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May 5, 2008

May 5, 2008

Online Video Ads: High Price, High Value?

How long will online video ads, on a CPM basis, cost more than television ads?
"It's driven by a dearth of quality produced video online," said Nick Johnson, NBC's VP, national sales, Internet and broadband.

"It's a marketplace supply and demand story," said Johnson, speaking at the IAB's Digital Video conference today in NYC. He said the costs will likely remain higher, for now, as long as consumers respond better to online video ads than television ads. "There's a lot of opportunities to be interactive, to be a very immersive experience," he said.

From Endemol USA, the producers of reality television series such as "Big Brother," look for brand-sponsored content online, said Jon Vlassopulos, SVP, digital media and branded entertainment. (Last month, NBC Universal said it is working with Omnicom Media Group Digital to pair brands with content.)

Two years ago, Endemol Mobile created an interactive mobile video for Nokia, called "Get Close To…Sugababes." It featured clips of the pop group. And the video was shot on -- you guessed it -- Nokia phones.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Web Analytics Board Elections

The Web Analytics Association (WAA) elected its 2008/2009 board of directors. Those with board positions are listed here. Last year there was an effort to enact a changeover of directors, and it looks like it happened again without much of a push. About half of the board is new, and several of the incumbents are sophomore directors. The new and fresh members in power is a good thing as it means new and fresh ideas for the WAA.

Posted by Enid Burns at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Is the Stage Set for an AOL Sale?

With the dust settling around Microsoft's abortive bid for Yahoo, one thing's quickly becoming clear: The self-destruction of this particular takeover attempt is not the end of Yahoo's odyssey but merely a mid-way point. Analyst and blogger speculation this morning has anticipated a variety of outcomes for Yahoo, including a deal with News Corp (though talks have reportedly "cooled"), an acquisition of ValueClick, and even a late third act consummation with Microsoft.

The next big Web company to sell may not be Yahoo, however. Last month we learned Yahoo was closing in on a deal to imbibe AOL. Presumably those talks are still underway, and word this morning is Microsoft has already entered the fray. Google may also be interested in AOL, which would give it the reach in display that has so far eluded it.

Microsoft seems the best bet to triumph in any competitive bidding process, given it's already flashed its money roll to investors and the business community. Plus it really does crave search market share. And while AOL's 5 percent wedge of the U.S. search pie is modest by comparison to Yahoo's 21 percent, Microsoft could nearly match Yahoo by buying both AOL and Ask. Sweetening the deal for Microsoft, buying those two entities would would end Google's ad distribution deals with them, cutting into its profits.

Additionally, any company to combine with AOL will command the display ad market. A combined AOL-Yahoo would be a true powerhouse, as the companies are #1 and #2 in display. A combined Google-AOL would create huge inroads into display for a company that's so far still just barely out of lip-service territory in the category.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Kelsey Local Media Conference: Random Notes

I had a blast at the Kelsey conference in Seattle last week. In addition to news coverage from the event on FIM, Yahoo and The LA Times, here are a few tidbits I found interesting:

SubPrime Auto Loan Lead Gen Potential
Cars.com founder and CEO Mitch Golub suggested there's room for a new vertical in the local auto lead generation space: subprime auto loans. Because, according to Golub, 50 percent of car buyers don't qualify for prime loans, "I guess that's another vertical to be developed."

On Buy-in from Sales Partners
Ad product and service providers looking to attract small businesses and local advertisers need a way to connect with those clients. So, they forge relationships with yellow pages companies or newspaper publishers – companies with entrenched local sales forces that can go out and sell their Web video product or SEM services along with a YP or newspaper site ad.

Lots of deals along these lines have been made recently between vendors and publishers, but feelings are mixed as to the potential success of such partnerships. Golub told the Kelsey conference audience, vendors that think newspaper salespeople will readily go out and sell their products, are "smoking something funny." He was one of a couple execs at the conference who didn't shy away from tellin' it like it is.

But in a panel focused on local resellers, Carey Ransom, VP of business development for WebVisible indicated he's seen success in such partnerships, particularly when salespeople go beyond their regular pool of advertisers. "The ones that are stretching a little bit are the ones that are seeing the most success," he said.

On Selling to Small Businesspeople
During that "Local Resellers" session, SpotRunner GM of Local Marketing Services Kurt Weinsheimer reminded the audience that folks running small businesses have unique needs. "We're dealing with the head of sales, CMO, COO all in one person," he said. "They have very different questions and very different needs."

For instance, when selling TV, information about reach and frequency or points may be important to traditional media buyers at agencies, but it often goes over the heads of small business advertisers. "It's deer in the headlights when it comes to a small business," said Weinsheimer, adding that SpotRunner alters the type of data it reports to such advertisers.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

IAB Launches Video Ad Compliance Seal

In conjunction with finalizing its Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has unveiled a compliance program à la TRUSTe. The new guidelines were proposed a month ago, and nothing in those original guidelines has changed following a comment period.

According to the IAB press release, "The IAB suggests that compliant member sites post the compliance seal in their online media kit as well as in their print versions. Media buyers will be educated about the benefits of Digital Video Ad Format Guidelines and be encouraged to look for the seal."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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