Posts for 'Advertising'

  • Interview with Tremor Media's New CMO, Melinda McLaughlin

    Yesterday I had a chance to ask Melinda McLaughlin, the new Chief Marketing Officer at video ad network powerhouse Tremor Media, a few questions on her second day of work. Prior to joining Tremor, Melinda spent 10+ years at cable network group AETN and prior to that was with 2 ad agencies. An edited transcript follows:

    VideoNuze: What attracted you to the online video adverting space and to Tremor Media?

    Melinda McLaughlin: I spent the last 11 years on the traditional TV side, in many areas of AETN such as consumer insights, sales strategy and corporate strategy, always around monetizing the assets of that global platform. At a certain point, because I'm a closet geek, and am into what the future is going to look like and how media is going to evolve - plus what fundamental truths about how business models work will remain - I sort of hit a point where a company like AETN and competitors are just not on the cutting edge of where this area is going.

    And so although it was a terrific job, for good reason companies like AETN aren't going to lead in terms of changing consumer behavior or how advertisers are going to change the way they think. I see Tremor bringing together all of the benefits marketers have been saying they require in order to take the online video advertising space seriously. Tremor, together with ScanScout, is the one that can give advertisers the platform and set of tools to do targeting at scale, with real-time intelligence and content screening. Throwing myself into where the revolution is happening is an exciting next step.  

    continue reading

     
  • Online/Mobile Video's Top 10 of 2010

    2010 was another spectacular year of growth and innovation in online and mobile video, so it's no easy feat to choose the 10 most significant things that happened during the year. However, I've taken my best shot below, and offered explanations. No doubt I've forgotten a few things, but I think it's a pretty solid list. As much as happened in 2010 though, I expect even more next year, with plenty of surprises.

    My top 10 are as follows:

    continue reading

     
  • Online Video Ad Network SpotXchange Raises $12 Million

    Online video ad network SpotXchange is announcing this morning that it has raised $12 million from H.I.G Growth Partners, in its first round of institutional capital. Proceeds will be used to further build-out its video ad solution and also to expand internationally. SpotXchange is ranked as one of the top 5 video ad networks by comScore and recently launched SpotMarket RTB, a real-time auction-based market where buyers can bid on an impression-by-impression basis.

    The SpotXchange news further underscores a sizzling year of financings and M&A for video ad networks. This space is attracting strong investor attention because of the growing recognition that huge online video audiences and ever-improving content is inevitably going to draw more ad dollars to the medium. In addition, online video advertising offers clear benefits over traditional TV advertising such as better targeting and interactivity. Just last week eMarketer forecast 30+%/year annual growth in online video ad spending, driving the category up to $6 billion by 2014. Throughout the year I've noted various innovations in online video ad units and I expect this will continue alongside the online video industry's rapid growth next year.

    What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).

    Note: SpotXchange is a VideoNuze sponsor.
     
  • 5 Items of Interest for the Week of Dec. 5th

    Once again I'm pleased to offer VideoNuze's end-of-week feature highlighting and discussing 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!

    continue reading

     
  • 5 Items of Interest for the Week of Nov. 15th

    After a short break, VideoNuze's Friday feature of curating 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week, returns today. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!

    Time Warner Cable Experiments With Lower Tier Video Package
    It's a rare day when a cable operator announces a lower-priced offering, but that's what Time Warner Cable did yesterday, unveiling a test of what it's calling "TV Essentials." The new tier, priced between $30-$40, will most notably exclude ESPN, the most expensive channel in the cable universe, meaning right away TV Essentials isn't targeted to sports fans. I've argued for a while now that pay-TV operators have ceded the low-priced/value-oriented end of the video market to Netflix (and others), which given the ongoing recession is a mistake. It will be interesting to see how the new bargain service fares; 2 things that will limit its appeal though are that no channels will be offered in HD, and that it appears those with broadband Internet and telephone services won't benefit from typical package discounts.

