Posts Tagged ‘ video ’

Integrating Products into Video is an Art not a Science or maybe a little bit of Both

 

Our digital marketing agency, Dorado Brand Studio recently completed a major video project with Naked Mobile a division of Cellular One.  We built a weeklong project that encompassed some of the natural beauty of Utah, the great outdoors, camping and of course integrating some great mobile phones into our efforts. The goal of the project was to create compelling content of everything listed above and build the videos to support TV advertising, social media posts and web marketing. The inspiration for this blog post came from several industry people asking me about integrating product without consumers being turned off with the placement. Check out the link at the end to see what the final product of our team’s hard work.

 

To be fair integrating usage of a smartphone into video sounds easy but try and do it in remote regions of Utah, climbing on the side of cliff or flying down a sand dune in an ATV. Ever heard of a cook stove that includes a charger for a smartphone? Well we found one.

 

The planning stage of this shoot was almost as important as the actual shoot. We spent weeks determining the locations for each individual shoot and once we had those locked down we then moved into developing the storyline and built out storyboards, scripts, prop list, and identified required permits for each location we intended to visit. We identified the activities and apps we wanted to highlight set and how to best incorporate smart phones into the video. We were very fortunate to have two people with great chemistry and personalities that made sense for the Naked Mobile “Wanderlove” campaign.

 

Next up came logistics of the travel, props, camping equipment, hours per location and an endless amount of other details.  I’m sure anyone reading this that runs an agency in pursuit of video knows these are basic items that everyone knows but because I speak with many media executives that are new to video it’s important I include some basics.

 

Integrating smart phones into the shoot was something we spent a large portion of our time dedicated to researching how to best utilize the smartphone in these desolate locations. We didn’t want our actors blatantly talking about how great the phone works or look at these beautiful photos. It had to be used spontaneously and in a natural way. For instance we found apps that made sense for the location and the type of activity we were engaged with. One of the apps that we used was able to identify which constellations were in the sky by simply panning your phone over the night sky. . At that same location, we were able to utilize a unique camp stove that generates electricity with heat in which we were able to highlight the phone charging capability while our talent cooks his dinner over the campfire. .  Everything we did with the smartphone felt natural in these outdoor settings and was not forced. We felt it was necessary to not to go overboard with how many times we tried to integrate product into our various 2 minute, 30 second and 10 second videos. We made the videos about the story we were telling and smart phones were a part of the experience.  

 

The completed products we created were well received by Naked Mobile and today are being utilized on TV, social media and anywhere else they can find to run video. Who said a mock gun fight at an old west town had to have guns. Why can’t we have a battle over who can text faster?  Finally it really helps if everyone is having fun and enjoying the time spent capturing wonderful content although they will tell you it was exhausting.

 

Enjoy the video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nupt2obDfS0

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2018
09/13
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Video Strategies
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Digital Marketing and the Role of Video

When digital marketing agencies first opened their doors for business it was all about banner ads, clickable creative, social media, SEO, blogs and newsletters. In the past year or so the digital marketing requests started coming in for content marketing or sponsored content. Fast forward to today, and it seems like everyone still wants the digital marketing efforts already mentioned but almost all conversations now begin with a discussion on video. Many marketers have a difficult time integrating video due to lack of knowledge in creation of video, a lack of understanding in the cost of video by agency and client, developing in-house talent and cost of equipment. Here are some tips for determining if you or your agency is ready to tackle video as part of your agency’s offerings.

Determine business case for pursuing video.

Why do you want to get into video? Are your clients requesting video and if so what percentage? Do you have the resources to pursue i.e. equipment, capital? Do you have any employees who have expertise with video production – videographers, editors? Finally do you have creative staff that can envision creative using video? There are certainly many other questions you need to answer but these are the main ones.

Identify team to lead the charge.

With anything new, it requires focus. It is a mistake to assume your creative, production and sales team can just add video as another service to sell. Many of the strategies are similar but having knowledge about the nuances of video is critical. There’s also the tendency for salespeople to hang on to what they have always sold until the bitter end.

Video production requires storyboards and ideas around the creative vision. Decisions have to be made on the use of animations within the video. What about music? Actors? Length? Music rights. How will it be used?

