YouTube's movie deal with Paramount could contribute more than content to the video site's library. While the movie-rental deal with a fifth major Hollywood studio adds 500 new titles to its expanding online library, it also contributes audience segment data to augment targeted ads. The Paramount deal brings YouTube's rental library to nearly 9,000 titles. For example, Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" will take its place among other movies available through on-demand streaming agreements with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Studios. Rentals will out-price most rentals on Google Play: $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for older movies, with $1 more for high-def content. Titles will generally become available to rent for 48 hours. No sign of Google allowing viewers to download movie content from YouTube. There are many possible reasons, ranging from licensing fees to piracy, but Mahi de Silva, executive vice president of consumer mobile at Opera Software, said streaming versus the download and sales of movies benefits Google and license holders. For example, de Silva points to a handful of publishers that developed methods for building anonymous consumer profiles based on streaming music. "The correlation is interesting between the consumers' lifestyle patterns, location and affinity to certain genres of music," he said. "Streaming enables the platform providers to partner with record labels more effectively to monetize content, though they know many consumers don't pay for the music. But if they subscribe to a channel, the labels can promote other music." Streaming allows content providers and music labels to drive monetization through ad revenue or premium services. It gives the music labels access to an audience they otherwise don't have, de Silva said. "Using some of the same tools for music platforms, I expect companies that manage streaming media will also build out similar tools and systems to create a new economy to stream video," he said.
Lately I’ve been on a bit of a searchery rhyming kick I’m not yet ready to quit so hope, of this meme, you’re not sick. Two weeks ago I dropped Jay-Z, H.O.V. Today it’s time to pop Whitney, R.I.P. I believe that Siri is our future. Teach her well and let her learn your voice. Show her all the keywords you possess inside. Give that app a try, she’ll make it easier. Let Siri’s answers guide you where you need to be. Everybody’s searching with their two hands. People need someone to speak up to. I never found a voice app who fulfills queries. What does Android do for me? So I learned to depend on Siri. I decided months ago, only to talk to Siri ‘cuz she knows. Replace Google, she’s not ready. But at least she’s learning all ‘bout me. No matter what my crazy query, Siri treats me with much dignity. Because the greatest app of all Is talking back to me. I found the greatest app of all Inside Siri. The greatest app of all, Not easy to deceive. Learning to search by voice. It is the greatest app of all. I believe that Siri is our future. Teach her well and let her learn your voice. Show her all the keywords you possess inside. Give that app a try, she’ll make it easier. Let Siri’s answers guide you where you need to be. And if by chance, that search engine That you've been dreaming of Leads you to a familiar voice, Find your strength in Siri. Now, put your hands together for Mr. Randy Watson!
Last week, my column was about how branding differs between search and more traditional brand channels like TV and print. It came from a recent client conversation I had. Rob Schmults from Intent Media added a well-thought-out, on-the-mark comment that deserves a follow-up. There are three points in particular I want to dive deeper into. “ I think part of the problem in attempting to do so is that branding is all too often an end in and of itself rather than a means.” Absolutely. Most sales and marketing happens in dozens of disconnected siloes, with little thought about how the actions of one silo affect all the others. Each silo measures progress by its own metric and set its own agenda. The problem is that all these different initiatives are aimed at the same target, but there is little thought as to how each initiative can impact the prospect. For the past year, I’ve been thinking about how to approach marketing by starting first with creating a common understanding of the buyer’s motivations and behaviors, and then mapping a decision landscape so we can begin to understand the path the buyer takes through it. Much of my writing over the past two years has explored various aspects of this landscape: things like the role of risk and reward, and how they affect the emotions drive our buying decisions. If branding becomes disconnected and “an end in and of itself,” it starts to lose touch with the chain of “means” that translates brand awareness into action. I saw a particularly acute example of this in a recent meeting: a brand agency presented research showing each point of movement in its unaided brand awareness metric translated into X of additional revenue. I didn’t dispute the finding, as I believed it to be true. What was missing was the long chain of interdependent “means” taking us from there to here. It was like saying that each inch of rain translated into X increase of revenue at the local farmer’s market. We’re jumping from “A” to “Z” without worrying about the 24 intervening letters. “SEM is clearly a means -- it's a step to driving a conversion event (typically a sale).” As I mentioned last week, presence on the search page is very often a critical intermediate step between the lofty heights of brand-building and the nitty-gritty of bringing cash in the door. In fact, if you take the time to understand how search is typically used in the purchase process with your typical buyer, it typically falls into the “no-brainer” category, because the prospect has intent and is completely open to being persuaded. Which brings me to Rob’s next point: “Branding has value, so the war Gordon describes doesn't have to end with total victory and branding's extinction.” As effective as search is, it’s a channel with built-in limitations, including available inventory. If there is no awareness, there is no inventory. People can’t search for something they don’t know exists (at least, not yet). Branding creates awareness, which, if the dots are connected properly, eventually turns into intent. And when intent is present, search is very effective at converting that intent into action. The chain then is Awareness – Intent – Action, which is a variation on the venerable AIDA branding model: Attention – Interest – Desire – Action. If you combine the two you end up with Awareness – Interest – Desire – Intent – Action, or AIDIA. You need branding at the front end, to create awareness, spark interest and create desire. You need search at the back end to allow prospects to act on their intent and discover how to take action. It’s interesting to note that the original AIDA model jumped all the way from desire to action without much explanation on how to get there. Given that two of the steps --“interest” and “desire” -- seem pretty similar, it’s odd that there is such a huge chasm between the domain of branding and the ultimate transaction itself. The AIDA model was definitely biased towards the front end of the marketing process. I think what digital has done, especially through search, is to provide much more granularity and clarity on the many steps you can take to get from desire to action. But, as Mr. Schmults reminds us, none of these steps is “an end unto itself.” They’re part of a journey. They depend on each other. And each is passed through by your prospects as they travel down the path of purchase. To come full circle, that was my original point. I’m not calling for the abolition of branding. I’m just asking that we take the time to understand the journey our customers take, and be there at each step.
Video search is a nut that needs to be cracked. And while there have been numerous attempts over the years to deliver better video search, the industry still hasn’t unearthed an ideal solution. There’s movement afoot, though. Joy Marcus, venture partner at DFJ Gotham Ventures, said during the recent Beet.TV executive retreat that she’s keeping her eye on several new audio and video recognition technology startups in Israel that may have interesting tools for video search. Others are looking to integrate social tools into video search. That includes video technology firm Digitalsmiths, which is now weaving real-time buzz into its video discovery tools. “The growing demand for video data is being driven by revolutionary new ways for which viewers search, discover, watch and interact with video content,” said Ben Weinberger, CEO of Digitalsmiths. “Consumers are increasingly looking to Twitter and other social networks when making entertainment decisions, making it important for service providers to embrace the social graph. Service providers must find seamless, integrated solutions for incorporating trends on social networks into the content discovery experience.” Integrating social buzz is becoming more common, with apps like Yap.TV and Buddy.TV also rounding up tweets and status updates on shows. There’s also an iPad program guide from Veronica Magazine in Holland, a TV listings service in that country that includes real-time buzz around shows in the guide itself. Social trending can help tie video search results to what is relevant now for viewers, Weinberger noted in a recent webinar.