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Online Video

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I have been spending a lot of time working with online video advertising of late and wanted to share some facts.  It is an important space, and as most media and marketing people know,  a fast growing one.  The world of television (content producers and viewers) continues to move rapidly online.  And many people are also creating and distributing original video content online (i.e. not from traditional content producers).  Annoying Orange anyone?  Gary Vaynerchuk and  Wine Library TV?  The streaming ads are following at a brisk clip.

Here are some interesting facts that came out in an Ad Age report earlier this week:

  • currently there 178MM online video viewers in U.S. (eMarketer)
  • online video advertising reached $1.5b in 2010 (up 48% from 2009) (eMarketer)
  • in 2011 nearly 1/3 all online ad dollars will go to video (eMarketer)

Outside North America the shift to video online is accelerating as well, especially in South America, Europe and Asia.  TwitCam is a top 100 site in Brazil (!).

In the video space there are a lot of key players.  The significant ones are:

  • Hulu…leading the way in terms of high quality content and ad revenue
  • YouTube…most viewers
  • Livestream … best in breed for live video events online and growing
  • Brightroll & AdSense …at the head of the class re: U.S. ad networks
  • Vizu …doing really interesting things with audience research

Here’s where it gets interesting:  2010 was the first year — ever — that cable subscriptions in the U.S. declined.  That’s right – they went down.  Competition is coming to a TV, computer, tablet or smart phone near you.  Cable and the MSO’s are on the run for the first time.  Stay tuned…or should I say “stay logged in”?

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The Flight To Quality — and Value

“The Flight To Quality” is an investment term for when investors move their capital away from riskier investments to the safest possible investment vehicles. In The New Normal I write about, I believe we are seeing a flight to quality across a broad spectrum of business: media & marketing, retail, entertainment, sports and more. And I believe it takes the form of a a “Flight To Quality…and VALUE“.

Sometimes it is truly about quality and less about price…Take for example the recent case where a package of bed linens bargain-priced for $35.00 at Kmart sold significantly LESS than a quite similar package at Pottery Barn that was priced at $129.00. Was this because upper middle class shoppers at Pottery Barn are spending more freely in the recession than lower middle class shoppers at Kmart? Maybe — but actually I believe it was because the Pottery Barn product was higher quality, longer lasting and therefore ultimate a better value.

Similarly, look at what has happened to the live entertainment industry in 2010. (See WSJ article.) A shockingly large number of high profile, major tour dates were canceled by some of the world’s best selling music artists: The Eagles, Christina Aguilera, The Dixie Chicks and others. The reason? Low ticket sales. The reasons cited were (i) the artists were touring too much (over-saturating their market) and (ii) they weren’t releasing any new music (no new albums). So the public said: “These tickets are expensive, really. I saw this artist last year, and he/she doesn’t have a new record.  It’s not worth it.”

“It’s not worth it.” The attitude and outlook of the New Normal is defined by the question: “Is it worth it?”

  • In Sports: “Is it worth it to re-up and continue being a season ticket subscriber in the face of my team’s lousy management and escalating ticket prices?” see NY Times piece on personal seat licenses
  • In Media and Marketing: “Is it worth it to re-up and spend lavishly on traditional (read: expensive) media buys like radio, TV and print? Or should I shift my focus even more to measurable media online and in the mobile space, where I can calculate my ROI?” WSJ 9/23/2010

The margin for error has gotten smaller. And whether you’re buying sheets, tickets or advertising, these days you are going to buy:

  1. what works
  2. what lasts
  3. what provides the most VALUE

Sometimes it is about lower price, sometimes it’s not. But making sure you get what you want and need has never been more relevant.

Sir Richard Branson. “Our businesses need to be innovative, maintain a certain quality, be value for money and have a sense of fun.
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The New Paradigm

Over the past 5 years we have moved into a new age for media and marketing.  The Internet has surpassed various traditional media in reach and influence.  Media has fragmented.  And the ‘work’ of marketing has gotten more complex,  more comprehensive, more all inclusive.  No longer is traditional marketing and planning sufficient.  (Perhaps it is for some of the Fortune 500.  But all others take note.)  If you expect to market a product or service successfully,  you must leverage the “mosaic” of tools that exist:  web, email, behavioral targeting, social media, street marketing — and traditional media.  This is clear to most good marketers today.  But it is the COMBO of tactics — the mix,  the ‘secret sauce’ — that makes a campaign in this environment successful.

So the posts shared on this blog will aim to take stock, take note and provide analysis on this new paradigm that I call Marketing 2.0.

New brands will emerge.  Existing brands will roll up out new campaigns and products.  Some will do so exclusively via digital means,  some exclusively via traditional marketing.  (Here’s a link to an interesting case study of digital-only marketing success.)  But the most interesting work will take place in the intersection of old and new tactics.  Where the secret sauce separates winners from losers.  Where execution and strategy come together.

EPC Cigar - digital only strategy