As marketers debate the efficacy of online display advertising and users ignore the standard blocks of ads found on many Web sites, many advertisers are turning to videos that blur the line between content and marketing.
On Monday, OMD, the media planning and buying agency that is a unit of the Omnicom Media Group, part of the Omnicom Group, is to announce a partnership with the video platform Showyou that will allow advertisers to show users video ads alongside other video content.
The interface of the Showyou app for the iPad. Doritos,
Levi’s, Mountain Dew were among brands invited to use the new service.
It is the first time Showyou will be available to brands. The Showyou app allows users to see videos on their iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Web browser by logging into the app using a social networking account like Facebook or Twitter. Users can share the videos they like with other users in their social network.
“We’re in this age of abundance,” said Mark Hall, the chief executive of Showyou, of the amount of video content users find online. The partnership will “create something that is elegant and seamless with advertising, which is historically what you’ve had with magazines and newspapers,” Mr. Hall said.
A group of brands including Doritos, Levi’s, Monster, Showtime and Mountain Dew were invited to use the new service, said Alan Cohen, the chief of OMD.
“What Showyou does for us is it allows us to find the space that our clients love where there is a blending of advertising and content. We don’t have a lot of companies that say, ‘Give us 50 banner sites,’ ” Mr. Cohen said of traditional display ads.
The partnership, which will begin this month, will run for a 90-day trial period. Depending on its success, Mr. Cohen said it “could mean a longer-term partnership with deeper relationships.”
Julie Channing, the director of global digital marketing for Levi Strauss, said the brand would first run 30-second television ads on the platform, but was also creating original video content for the Web. “We thought this was a great way for us to not only test a video platform but also find out what stories our viewers find more interesting and worthy,” she said.
Ted Gilvar, the executive vice president and chief global marketing officer at Monster.com, said the company would use Showyou to promote its new social job app, BeKnown.
“There is fatigue with traditional banner ads,” Mr. Gilvar said. “People are voting with their time and attention, and they only give their time and attention to things that are worth consuming.”