Million Dollar Web TV News

For decades, we marketers (yes, we are ALL marketers), have been warned of the short attention span of our audience — and conventional wisdom says that as competition for attention gets stronger, attention spans get shorter. However, the way we “consume” content online is changing this.

The rise of Hulu and other network sites has had the effect of normalizing the watching of long-form video online. The MediaPost Research Brief reported two weeks ago that viewers are interacting with more long-form video. Even more telling, comScore’s June release has stats showing that average length of online video views increased by 15% between November 2008 and April 2009.

Viewers are becoming more willing to engage with longer form content, and this is translating into a willingness to consume longer advertisements; when given the choice, over 88% of Hulu viewers prefer to watch fewer but longer ads. INTERESTING!

Although this trend seems motivated by viewers feeling the pain of more frequent, short-form advertisements, it isn’t confined to viewers within interruption-based advertising systems like Hulu.

What does this mean? Are we are dealing with a new system, one that more closely aligns the goals of the consumer with the goals of the advertiser? As we start to accept that our audience wants choice in what it pays attention to, we may finally be realizing the benefits associated with providing that choice, along with incentives to pay attention to our or our advertiser’s brand.

The internet has truly proven itself a capable place to distribute video — Americans watched 14.5 billion videos online in March, according to comScore. That’s a LOT of videos!!!

However, the most popular web videos — and the streams most likely to generate revenue for their producers — are still offline-first productions like TV shows and music videos.

While YouTube attracts massive audiences, the vast majority of its Web-original stuff isn’t making “real” money. According them, to “hundreds of YouTube partners are making thousands of dollars a month.” But most YouTube producers can’t quit their day jobs.

Revision3, arguably the most successful Web-first production shops, will be happy to clear $10 million in sales this year, despite a big hit in “Diggnation.” That’s not a trivial amount of money (I’d love to have it!), but it’s nothing like broadcast or cable TV.

FunnyOrDie’s most successful video of all time is still one of its first: “The Landlord.” Their next-best video has had 1/6 of the views.

Someday someone will figure out the right combination of original Web video content and sponsorship that mints money. While we are all at it, your best bet is to put up your trailer here, on Million Dollar Web TV, for guaranteed long-term exposure.

This is a direct quote of an article from Tyler Willis of Involver. I’ve found it VERY enlightening. You will too.

“In the face of a tough economic climate, Stanford University’s Scott Jahnke started exploring ways to increase donations from alumni. Jahnke is the Director of Student and Young Alumni Development, putting him in charge of generating donations from Stanford’s recent graduates — one of the harder demographics to reach. (Full disclosure: Stanford has been a client of my company.)

Historically, the university had sent fundraising letters and asked for contributions through phone calls. As expected, every year it has been getting more difficult to reach young alumni by snail mail or phone. So, moving to email marketing was an early opportunity to address costs and increase ROI. Recent grads are far more likely to give a valid email address than a number (93% of the captive population vs. 38%), meaning that email marketing gives Stanford a better and more widespread ability to connect.

At the very outset, Jahnke knew that it was crucial to optimize the presentation format of his department’s fundraising messages. In his mind, “video-plus-email” seemed to be the most engaging delivery mechanism for his campaigns. In a recent blog post, Scott wrote: “Technology gives us the ability to do so much more than just text. How then, can we most effectively tell our story to thousands of people and inspire them to give? I believe that a combination of using email AND video to answer our three questions (why are we asking you for a gift, what is going to change if you give, and how will our organization make that change happen) is the so-called ’secret sauce.”‘

Scott certainly isn’t alone in his view. The Obama presidential campaign, for instance, also heavily employed the combination of email and video marketing in the final weeks running up to the election. Obama for America used targeted and highly personalized emails to drive people to landing pages with compelling videos and video calls-to-action. This technique worked because Obama campaign strategists knew that we live in a world of overflowing inboxes and short-attention spans, where plain text just doesn’t have the same impact as well-made, short-form video.

