As online video continues its dramatic rise, Ogilvy & Mather on Thursday officially debuted its own specialty video practice. In development for nearly two years, Ogilvy's Advanced Video Practice will work with brand clients to take video engagement beyond the "viral" view by targeting measurable engagements that place viewers directly into the sales funnel. It is being led by Robert John Davis, who joined Ogilvy in 2008, after leading Rainbow Media's cable network sites and serving as MTV Networks' first executive producer of convergence. "It is not just TV 2.0 -- a new way to get TV programs online," Davis said of the burgeoning video space. "This is a vibrant, interactive engagement medium that goes beyond watching videos to engaging with videos." According to Davis, the new practice should augment various Ogilvy specialty areas, including digital influence, search optimization and search marketing, creative, content strategy and social selling. "Video is too important to treat as an add-on to TV or Web marketing efforts," Davis said. "As advanced video opportunities continue to grow across mobile and device-oriented experiences, maximizing this channel is vital for a brand's success." During its test phase, clients who helped shape Ogilvy's new practice included IBM, Nestlé, DuPont and others. The practice will focus on several key aspects of online video, including the creation of strategic content and video search engine optimization, as well as the production and distribution of video across multiple digital platforms and measurement. Furthermore, the plan is to bring together experts from online video strategy and production with the Neo@Ogilvy search practice and OgilvyEntertainment, to provide clients with a full-service online video platform. Needless to say, trying to maximize the potential of YouTube as a marketing channel for clients is one of the key ways in which the practice will be exploited. "Our strategy is built around the belief that views will be maximized if you optimize for the multiple forms of search first, making it easy for audiences to find, consume and share the content when they need it most," Davis added.
Apple Inc. could be making an unusual bid for the networks'-owned video service Hulu. Bloomberg News is reporting that Apple is considering a move for the popular premium video site, which estimates say could carry a $2 billion price tag. Typically, Apple doesn't make large acquisitions of important consumer products; rather, it grows big-brand consumer product and services businesses internally. Hulu is a growing site looking to compete with Netflix. But not all the Hulu owners -- Comcast Corp., News Corp., Walt Disney and Providence Equity Partners -- have been happy about its direction, looking for more revenue gains. Reports suggest Yahoo has already shown interest in Hulu. As part of the deal, reports say the purchase of Hulu includes five years of access to TV shows from its media-company owners, including two years of exclusivity. Hulu would seem to work well with existing Apple products, of which it already has a connection: iPhone, iPad and iTouch. It could also click with Apple's iTunes media store, which offers TV shows and movies for rental or purchase. Current-season TV shows can be rented for 99 cents and high-definition films rent for $4.99. Those iTunes TV offerings are commercial-free. Hulu, for the most part, carries commercials in a limited number of current TV shows. The digital service Hulu Plus, a $7.99/month service, offers a broader library of programming.
NBC Universal is getting into the private digital ad exchange business. NBC Universal says the move is to reduce the reliance on third-party ad exchanges -- which have been criticized for driving down CPM user pricing. Private ad exchanges can work better for premium digital sites, where they can set specific price limits. This move would help NBC's family of sites and premium video digital site, Hulu, of which NBC Universal is a partner. NBC says private exchanges will provide clients with direct access to premium display ad inventory that can be targeted at scale across the NBC Universal Audience Platform, NBC's own digital ad network. "One of our main goals in launching the UAP was to take better control over our uncommitted digital ad inventory and dial back our reliance on third-party ad networks," stated Peter Naylor, executive vice president of digital media sales, NBC Universal. "By launching this private exchange, we can work directly with our agency and media partners, offering them better pricing, more informed and targeted advertising buys," he added, "and the opportunity to deal directly with trusted and premium content sources." NBC will use technology from Admeld to monetize its ad inventory in a controlled, real-time bidding system. NBC says with its new private ad system, premium platform publishers can target their most valuable audience segments, as well as restrict access to a select group of buyers. They can also set granular rules around pricing. NBC Universal's Audience Platform says its inventory is sold solely by targeting audiences and not by specific Web sites, using top data providers including BlueKai, Nielsen and Quantcast.
