OMMA Video Attendees: Time to 'Let Go'

A concrete Web TV strategy today ensures failure tomorrow. Instead, advertisers and publishers should be pliable and drunk on experimentation, according to attendees of OMMA Video on Thursday.

"Today we have an opportunity to create TV all over again," said Herb Scannell, CEO and co-founder, Next New Networks.

"I think everything we're doing is wrong," said Lars Bastholm, executive creative director, AKQA New York. "Why do we repurpose something people aren't interested in?"

"Let go," was the advice to controlling agency types from Janet Kestin, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto.

Interactive and immersive video advertising is proving far more effective than repurposed TV ads, ensured Rick Mandler, vice president, Digital Media Advertising, Disney-ABC Television Group. Still, he said, many advertisers must rely on 30-second pre-rolls due to scarce resources and limited know-how.

"A few advertisers present rich experiences that take advantage of the medium," said Mandler, but they represent the minority.

Whether or not publishers are generating revenue, today's digital landscape presents "an unbelievably bad user experience," said Troy Young, chief marketing officer, VideoEgg, who likened many video ads running today to clowns popping out from behind his TV at home.

"Pre-roll hurts engagement," assured Scott Levine, director of product marketing, AOL Video. "Everyone wants to know what's next."

What is next? OMMA Video attendees were optimistic for the future and flush with advice on successful Web TV strategies.

The three keys to successful content production online, according to Next New Networks' Scannell, are: authenticity over slick production aesthetics; making media with audiences, rather than media for audiences; and not restricting the free distribution and spread of content.

Randy Kilgore, chief revenue officer at Tremor Media, pointed to several upcoming developments in Web TV, which he assures will advance the industry. "The NBC/Fox newco will drive a ton of money into the business," he said. Also, "A year from now video search will work."

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