• by Adam Paul , April 2, 2007

Two months ago the media had a field day with an unflattering paparazzi photograph of Tyra Banks. She was photographed in a way that made it appear like she had gained weight.

Tyra responded to those attacks on her talk show with an emotional and powerful response. It rallied her mostly female audience, and to date, has been viewed about 2 million times on YouTube alone.

Meanwhile, a recent eMarketer report, "Women Online: Taking a New Look," reports far fewer women are watching online video than men, stating: "This year 78% of male U.S. Internet users will watch video online but only 66% of female Internet users will do so."

This is somewhat perplexing given the popularity of the Tyra Banks video, as well as data within that same eMarketer report about more women going online than men, and growing at a faster rate.

It appears women are ready, willing, and able to watch video online -- but simply aren't getting content they are looking for.

So what can advertisers do to engage more women in their online video content?

Try leveraging a brand's existing content, event sponsorships, and spokesperson relationships. Look for valuable video content -- produced well, on a regular schedule and, most important, with appeal to women.

Brands have formed these relationships with spokespeople because of a shared set of core values, and they align spokespeople with events, content and causes that unite their core audience.

More important, they have formed these relationships because larger than life personalities, like Tyra Banks, capture our imagination, inspire, and give reason to believe, both in themselves and the products they endorse.

Reebok, for example, chose Scarlett Johansson as spokesperson, and created a fully integrated promotional experience that includes everything from new products designed by Johansson to online video where she shares her inspiration.

Like Reebok's promotion, sponsorships and spokespeople tend to produce a wealth of content in the form of behind-the-scenes footage, one-on-one introspective pieces with artists and athletes, out-takes and additional b-roll that never sees the light of day.

Advertisers should look for opportunities to capture this content with video and distribute it in a way that helps form deeper relationships with customers, whether it's on their own brand's site or via other distribution channels.

Relationships formed by brands that target women are especially rich in their content offering -- ranging from awards shows like the Oscars and Grammy Awards, movie premieres, and even major sporting events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon. Ralph Lauren has done an exceptional job distributing this content online at RLTV, an online video destination for content that supports all their sponsorships and spokespeople, including professional female golfer Morgan Pressel.

The obstacle that advertisers will face is ownership and distribution rights of content, a battle that the digital revolution and the YouTubes of the world have already provoked.

These battles have yet to be won or lost, but it is clear that content providers and advertisers will have to establish new rules for distribution and a new business model to govern their relationships.

Ultimately, both content provider and advertiser must learn that in this digital age, it is now the Customer who is King (and Queen). To remain relevant to their female audience and customer, together, they need to develop an innovative approach to content development and distribution.

Adam Paul is an online strategist with ID Society, a New York-based interactive agency.