The preferred "can't-live-without" method to view videos and watch and search for entertainment remains for 68% of males ages 18-34, according to a recent Frank N. Magid Associates study sponsored by Metacafe. Consumer behavior continues to integrate more video in everyday life. It turns out that 23% of survey respondents watch daily, up from 13% in 2010. Overall, 57% of Internet users watch online videos weekly, up from 50% last year. Males ages 18 to 34 watch 7.8 hours of online video weekly, compared with 5.6 hours per week among all viewers ages 8 to 64. Many participants in the survey expect to watch 10% more online video within the next year. Short-form video content gets the views. About 66% of online video viewers regularly watch premium short-form content, such as music videos, movies trailers and clips, TV previews and clips, sports highlights, video game content, comedy sketches and original Web series. The percentage of online video viewers for each genre has remained the same since 2008, except for a few exceptions during the past few years. For example, consumer-generated videos uploaded to sites such as YouTube rose from 33% to 46%. Full-length TV rose from 25% to 30%. Full-length movies rose from 10% to 22%. Emerging technologies have begun to show promise when it comes to connecting with entertainment and video content. About 30% of online view viewers watch content on a mobile phone, Internet-connected television or wireless tablet. Internet TV continues to grow in acceptance, with 25% of online video viewers accessing the Internet through their TV set and an additional 34% interested in hooking in at a later time, according to the Frank N. Magid study. About 158.1 million U.S. Internet users will download or stream video at least monthly via any device in 2011, representing 68.2% of Web users -- up to 76% by 2015, according to eMarketer. It's not clear whether the device type can have an influence on recall of the video or the topic, but studies note the type of video ad unit does. In fact, the type of ad unit and the frequency with which consumers see a specific type of ad in a unit has a major influence on recall, according to eMarketer. The research firm said 35% of viewers in a recent study could recall seeing a common static banner advertisement, but only 13% of viewers remembered seeing a more eye-catching video banner advertisement. Interestingly, it's not that the static banner ad proves to have a greater impact than the video banner ad, but rather the frequency with which consumers see them. The ad consumers are more commonly exposed to will have a higher impact on recall. > Exposure influencing recall can also be found in streaming ad units. Pointing to stats from Break Media, eMarketer notes that 47% of respondents said they remembered the brand or product advertised after viewing a pre-, mid- or post-roll video ad unit.
Reebok is rolling out its new Reebok Lite line, which it describes as a cross between its '80s-era classics and cutting-edge technology, with a TV spot and videos by hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz. But don't look for any leg warmers, headbands, or Madonna references: While the shoes themselves may evoke '80s flashbacks, the new campaign is pure urban club culture. It includes 25 dancers, 150 extras and choreography from Hi-Hat, as lasers, smoke and an acrylic box create a multidimensional Classic R, enclosed within a box. A spokesman for the company, now owned by Adidas, says it marks the first time Reebok's Classics division will use TV in a decade, and that the spots will run on ESPN, Comedy Central, Adult Swim/Cartoon Network, MTV, and BET. The "new" line includes the Freestyle, as well as the Ex-O-Fit high top, the Classic Leather Runner and the Workout Low Plus. They're even sold in the original Union Jack box, which the company claims has been faithfully remade, right down to the exact standards of '80s typography. "In our Classic Lite collection, we've updated iconic Reebok styles with materials, colors and styling details that appeal to people who live their lives at the intersection of dance, art, street culture and sport -- and it's these people who we wanted to celebrate in the Reethym of Lite campaign," Todd Krinsky, head of Classics for Reebok, says in the company's release. In addition to TV, online ads are scheduled for Hulu, YouTube, MTV.com, Pandora, Complex, Facebook, BET.com, VEVO, and Twitter, with print appearing in such titles as Fader, Nylon Guys, and Spin. The spokesperson says Reebok is also commissioning custom public artwork, featuring interpretations of "Reethym of Light," in both New York and Atlanta.
Pushing its digital marketing clients content further, ad agency Ogilvy & Mather has formed an interactive unit, Advanced Video Practice. Advance Video Practice will focus on the creation of strategic content, video search engine optimization and the production/ distribution of video across multiple digital platforms and measurement. It will get help from executives at the agency's Neo@Ogilvy search practice and OgilvyEntertainment. Oglivy says the unit will take "video engagement beyond the 'viral' view.'" The agency will used the division to target measurable engagements that place viewers directly into the sales funnel. To date, it has done some interactive video work for IBM, Nestle, DuPont and other clients -- using YouTube in particular as a marketing channel. The business will be headed up by Robert John Davis, who has been with Ogilvy since 2008. Previously, he has held senior positions at Rainbow Media's cable network sites and served as MTV Networks' first executive producer of convergence. Brandon Berger, chief digital officer for Ogilvy, says: "Our practice is unique in that we are using the medium to drive business, not just collect views." He touted the success the agency had in "developing experiences that optimize search results, drive click-through to Web sites or purchase, and impact sales across both B2B and consumer brands." Noting the new division's distinctive mission, Davis said the strategy is built on the idea that "views will be maximized if you optimize the multiple forms of search first ... Instead of optimizing content after it is produced, as is common for Web sites, we optimize our clients' work from the very start before a frame of video is shot." Earlier this year at the MIP-TV conference in Cannes, France, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide CEO Miles Young, in talking about brands and entertainment, said: "I'd rather use the term 'branded content' to decide what we do. .. It much more precisely defines the needs of a contemporary brand's ecosystem. "In a world where meaning is deficient," he added, "brands make meaning." He called the video practice a "new approach to content creation."