At Stanford, the Young Alumni office produced several inspiring videos of students who had directly benefited from alumni contributions and attached a clear call-to-action to the end of each video, delivered via a Flash overlay that asked viewers to donate.

Calling out these videos, and providing a direct link to them in four out of five emails sent during Stanford’s fall campaign, helped increase gifts by 23% over the previous year’s fall campaign. This increase during a period of economic decline sold Scott on the power of using video marketing in tandem with Young Alumni’s emails. And he knows that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s the final word from Scott’s recent blog post: “By tracking metrics, we can continuously improve our messaging and how many people are making gifts after viewing our videos; A/B testing of multiple variables allows me to try slight variations in content to hone in on what works best. Ultimately, we’re still learning, and my hope is that our future campaigns will be even more successful.”

If the combination of email and video marketing can put a president in the White House, and bring change to the practices of one of the most respected universities in the United States, what could it do for your organization?”

You can view Stanford’s Young Alumni campaign videos by visiting http://youngalumni.stanford.edu

Imagine - over 14 billion videos are watched a month now! This has transformed the very nature of Web content and calls into question everything we know about how Web sites attract, engage, convert, and retain audiences.

In order to deliver this massive river of content, sites have had to turn to specialized software and content delivery networks like Akamai, Limelight Networks and Panther Express. However, this raises the costs of content delivery, so publishers are looking for new methods of monetization. Foremost among these is video advertising: the delivery of either pre-roll or overlay ads that appear during video playback.

Unfortunately, results to date have been a HUGE disappointment. With CPMs heading through the floor, this is a dynamic that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. There are many reasons for the failure of “in-video” video advertising, but some of the foremost issues include: the dearth of monetizeable content, the high production costs of video ad creation, audience rejection of the format, and the resultant poor performance of video ads compared to other forms of advertising.

Assuming typical file sizes of 20-50 MB, CDN (content delivery network) pricing, and completion rates, it costs about a dollar for every thousand videos delivered. In order to offset these costs of distribution, research shows video viewership needs to generate a $1 CPM. In the case of in-video advertising, whose dominant forms today are pre-roll, post-roll, and overlay, that $1 is hard to come by. Because of completion rates, post-roll is a mostly ineffective form of advertising, and very few sites have the kind of content that makes possible persistent pre-roll ads without massive audience defection.

This leaves overlay, typically a form of PPC advertising delivered in a small pop-up within the video frame. Due to ad and content inventory constraints, typically no more than 50%, and often less than 25%, of all videos will display an advertisement. That means the true CPM has to be between $2 and $4, which is impossible to secure in today’s market.

As the market continues to develop, video advertising that commands both the spend of big brands and the attention of audiences may indeed come along. But that market is years away. In the interim, advertisers are best off going with the solution we provide: inexpensive, long term exposure of their videos on dedicated sites … like ours.

Thank you, Andy at InstaDocs for the copyright verification! Your video ad is back on-line and will stay there for good.

On a different note, we are starting to see a bit of pickup in inquiries … maybe the economy is about to begin improving. Or is it just spring awakening? We’ll know soon. Keep them coming, will you?!

NOTICE:

You may have noticed that InstaDoc’s ad is no longer displayed the Home Station Page. We have received a copyright notice from a third party, regarding parts of the content in the video.

We are now in the process of verifying the authenticity of the complaint. In the meantime, InstaDoc has agreed to the temporary removal of their image and video advertisements. They’ve assured us the verification will prove them to be fully compliant with US and international copyright laws. 

For our, and our member’s protection, we do take copyright issues VERY seriously!

Why keep harping on a case for online video?

Last October more than 77% of Internet users watched 13.5 billion videos online. This represents a one-of-a-kind shift in how we are engage with content online. The continued proliferation of broadband Internet access and the maturing of the online video market is driving these numbers higher every month.

With this massive demand one would think that those of us who are (also) marketers, would be quick to embrace this growing trend. But, most analysts concur, online video’s true opportunity has yet to be fully realized. However, with the rise of new, affordable production methods, even big brands are beginning to leverage the power of online video now.