    Nielsen study: We're still a nation of couch pumpkins

    More evidence this week that despite all the deserved enthusiasm over online and mobile delivery, good old-fashioned TV viewing still rules in terms of hours of consumption. Nielsen said that the average person watched 143 hours of TV per month in Q2, essentially flat vs. a year ago. For homes with DVRs, hours of time watched on them nudged up a bit to about 24 1/2 hours. On a related note, this week comScore released its online video viewing data for October, which showed average viewing of 15.1 hours per person. While online video has made huge progress in the last few years, it still has a ton of room to grow to catch up with TV.

    More Videos Ads, More User Acceptance
    Speaking of the comparison between online video and TV, this week brought some interesting new data on monetization patterns for premium online video. Online video ad manager FreeWheel released data that showed mid-roll ads are the fastest-growing category of ads (up 693% since Q1), and now represent 8% of its ad volume. Completion rates have increased for pre, mid and post-roll ads this year, but notably mid-rolls have the highest completion rate, at 90%. FreeWheel's conclusion is that monetization of premium online video is starting to look a lot like TV, with ad pods inserted throughout. Going a step further, if viewer acceptance of mid-rolls stays high, then this represents a valuable opportunity for TV networks in particular to combat DVR-based ad-skipping.

    Startup Claims To Have Set-Top Hulu Can't Block
    It was inevitable that Hulu's decision to block access to its programs would set off a game of whack-a-mole, with various devices springing up to do end-arounds. Sure enough, the $99 Orb TV debuted this week, prominently positioning itself as the device that can bring Hulu (among other content) to your TV. One catch is that Orb streams video from your computer and only does so in standard definition. It addresses the "keyboard in the living room" challenge by also including a smartphone app to control the device. It's not a perfect solution, but it does provide a glimpse into the PR-unfriendly dynamic that Hulu, and the broadcast networks, have created for themselves by blocking access to their content by Google TV and others. No doubt there will be plenty more Orb-like devices to come to market in the months ahead, all positioning themselves as solving the blocking problem.

    Comcast's Top Digital Exec Amy Banse to Open New Silicon Valley Equity Fund for Cable Giant and NBC
    As Comcast enters the final stages of approval for its NBCU deal, the company this week announced a new NBCU management structure. One item that wasn't formally announced yet, but was reported by AllThingsD earlier this week was that Amy Banse, formerly head of Comcast Interactive Media (now headed by Matt Strauss), will be heading to Silicon Valley to run the combined operations of Comcast's current Comcast Interactive Capital venture arm, and NBCU's current Peacock Equity (a JV with GE). With all the distribution, technology and content assets that will be under the Comcast roof, the fund will be at the top of any online/mobile video startup's list of strategic investors. I've known Amy for a while and have enjoyed having her on industry panels; she'll be a huge asset to Comcast in the Valley venture world.
     
  • Jivox Launches New Analytics Platform and Interactive Ad Unit

    Jivox, an online video ad technology and ad network is announcing a new analytics platform and interactive ad unit this morning that help move online video ad effectiveness beyond traditional ROI metrics like impressions and clicks. The analytics platform, dubbed "BrandGage" lets advertisers measure engagement actions in the ad that measure, in real-time, where the user's purchase intent lies. The new ad unit, Quattro, allows advertisers to include multiple engagement opportunities that tie to the different levels of purchase intent.

    Diaz Nesamoney, Jivox's CEO and founder walked me through an example of Quattro yesterday and how engagement is measured in BrandGage. In the mockup below, the user would be prompted to roll over the top of a standard-looking 300x250 rich media ad for the movie Alice in Wonderland and be presented with this panel. A range of interactive widgets is shown, such as watching more video, reading reviews, learning about show times/buying tickets, finding merchandise, downloading assets and sharing with friends. In addition the user can post to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and see a scroll of relevant tweets.

    continue reading

     
  • SpotXchange Rolls Out Real-Time Bidding Application

    Video ad network SpotXchange is introducing SpotMarket RTB this morning, an application that offers real-time bidding for online video ad placements. Using SpotMarket RTB, advertisers, agencies, ad networks and demand side platforms can buy ads on an impression-by-impression basis in SpotXchange's auction-based market which includes 700+ publishers.

