This is pretty interesting stuff… a summary of the week's news about advertising and gadgets. It's like this guy was creating a news summary based on my interests. I love the fragmentation of media!
Category Archives: Video Advertising
Buy Some Post-It Notes
Remember when FLASHY banners were hot? I used to have a pack of post-its that I'd tape over the banner so I could read without distraction. Time to buy 3M stock.
About.com recently announced it will use Brightcove to stream online videos on its site. Here's what you can expect: "Nearly all of these video clips will include standard pre-roll ads… Included will be player-integrated expandable billboards, a full player takeover unit, an interactive overlay unit which lands above the video window, as well as live-read promotional announcements from the expert guides themselves."
It's somewhat true that About.com sees its visitors as a revenue stream and desperate advertisers as its primary customers. But the dawn of online video… embedded everywhere you go online… raises frightening prospects of how commercial things may become… even on sites that try to balance visitor needs with advertising goals.
Google and AOL and Video Ads Online
Interesting news. Google will offer video ads through Adsense in a very "non-intrusive" way… meaning the visitor would have to select it before it loads (thank goodness). What I find most intriguing is that Google seems to offer this for its partners (any site that "syndicates" Google ads via Adsense to make money). But apparently they won't be using these on Google itself. Why?
Let's pray that Madison Avenue takes advantage of this new vehicle by creating fun ads. Not 15-30 second pieces that work for a captive audience watching American Idol* without a TiVo remote. But a busy web searcher that, if not entertained, is moving on quickly.
On a related note, AOL bought LighteningCast recently, which gives them the ability to insert ads into video content. According to MSNBC, this gives AOL the ability "run targeted ads within video and even change ads from time to time without replacing the entire video file."
* We at WillVideoForFood are big Catherine fans, but we think Hicks is our next Idol.