Alex Rowland

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• Online Video Ads Are Unique Media Buys in Online Media Daily on 02/28/2012
  

  The quality and diversity of ad inventory online is far more varied than on television.This is leading to the creation of more avails for traditional interstitials, while exploding the diversity of ad units to satisfy every price point and engagement level.

• Trend Watch: Video Forecasts For 2011 in Video Insider on 12/22/2010
  

  One thing is certain to happen over the next 12 months: Marketers are going to spend more money on video than they did in 2010. So, that being said, I'll try to avoid the obvious for the rest of the article. Three trend predictions for 2011:

• The Evolution Of Paid Video Syndication in Video Insider on 07/27/2010
  

  Long-form video (anything longer than 30 seconds) can be distributed using a variety of mechanisms. As most industry folks are aware, generating incremental audience for these videos has largely revolved around structuring revenue share arrangements with third-party publishers. Under this arrangement, third-party sites sell the advertising avails and split the revenue with the producer. This type of syndication model works fine for content that is evergreen, but there is simply no way to guarantee that a specific number of targeted viewers will watch the content during a specific time frame.

• Why Buying Audience Directly Is The New Black  in Video Insider on 06/15/2010
  

  The mechanics of acquiring audience through investments in digital media has begun to fundamentally alter the way in which video is produced, marketed, and distributed. This transition is nowhere more apparent than in the world of branded entertainment. Online branded entertainment video series are judged based upon the quality and size of the audience they accumulate in support of brand goals. In order to ensure these goals are reached, studios and agencies use a variety of tools to build this audience. But one of the most important arrows in this quiver is the media buy.

• What Is A Video Interaction Really Worth? in Video Insider on 05/11/2010
  

  There has been a lot of attention paid to online video advertising over the past several years. The number of video ad delivery vehicles has increased and the pricing for these units has been all over the map. This can be incredibly confusing and frustrating for anyone buying media in this space. Why are prices for each unit so divergent? How can I better determine if what I am buying is worth the investment? Answering these questions becomes much easier if we look at the foundations for pricing in video and work to evaluate the relative importance of these foundations to your brand goal.

• Don't Burn Your Branded Entertainment Production Budget At the Altar Of Your Media Buy in Video Insider on 04/05/2010
  

  Historically - and in the days of the Internet I mean in the past several years - the process of conceptualizing and producing original video content for the web was largely separated from the distribution process. Studios would come up with a concept and use their balance sheet to finance production. Distribution strategy basically involved posting content to YouTube. But over the past couple of years, studios have fled deficit financing for the relative safety of securing brand dollars up front to pay for production.

• The 'Cadillac' Of Online Video Advertising  in Video Insider on 02/24/2010
  

  Most online video advertising today sucks. It essentially comes in two main flavors: annoying (pre-rolls) and distracting (auto-play banners and overlays). The good news is that brands are evolving their approach to online video and experimenting more aggressively with longer-form videos that can stand on their own. In response, a new standard is taking shape that prescribes best practices to both the creation and distribution of these videos. You could call this standard the "Cadillac" of online video advertising.

Comments by Alex All comments by Alex

• Who Wants To Build The Next Great Sports Property? by Tod Sacerdoti (Video Insider on 06/03/2010)
  

  I think the lack of memorable online 'hits' is partly due to the early state of the biz. The current slate of shows come in smaller, 'snackable' formats and they have corresponding production and marketing budgets. I would say most web users have watched one of these shows somewhere at this point, and I would assume that most have shared at least one of these shows with friends over the past few years. But for a show to become part of the cultural lexicon it needs to scale to a level that most of these shows have not yet reached. This is simply a matter of time, money and imagination. I think that borrowing on the equity of existing TV properties is obviously a no-brainer as you get to leverage dollars across both platforms. Every production executive out there would find it far easier to do their job if they could simply take an existing popular TV property and either extend it or immitate it. Most of the time the issue here is framed as a licensing issue, but the truth is that TV still dominates the revenues game and nobody is going to risk one of those assets for a low seven figure web show yet. I'm pretty sure licensing would be worked out if the dollars were there. But, more importantly, I'm not sure the idea that simply retrofitting an existing property like SportsCenter is all that earth shattering (or unique). The hit shows of the future are going to be those that fully utilize the medium and achieve things that aren't yet possible on TV. It will likely be something that results in interplays between multiple platforms (mobile app and web), utilizes new dimensions of storytelling (location and audience interaction), and other factors to deliver an experience that is nothing like what we watch today. (And it's probably not going to get delivered as pre-roll or in-banner.) I think it's better for distribution guys to stick to what they do best and let the production guys manage the creative.

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