Category Archives: Video Advertising

book, Killer Video, Video Advertising, Video Business, YouTube

Just When I thought Ad Agencies “Don’t Get” Online Video

1 Comment

mesk.jpgI was getting demoralized lately as I've been making my way through loads of crappy online video advertisements. The kind that feel like you're listening to a timeshare pitch because you want the resort discount. Suddenly, I received an e-mail from Jim Meskimen that showcases his new ad series for VW.

You may not recognize the name Jim Meskimen but you've heard his voice and probably seen him. He pretty much does every character on the world-famous JibJab clips. He's a comedian and impressionist like you've never heard before. He's also a really nice guy from what I can tell from our e-mail exchange since I won "runner's up" in his "caption the cartoon" contest (my co-worker won… grrrrr).

Now he's playing a German spokesperson for VW. And if you watched these without me telling you that, you'd never know it. The most exciting part? Most of this was improv!

#2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDN0wyw_d4A&search=vw%20fast

#3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd6P36gPkRg&search=vw%20fast

#4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ykeGaZCnNw&search=vw%20fast

#5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEOh8oynr4Y&search=vw%20fast

book, Killer Video, Revver, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites, YouTube

Awaiting the Merger of Popular and Profitable Sites

3 Comments

A week ago today I made one of my most annoying videos yet- GoogleHeads. Here's Googlehead on Revver.com. Here's Googlehead on YouTube.com.

I point this out for three reasons:

  1. Blatent self promotion
  2. So you can see the difference between Flash and Quicktime- quality and speed. For best results click the ad after the Revver version. 🙂
  3. Most importantly, note the difference in views. By recent count, more than 13,000 people had viewed it on YouTube. On Revver only 350 (which is actually a pretty good number for Revver considering the low traffic).

Right now it's hard to say what 350 views is worth to me on Revver is but let's say conservatively it's about $4. If YouTube's model had a similar content creators I'd be enjoying a few hundred bucks. However YouTube neither optimizes advertising nor shares it with content contributors.

YouTube apparently fears that inserting ads might upset their "community," so they're mostly running very low-profit syndicated ads from Google Adsense and other sources. Google Adsense is decent way for bloggers and small site owners to make marginal cash (I've made a whooping $50 on Revverberation and CubeBreak since I started). CubeBreak is far more profitable from affiliate income from Revver.

But Adsense is crazy for a site that has been drawing 14.5 million a month. If I were their venture capitalist I'd be pushing for more profitable video ads (maybe 15 second ads every third video), or at least I'd be partnering with a player like Advertising.com or Doubleclick for rich media ads until I built my own salesforce. The YouTube "community" represents 45 percent of the online video viewing so I doubt people would flock away to another site. It's still desirable content for free.

One day the profit-sharing sites and popular sites will merge. And that's when this space will get fun for amateur creators (who can make decent money) and viewers (who can start seeing something more interesting than people rambling about their day on the webcam). Eventually people will lose their appetite for low-budget cheesy stuff like Googlehead, but hopefully not before I've made a lil' cash.

book, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites

Million Dollar Video Jukebox

Here's an interesting concept. The Million Dollar Video Jukebox (accessed at www.milliondollarvideojukebox.com or www.jeukersz.com. The Homepage is made up of squares (each measuring 2500 pixels). You can upload your video to the square you choose- since the site just launched there are now 400 spaces (expandable to 10,000). You need to be a member to upload and view, and when you join you select 5 product categories (which will help target ads). There are some detailed (albiet somewhat confusing) rules about how you'll earn money on the ads- something about a guaranteed $50 a month when an advertiser pays $100.

In a space of me-too video offerings this one gets credit for turning the model slightly on its side.

book, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Contests, Video Sites, YouTube

Online Videofest from Panasonic

prize.gifPanasonic is running a contest via YouTube for videos under 5 minutes. Panasonic is the first non-entertainment company to run a promotion with YouTube. Panasonic will award prizes to makers of the four weekly finalist videos, including a first prize of a plasma high-definition TV and digital camera, worth about $5,000. The electronics company is also giving out prizes for users who rate the videos by joining the contest's group on YouTube, choosing the most creative review each week. Source- Adweek.

Blogs on Video, book, Video Advertising, Video Business

Terrific Post on Engadget About Online Videos & Money Making

3 Comments

endgadget.jpgI love this post from Engadget. It's about YouTube and its costs and profitability. Engadget estimates that YouTube probably pays about a million a month in broadband. Given that it has recent funding of about $8 million, it's only bought itself the summer to show that it can profit.

Engadget traces the history of sites that start with free to prove the worth, and then migrate to models that are substantiated by ads or charge visitors. Certainly the former makes more sense since I don't see us soon paying another monthly fee (beyond broadband, cell, cable TV, etc.).

Check out the Engadget article, and this brief from AdJab that calles YouTube the 5th network.

book, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites

Is A 15-Second Ad Every 3 Clips Fair?

What's the tolerance for ads before online videos? I kinda like the Office Pirates model of one 15-second ad before every third video. Obviously we'd all like to watch our videos without ads, but then we'd have to pay for them or the companies would go the route of www.Chapter11TV.com.

On the continuum, iFilm is probably the most aggressive and Google Video the most laid back about ads. Think that will change? I see us moving to a model somewhere between iFilm and Google… and 15-seconds every third video seems fair.

book, Killer Video, Uncategorized, Video Advertising, Video Sites

Soup of the Day Video Series

soup.jpgAs web videos and television videos lose their distinction, we're obviously going to see some online videos that are series. Here's the first I've uncovered. It's called "Soup of the Day" and highlights the life of Brandon Craig, a 28-year-old freelance photographer that is dating three attractive women. To understand the series, you need to visit this page, and begin with "serving one."

It's a nice marketing idea. The production and acting quality is pretty decent, so costs weren't inconsequential. So I'll be interested to see how they introduce ads or services to generate revenue.