On the operations side of things it is critical to understand where the video is to be placed. If it’s social media, then the video should be 10-15 seconds or less. If the video is for blog posts or newsletters, I would still recommend no more than 2 minutes in length. If using primarily on a homepage of a website it can be longer but still less than 3 minutes and likely no audio. You also need to understand if different file versions will be needed based on platform you plan to run the video on or the players used to host the video.

Sales should also understand that typical pricing for other digital marketing efforts doesn’t work for video. The cost to produce a video is much more than other products in the digital marketing suite. I would also suggest that sales focus on getting someone with expertise involved in discussing video with the client or prospect. Having a creative team member who understands the complexity of shooting video should also be involved.

What does success look like.

The end product has to be a video that can be utilized in all aspects of digital marketing while also achieving a client’s goal. It should not be a one trick pony. The video needs to morph into each digital effort. It needs to work within a banner ad, on the advertiser’s website, on social media, in a blog, in an email campaign and blends in with photography, text and other aspects of any campaign. Success for the video starts with placement in the campaign, but the ultimate success is more user engagement, more product sales and a client that is proud of the video.

End Result.

Since video has become almost a “must offer” for digital marketing efforts it is critical your company spend the time and effort to develop an expertise. The backup if you don’t have the resources would be to hire freelance help until such time you build up your client base to afford in-house expertise.

While the tips above are general in scope they represent the basics to a successful effort with video. This video for Naked Mobile is an example of the video work we are proud of. Naked Mobile.

2017
10/16
CATEGORY
Publishing Strategies
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How Publishers Should Forge A Video Strategy

I recently wrote an article for NetNewsCheck.com on the topic of original video content and should publishers pursue this strategy.  I included a portion of the article on my blog.  You can read entire article on NetNewsCheck.com.

Untitled1

 

Online video can prompt many questions for a publisher. Should it be short, curated clips that serve as a supplement to a story? Original video content that can stand alone? Should the video be designed specifically for mobile or desktop?

But the most important question to ask is this: Who is the publisher trying to reach? If the answer is a new audience such as a younger demographic, then the process of producing video must begin with collecting and reviewing data that supports the interests of this audience.

It’s also important to realize that starting with a mobile experience and bridging back to desktop may be a critical element to consider as well.

Publishers must begin the process by framing out some key questions, then laying out a plan to support their strategy.

What do we know about the audience?

Is the target younger then traditional users? I recently was involved in the creation of a video strategy to reach a much younger audience (30-45-year-olds). We felt we had some great content that would resonate well with this demographic, but we knew we had to develop even more.

In looking at Scarborough data for 30-45 year-olds, we found the interests were ranked differently from a typical audience for a news site. Top activities for this audience in the last 12 months included (in order of preference): Swimming, gardening, jogging, bicycling, photography, volunteer work, bowling, camping, fishing and backpacking.

We quickly learned that this younger demographic had similar interests to our current audience, yet it was dramatically more active, and hence ranked certain activities differently in terms of importance. Data from BI Intelligence and IDC also indicated the audience was very connected and decidedly at the much-vaunted intersection of social, local and mobile.

What type of content would they be interested in?

Based on information above, the ideal programming for this age demographic was related to physical activities, things-to-do and lifestyle. If one then considers the digitally-connected aspect and the proliferation of video with this younger demographic, it was fairly easy to determine the need for curated, compelling and original video content to stimulate their minds.

Do publishers already have any of this content? If not, where do they get it?

Read the rest of this article on NetNewsCheck.com.

2013
08/22
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Publishing Strategies
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INTERNET VIDEO IS THE FUTURE

I recently worked on developing a business plan for a consumer internet video business.  Much of the research done was compelling as it relates to the future of internet video.  The market is exploding and once again mobile plays a big role in the growth.  I thought I would share the information.

Consumers are watching more video than ever. But the way they watch is changing. Increasingly, the demand is being met via the Internet. From smart and connected TVs to laptops, tablets and smartphones, consumers now have more devices than ever to connect to the Internet to stream content.

More and more of consumers are taking advantage of the increased ability to determine what, how, when and where to watch.

Even so, video consumption and interaction by screen and device varies greatly by life-stage and lifestyle, by age, gender, and by ethnicity.  No longer does one size fit all, and new trends continue to emerge.

Yet, the US consumer’s attention continues to lie in the quest to seek TV and TV-like professionally produced content. Consider Netflix which earlier this year expanded its offering not just by increasing its partnerships to re-air programming but also jumped into the game of producing and delivering original content.