    Targeting can be refined using SpotXchange's own behavioral targeting and retargeting tools and/or any third-party data sources. Using SpotMarket RTB, advertisers are able to increase their campaigns' performance by reducing waste and focusing on those sites with the best conversion results.

    continue reading

     
  • YuMe Launches Two New Mobile Video Ad Formats For iOS Devices

    Video ad technology provider and ad network YuMe is rolling out 2 new mobile ad formats today for use with video played on iOS devices. Both run prior to the video content. Ed Haslam and George O'Brien from YuMe showed them both to me while at NewTeeVee Live yesterday. The "Mobile Connect" unit provides a full-screen video ad which has overlaid icons to link to social media sites, or calls to action like coupons or requesting more information. The "Mobile Billboard" unit is a full-screen display or rich media ad that allows the user to click to watch video and be exposed to other calls to action.

    The new mobile video units are available through an SDK with YuMe's ACE for Publishers ad management platform and can be used with YuMe's ad network or other ad networks or direct sales. The ACE platform auto-detects if an iOS device is being used and serves the appropriate ad. Consolidated reporting with online video placements is available for both advertisers and publishers. YuMe's units are further evidence of the mobile video's growth and appeal for both advertisers and publishers.


     
  • Listening To Hulu's Jason Kilar: Motherhood, Apple Pie - And Reality

    Listening to Hulu's CEO Jason Kilar today at NewTeeVee Live, it's hard not to admire what he and the Hulu team have accomplished. For the first time, Jason disclosed 2010 projected revenues of $240 million, up 10-fold from $24 million in '08 and $108 million in '09, which is pretty impressive growth. As always, Jason's message is extremely user-centric and forward-looking. Hearing him speak, you definitely get a sense of the positive, relentless efforts he's led to improve the service.

    A key part of Jason's message is that premium video should, and will be available anytime, anyplace and on any device in the future. It's a wonderful "motherhood and apple pie" message that's hard to argue with as a viewer. Unfortunately it's also a message that's bumping up against some hard realities in the TV business that Hulu is going to have to surmount to ultimately succeed. Here are at least a few of them:

    continue reading

     
  • Tremor Media Acquires ScanScout, Creating Video Ad Network Giant

    More consolidation among video ad networks, as market leader Tremor Media has acquired ScanScout, creating a new dominant player. comScore reported in its Sept. 2010 online video rankings that Tremor on its own was the #2 video ad network with over 525 million video ads served and reach to over 26% of the U.S. population. For its part ScanScout says it reaches 140 million unique viewers per month. Tremor most recently raised a $40 million round in April, bringing its total funding to $82 million, while ScanScout last raised another $8.5 million Oct. '09.

    continue reading

     
  • Undertone Acquires Video Syndicator Jambo Media

    Undertone, a large display ad network has acquired video syndication and technology provider Jambo Media. Both companies are private and terms were not disclosed. The deal comes on the heels of ad network Specific Media acquiring video manager/network BBE, and AOL acquiring video syndicator 5Min. All three deals - and no doubt others to follow - illustrate the consolidation underway between video advertising and other forms of online advertising plus the interplay between video syndication, branded content and advertising.

    Undertone's CEO Mike Cassidy told me that Undertone has been fielding more calls from the agencies and Fortune 500 brands it serves who are interested in online video advertising as well. Mike believes that offering them an integrated approach between display and video so that they can buy, manage and measure their returns across formats will only become more important over time. So a key goal of the acquisition is to meld their publisher networks and and offer high quality reach for both display and video. Since display is more mature than video advertising, Mike also sees opportunities to leverage its underlying technology in areas like targeting.

    continue reading

     
  • FreeWheel Unveils Version 3.5 of Its Ad Management Platform

    Ad manager FreeWheel announced the 3.5 version of its Monetization Rights Management platform this morning, continuing to help drive online and mobile video monetization for major media companies.

    Included in the new features are an Android SDK, which allows great ad control within their Android apps, geo-based ad targeting to mobile devices based on current GPS coordinates, user targeting by mobile operating system, integration with 3rd party mobile ad networks AdMob and iAd and mid-roll/companion ads in HTML5 for iPhones and iPads. If you're interested in learning more about FreeWheel's online and mobile video monetization, come to the VideoSchmooze breakfast on Dec. 1st, where company co-CEO and co-founder Doug Knopper will be on the panel.
     