Known more for watches and other personal electronics, Casio is taking to the airwaves for the first time to advertise its phones with an advertising campaign showing off the toughness of its G'zOne Commando Android-powered smartphone. The television and Internet video campaign, with the tagline "Tougher is Smarter," depicts the phone going through a series of real-life tests designed to show off its military-grade specifications, which include being able to withstand extreme temperatures, vibration, drops and submersion. "It's trying to show [that] the phone has been tested in these environments," Charlotte Runco, a representative for Casio, tells Marketing Daily. "This phone can withstand these extreme situations." The vignettes depict the phone being put through a series of tests, such as being strapped to a surfboard, attached to the undercarriage of a sports car, being taken on a trail run and enduring a "hot yoga" class. The spots employ the question, "Are you Commando tough?" The effort is targeted at consumers who lead an active lifestyle and don't want to worry about their phones (with a secondary target at anyone prone to clumsiness and mishaps with their devices), Runco says. The television commercials began this week, airing on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live. The commercials will during a wide variety of programming, including during ABC's "Expedition Impossible," as well as on cable networks such as Spike, Fuel, the Military Network, the Outdoor Channel and ESPN. The brand has also signed on as a sponsor of the X-Games, which will air on ESPN on July 28-31.
AT&T continues to boost distribution of its U-verse TV service, although expansion came at a slower pace in the April-June period than last year. The net customer gain of 202,000 was slightly below the 209,000 in 2010. Still, the number of U-verse TV customers now stands at 3.4 million. That pushes the AT&T service past Cablevision (using its numbers through June) in the ranks of multichannel video providers. The U-verse TV net additions of 202,000 in the most recent quarter was down from the 218,000 in the first quarter this year, but the recently completed period is "traditionally a seasonally soft quarter," according to Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. AT&T said that in markets where U-verse has been available for three years-plus, it has a penetration rate of 25%. The company expects to complete the building of its U-verse footprint by the end of the year, which might lead to an increased focus on grabbing customers from competitors. On one level, U-verse is fulfilling a goal that AT&T had when it joined Verizon with a telco TV service: allowing it to sell larger packages. The company said more than 75% of its U-verse subs have a triple- or quad-play, with average revenue at $170, which is about 8% higher than a year ago. U-verse is available in markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta.
"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology -- where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!" Remember that? It was from Apple Computer's groundbreaking 1984 Super Bowl ad introducing Macintosh to the world. It was the speech shown on a giant screen to the subjects of a hypothetical Orwellian dystopia. The climax occurs when a hammer is hurled through the air by a heroic woman as she's chased by security, shattering the screen -- and ushering in the new world of choice. Luckily, the leader's speech wasn't presented using Flash or Java, or those monochromatic minions would have seen this: "Thanks for trying to access Flash Player. Unfortunately it is not available for your device because of restrictions that Apple has put in place. Click here to see a wide array of the latest smartphones and tablets that do support Adobe's Flash Player." That's what this minion sees -- a lot. And so do a lot of my tech-friendly friends. What's even sadder, is that I bought one of those first Macs (a 128k that booted up with a system disk), and almost every model since, mostly because of the ease of access and use the brand consistently provided. If you haven't already guessed, this diatribe has a lot to do with my new iPad2. I can't understand how a device that doesn't allow the user to access all moving image Web content (including certain Facebook features and our own emmytvlegends.org site) is thriving. Even worse, to make our website work for what is now millions of iPads in play, we've had to reprogram our site at great cost -- how many other nonprofits like ours, with unique video content, are in the same boat regarding Apple's obstinacy? How much amazing content will be forever lost in the shuffle? Here's a pretty good ad from Motorola that plays on Apple's change-of-heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhuEUX1kIU. But Apple is not the only source of frustration for consumers. I can read Amazon Kindle books on my iPad, yet my colleague cannot yet access Kindle on her Blackberry PlayBook (but it can play Flash video, so we're even). Which brings us to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who recently announced the soon-to-be-launched Potterworld site. One of the promised features will be the availability of Harry Potter e-books, something that Rowling had not allowed because of the convoluted proprietary digital rights management rules out there. News sources say that her books will be widely available, and the move may even force Amazon to reconsider its closed access to ePub and other book formats on its Kindle. We certainly hope that in the spirit of openness, Rowling's new site won't prematurely dump Flash and Java. Even Hulu has made what could be a colossal mistake when it comes to their bottom line. Why, when allowing users to access tons of free content on their desktops, do mobile users have to subscribe to Hulu Plus paid service to see any content? Wouldn't it be better to tease upscale mobile users with the same video available on all platforms, and then lure them into a subscription model? Netflix always had the streaming rights. Subscribers can access content from almost any device with ease and no additional charge. It makes their recent price increase easier to swallow. On this current battlefield for dominance of both platforms and devices, it seems that the big guns in digital have turned into their own worst enemies when it comes to creating a frustration-less user experience. It's time to stop taking a "too big to fail" approach, burying customers with their own confusion, and provide seamless ease of access -- before it comes full circle, and hammers really start flying....