-
Claussen Pickles Is Latest Brand to Use Incentivized Video Views
Claussen Pickles, which is part of the Kraft Foods family, is the latest brand to successfully use incentivized video views in social games. For those not familiar with the concept (which I wrote about last April), those playing social games on sites like Facebook and others are offered the opportunity to earn virtual currency in exchange for watching a brand's video and/or engaging with it in a particular way (e.g. sharing, liking, etc.). The brand gets an uncluttered experience delivered to a highly-targeted audience.
Mitchell Reichgut, CEO of Jun Group, whose firm partnered with ad agency The Escape Pod, to execute the Claussen campaign, shared the 1-minute video that was created, called "Journey to the Claussen Pickles" (see video below). The offbeat video highlights the idea that Claussen pickles are found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, and though they require extra effort to find, are worth it.
Mitchell said that video is targeted to moms playing social games on sites like Facebook. The completion rate is 75-80%, driven be the need to finish viewing in order to earn the reward. Of those that complete viewing, approximately 10% "Like" Claussen on Facebook, which means the brand now has a direct communications channel to send future offers and news.
Categories: Advertising, Games, Social Media
Topics: Claussen Pickles, Jun Group, Kraft Foods, The Escape Pod
-
Break and Scripped.com Announce Screenwriting Contest Winner
Something fun to get this summer week started: Break Media and Scripped.com have announced the winner of their recent contest to identify an up-and-coming screenwriter, produce his/her script and feature it on Break.com. From 300+ submissions, the winner is Evan Kaufman, a Boston-based comedian for his script, "The Cutest Website" (see below for video and enjoy, it's pretty funny).
The Break/Scripped.com contest illustrates once again the larger point that online video is opening up new avenues for talented creators to be discovered and connect with their audiences. In the traditional TV world where there was finite shelf space, the odds against an aspiring writer breaking through were astronomical. The odds are still long though much better since with online video, there are many more outlets, more creative freedom, and many more ways to find an audience. Sites like Break, which has placed a huge emphasis on original content, are helping fuel this process.
Categories: Indie Video
Topics: Break Media, Scripped.com
-
VideoNuze Report Podcast #103 - Q2 '11 Financings - July 8, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 103rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for July 8, 2011.
In this week's podcast, Daisy and I discuss private online and mobile video company financing in Q2 '11. Earlier this week I reported that $84 million was raised, which was the lowest quarterly amount in the last 2 years. Daisy and I consider what that means and also where things might be heading from here. Listen in to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 1 second)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!
Categories: Deals & Financings, Podcasts
Topics: Deals and Financings, Podcast
-
HTML5 Playback Now Up to 69% of Online/Mobile Video
MeFeedia released its latest analysis of HTML5 playback adoption, finding that 69% of H.264 (the dominant video format) video is now available for HTML5 playback. As the chart below shows, that's roughly 7x the level it was in Jan. '10, although adoption appears to be slowing a bit since Feb. '11 (see chart below). Separately, MeFeedia found that WebM, Google's open source format accounts for less than 2% of video, though that will increase as YouTube converts its videos to WebM
Categories: Technology
-
Cisco Unveils System for Enterprises to Distribute Video Widely
As online video consumption soars, enterprises have begun realizing that video is a key part of the way they communicate internally. But because video is a bandwidth-heavy application that can quickly drive up network costs while degrading quality, video is a whole new challenge for IT managers. That's the context for a set of products Cisco is announcing this morning called Enterprise Content Delivery System (ECDS).
ECDS is a set of hardware appliances, software and management services that optimize both on-demand and live video to any device. Use cases for enterprises are varied, and include training, executive-level communications, meetings, events and customer interactions among others. Each one of these situations create different challenges such as which office video originates from, how many users will be involved, which other assets are part of the video package, etc.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Cisco
-
Irdeto Bolsters Blu-ray Security With BD+ Acquisition from Rovi
Irdeto, which provides software security services for digital media, is expanding its focus to Blu-ray discs, announcing it has acquired BD+
technology from Rovi. Irdeto's SVP of Product Martin Sendyk and VP of Technology Greg McKesey explained to me that the plan is to integrate BD+ with Irdeto's ActiveCloak for Media, in order to combat Blu-ray piracy in the initial period following a disc's release when the vast majority of its potential revenue is realized.
Categories: Deals & Financings, Technology
Topics: BD+, Blu-ray, Irdeto, Rovi
-
Facebook-Skype Integration Could Be Next Big Inflection Point for Video Use
Facebook and Skype introduced an elegant integration earlier today which allows Facebook members to easily video chat with each other. The demo looks slick; you simply go to a friend's profile page or find them in the chat window, click on the video camera icon and are connected. One big benefit of the integration vs. the way Skype ordinarily works is that you can instantly communicate with your friend on Facebook that you want to have a video call and if the friend doesn't have the Skype plug-in they can download it in 20-30 seconds and get started.
By taking a lot of the friction out of video chatting, and by exposing this feature to Facebook's 750 million users, this new feature could become the next big inflection point for online and mobile video usage. Over the last 5 years online and mobile video usage has exploded, and arguably YouTube, Hulu, Netflix and Apple have been the main drivers. YouTube's user-generated and sharing roots exposed tens of millions of people to watching video online in the first place. Then Hulu and Netflix capitalized on this awareness by making household-name premium quality video available. Apple has played its part introducing mobile devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad) that enable more convenient, flexible viewing.
Categories: Communications, Social Media
-
$84 Million Raised in Q2 '11 By Private Online/Mobile Video Companies, A 2-Year Low
Despite the frenzy of digital media and technology IPOs occurring these days, private online and mobile video oriented companies raised a relatively modest $84 million in Q2 '11, the lowest level in the past 2 years. The total is derived from numerous public sources I track and the companies themselves; as always, it is possible that I missed some news during the quarter, if so, please let me know and I'll update the list.
The $84 million was raised by 13 companies (also a 2-year low), and of the amount, almost two-thirds came from just 3 companies, Digitalsmiths ($12.5M), VideoSurf ($16M) and Animoto ($25M). The Q2 total was suppressed versus prior quarters not only because of lower volume, but also because there were no big video ad network, online video platform or device financings announced, which have tended to be larger is size. As I'm always quick to add, too much shouldn't be read into one quarter's data as financings close when they do - a few days one way or the other and quarters can look very different.
In addition to the financings, there were a range of acquisitions both in and adjacent to the online/mobile video area, along with other notable financings. Overall there was a lot of market activity in Q2 and there's plenty of reason it will continue in Q3 (the potential Hulu acquisition is just one example). Continue reading for Q2's financings and deals. Lead investors are noted.
Categories: Deals & Financings
VideoNuze Posts
Connect with VideoNuze
Exclusive News Roundup
- YouTube CEO Says Revenue From Its TikTok-Like Shorts Videos Is at Parity With Core YouTube in U.S., Other Countries Variety
- Netflix says its ad tier now has 94 million monthly active users CNBC
- Xumo Founder Launches Fairground, Startup Focused Exclusively on AI-Generated TV Series Variety
- YouTube introduces an interactive product feed for shoppable TV ads TechCrunch
- Warner’s Streaming Service Has New Name: Its Old One. Meet ‘HBO Max.’ WSJ
- YouTube Expands Deal With NFL, Scores Global Rights to Week One Brazil Game The Hollywood Reporter