  • 5 Items of Interest for the Week of Oct. 25th

    Lots more happened this week in online/mobile video, and so to make your lives easier, VideoNuze is once again curating 5-6 interesting industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!

    No Longer 'Must-See TV'
    The WSJ reported this week that Thursday night TV viewership (live or recorded) among 18-49 year-olds is down 4.3% this season to 48.5 million, a drop of 2.2 million viewers. For this age group, the drop across all nights (live or recorded) is 2.7%. While the decreases have immediate implications on networks' ad revenue, the bigger issue of course is what the drops say about shifting consumer preferences. For example, I continue to hear anecdotes about users with connected devices now tuning in first to their Instant Watch queues instead of channel surfing or visiting their DVR libraries or VOD. The Nielsen data corroborates other data (here, here) about the decline of TV viewing, especially among young people, and is another reason why broadcast networks in particular should be embracing connected devices like Google TV, not blocking them.
     

    CW Says Study 'Dispels Myth' About Aversion to Ads in Online Video
    Speaking of networks and their online distribution, this week CW released some interesting new data that detailed extremely low abandonment rates for its shows consumed online, even with ad loads almost equal to those on-air. While it is too early to generalize, the data provides a very encouraging sign that networks may be able to achieve parity economics with on-air, even when they window their online releases for delayed availability. It's also an important sign that online video may be a firewall against DVR-based ad-skipping.

    Comcast Launches Free Streaming Video Service Xfinity for All Digital Subs
    In addition to releasing stellar Q3 earnings this week (albeit with a bigger-than-expected subscriber loss), Comcast also pulled the "beta" label off its Xfinity TV service this week, and relaxed its rules about who can gain access. Now any video subscriber, regardless of who they take their broadband Internet service from, can access XFTV.

    Some began to speculate that it could be a precursor for Comcast allowing non-video subs to also gain access to XFTV. This is the concept I wrote about in over a year ago, in "How TV Everywhere Could Turn Cable Operators and Telcos Into Over-the-Top's Biggest Players." The idea is that TV Everywhere services like XFTV could be offered outside of Comcast's franchise areas to allow them to poach video subscribers from other pay-TV operators. It's still a fascinating concept, but nothing about Comcast's move this week suggests it's coming soon.

    Insight To Bow 50-Mbps Internet In Two Markets
    If you think all that Netflix and other long-form streaming is going to strain users' bandwidth, think again, as yet another cable operator/broadband ISP, 9th-largest Insight Communications unveiled plans for a speedy 50 megabit per second broadband tier. Big players like Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been offering this for a while already. It's still very pricey, but as some viewers shift more of their consumption to online and away from conventional TV viewing (see above), more bandwidth will be worth the price. Update - I missed this item, that over in the U.K. Virgin Media began taking sign-ups for a 100 Mbps broadband service. Net, net, last-mile bandwidth will keep expanding to meet increasing demand.

    Promoted Videos hit half a billion views
    Fresh evidence this week that YouTube is finding innovative ways to monetize its massive audience: the company's performance-based "Promoted videos" format achieved its 500 millionth view, just 2 years after being introduced. With Promoted videos, anyone uploading a video to YouTube (brand, content provider, amateur), can buy opportunities to have that video appear alongside relevant keyword-based searches in YouTube. It's a similar format to AdWords, and of course the video provider only pays when their video is actually clicked on. As I said recently, YouTube is becoming a much more important part of Google's overall advertising mix, while for many brands, YouTube's home page is fast-becoming the most desirable piece of online real estate.


     
  • Kyte Brings Live Streaming and HTML5 Ads to iOS Devices

    Online video platform Kyte is announcing this morning support for live streaming to iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) along with HTML5 ads.  The updates both build on Kyte's current iOS Application Framework and SDK. The HTML5 support means ads from third party networks can be served into live streams viewed on iOS devices. Kyte has also extended its integrated social media features into live streaming as a differentiator.
     
