Forrester Research expects a 90 percent increase in online display ad spending in the US between 2014 and 2019. Growth will be driven by video, programmatic and mobile display.
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Click here for full report.
Forrester Research expects a 90 percent increase in online display ad spending in the US between 2014 and 2019. Growth will be driven by video, programmatic and mobile display.
Click here to view AdWeek coverage.
Click here for full report.
A survey of more than 350 publishers and media buyers focuses on changing attitudes to programmatic video trading.
Click here to view the research item.
Q: How are you shaping advertising messages to get and hold attention of Millennials?
A: We’re taking a two-fold approach of using insights and media execution to shape the messages that will ideally get a hold of Millennials.
By partnering with our clients and creative partners we’ve been able to craft the right media mix from insights gathered in the pre-planning phases.
Secondly, in our media execution we’ve started “storytelling,” essentially using video sequencing. We have an arsenal of assets and short-form content that the creative agency has provided in the voice of Millennials, and the goal is to go back to our former days of storyboarding where we take Millennials on a journey. The journey begins with content that is subtle and leads with a mix of spots and short form content to strike the right balance of how we want consumers to experience the brand and campaign.
Q: How are you leveraging social media to communicate with Millennials and to provide CRM?
A: CRM is no longer about sending a customer emails to keep them engaged with the brand. Millennial CRM is about delivering engagement and giving them what they want, when they want it. The most relevant way for brands to do this is through platforms like Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter in visually compelling ways to carry a conversation in short or long form where preference is up to the user and not the brand. Moreover, we are using social media to be transparent. For a campaign like AT&T’s “It Can Wait,” we recognized the need to move away from scare tactics for this audience, and instead focused on engaging in authentic and honest dialogue on Tumblr. This enabled the brand to connect with Milliennials on an emotional level and makethem feel good about their decision not to text and drive.
For Millenials, a key aspect is trust. We are building trust by delivering programs like AT&T’s @SummerBreak which was a first of its kind entertainment experience; a mobile optimized, real-time, interactive reality show, connecting viewers to the teenage cast members across various social platforms. We supported this program via paid platforms and it spoke to the insight that non-linear content was becoming a key component of the media behavior of the target and that mobile was the primary platform for digital media usage.
Q: What is the number one takeaway to keep in mind when targeting Millennials?
A: Millennials are consuming media in all shapes and forms, but mobile and tablets have drastically changed the way they consume media. In the 80s and 90s the Gen X’ers had posters of their favorite brands on their walls, in 2014 the question becomes, how does a brand become that digital poster to a Millennial?
Catherine Salazar is Managing Partner and Digital Practice Lead at MEC on the AT&T business. With over 14 years of marketing, advertising, management and leadership experience, Catherine is currently focused on all digital media investment across display, video, mobile, search and social for AT&T’s General Market, Youth, International, Multicultural, LGBT and Sponsorship efforts.
Prior to MEC, Catherine worked and helped launch Microsoft’s Search platform in the U.S. and Canada. Catherine also worked in the display advertising space with Focint.com, Agency.com and JPMorgan Chase Credit Cards from 1999 through 2004 providing media strategy for Bookspan, British Airways, Brown & Co. and Chase Credit Cards. Catherine is a graduate of New York University.
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
This quarter’s index report focuses on the mobile video segment. Mobile phone and tablet consumption is compared to desktop and connected TV platforms.
Click here to view the research item.
Women seek out and value lifestyle videos for two main reasons—to be entertained and to be inspired— according to new research undertaken by Scripps Networks Interactive’s ulive video network and POPSUGAR (conducted by conducted by Ipsos OTX.) Among the key findings of the study, which focused on U.S. women ages 18-49, was that a large majority of women prefer to view lifestyle video that entertains them (74%),helps them learn (71%), and inspires them to try something new (60%).