The key to success will be to identify the biggest and most immediate opportunities for growth in the growing market of Internet Video. The following section will analyze the market opportunities.

internet_video_overview

Internet video[1]

Traditional TV is still king. But more and more consumers are discovering new video content via the Internet. The lion’s share of Internet video can be assumed to come from desktops/laptops.162.5M users now watching video on the Internet while 36M watch on a mobile phone.

table2

Internet video is still in its infancy as evidenced by the chart below. However, there’s a trend emerging: Time spent watching traditional TV is in decline and Internet video is increasing. We can expect the change to start happening more rapidly over the next couple of years, as more people get high-speed Internet connections and get Internet enabled devices.

table3

Looking at a month in the life of Americans, traditional TV by far garners the most attention, with the 65+ age demographic spending 220:22 hours per month. Younger demographics increasingly watch timeshifted TV and are gradually turning to Internet video. The age groups 18-24 and 25-34 take the lead, spending 9:38 and 7:09 respectively watching online. In addition, they spend 7:35 and 4:53 watching video on a mobile phone.

table4

Of the 162.5M watching video on the Internet, the composition skews a little older with 44% coming from the 25-49 age group, and 23% coming from the 50-64 age group. For the 36M watching video on mobile, the composition is younger, with 53%% in the 18-34 age group, and 24% in the 35-49 age group.

table7a

The bottom line:

  • Of the 162.5M users now watching video on the Internet, it is a safe bet that most access from desktop/laptop, while 36M watch on a mobile phones
  • Although traditional TV is king, it is in decline, while we can expect the acceleration of online video watching to increase
  • The age groups 18-24 and 25-34 spend the most time watching both online in general and on mobile
  • The composition for Internet video viewers is slightly older (25-49) and the composition for mobile video viewers is slightly younger (18-34).

Mobile (smartphones and tablets)[2]

In the past, mobile video has been held back by a single factor: bandwidth.  The wireless infrastructure wasn’t fast enough to allow for clean video viewing.

4G LTE is changing that, and mobile video is fast becoming popular on the faster wireless networks.  In the US, 4G subscribers are 33% more likely to watch video on their smartphones than the average mobile user, according to Comscore “Mobile Future 2012” report.

Device design also helps, with smartphones now integrating larger screens and speedier processors (and LTE connectivity).

In short, mobile video is becoming a mass consumer phenomenon, much as digital photos were earlier in the smartphone adoption cycle. As a consequence, consumer behavior is changing in favor of higher mobile video usage, video app uptake and advertising.

Mobile video is growing across the board, but tilts young, reaching audiences not easily penetrated by traditional TV.

Video length is increasing across device types, offering more ad opportunities.

Triple digit growth rates in mobile video ad bookings signal the promise of multi-screen campaigns.

Mobile video is not displacing other mediums.  Instead it appears to be an additive activity: it offers new opportunities for video viewing.

The shift to mobile video is best understood as part of a larger trend away from traditional TV and toward on-demand video, which gives viewers more control over their content and allows for “time shifted” viewing.

Smartphones and tablets now offer options in terms of both when and where content can be viewed.  Tablets can be watched in bed or in your neighborhood café.  Smartphones and mini-tablets can stream a TV sitcom or music video at a bus stop.

According to BI Intelligence analysis of Nielsen data, the US mobile video audience increased 77% to 36 million viewers over last two years.  The second fastest growing category, the audience for time-shifted TV, grew 54% to 146 million.  The chart below shows how mobile video’s share of total video viewing worldwide has also surged.


mobileshare

A misperception about mobile video is that a small screen automatically translates to a consumer preference for shorter videos.  However, as the chart below shows, almost half of videos watched on smartphone screens are 10 minutes or longer, according to Ooyala’s data.  Tablet viewers spend even more of their time – 67% – watching videos longer than 10 minutes.

smartphone_longer_videos

Apple’s IOS-powered devices have a huge lead in terms of driving the most mobile video views. The chart below shows which percentage of videos not viewed on a desktop. IOS devices drive 57% of the views, versus 15% for Android.  Xbox drives more views than Android.

video_ios

On the advertising front, video is part of a larger shift in mobile advertising toward rich media ads that provide more engagement and interactivity and a more tailored experience particular to the device the user is immersed in.

