Engaged Online Viewers Receptive to Advertising

According to a new study "Watching The Web: How Online Video Engages Audiences" conducted by Forrester Consulting for Veoh Networks, , not all online video viewers are equal when it comes to advertising. While some online video viewers still only "snack" on short clips, there exists a large audience of young, influential, engaged viewers who watch a great deal of long-form online video and pay attention to the brand messages delivered to them in online video environments.

The study found that Engaged Viewers (viewers who watch more than an hour of online video a week) make up nearly 40% of all online video viewers and watch nearly 75% of all online video. Of these Engaged Viewers, those who spend the most time consuming and sharing long-form content:

• Are more likely to watch videos all the way through
• Pay more attention to online video more than they do TV
• Interact with and rate the videos they watch more frequently
• Are twice as likely to recall in-video ads and post-rolls than non-Engaged Viewers
• Agree more readily that advertising is fair and helps pay for their free experience
• Consider banner ads and ads that come in between videos (mid-rolls) most effective

Steve Mitgang, CEO of Veoh Networks, opines "...online video viewing... will create many new opportunities for content providers and advertisers... advertisers (should) re-think their approaches to marketing... to captivate these valuable viewers as they drive online video into a mainstream entertainment medium."

The study found that online video viewing For Engaged Viewers is not a fad but rather a growing consumer habit:

• 61% of Engaged Viewers expect to spend significantly more time watching online video
• 13- to 24-year-olds make up only 15% of the online population, but represent more than
• 35% of Engaged online video viewers
• Engaged Viewers watch an average of 6 kinds of video content, from animation to TV shows to movie trailers, during the course of a month

The study further segmented Engaged Viewers into three sub-groups based on time spent watching video, types of videos watched, comfort level managing the video viewing experience, propensity to share videos, and amount of attention paid to online video compared to TV:

• Watchers, those who spend just over an hour watching video each week and don't engage the experience deeply by controlling playback or sharing videos
• Controllers, those younger viewers take an active role in controlling their video experiences and feel that online video is important to their lives
• Connectors, though just 7% of online viewers, consume 20% of all online video and do 42% of all online video sharing

The most desirable viewers - Connectors and Controllers - watch long-form video more often than Watchers do, so sites that offer a great deal of long-form video are the ideal places to reach them. Long-form video sites not only attract these viewers, but they also foster an environment that secures more viewer attention and engagement with advertising. Connectors are significantly more likely to notice brands and feel ads are useful when presented with products they are interested in.

As online video viewing matures, advertisers can take advantage of the unique opportunity to reach valuable Engaged Viewers by considering these findings, concludes the report:

• Engaged video viewers are more open to enjoying the advertising they watch giving marketers an opportunity to create ads that are as entertaining as the video clips they are paired with.
• Engaged video viewers are more involved in every aspect of the viewing experience, including the advertising.
• Engaged viewers respond to ad formats that don't intrude unfairly. Their preference for banner ads supports this. But banner ads can be supported by a comprehensive ad experience
• As more viewers spend more than an hour a week viewing online video, advertisers can match ads to viewers with long-form content, where the choice of programming defines the viewer

Who Has Time For All This Video Content?

WHEN YOUTUBE LAUNCHED, THE TOOLS enabled everyone to become a producer of video content. Until recently, the production quality of most video online has been entertaining at best but not something a brand wants to regularly sponsor. Now, it seems that every day the phone rings with yet another content producer with stellar broadcast production credentials asking for an opportunity to pitch. It's almost as if all of Hollywood has become unemployed and is looking to peddle their ideas for a video series. If it's not the producers calling me, the indie video sites jump in to fill the time void. There's another Funny Or Die, YuMe or strike.tv eager to partner with brands to bring great, original, and not-for-the-faint-of-marketer-heart content to the world. Since I have a day job that encompasses all of digital media, the majority of online video producer and upstart Web site calls go unanswered or do not receive their just due.

Imagine if the TV world had this issue. Clearly, they do not, because (1) lots of money is spent annually on integrations and (2) there are a finite number of shows being produced, most of which are continuations of known programming. Furthermore, agencies and marketers have become experts in reviewing and selecting scripts where a brand's insertion will most often appear to be natural or organic, hopefully not detracting from the show's entertainment value. Typically, there is a resident expert who takes on this arduous task. In most, if not all, cases agencies have yet to bring these experts into the online video world, where we typically lack content guidelines, adequate projections on delivery performance (which impacts pricing), a content ratings system to know if the content is suitable for marketers, and little opportunity for retribution should the program not achieve moderate success.

As a first step, however, we need to define success. The challenge resides in measurement options being limited and lacking visibility. There are three measures that are easy to capture without incurring incremental cost -- total streams, average viewing duration, and click-through data from clickable placement in or around the content -- assuming the program is set up to track this data. Notably missing are brand metrics, buzz/sentiment metrics and demographic/behavioral audience composition, which are more common currency for digital measurement these days and often come with added expense. There are likely to be others, but these are top of mind. It is safe to assume that success will be achieved if the show hits a "feel good" number of streams/views.

How then does an industry with unlimited content address this unprecedented issue? One option is to hire a few of the most talented content creators. Being a part of a media agency, that would be somewhat novel but not entirely unheard of. Would the agency then offer a production studio solution for branded or unbranded content that needs to find a home via Web syndication? Or should another video Web site be created, launched and wholly owned by the agency? If holding companies can own ad networks and other technologies, then why not own a video Web site or two (or 100)? Another option is to stick to business as usual, with reps and vendors calling on anyone who will pick up the phone or email them back. That, however, seems like a lot of time invested with low return on that investment. The fall-back option is to create a gateway to funnel this information through a resident online video content expert, adding to the agency's wide berth of specialized services.

No matter which road is taken, something needs to be done to ensure indie video content online is properly considered alongside other online video options. Otherwise, it will be the same network Web sites that will continue to command share of wallet. The result will be their ability to maintain high prices relative to other quality online video options due to lack of real competition and supply constraints

Lower My CPC Blog....

Hello and welcome to the lower my cost per click blog.

This blog is about the cost per click aspects of internet marketing - why pay per click, what is a click worth, but more importanly how clicks convert to leads, sales, and new customers.

yermwbxz9k