    Both moves add to the growing momentum around video delivery to iOS devices, fueled of course by their massive and growing ownership base. Just last week Apple reported selling 14.1 million iPhones, 4.19 million iPads and 9.05 million iPods (though not all Touch) in its most recent fiscal fourth quarter.   

    There has been a huge amount of activity by online video platforms, ad managers/networks and live streaming providers to support iOS devices this year. There's no sign that things will slow anytime soon. As the ecosystem pieces come together - and wireless carriers roll out faster 4G networks - the implication is that ad-supported mobile video (both on-demand and live) is poised for significant growth ahead.

    What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
     
  • Interview With BBE's Matt Wasserlauf On Its Acquisition By Specific Media

    Yesterday, BBE, one of the earliest online video ad networks, announced it has been acquired by Specific Media, a large display ad network. I caught up with BBE's CEO and founder Matt Wasserlauf to learn more about the deal. An edited transcript follows.

    VideoNuze: Why did you decide to be acquired now?

    Matt Wasserlauf: The market needs some consolidation, there are a lot of companies trying to do similar things and most important customers need a one-stop solution. They need to be able to buy reach against all display - banners, rich media and video.

    VideoNuze: Why Specific Media?

    MW: They're the leader in targeting and that's where video is going next. We've done a great job delivering reach and brand metrics, but many of our customers are getting savvier about video and are looking to reach specific audiences. The targeting that Specific Media brings to BBE is going to create the leader in video targeting.

    continue reading

     
  • Unicorn Once Enables Dynamic Ad Insertion in Mobile Video Streams

    Unicorn Media is unveiling "Unicorn Once" this morning, which allows content providers to dynamically insert ads into videos viewed on mobile devices, including iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch. Yesterday I caught up with Unicorn's chief strategy officer David Rice and its VP, Client Services, David Morel, to learn more.

    Unicorn Once is being positioned as a "stream management service" which gives customers comparable control over their ad insertion practices in mobile as they're accustomed to in online. David and David explained customers have been highlighting the problems of dynamic ad insertion in the rapidly-growing mobile video space (especially in iDevices) for some time, and have resorted to time-consuming and inelegant solutions like writing custom JavaScript to achieve similar results as they're seen in online. Unicorn Once supports HTTP delivery and Apple's adaptive bit rate segmented streaming protocol and it also supports Android, BlackBerry and other mobile devices. It is available for on-demand videos for now, not live.

    continue reading

     
  • Sharethrough Raises $5 Million For Branded Content To Go Social

    Sharethrough, a social video advertising network, is announcing this morning that it has raised a $5 million Series A round led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Floodgate. Co-founder and CEO Dan Greenberg brought me up to speed last week on the company's strategy.

    Sharethrough is focused on providing distribution in social networks for branded content. This has become an increasingly popular format for brands that want to go beyond traditional 15 and 30-second TV advertising to use online video to create more engaging messages. Dan points out that the really hard part for these brands is actually creating an audience for their branded content. Unlike traditional TV where a certain number of TV spots or impressions are simply purchased, Dan's view is that branded content, when placed in suitable social media contexts, can generate high sharing rates and viewership.

    continue reading

     
  • iPad Users' Click-Through Rates On Video Ads Are Running Higher

    Click-through rates on video ads shown to iPad users are much higher than similarly formatted ads shown to iPod Touch, iPhone or Android users according to new research released today by Rhythm New Media, a large mobile video ad network.

    In analyzing their viewers' behavior in Q3, Rhythm found that iPad users' click-throughs on Rhythm's "interactive pre-roll" unit were 2.32%, which is 58% higher than the 1.47% for the iPod Touch, which came next. Rhythm CEO Ujjal Kohli, who I spoke to last week, said the data suggested the iPad's larger, more immersive environment is leading to more engagement with ads and users' higher inclination to click-through, particularly when more video is involved.

    continue reading

     
  • 5 Items of Interest for the Week of Oct. 11th

    Continuing VideoNuze's Friday feature of highlighting 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry stories that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!