In the chart below, data from Opera’s mobile ad network illustrate the tectonic shift to rich media and video ads, with mobile video ads doubling from 6% to 13% of ad executions in just six months.

Mobile video is a promising medium for advertisers, because it offers a polished TV-style ad, while also presenting an opportunity to ask users to perform other actions, such as signing up for an e-mail about a product or an app.

ads

Video will be key to monetizing mobile advertising.  The relatively low value of mobile ads has in large part been driven by small screens and consumers’ distaste for intrusive ads.  The hope is that mobile video will be the engaging ad format that finally unlocks mobile’s potential.

YuMe, a multi-screen ad solutions provider saw mobile video ad impressions grow 75% from Q1 to Q2, reaching 7% of all impressions.  Mobile ad network Greystripe reported a 300% increase in mobile video ad bookings between Q3 and Q4 last year.  They also boasted 1% to 3% click-through rates on its mobile video ads, and completion rates of 50%.

Bear in mind that mobile ad numbers are still tiny and are growing from a small base of limited inventory.  But even if the value of mobile video ads trend down, spending will still flow to them.  Advertisers will need to capture those eyeballs becoming glued to the small screen.

Current eCPMs for mobile video ads run in the $5 range while in-app video can garner a $10 eCPM.

The bottom line:

  • Users are watching longer videos across all devices, and watching a greater proportion of their video on mobile.
  • Mobile video ad bookings are growing at triple digit rates.
  • Over the long term, robust video-ad CPMs could be threatened by consumers’ tendency to tire of digital ad formats but new formats will need to evolve.

 

Connected Television[3]

Connected TVs are TVs connected to the Internet, whether it’s via Web-TV devices such as Roku and Apple TV, game consoles, or smart TVs.

It is estimated that by 2018, 80% of all TVs shipped will be smart TVs. In the meantime, existing TVs are being connected from the 8.6M Web-TV devices sold globally last year[4].

The chart below shows the number of households with the different sources of service provided.  These same sources are critical in supplying high speed internet access.

table10table9

When you consider the amount of bandwidth needed to support streaming video, it is important the number of households with broadband reaches critical mass.  As the chart below indicates broadband penetration of U.S. households now stands at almost 84 million.

table10

In addition, gaming console manufacturers are also seeking to claim a stake in this evolving ecosystem.  Not only have they strategically aligned themselves to provide video content and gaming interactivity through their consoles, they are capitalizing on an established footprint.  These evolving entertainment hubs are enabling a new set of opportunities for entertainment consumption through media applications.

Owners of game consoles spend considerable time with their devices. PS3 users are spending 36 minutes daily, Wii users 17 minutes, and Xbox 360 users 32 minutes.  And it’s not just for gaming. These consoles act as both gaming vehicles and video content purveyors.  They enable social gaming as well as DVD play and streaming through apps.

The chart below identifies how many U.S. households have devices that could have capability to access the Internet in the home.

table12

The bottom Line:

  • Connected TVs represents the future, however it is still in its infancy
  • Web-TV devices a transition while smart TV’s will be the norm by 2015
  • We cannot forget the impact of multi purpose game consoles, unlike Web-TV devices, this segment will continue to grow

 

AUDIENCE

Having grown up with the Internet, Generation Y is more connected than any other generation. As such, their needs and wants are different.

They don’t think of TV as a box in the living room. To them, it doesn’t matter if their videos come from a TV, an iPad or a smartphone. As long as it’s what they want, when they want it.

Gen Y are socially connected consumers. They share everything and they are “on” all the time. They expect the services and products they interact with to enable their connected lifestyles.

Increasingly, consumers are “social explorers”, meaning they use social media channels as their primary source for news and entertainment.

Consider these facts[5]:

  • 17% of all users are Social Explorers
  • People share to talk about themselves, to “brand” themselves
  • 47% of Gen Y’s will write about positive experiences online
  • 39% of Gen Y’s will share negative encounters online
  • 50% of Gen Y’s have over 300 Facebook friends
  • 43% of Gen Y’s have Liked more than 23 brands
  • 40% of Gen Y’s visit Facebook more than 10 times a day

 

The bottom line:

 

  • Gen Y is ahead of other generations and are currently more socially connected
  • In order to be successful with this audience it is important to embed social features in all aspects of the product

[1] Source for data tables: Nielsen cross platform report

2012
12/03
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Publishing Strategies
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