What’s Held Video Back?

Hindered by limited budgets, tight timelines and complicated rights agreements, those of us responsible for interactive marketing campaigns have avoided video. These factors made video an undertaking that wasn’t worth the effort.

Different Medium, Different Message

The Internet and television deliver two completely different types of user experiences, so it makes sense that marketers continue to search for a video implementation that engages viewers and drives action. Television is a “lean back” medium where people engage when something of interest appears and disengage when they lose interest. Conversely, the Internet is a “lean forward” medium where people are actively seeking out information and don’t waste time on irrelevant items. This requires marketers to deliver information in a way that engages and meets users’ needs, all on their terms. To thrive in this new environment, marketers must create video that:

* Is original and authentic
* Entertains and engages
* Meets audience needs
* Provides a path to learn more and share the experience

The Democratization of Video Production

To meet these needs, interactive marketers have turned to a new format of video production. This new revolution in video production is removing traditional barriers that stood in the way of mass video use in online campaigns. Driven by the dramatic decrease in the cost of film making equipment, professional filmmakers around the world now have the equipment, technical and creative ability to produce high-quality video made for the Web.

These filmmakers bring an authentic, realistic video style that meets the transparent, information needs of the skeptical online audience. And by reducing the reliance on sets, actors and large production crews, they can create high-quality video quickly and at a cost of $1,000 to $5,000, a fraction of the cost of traditional production. Madison Avenue’s expensive budgets are no longer a prerequisite to create engaging, relevant content.

The benefits of this new production model are:

* Branding and Direct Response
* Affordability Doesn’t Impact Quality
* Testing and Targeting

Branding and Direct Response - Online video combines the emotional branding aspects of television and the direct-response attributes of the Web. A recent Kelsey Group study found 55% of people who view a video visit the company’s Web site; 30% visit a physical store; and 24% make a purchase as a result of watching.

Affordability Doesn’t Impact Quality - This new production model doesn’t mean compromising brand standards. High production values free marketers from the worry of poor-quality content that compromises the brand. Marketers can provide overall direction and creative input while these production network managers handle details like releases and quality control.

Testing and Targeting - Affordable production costs allow for testing video content and targeting different audiences. Marketers aren’t forced to target the biggest pool of eyeballs with generic brand messages. Instead, they can highlight multiple brand attributes that resonate with smaller niche audiences found online.

Putting It All Together

This new production model for web video presents opportunities to incorporate video in to online campaigns in ways that simply were not feasible before. Marketers can leverage the synergy of rising demand, and video’s positive attributes to maximize the effectiveness of their online campaigns.

A good ending to a tumultuous year, where another Chinese proverb — a curse, really — has ruled: “May you live in interesting times.”

With this in mind, I’m VERY grateful to all of our member advertisers who joined us in 2008, including InstaDocs.com, whose video ad is going onto our home station page today.

Here is to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to all of our members, visitors, and every good soul on this little planet of ours.

My personal wish? “May we not need to hear any more of fateful Chinese proverbs.”

Although the economy is in terrible shape, that doesn’t mean smart video publishers like you can’t continue to be successful in monetizing your content. Rolling with the punches now will set you up for dramatic growth once the economy turns around. When is that, you ask? 6-12 months in my estimation, if all goes well.

So how can YOU maximize your revenue in a down economy? Here are few pointers:

·  Be flexible with ad formats
Now is the time to engage with agencies and demonstrate your value. Even within the established ad types, marketers still like to experiment. When the budget makes sense, work with them on research studies. Provide engagement metrics. Try a variety of creative formats and work closely with your client to determine the most successful approach.

·  Optimize for performance
Even in video, click-through rate still matters. While many advertisers are satisfied to obtain strong reach adjacent to high-quality content, an equal or greater number are optimizing their campaigns based upon CTR and conversion. Use the tools at your disposal to strive for a 1% or higher CTR: turn off autoplay on your pre-roll. Study which sections of your site achieve the highest performance. Work with your agencies to learn which creatives are resonating best with your audience and see if you can shift delivery to those.