    JetBlue Unvails Ads Created By Mullen
    Take a moment to head over to YouTube today where JetBlue has bought out the top-of-page expanding banner for a hilarious new ad campaign, "You Above All," featuring a series of reality-style videos of New Yorkers in situations that mock the JetBlue competitors' service. The clever JetBlue campaign follows the head-turning Sylvester Stallone YouTube ad for "The Expendables" from a couple months ago and underscores the ascendance of YouTube as the #1 piece of online real estate for break-the-mold video campaigns for high-profile brands. Google is capitalizing on YouTube's appeal by featuring it prominently in its current "Watch This Space" ad campaign promoting the value of display advertising.

    Google TV Guns for Cable Deals
    And speaking of Google, with the recent introduction of Google TV, the company is reaching out to cable operators to ink integration deals similar to what it showcased with satellite operator Dish TV last week. Google TV offers tantalizing potential, particularly to smaller operators, to add Internet elements to their core video service, helping better compete with over-the-top entrants like Netflix. Conversely, as we saw this week with the funding/public launch of BNI Video (and in a series of separate product announcements coming next week), technology vendors are lining up to offer cable operators the ability to deliver their own Internet experiences. It's a very confusing time for cable operators, who must figure out whether to go it alone and invest heavily, or partner with a tech giant like Google.

    comScore Releases September 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings
    comScore's video rankings for September yielded no big surprises, as Google/YouTube continued to be the dominant online video provider and Yahoo narrowly retook the #2 spot from Facebook. comScore changed the way it publicly reports its data this past June which has made it a little harder on independent analysts like me to show trending data as I used to do. Nonetheless, I'm hoping to have some new trending charts to share soon.

    Blip.tv Predicts Best Quarter Yet for Web Creators
    More encouraging news on the online video ad front, as video platform/distributor blip.tv said this week that Q4 '10 is on track to be its best quarter ever. Blip has been a very important player in bringing independent web series to market and its ability to monetize is a key driver of sustainability for many fledgling creators. Blip's news synchs with overall online video ad momentum in first half '10.

    Introducing the JW Player for Flash and HTML5
    Last month I wrote about how the open source JW Player is receiving 15K downloads per day. This week version 5.3 of the JW Player was released which integrates Flash and HTML5 into a single video player, using a unified JavaScript API. What that means is that anyone embedding the new player can seamlessly deliver either Flash or HTML5 video with the browser auto-detecting which playback mode to use. Since browsers and devices are still quite heterogeneous in what formats they support, initiatives like this help reduce friction in publishing and user experience.


     
  • VideoNuze Report Podcast #77 - Oct. 15, 2010

    Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 77th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for October 15, 2010.

    This week we start by discussing the sizzling online video ad business. On Tuesday, the IAB and PriceWaterhouse Coopers reported that online video ads were the best performing category of Internet advertising, up 31% in the first half of '10 vs. first half of '09, to $627 million. That came amid a broader surge in Internet advertising, which tallied over $12 billion in first half revenues, a new record. Google added an exclamation mark to these results by reporting a 23% increase in Q3 revenues late yesterday. Daisy and I talk through some of the key drivers of the video ad business and how things look going forward.

    I see the mass adoption of connected devices, which enable the viewing of long-form online video on TVs, as one of the most important drivers of online ad revenue. As consumers begin to watch more online video on their HDTVs, in the comfort of their living rooms, viewership will inevitably rise, creating even more ad inventory. One example of this is Hulu Plus, which recently announced it would be available on both Roku and TiVo.

    In the podcast we discuss the connected devices theme and I note that the next VideoSchmooze breakfast/panel I'll be hosting in NYC, on Dec. 1st, will focus on the roles that both connected and mobile devices have in transforming the video landscape. This holiday season is going to mark an important period of growth for these devices and our panel will help us understand the implications.

    Lastly - as some of you may know, Daisy's first fiction book, "The Mockingbirds," is being published by Little, Brown on Nov. 2. It's an incredibly exciting milestone for Daisy, and she shares the social media/video promotional campaign she's created using Facebook, Twitter and others. It's a great illustration of how the tools we talk about each day can be used effectively.

    Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 49 seconds)


    Click here for previous podcasts

    The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!