Q: To drive success in video advertising, what is the most important thing to consider?

A: Distribution. Content will always remain king, but without a clear distribution strategy, you can spend weeks producing the perfect piece of video content that no one can find. You have to take the video straight to the most relevant audience by syndicating the content through editorials anchored on premium sites, written by key influencers and social platforms, and supported by custom in-banner executions. By taking this approach, your soon-to-be award-winning video will now stand a chance to reach viral success.

It is also essential to deliver the right ad in the right context. It is all about respecting the audience that is watching the video ad. By taking the video ad straight to the most relevant audience, the client will see a much higher general brand lift vs. a shotgun approach across thousands of random sites.

Q: Describe one of your recent video advertising campaigns that you think is particularly innovative:

A: Momtastic.com, a TotallyHer Media property, partnered with major automotive brand to launch ‘Talk Tech’. The custom section, promoting the brands new tech in-vehicle system, centered around a branded video series shot and produced by TotallyHer Media. The series featured a former TV Producer and Momtastic’s “tech mom,” Rita Mauceri, as she offered quick tips on how to improve daily routines by using the cars product. In addition to the custom section housing this content, these videos were distributed across the Momtastic network targeting mom blogs and content sites.

While most advertisers try to evoke an emotional response to drive virality, the TotallyHer Media team took a different approach with the auto brand. They produced content that is relevant, practical and informative, successfully positioning the brand in commonplace situations that moms face. In addition, the team focused on distribution, syndicating the content not only on Momtastic.com but also across relevant mom blogs. The result? Our audience was eager to not only watch the content, but to also share it within their social circles. That is ultimately the goal of every successful campaign.

Q: What do you think is working well in video advertising?

A: One of the most fascinating trends over the past year is the rise of online video. Agencies are starting to focus on developing video strategies, separate from their offline TV Spots, allowing brands to connect with a wider audience online. From Dove Real Beauty Sketches to Volvo Trucks “Live Test”, clients and agencies alike have really embraced this creative process resulting in advertising being organically consumed as content.

As a result of this shift, publishers play a larger role in producing the content for agencies/clients and launching social seeding. The key with any campaign is connecting with the right audience and this is what publishers bring to the table. While the web is moving towards an impersonal programmatic buying model, video-based advertising, especially long-form digital video, requires partnerships with publishers to ignite the conversation by placing the right content in front of their users, something no automated system can ever reproduce.

Aaron Broder is currently CEO of Evolve Media, LLC., which he co-founded with Brian Fitzgerald (originally as Gorilla Nation Media, LLC) in 2000. In 2004, Aaron and Brian developed a Web publishing business that specializes in vertical publishing for men and women with its two flagship publishers, CraveOnline Media and TotallyHer Media.

Note:  This interview is part of our “Three on Three” series in which we ask three executives the same three questions to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A: Beth Lawrence, EVP Digital Sales, Scripps Networks Interactive, on Video Ad Innovation