• by Wayne Friedman , November 15, 2007

Hollywood, Calif. -- Can advertising video hit its Internet target? Not exactly--and not right now.

OMMA Video panelists noted that while contextual marketing and behavioral marketing are key to the growth of the video advertising on the Internet, all this is still a long way from grabbing much of traditional TV advertisers' attention.

Gabe Greenberg, senior vice president of strategic relations of Vibrant Media says, "we don't have the right sophistication yet. The technology is not there." Greenberg also says advertisers are too focused on ROI when they should be more focused on brand awareness and brand engagement.

Blame was also attributed to the creative process--which is still in traditional TV mode.

"Clearly there is not a lot of great advertising," says Randy Kilgore, chief revenue officer at Tremor Media. But Kilgore says better Internet tools exist in terms of metrics--all of which will eventually convert TV naysayers to the Internet. "It's a better thing, whether it comes for click-streams or something else. There is no question."

Much of the panel discussion came back to much maligned pre-roll video ads--which still give Web producers/owners, as well as consumers, headaches.

Troy Young, chief marketing officer for VideoEgg, says, for example, there are still video arthritis ads that go the video users that don't have the illness--and that's a problem.

"Pre-roll says 'I don't care about the user'," said Young.

A large portion of Internet video advertising content is still left over from traditional TV--not created just for the Internet. "You are in an in-demand environment," says Young. "There is not a huge catalog of ads. Content is just ported over from TV. It doesn't work."

"Throwing a 30-second pre-roll in front of a 20-second piece of content--that's why you have backlash," says Danny Fishman, president of Broadband Enterprises.

Panelists also noted it is not just the length of an ad--but where the spot is in relation to video content.

Young says that running video spots after Internet content respects viewers instead of forcing them to watch 15 seconds of pre-roll advertising content they don't want. In that regard, he says an advertiser can run longer ad content--30 seconds or 60 seconds in length.

Who is doing well when it comes to targeting? Perhaps Google, according to the panelists. Even then they are unsure.

"The marketplace is more convoluted than ever," says Fishman. "The industry has a lot of growing up to do. It's really hard to gauge who is doing well."