalized based on their interests.

In an iMediaConnection article, CEO Naj Kidwai goes through a step-by-step approach to personalizing online video and the three different options for customization — motion tracking, hot spot, and personalized video — that help brands develop more effective online campaigns overall.

Tags: Advertising, iMediaConnection, Personalization, Video
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Inventing the Wheel Online with New Video Ad Formats

Do new formats give online video ads more potential? This question was explored in Advertising Age this week, in an article that goes over what companies are doing to reinvent online video ads.

The problem that advertisers have had with online video is that they’ve invested little in new content designed for the online experience. Using the same TV ad video content only goes so far online. As AdAge said, “The reality has been a big disappointment: ads that look and feel like TV, and are repurposed from TV creative, only much more annoying.”

During this “transition period,” so to speak, advertisers have been busy developing new formats for online video – but does this really change an ads chances for success? While formats that differ from static pre-roll ads may sound innovative, a lot of the new ideas being explored right now are bound by the same advertising rules as before. Examples like CBS and Hulu which reward audience members with some ad-free content are sort of missing the point – online, you want to engage the consumer with your brand – use entertainment to make them feel like they’re not being advertised to.

An easy way to do this is through relevancy. A person is going to respond in a very different, and likely positive, way if the content is relevant to them. Relevant can be different for each individual, but this kind of targeting is best achieved with some level of customization or personalization. Whatever format an advertising is using, it needs to be targeted at a personalized level to resonate with the online audience.

Tags: AdAge, Advertising, Personalization, Video
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If Interactivity is the Way, Personalized Video is the Technology…

Earlier this month, MarketingSherpa released a report stating that marketers want more interactivity in video ads. Isn’t that what the Internet is all about?

We’ve talked about this before at Real Time Content, but the online viewing experience is completely different than the linear experience viewers have when they’re watching a linear medium like TV. Seriously, how much interaction do you have with the television while you’re lying on the couch?! On the Web, you have the full keyboard and computer screen so you’re more apt to interact with and maintain control over the content you consume.

According to MarketingSherpa’s post, 73% of video marketers said that interactivity increases the effectiveness of an ad. This is comparable to the differences in teaching tactics between telling and showing. Were you an avid listener and note taker during a lecture, or the type of person to ask questions and engage the professor in dialogue? Many people learn by doing, and with interactive advertising, you’re not just telling a viewer that a product is cool; you’re actually inviting them to learn about the brand by interacting with branded content. The interactive experience is similar to the dialogue between student and professor, in which the viewer impacts the type of content and how it is received through their engagement with the content.

It’s interesting to see how marketing is shifting and taking advantage of integrating different Web technologies to give the viewer a greater interactive experience. Another finding from the survey was that 66% of marketers agreed that developing different personalized versions of an ad, geared to the individual, increases ad effectiveness. This takes interactivity to the next level of personalization, whereby the content presented is customized for the audience member based on their profile, behavior or preferences. Since viewers can relate to personalized content, it is more appealing and increases the likelihood that they will want to interact with it. No longer is advertising a method of broadcasting product information, the Web is forcing marketers to reevaluate their tactics and develop new ways to start a conversation with their consumers by increasing advertising engagement.

Tags: Advertising, Interaction, MarketingSherpa, Research, Video
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Localization: Delivering A Taste of Local

Facebook is known for being a personal hub into a user’s life. It already provides users with a personal view of the world, where only friends are admitted, and this fosters a ‘local’ camaraderie that encourages frequent visits. It’s fascinating to see Adidas tap into this same ‘localness’ by enabling users to visit the ‘Adidas Originals’ Facebook page to choose their language and location preferences in the ‘Your Area‘ tab. The default setting is USA and English, but because you can choose your localization, turning to the UK gave videos featuring David Beckham, while Japan had a video of street skateboarder Mark Gonzales. Letting people interact with branded or sponsored material in this way could be a glimpse of how the future of video online may work. Customization is really the first adage of marketing, making the user feel like an individual. Kudos to Adidas!

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Personalization, Video
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