Underscoring the value of such research, Lisa Choi Owens, chief operating officer of ulive said, “Understanding what our audience emotionally connects to helps us know what to create for them and how and where to program that content to maximize relevance.” And, not surprisingly, the research revealed that women have clearly defined views of what they’d like to see in the lifestyle video they consume. The study shows that 49% of women want to see more videos that provide “how-to instructions” on how to accomplish the task, cook the meal, get the look or learn the exercise. Women also want more personalization, including content that is based on their interests (46%), that is short and of high quality (30%).
“We’re learning how our current audience segments feel about our existing content categories, as well as the new ones we’re expanding into,” said Choi Owens. “That emotional connection is even further deepened by the quality and authenticity of our content.”
Authenticity is, in fact, among the qualities that female video consumers specifically value. Women strongly prefer high-quality video that is authentic, concise and positive in tone. Significantly, the most avid lifestyle video consumers seek video content that is fun to watch (59%), authentic and real (48%), and features hosts that are passionate about the topic (38%).
Rob McLoughlin, vice president of POPSUGAR Insights found respondents’ desire for positive content among the most interesting findings of the research. “With the large amount of negative and salacious commentary found on the web, women increasingly seek funny, profound and inspirational videos that are compelling and entertaining,” said McLoughlin.
The good news for media and other brands alike is that women are open to hearing from brands and take action when relevant brands are appropriately presented in their favorite lifestyle video content. In fact, 54% of women watch lifestyle videos to learn more about products and brands, and 50% of avid lifestyle video consumers (women who stream 240+ minutes of lifestyle content a month) have visited a site or brick and mortar store to purchase the product they saw advertised in a lifestyle video.
Discovery Digital Networks is feeling the love from its audience more than ever. The web-native portfolio, which is made up of four original video networks – Revision3, TestTube, Animalist and the DeFranco Network – has increased views and audience 400% since Revision3 joined the Discovery Communications family in May 2012. An increased focus on video has been a key factor in the growth. Today, fans across these four digital networks are consuming, on average, 160 million video views each month and, in social circles, the communities are stronger than ever – with 35 million followers and 14 million Facebook fans.
Discovery’s digital-native portfolio has driven its growth the ‘Discovery way,’ with highly curated, premium content. Content that Discovery owns. Great storytelling is at the heart of the programming, led by show hosts who are as authentic as the content itself. It’s the relationship between the show host and each community that drives engagement.
In fact, according to the latest Discovery Digital Networks’ Audience Survey, the most compelling driver of views and social interaction is the fact that Discovery hosts are, themselves “superfans of their brands, the network and its content,” according to Suzanne McDonnell, SVP of Sales Strategy & Client Solutions at Discovery Communications.
According to Discovery’s research, the authenticity of its hosts is at the core of why its content resonates with fans and advertisers alike. As McDonnell puts it, “our hosts are experts not actors. They are born of the communities that they represent.” This affinity between the shows’ fans and the equally engaged hosts has inspired the programming.
Comments from survey respondents made this sentiment clear: “The Rev3Games team comes across as honest professional[s] that actually play and enjoy games…You are critics, yes, but you also have a love for gaming.” Of Hak5, a respondent said “I think it is the personalities that make it top notch. They really seem to be enjoying themselves.” And one DNews viewer said “I feel just like I’m listening to a friend talk.”
Discovery Digital Networks found that 97% of viewers are very/somewhat satisfied with the host’s personality and 92% with the host’s expertise. This fact, says McDonnell, keeps the network focused on “a hosted-show model around which we build passionate communities.”
The power of highly curated, premium programing, led by authentic hosts, extends itself to advertisers as well. Discovery’s research found that 64% of respondents feel that brands featured within the network programs are usually a good fit with the show/channel, and 50% have more confidence in brands featured within the programming. “Viewers trust Discovery Digital Networks to feature brands that are relevant to them. Viewers’ highly favorable opinions of our content adds a halo effect to brands featured within the content,” says McDonnell. “That presents unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to join the conversation and become a member of these communities.”