• by TS Kelly , August 11, 2011

I spent my formative years in the '70s,  when the media clock ran considerably slower than it does today. Summer recess was just that -- no school and no new TV. After night after night of cold leftovers (and requisite low ratings), no wonder we spent most evenings outdoors until darkness and parental ultimatums suspended our thrilling 42-inning wiffle ball matches.

As an industry and as viewers, even three-plus decades later, we generally still look to the fall to start the TV programming, marketing and sweep process anew.

Online video, on the other hand, knows no season, taking few breaks for wiffle ball games or barbecues. comScore recently released June 2011 estimates for online video consumption in the U.S., reporting an all-time high in viewing sessions, at over 6.2 billion for the month.

As these figures suggest, when broadcast and cable wells run dry, consumers still seek alternatives, most notably through ad-supported online channels as well as iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and the myriad of Netflix outlets. "Cord cutting" debate aside, consumers now take these alternative video options very seriously. When recent Netflix price hikes turn millions of customers apoplectic, threatening to riot in the streets, we know there's been a behavioral shift. Recent Sandvine data tells a similar story, reporting nearly 30% of downstream traffic dedicated to Netflix during peak periods.

Missed opportunity for insights?

The recent comScore release also revealed the number of video ads served for June this year hit 5.2 billion: also a high water mark, and up over 21% from June 2010. Despite the typical summer swoon elsewhere, video marketing activity online continues unabated.

While our data reveals a similar increase in year-to-year ad activity, we uncovered an additional detail: 99% of all online video ads are presently repurposed from related TV campaigns.

It's a safe approach, no doubt; creative that worked well in broadcast and cable environments would seem a solid option for online. However, could the summer months represent a low-risk opportunity for brands to enroll in "video summer school," developing "test & learn" best practices before fall marketing plans are implemented.

Suggested summer school syllabus

Repurposing TV creative is a good place for any marketer to start utilizing online video. However, testing multiple campaign scenarios in the summer could provide key learnings come fall, when marketing efforts, both digital and analog, kick into high gear. Some areas of "summer study" to consider:

Testing new formats. Just like multivariate testing for display with varying copy, landing pages, etc., consider moving beyond basic pre-, mid-, and post-roll, and testing interactive add-on elements such as overlays, expandables, branded canvases as well as various ad lengths (:15s vs. :30s). Also consider letting users select the ads to view from multiple options.

Expanding metrics of success. Move campaign KPIs beyond GRP projections and click-through, and start building performance benchmarks based on completion rates and frequency (both by placement and overall campaign). Results here would be additive, creating an evolving knowledge set useful in future business cycles.

Adding video to display/search studies. We have seen numerous industry studies detailing the benefits of combining search and display. It's time we added video to the research mix -- such as video and display, video and search, or all three -- looking specifically at how video impacts brand awareness, response, conversion, etc.

Attributionanalysis. When is online video most effective: before or after a series of exposures or activities? What are the paths for replicating success? These are already challenging questions; time for video to add to the confusion.

Though summer may be a welcome respite for some in the media space, the season now attracts increasing amounts of digital media consumption, most notably in online video. The advertising community has a collective opportunity to tap this surging growth, schooling ourselves with minimal impact to overall media plans. Summer could represent the ultimate digital test bed for assessing creative elements, formats, emerging technologies and even niche content options, such as the new online Wiffle Ball League.

Now that's one channel I'd stay indoors for...