·  Keep your content fresh and advertiser-friendly
If your video becomes stale, it will lead to a downward spiral of click-through rates and impressions. Make sure you’re properly merchandising your new video throughout the site and give users the tools they need to share links with their friends.

·  Make sure users know about your latest and greatest
If you’re lucky enough to be a content creator, think about whether your video appeals to advertisers. Content doesn’t have to be “G-rated” — but keep in mind that the largest buys are still targeted to relatively general audiences.

·  Don’t panic (MUCH easier said than done?)
It is highly unlikely that you will ever completely sell out your video inventory. This is because inventory spikes (such as those which may result from breaking news or video going viral) are impossible to predict, and there are companies that are able to help fill those spikes.  

·  The Chinese word “crisis” also means opportunity
Approach this downturn as an opportunity to differentiate yourself. Consult more often with your advertisers and work hard (OK. even harder) to earn their business.

“Order-takers” might not survive this downturn, but smart media sellers will. I trust that will be YOU.

Blendtec, a virtually unknown household appliance maker till a few years ago, attributes a 700% increase in revenue to its popular “Will it Blend?” webisode series.

Do you want to see how “Chuck Norris” will blend?

Take notice: This company is a prime example of a small but growing group of businesses that have cracked the code to success on the video-centric Internet.

Online video has certainly been the topic du jour this year, as major media companies respond to consumer demand for anytime, anywhere access to their favorite programs. But Internet video’s real potential is not in watching “Lost” or “The Office” online or even downloading those shows to your cell phone or iPod. It’s about giving YOUR consumers what they want in the most engaging medium available.

We are still in the early stages of this shift from static text and graphics to a more dynamic, visually compelling medium, but we are approaching a tipping point. Video is no longer an afterthought or an add-on for Internet-savvy businesses — but the primary content featured on their Internet sites.

Online user expectations have changed dramatically in the past decade, and businesses that don’t evolve their Internet strategies to accommodate this change are about to get a painful wake-up call.

From Radio to Online Video

It’s well-documented that people prefer a visually dynamic medium when it comes to being entertained or getting information. Radio was once the primary source of news, music and other entertainment for a large part of the population. Then came TV, followed by VCRs, TiVo and iPods. Video is having the same dramatic impact on the Internet. The Solutions Research Group predicts that total hours spent with video-based entertainment will average eight hours per day by early 2013 — the equivalent of an entire night’s sleep — and a majority of those hours will belong to online video.

Most fascinating about the emergence of the video-centric Internet is that it is NOT being driven by news and entertainment providers. The vast majority of businesses riding the video wave are non-media organizations, ranging from small neighborhood retailers and restaurants to powerhouse brands like Nike and Apple. These businesses all have an intense desire to deliver a strong brand impression, create an engaging experience, and instill customer loyalty. The Internet is now the primary customer touch point and commerce channel for these organizations, and video delivers the compelling Internet experiences that educate, entertain, and keep customers coming back.

The Video-Centric Enterprise

You can ENGAGE your customers, partners and prospects with product demonstrations, presentations and how-to videos. Apple, being the master marketer, keeps rolling out 30-minute videos, that are part guide, part advertisement to accompany its new iSomething.

Beyond these marketing examples, investors will be able to access corporate data in video form, whether it is an annual meeting, a message from the CEO or a video news release. Internally, video will become a primary form of communication. Think of a broadcast greeting embedded in a personal email or executive video memos — the latter of which is already being done by early video adopters such as British Telecom. Video libraries will usher in a new phase of knowledge sharing and best practices, as employees access huge repositories of education and training videos.

The most sophisticated online video practitioners will become a de facto broadcast network constantly issuing news and information to their customers, partners, distributors, employees, and the public at large too. And why not? The cost of distributing or syndicating your content is already approaching zero to roll your own version of “Will it Blend?”